Ghosts and Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees
Episodes
Thursday Oct 29, 2020
Thursday Oct 29, 2020
Ghosts of Wales Live - A Halloween Special: A paranormal podcast party for Nos Calan Gaeaf
How are you celebrating Halloween this year?
Do you fancy some ghost hunting, but don't where to start? Or maybe you want to visit a haunted pub, but need some tips and advice? Or maybe you're just looking for a good spooky book to read?
Then this is the podcast for you!
On this extra-long Halloween edition, author Mark Rees (Ghosts of Wales) will be talking about his new book Paranormal Wales, and some of his favourite "most haunted" Welsh places, with some very special guests.
What is "Ghosts of Wales - Live!"?
Every Halloween - or Nos Calan Gaeaf, as we say in Wales - Mark hosts a paranormal party at a different location called "Ghosts of Wales - Live!"
With a varied line-up of special guests, there are ghost stories, paranormal investigations, and plenty of spooky surprises along the way.
Sadly, hosting a live event in 2020 isn't really an option, so this year we're doing something even better - hosting a paranormal party on the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales podcast instead!
That means, for the first time ever, everyone can join in and listen, wherever you are in the world. The events are usually sell-out affairs, but not on this scale - this is the first time it has truly gone global!
Special guests include storyteller Owen Staton and paranormal investigators Cymru Paranormal. Press play for more!
Halloween in Wales: 5 special episodes
October is the Halloween takeover month on the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales podcast, and this is the fourth of five stand-alone specials.
For a full list of episodes check out the Halloween Specials podcast page.
What is Nos Calan Gaeaf?
In Celtic times, each day began at sunset.
October 31 - Nos Calan Gaeaf in Welsh, the night before Calan Gaeaf - marked the beginning of winter, and while it was a time for celebration, it was also a time of great foreboding and apprehension.
For more about Nos Calan Gaeaf, be sure to subscribe to the Ghosts & Folklore podcast which will be focusing on the festival all through October, and check out the book The A-Z of Curious Wales for lots more weird and wonderful facts.
What is the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast?
Join Mark Rees (author of Ghosts of Wales/ Paranormal Wales etc.) as he explores the weird and wonderful history of Wales.
The world’s first podcast dedicated to Welsh ghost stories, folklore, myths and legends, GHOSTS & FOLKLORE OF WALES combines Mark’s research and insights from his books and articles with long-lost tales from some ancient tomes into a truly unique podcast experience.
New episodes are uploaded every Thursday, and feature everything from real-life encounters with pesky poltergeists to the fantastical beasts from the Mabinogion,
Be sure to subscribe, and for more details and to get in touch with Mark Rees, please visit:
Mark Rees homepage
Mark Rees on social media
Books by Mark Rees
Ghosts of Wales
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
Halloween Folklore and Traditions of Wales: How to celebrate Nos Calan Gaeaf, the Welsh Halloween
Join cultural adventurer Mark Rees (author of Ghosts of Wales/ Paranormal Wales etc.) on this journey in search of the curious, dark, and at times macabre history and folklore of Nos Calan Gaeaf, the Welsh Halloween.
One of three spirit nights, it was a time for fun and festivities, but also a time of apprehension, and to beware the supernatural creatures abroad.
On this episode we will explore:
The Gothic lore involving the wind blowing over the feet of corpses.
The significance of seeing well-dressed apparitions appear in the parish church.
How to celebrate in the traditional Welsh manner with ghost stories and fairy tales around a giant log fire.
The return of the dreaded Hwch Ddu Gwta, the terrifying black sow.
How you can predict who will die in the coming 12 months.
And how to protect yourself from the witches who takes to the skies on Halloween.
All of these questions and more will be explored in this Halloween episode of the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast.
Halloween in Wales: 5 special episodes
October is the Halloween takeover month on the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales podcast, and this is the fourth of five stand-alone specials.
For a full list of episodes check out the Halloween Specials podcast page.
What is Nos Calan Gaeaf?
In Celtic times, each day began at sunset.
October 31 - Nos Calan Gaeaf in Welsh, the night before Calan Gaeaf - marked the beginning of winter, and while it was a time for celebration, it was also a time of great foreboding and apprehension.
For more about Nos Calan Gaeaf, be sure to subscribe to the Ghosts & Folklore podcast which will be focusing on the festival all through October, and check out the book The A-Z of Curious Wales for lots more weird and wonderful facts.
What is the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast?
Join Mark Rees (author of Ghosts of Wales/ Paranormal Wales etc.) as he explores the weird and wonderful history of Wales.
The world’s first podcast dedicated to Welsh ghost stories, folklore, myths and legends, GHOSTS & FOLKLORE OF WALES combines Mark’s research and insights from his books and articles with long-lost tales from some ancient tomes into a truly unique podcast experience.
New episodes are uploaded every Thursday, and feature everything from real-life encounters with pesky poltergeists to the fantastical beasts from the Mabinogion,
Be sure to subscribe, and for more details and to get in touch with Mark Rees, please visit:
Mark Rees homepage
Mark Rees on social media
Books by Mark Rees
Ghosts of Wales podcast
Thursday Oct 15, 2020
Thursday Oct 15, 2020
Halloween in Wales: The secret history of Nos Calan Gaeaf
In Wales, October 31 is a magical night when ghosts, fairies, and all manner of supernatural creatures may be encountered.
On this special Halloween podcast episode, join Mark Rees ( author of Ghosts of Wales/ Paranormal Wales etc.) as he goes in search of the secret origins of Nos Calan Gaeaf, the Welsh Halloween.
In the early 1900s a pioneering American author from New England published what is considered to be the first history of Halloween, and by using that as our starting point for the spookiest day of the year we will uncover:
The role the Welsh Druids played in shaping Halloween.
How witches transformed people into standing stones.
The fairies, pixies and ghosts lurking at the dark crossroads.
The dreaded Hwch Ddu Gwta, a terrifying supernatural pig that chased merrymakers home after the witching hour.
How huge bonfires were lit during harvest festivals long before the arrival of Christianity.
How to predict who will die in the coming year on All Hallows' Eve.
And the really important questions - could young girls really predict who their future husbands by throwing a knife into a field of leeks after dark?
All of these questions and more will be explored in this special Halloween episode of the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast!
Halloween in Wales: 5 special episodes
October is the Halloween takeover month on the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales podcast, and this is the third of five stand-alone specials.
For a full list of episodes check out the Halloween Specials podcast page.
What is Nos Calan Gaeaf?
In Celtic times, each day began at sunset.
October 31 - Nos Calan Gaeaf in Welsh, the night before Calan Gaeaf - marked the beginning of winter, and while it was a time for celebration, it was also a time of great foreboding and apprehension.
For more about Nos Calan Gaeaf, be sure to subscribe to the Ghosts & Folklore podcast which will be focusing on the festival all through October, and check out the book The A-Z of Curious Wales for lots more weird and wonderful facts.
What is the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast?
Join Mark Rees (author of Ghosts of Wales/ Paranormal Wales etc.) as he explores the weird and wonderful history of Wales.
The world’s first podcast dedicated to Welsh ghost stories, folklore, myths and legends, GHOSTS & FOLKLORE OF WALES combines Mark’s research and insights from his books and articles with long-lost tales from some ancient tomes into a truly unique podcast experience.
New episodes are uploaded every Thursday, and feature everything from real-life encounters with pesky poltergeists to the fantastical beasts from the Mabinogion,
Be sure to subscribe, and for more details and to get in touch with Mark Rees, please visit:
Mark Rees homepage
Mark Rees on social media
Books by Mark Rees
Ghosts of Wales podcast
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
The Welsh jack-o’-lantern is far more terrifying than some carved pumpkin.
While the image of a grinning orange vegetable might be a modern-day staple of Halloween, in Wales it was traditionally carved from a swede and was known as Jack y Lantern.
This "dreaded ghost" was thought to be a diabolical form of corpse candle that would lure lonely travellers away to a fate worse than death in the dark forests at night, and it could even be working in conjunction with the hobgoblins, fairies, or even the Devil himself.
In this eerie episode of the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales podcast, MARK REES (author of Ghosts of Wales/ Paranormal Wales etc.) recalls a long-lost real-life encounter from the archives in which a "respectable" man encounters a Jack y Lantern one dark lonely night.
In this case he lives to tell the tale, but then he returns to that haunted spot a second time to confirm that his eyes were not deceiving him, and that's when things get even spookier...
Halloween in Wales
October is the Halloween takeover month on the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales podcast, and this is the second of five stand-alone specials.
For a full list of episodes check out the Halloween Specials podcast page.
Nos Calan Gaeaf
In Celtic times, each day began at sunset. October 31 - Nos Calan Gaeaf in Welsh, the night before Calan Gaeaf - marked the beginning of winter, and while it was a time for celebration, it was also a time of great apprehension.
For more about Nos Calan Gaeaf, be sure to listen to the Ghosts & Folklore podcast all through October and check out The A-Z of Curious Wales.
Thursday Oct 01, 2020
Thursday Oct 01, 2020
The History of Halloween:
Join Mark Rees (author of Ghosts of Wales/ Paranormal Wales etc.) for a whirlwind tour through the history of All Hallows' Eve.
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 the big question on everyone's lips... how did American housewives host the perfect Halloween party at the turn of the 20th century?
All this and more will be explored in this Halloween special of the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast!
Halloween in Wales: 5 special episodes
October is the Halloween takeover month on the Ghosts & Folklore of Wales podcast, and this is the first of five stand-alone specials.
While this episode takes a look at the bigger picture of how Halloween is celebrated around the world as well as Wales, subsequent episodes will look more closely at Nos Calan Gaeaf and such traditions as Jack y Lantern, the Welsh jack-o'-lantern, and the dreaded supernatural ghosts and goblins which were abroad ahead of the first day of winter.
For a full list of episodes check out the Halloween Specials podcast page.
What is Nos Calan Gaeaf?
In Celtic times, each day began at sunset.
October 31 - Nos Calan Gaeaf in Welsh, the night before Calan Gaeaf - marked the beginning of winter, and while it was a time for celebration, it was also a time of great foreboding and apprehension.
For more about Nos Calan Gaeaf, be sure to subscribe to the Ghosts & Folklore podcast which will be focusing on the festival all through October, and check out the book The A-Z of Curious Wales for lots more weird and wonderful facts.