To touch or dig for buried treasures guarded by a ghost without the ghost's consent always brings thunder and lightning. Such is the tradition in connection with "Carreg y Bwci" on the top of Craig Twrch, on the borders of Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire.
Many of the tales displaying the motive, on the ghost's part of a duty to perform--sometimes clearly defining, sometimes vaguely suggesting it, as in the story of Noe.
The evening was far gone when a traveller of the name of Noe arrived at an Inn in Pembrokeshire, and called for refreshments. After remaining sometime he remarked that he must proceed on his journey. 'Surely,' said the astonished landlord, 'You will not travel at night for it is said that a ghost haunts that road,' crying out, 'The days are long and the nights are cold to wait for Noe. O, I am the man sought for,' said he, and immediately departed; but, strange to say, neither Noe nor the ghost was ever heard of afterwards.
An old woman in Pembrokeshire informed me that the scene of the above tale was a house in the neighbourhood of Letterston.
Another story of this class appeared in an interesting little Welsh book entitled "Ysten Sioned," published by Hughes and Son, Wrexham.
There was a farmhouse in a certain part of West Wales, in which a large and respectable family lived. But there was one room in the house haunted by a troublesome spirit which often cried out in a mournful voice, "Hir yw'r dydd, a hir yw'r nos, a hir yw aros Arawn" (long is the day, and long is the night, and long is waiting for Arawn). Things went on in this manner for a long time, and not one hardly ventured to open the door of that room. But one cold winter evening when every member of the family sat around the fire, before supper, somebody called at the door of the house, and a stranger was welcomed in to warm himself by the fire. The stranger asked for some food and a bed for the night. He was told he was welcomed of food, but that they were sorry they could not offer him a bed, as all the beds were hardly enough for themselves, and that the only spare bed-room in the house was haunted. Then the stranger begged to be allowed to sleep in that room, as he felt sure that there was nothing to do him harm there. The man appeared very tired, and spoke but little except in reply to questions, and when it was found out that his name was "Arawn," all the family looked into each's face in great surprise. The stranger presently went to bed in the haunted room, and strange to say everything was quiet in that room that night, that is, no spirit was heard as usual crying and moving things about. When the family got up next morning, the first thing was to find out what kind of night the stranger passed in the haunted room, but to the surprise of all the man was gone, and the ghost was also gone, for the room was never haunted afterwards.