Margam Castle is a large Victorian era country house, built in Margam, Port Talbot, Wales, for Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot (1803–1890). It was constructed over a ten-year period, from 1830 to 1840, on a site which had been occupied for some 4,000 years and which from the 11th century until the dissolution of the monasteries was an abbey. It is reported to be one of the most haunted buildings in Wales. The most frequently encountered spirit is Robert Scott, a gamekeeper who worked at the Castle for many years. Scott was murdered by a poacher and it’s said his spirit can often be seen purposefully ascending the Gothic staircase near the entrance way to the Castle. His presence has regularly connected with psychic investigators, all of whom insist his spirit is consumed with rage over his unjust killing. So, yes, it exists and it’s real.
But enough for the history lesson. The Haunting of Margam Castle (2020) is a supernatural horror-thriller about a team of American parapsychologists who travel to Wales to conduct a study of Margam Castle. The official plot from producers North Bank Entertainment reads…
For many years the dark and foreboding Margam Castle, long considered one of the most haunted buildings in the UK, has been abandoned – or so it seemed. An American research team led by Professor Annie Holzer and Doctor Daniel Barron take an interest in the Castle’s macabre history of unexplained deaths and supernatural sightings. They travel to Wales to stay at the Castle, intending to conduct a series of experiments in parapsychology. But when night falls the research team’s study goes awry and they’re forced to fight for their lives when they incur the wrath of the vengeful spirits who live within the walls of Margam Castle.
The movie is been directed by Andrew Jones, a very prolific horror filmmaker who has been responsible for tens of titles including The Amityville Asylum (2013), Valley of the Witch (2014), The Last House on Cemetery Lane (2015), Poltergeist Activity (2015), The Exorcism of Anna Ecklund (2016), Werewolves of the Third Reich (2017), Jurassic Predator (2018), The Legend of Halloween Jack (2018), Bundy and the Green River Killer (2019), The Manson Family Massacre (2019), and the possessed evil doll Robert saga, only to name a few. He has also been the writer of the screenplay based on the idea of his frequent collaborator and executive producer Robert Graham.
The cast for The Haunting of Margam Castle (2020) is headed by Caroline Munro, popular for her participation in classic titles like The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Maniac (1980), and Slaughter High (1986). It also includes a lot of some other veteran names like Jane Merrow (The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die (1965)), Derren Nesbitt (Where Eagles Dare (1968)), Vernon Dobtcheff (The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)), Simon Bamford (Hellraiser (1987)), and Garrick Hagon (Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)). Derek Nelson, Judy Matheson, Jason Farries, Mads Koudal, and Amy Quick complete the main cast.
This is not the first time Margam Castle has on the screen. The television programmes Most Haunted (2002– ), SyFy‘s Ghost Hunters International (2008– ), and Paranormal Lockdown (2016– ) have had the castle in their shows.
The Haunting of Margam Castle (2020) is already available on DVD in the USA, and it is expected to arrive to the European market on October 26, 2020. Here you can watch its trailer.
