I love Pennard Castle – and the spooky stories associated with it – and was very happy when the Paranormal Unpacked team decided to go and film our latest episode there. I also took the opportunity to film a little behind the scenes video focusing on one of my favourite figures from Welsh folklore, the…
Did a ghost haunt the grounds of Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant? Why was a man in a top hat seen walking a Monmouthshire hillside? Can a thorn bush really be haunted? And who was the Woman in White said to appear near Penallt? In this episode of the Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast, I…
Earlier this year, I headed to the Llandeilo Literature Festival to talk about Welsh ghosts, folklore and witches… and ended up having a cultural adventure, wandering between graves in search of a holy well where pilgrims used to drink holy water from a skull. Yes, holy water from a skull. It was a very sunny…
On a recent Paranormal Unpacked filming day in Swansea, my good friend and co-presenter Steve Balsamo recalled some strange and spooky experiences from his time helping at a former antiques shop and café in Sketty with a reputation for being a little, well, haunted. We were filming on a farm in Swansea owned by our…
I visited lovely Stratford-upon-Avon over the weekend for the Summer Solstice, the perfect place to celebrate the longest day/ shortest night of the year. I’d gone primarily to catch Kenneth Branagh as Prospero in The Tempest, but combined it with wander around the town to do all the usual tourist type things, all finished off…
Halloween is always a busy time for me — I’ve long joked that spooky season is busy season — but Halloween 2026 is going to be the craziest yet… and 2027 will be even crazier. As usual, I’ll be travelling the land to give talks and lectures, but there’s something extra special happening this year…
During my recent cruise gig to France, I was lucky enough to go on a cultural adventure in Saint-Émilion, a medieval town I’ve talked about in lectures for years but had never actually visited. Famous for its wine – like everywhere in the Bordeaux region – it’s a rabbit warren of winding streets and steep…
Hot off the press – my shiny new book Quirky Swansea is available from all good bookshops… now! Published by the fine folk at Amberley Press – so you know that means lots of great images – it explores dozens of “quirky” places from across Abertawe and Gŵyr, including personal favourites like the good old…
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…
