Ghosts and Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees

A phantom horseman, a baby-stealing ghost, a warning from the future and even miniature fairy-sized spooks. In this episode we explore a series of short but sweet and seemingly unconnected supernatural tales collected from the wilds of Wales. Can you unlock their paranormal mysteries? And should they serve, to quote MR James, as a warning to the curious? Explore the lore of these curious tales wit...

The history and folklore of Midsummer warns us to expect the unexpected during that the longest day of the year. Over the days that span Midsummer's Eve and Day, or the Summer Solstice, or St John's Eve and Day, or Calan Haf, Welsh folklore tells us that paranormal activity and strange apparitions might be encountered. This episode explores some real-life traditions that range from the heart-warmi...

How do you stop a ghost that causes the police to faint and threatens to chop off peoples' heads? That was the problem facing the residents of Cwmbran in Victorian Wales when a special reporter arrived to investigate strange reports of supernatural activity. The locals were gathering into ghost-hinting gangs to track down the spirit, but even bullets couldn't harm this paranormal form that stalked...

Can dogs sense spirits in the home? What about hell hounds? And if so, can they protect against these ominous death omens? Corpse dogs are a combination of two more-commonly encountered types of phenomena: death omens, such as the corpse candles (y canwyll corff in Welsh), and supernatural dogs like the dreaded gwillgi.  When they enter a property, sometimes in packs, they will often be invisible...

A paranormal investigation on the ghost ship so haunted the crew would not stay on-board.  When a captain took control of a new navy vessel he laughed off the warnings that it was haunted. Little did he realise that he would soon experience all manner of poltergeist-like activity, and things really escalated when a full-body apparition manifested while at sea. What was the cause of this paranormal...

There’s something uncanny in the waters of Wales—ghosts, monsters, sacred wells, and paranormal legends. From haunted wells said to punish the wicked, to magical fish, love divination rituals, and a monstrous eel, Welsh folklore is overflowing with watery wonders. Discover how these supernatural sites were once used to find true love, catch thieves, and connect with the spirit world. Explore the l...

A Victorian "Ghostbuster" faces the battle of his life as he attempts to banish an evil spirit causing havoc in a Welsh village. When a shape-shifting demon starts smashing up property and chasing people home in a Flintshire, the locals turn to a well-known man of God who might be able to help - a lay preacher known as Griffiths of Llandegla. But this is no ordinary demon, and it will take all of...

When a malicious fairy swaps your baby for a changeling, how do you break the curse?  Across Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland, people have reported finding their children stolen and replaced with strange babies that were different in many ways - some were sickly, some failed to grow, others were intelligent far beyond their years. But after the tylwyth teg have made the switch, is there any wa...

Ghostly forms wail and scream in the night, while supernatural visitors offer words of comfort and terror. But what connection do these spirits have with the living, and what message - if any - are they trying to communicate to their nearest and dearest? While these paranormal visitors can offer comfort to their friends and family, they can also, as we’ll discover, be even more terrifying than pol...

A Welsh magician who defied witchcraft laws and turned detective in the 16th Century used his powers to defeat murderers and robbers. Huw Llwyd was famous - some might say infamous - for his fantastical acts of legerdemain during the reign of James VI and I. He could outwit the evilest of villains, and then party hard afterwards in the local tavern. A real-life character whose life is shrouded in...

When ghost hunters explore a "haunted" castle in Carmarthenshire they uncover an old mystery that leads to a gruesome tale of a man hanged on a nearby hill. Spooks and spectres had long been reported in the mystical streets of Carmarthen, home of Arthurian wizard Merlin, but by the late Victorian age they were starting to fade away. When a group of curious reporters decide to go on a night-time pa...

The Gwragedd Annwn are some of the more terrifying fairy folk to lurk in wilds of Wales. These ferocious fighting female fairies haunt the lonely Welsh lakes and streams, and are known in English as the wives of hell or the wives of the otherworld. Like feisty freshwater mermaids, these tylwyth teg are not to be messed with, as some have discovered the hard way. Join author Mark Rees ( Ghosts of W...

Seeing a death omen is usually a quick, fleeting affair, but in this weird real-life ghost story it is far more intense experience. A death omen, in its simplest form, is a supernatural sign that somebody is not going to be on this earth much longer. In Wales, one of the more popular death omens is the corpse candle (y canwyll corff), a light which, much like the will-o’-the-wisp, floats in the da...

In Victorian Wales, the 12 Days of Christmas became the 12 Days of Carnage for some, with a little too much merriment leading to fisticuffs and debauchery. At the heart of the festivities was music, and it was during this period that Wales became known as the "Land of Song." There were mummers and Christmas carol singers in the streets, and a certain horse-skulled creature called the Mari Lwyd. Bu...

One of the best Christmas traditions is telling creepy ghost stories by candlelight, but unlike the tales of Charles Dickens and M.R. James, what if these spooky yarns were not works of fiction, but real-life tales of terror? In one tale, a wife heads out into the wilds of Wales one chilly Christmas Eve in search of her missing husband, but finds something far more terrifying. In another, a family...

Explore Wales’s weird and wonderful Christmastime tradition, the festive "bone horse" that is the Mari Lwyd! The Mari Lwyd is a curious custom which sees a hobby horse-like like creature challenge people to a battle in verse - what some call a "rap battle" - and, if victorious, enters their home to eat their cakes and ale. But what began as a good-natured folk tradition soon descended into one of...

Ghosts of the living come in all shapes and sizes, from lost souls minding their own business to stone-hurling poltergeists. But what does it mean to see a spirit, of somebody who is still alive? In this creepy collection of "real life" paranormal encounters, they are seen in the middle of the day and the dead of night, some with messages, and some with somewhere to get to, and some who simply van...

There's witchcraft, tormented spirits, curses, the well of evil and even a bit of good old-fashioned Wicker Man style paganism in this episode of watery folklore. These tales concern the folklore of wells, a source of water for centuries which could be used for good and bad magic. In some cases, a Pagan tradition could be used to summon rain in times of drought. But in other cases, a lost soul app...

A man of God is accused by his fellow reverends of making a pact with the Devil in return for supernatural powers. According to the tale, he would sneak off into the forest and summon evil spirits in a magic circle, and on one fateful night of conjuring it backfired on him and his co-conspirators.  Is there any truth to this tale of a holy man turning to the dark side and committing the ultimate s...

Dare you go on a "live" ghost tour at Wales's "most haunted" National Trust property? On Halloween, Mark Rees joined Ronnie - Wales' finest spooky tour guide - and a gang of unsuspecting members of the public for a creepy night to remember at Newton House, Dinefwr. Sitting in the heart of a medieval deer park near Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, the property is said to be not only the NT's "most haunt...

Newton House in Dinefwr has long been the scene of inexplicable paranormal activity – in fact, the National Trust call it their "most haunted" location in all of Wales, and their fourth "most haunted place" in all the UK. The estate in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, has a long and colourful history steeped in Welsh folklore, from the castle on the estate to the mythical white cattle which roam its la...

Dare you go on a ghost hunt to one of Wales's "most haunted" places? Join Mark Rees and Welsh paranormal investigators Cymru Paranormal for a Halloween/ Nos Calan Gaeaf special as they go in search of restless wartime spirits. In the most ambitious episode yet, the team spend the night at Swansea's 1940s Museum, which is just like stepping back in time - outside there are Second World War air shel...

A monstrous black pig and the ghost of a headless white lady emerge to hunt the living on Halloween - but what do they want? When the shades of night fall on Nos Calan Gaeaf, as October 31 is known in Wales, there are two terrifying apparitions which appear to chase people home from the bonfires before the witching hour. More terrifying than the vampires, werewolves, zombies and demons commonly as...

Dare you visit these watery beauty spots where ghouls and ghosts appear on the spookiest night of the year? Explore several "haunted" lakes where the ghosts of spectral white ladies have been reported, or where a lake monster is said to dwell. In one case, a visit on Halloween - Nos Calan Gaeaf - could result in seeing those destined to die that year appearing before your very eyes. Join author Ma...

Halloween wouldn't be Halloween with a grinning jack-o'-lantern, but did you know that it was once far more sinister than a finely carved pumpkin? Nothing encapsulates Nos Calan Gaeaf - as we call Halloween in Wales - like the flickering face of a finely-carved lantern. But unlike the modern-day pumpkin which can be seen carried by trick or treaters, it was considered to be an all-too-real "dreade...