Powis Castle is one of Wales’s great medieval-castles-turned-fancy-mansion-house – and it also has a rather impressive collection of ghosts. For this Halloween special, I’m heading to Welshpool to explore the stories of the ghosts and strange happenings said to haunt Powis Castle, from a mysterious man in a gold-laced suit who appeared to a poor…
Most people know the old stories about fairies stealing babies. But do you know about the “Fairy Body Snatchers” fairies who stole the dead? Tales of changelings tell how the fairy folk could take a healthy child and leave behind one of their own in its place. One piece of Welsh folklore speaks of a…
What do you do when phantom hounds howl outside your home? What does it mean when a bird appears at the window? And are Wales’s – and England’s – death omens mere superstition… or something more? In this episode of the Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast, Mark Rees explores the eerie world of Welsh…
Who was the mysterious Queen of the Lakes said to rule the waters of north Wales? How did one Pembrokeshire woman armed with only a pitchfork help defeat French invaders? And did Welsh folklore really tell of women strong enough to wrestle grown men, fight invading armies, and become giants? In this episode of the…
Across Wales, there are legends of churches that refused to stay where they were built, with some suggesting they were removed by supernatural agency… In episode 165 of the Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast, Mark Rees explores some of these curious cases, drawn from traditions across west and mid-Wales, including Carmarthenshire, Radnorshire (now Powys),…
Who is the faceless figure drifting silently along the banks of the River Wye? What happens if you anger the spirits said to live within an ancient Welsh oak tree? And what crashes through the night on a long-lost road… even after the road itself has vanished? In episode 164 of the Ghosts and Folklore…
Christmas in Wales has always been a season for ghost stories, and few places offer stranger, richer tales than Dinefwr and Llandeilo. In this episode of Ghosts and Folklore of Wales, Mark Rees is joined by Ronnie Kerswell-O’Hara of the National Trust — a storyteller, ghost-tour guide and expert on local folklore. Witch Baubles and…
It’s Christmastime, and all you really want is to know… how to make a Mari Lwyd! The Mari Lwyd is one of Wales’s most unique winter traditions — a ghostly, skeletal horse who appears around Christmas and New Year, knocking at doors, singing, rhyming, and demanding entry. But while the legend is well known, a…
What happens when you spend Halloween night at one of Wales’ most haunted ruins? On Nos Calan Gaeaf — the Welsh Halloween, when the veil between worlds is thinnest — shadowy figures and death omens are said to roam the Gower Peninsula. Among the haunted sites of Wales, Pennard Castle stands out: ruins perched above…
