Julie Finch, Hay Festival’s CEO, speaks to MARK REES about the literary festival’s highlights this year. (This interview was originally published in the Western Mail, May 2024) From Glastonbury to Hay When Stormzy and Dua Lipa were announced to appear at last year’s Hay Festival, it must have raised a few eyebrows. Acts more traditionally…
Ahead of her appearance at Hay Festival Winter Weekend, author Sarah Clegg speaks to MARK REES about her new book documenting winter’s spookiest stories and traditions. (This interview was originally published in the Western Mail, November 2024) Monsters of Christmas – From Krampus to the Mari Lwyd Picture the scene: It’s a brisk New Year’s…
Celebrated painter Glenys Cour MBE has been a central part of Wales’s artistic life since the 1940s. MARK REES caught up with her in her Mumbles home. (This interview was first published in The Bay magazine, Winter 2023) In the late 1940s, when Glenys Cour set foot in war-scarred Swansea, little could she have known…
Is the ghost of a global opera superstar haunting her private Welsh castle? Or is something even stranger at work at Craig-y-Nos? What happens when the world’s greatest diva builds a fairytale home in the Swansea valley… and never quite leaves? Can a song recorded over a century ago still stir the spirits? And what…
What kind of uncanny creature leaps onto a corpse and rides in a hearse? What on earth are graveyard dogs? Is it a ghost? A supernatural omen? Or something stranger still? 👻🕯️ In this week’s episode of the Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast, author and folklorist Mark Rees dives deep into the unexplained with…
Who knocks at midnight—and what do they want? Are these uncanny visitors of the night bringing gifts or a curse? When a knock came at midnight, the family inside had no idea the supernatural visitors weren’t just visiting—they were hunting. A seemingly generous call from the Tylwyth Teg—the fairy folk of Welsh folklore—soon unravels into…
Kidwelly Castle: an imposing ruin standing guard over the River Gwendraeth, steeped in centuries of history, rebellion, and bloodshed. But beyond its picturesque exterior lies something far more unsettling—whispers of ghostly figures, lingering spirits, and the chilling legend of Wales’ first warrior princess, Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd. What makes Kidwelly one of Wales’ most haunted castles?…
Welcome to the latest episode of the Ghosts and Folklore of Wales Podcast, in which we explore… ghost dogs! Yes, this week, we’re diving into a topic that’s bound to send shivers down your spine: ghost dogs. Those eerie canine spirits that, while some remain loyal and friendly, others aren’t quite as welcoming. You might…
What makes Wales feel like, well… Wales? Is it the castles—more than 600 of them scattered across the landscape? The breathtaking 870-mile Wales Coast Path, the only one of its kind in the world? Or maybe it’s the stories—the myths, the battles, the poets and bards who spoke in hushed tones of fire-breathing dragons and…
