PET lovers with a taste for the macabre may be attracted to buy a dilapidated 17th century Gwent chapel which is said to be haunted by a bloodthirsty black hound.

These days the single-storey detached stone-built chapel sits incongruously among modern homes in Waun Road, in the St Dials area of Cwmbran. Years ago the chapel stood quite alone on a wind-swept, grassy hillside.

Legend has it that the former chapel and adjacent, fully occupied graveyard, is haunted by 'the black hound of the underworld'.

Once a centre for Welsh Non-Conformists, the chapel which hasn’t been used for worship for generations, is being sold by Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions. It has a guide price of £43,000-plus.

According to local folklore a former minister of the chapel, once surrounded by scrubby woodland and fields, late one night heard the blood-curdling baying of a hound.

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It was not long after that the man of the cloth was said to have witnessed what he described as a great black hound following his trail. The minister, realising that he was on the menu, struck the hound between the eyes with his Bible.

The mythical creature, believed to haunt the souls of man, is said to have burst into flames and disappeared, leaving the minister’s soul intact but his beard singed.

Debra Bisley, of Paul Fosh Auctions, said: "I don't know about the mysterious Black Hound and the minister's beard but the chapel and graveyard is certainly unusual plonked as it is in the middle of the modern estate.

"Sympathetically converted It could make a lovely house or may be an unusual airbnb property. There would be no nuisance or noise from the immediate neighbours.

"The detached chapel, of stone construction under a pitch tiled roof, is believed to date back to the 17th century. It's understood not to be listed and has planning for conversion to residential uses. The site also offers potential for the creation of off road parking."

The chapel, along with some 70 other properties, will be offered for sale online by Paul Fosh Auctions from midday on Tuesday, March 8, with the virtual hammer falling from 5pm on Thursday, March 10.