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For most people in Bargoed, Cardiff Road is just a long thoroughfare that leads into the town. 

But for one family, it was the site of ghostly incidents and paranormal activity for nearly a decade. 

Gladstone Villa, a large three-storey building, was home to Andrew Dexter’s family from 1960.

The property, which is now Ty Parc care home, dates back to the early 1900s and was named after the former Prime Minister William Gladstone.

But it was not until after Andrew was born in 1969 that his family witnessed paranormal activity.

Andrew, 54, told Caerphilly Observer more about the experience. 

“It wasn’t like you see in horror films,” said Andrew, adding that the family lived “relatively normal lives”. 

There was “mild poltergeist activity” such as lights flickering, electrical cables being pulled by invisible forces and footsteps every night in the bedroom above. 

“I heard the footsteps every night,” said Andrew, adding the family would often sit below and listen while watching TV.

His grandfather would try and point out where the ghost was located above, “My grandfather Bill would say ‘he’s by there’.”

‘He’ was Johnny the Ghost as he was nicknamed by the family.

Though the family were “level-headed” and looked for rational explanations, it wasn’t just Johnny the Ghost that dwelled there.

In fact, there were so many odd occurrences that they couldn’t be simply explained away. 

Such as when the family returned to an empty house to find all their furniture turned over, a baby heard crying in a closet, and a glass bottle thrown at Andrew’s grandfather in a seemingly empty room.

It was enough to mean that Andrew, his mother and grandmother slept in the living room every night with the lights on. 

Ultimately, the family reached out for help. 

“Bargoed police were involved,” Andrew continued, with the officer popping their heads into the attic, just enough to quickly check the situation and leave. 

“They were scared,” added Andrew.

A medium named John Matthews ‘confirmed’ the presence of an earthbound spirit with unfinished business, and a priest named Graham Jones blessed the property to provide a temporary respite from the activity.

However, the paranormal occurrences eventually intensified, including sightings of a figure, which was seen by Andrew’s mother, Caroline. 

“I saw a monk,” said Caroline Heath, 73, who still lives in Bargoed. “You couldn’t see his face.”

Caroline saw the man just once and said he was wearing a pointed hood, standing behind the sofa.

She continued: “It was like he was looking in the living room to see who was there.”

She added: “It was frightening.”

The experience prompted Andrew to conduct research.

He found links to some of the happenings – a baby had died in the property in the 1920s and a monastery was once situated nearby.

“I’m a firm believer because I experienced it personally,” Andrew added.

Though the family never had any real closure, they were reassured by the fact the sightings continued after they moved out. 

Andrew continued: “People then went in after us – they experienced it.”

While Andrew admits he sometimes found it “fascinating” and that no family member came to “serious harm” prior to moving out in 1978, it isn’t something they’d like to go through again. 

“It had a profound effect on us,” said Andrew.