A cultural adventure around Neath ahead of Halloween, which includes ghosts, horror records, a huge stash of physical media, an unexpected Star Wars arcade machine and (cue dramatic music)… the Bottle of Death! Yes, the Bottle of Death, which was found in a secret basement (recue dramatic music) – all will be revealed… Along the…
Spiders are everywhere at Halloween – but long before that, they were a familiar part of our folklore and horror stories. In this wander around my garage (hey, I have no location budget!), I look at spider folklore, including the belief that killing a spider is unlucky, and explore why spiders became such a familiar…
The Paranormal Unpacked team – Steve Balsamo, Ant Jones and myself – are currently investigating Penllergare Valley Woods, Swansea, for our Halloween special, and I decided to film a little behind-the-scenes video to explore some of the folklore and ghost stories of this amazing place. Penllergare was the home of the Dillwyn Llewellyn family, pioneers…
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…
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…
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),…
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…
