• Ghosts & Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast - the History of Halloween / Nos Calan Gaeaf

    The History of Halloween: Ghosts & Folklore of Wales podcast

    EP18 The History of Halloween Join Mark Rees (author of Ghosts of Wales/ Paranormal Wales) for a whirlwind tour through the history of Halloween! From ancient Celtic festivals to modern-day America, this concise journey through the dark past of the spookiest day of the year takes a look at such questions as: Where did Halloween originate? What vital role did Christianity play in things? How did America put its own stamp on the holiday? Why do we carve pumpkins on October 31st? Does trick-or-treating have its roots in praying for the souls of the dead? What does the Welsh harvest festival Nos Calan Gaeaf have to do with Halloween? And…

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  • Corpse Candles in a haunted Welsh cemetery - Ghosts & Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast

    Devil’s Bridge: Ghosts & Folklore of Wales podcast

    EP17 The Devil’s Bridge Did Satan really build a bridge in Wales – the notorious Devil’s Bridge – in exchange for the soul of an old Welsh woman? Find out in the real story behind the folk tale from haunted Wales. In this episode of the GHOSTS & FOLKLORE podcast, join Mark Rees (author of Ghosts of Wales/ Paranormal Wales etc.) for a journey in search of Satan himself who, it is claimed, built a bridge over a great chasm in exchange for the soul of an old Welsh widow. Dare you cross the Devil’s Bridge? This story is one of Wales’ most popular folk tales, and while it might…

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  • Ghosts & Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast on Amazon Music

    Ghosts & Folklore from Wales podcast now available on Amazon Music

    Amazon Music users can now listen to the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast on all of their devices. The Ghosts of Folklore of Wales podcast can now be streamed and downloaded on Amazon Music. That means you’ve now got even more places to listen to the world’s first podcast dedicated to Welsh ghosts and folklore! It has long been available to users of other popular platforms such as Spotify, Apple, YouTube and Google (full list here), but now you can just ask Amazon to play some spooky Ghosts of Wales yarns and it will do just that. Best of all, it’s just in time for Halloween…

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  • Ghosts & Folklore of Wales podcast with Mark Rees - real-life Welsh ghost stories and folk tales

    The Dark History of Beer; or, How a Welsh witch invented mead: Ghosts and Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast EP15

    Join me for a journey in search of the Welsh enchantress who brewed beer in her cauldron, the Gothic folklore surrounding alcohol at funerals, and other macabre traditions from “weird” Wales Welcome to the 15th episode of my “curious” Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast – the “dark history of beer”! It’s all about alcohol and folklore, and I really feel like I’ve captured some of the energy and spontaneity from my Ghosts of Wales – Live! events on this episode of the podcast. As I’m sure regular listeners have noticed, I don’t script my episodes (ha, I think that’s obvious!), but I usually have a rough roadmap in my…

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  • Ghosts & Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast - the "most haunted" podcast from Wales to the world!

    Paranormal Wales book launch coming to the Ghosts & Folklore podcast this Halloween

    You can’t stop a “Ghosts of Wales” paranormal party! My new book PARANORMAL WALES was published in March, and the plan was to have a book launch soon after to celebrate. Sadly, as we now know, March 2020 wasn’t the best of times to plan a paranormal party. Or any other kind of public event, for that matter. Just days after a box crammed full of of author copies landed on my doorstep, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would be put into lockdown. Life, as we knew it, came to a halt. “Refusing to accept defeat, I’ve instead decided to get with the times and host an online…

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  • Ghosts and Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees

    The Realm of Faerie: The secret origin of the fairy folk of Wales: Ghosts and Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast EP14

    The world is full of magical tales about fairies, but have you ever wondered where they come from? Welcome to the 14th episode of my “curious” Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast, which is dedicated to the realm of faerie! Following a rather grim and gritty episode last time out, I decided to lighten the mood with the most mood-lightening subject I could think of… fairies. Yes, this episode is dedicated to the fair folk, with Wirt Sikes – the pioneering Victorian writer who travelled from America to Wales and recorded countless accounts of their mischievous exploits – serving as our guide. Sikes has long been one of my folkloric…

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