Mark Rees tells Spooky Isles how a childhood fascination with ghosts, horror and folklore led him from newspaper journalism to becoming one of Wales’ best-known writers on ghosts, legends and the supernatural
Welsh author, journalist and folklore researcher Mark Rees has revealed how a childhood fascination with ghosts and horror films grew into a successful career exploring the strange stories of Wales.
Speaking on the Spooky Isles Podcast, Mark explained that his interest in the supernatural began long before he became known for books on Welsh ghosts, folklore and haunted history.
“It’s something that has always been there since childhood,” he said. “I grew up watching Ghostbusters and reading Dracula, so I’ve always been a little bit leaning towards the Gothic.”
The turning point came when he began working as a journalist.
Rather than simply rehashing the same haunted locations every Halloween, Mark used his position in the Welsh press to dig deeper into local stories.
“I felt like it was the same things that the paper was putting out year after year,” he said. “I thought, well, I’m interested in this stuff, so I’d like to go out and actually get feet on the ground and go and explore these places.”
His role gave him access to archives, local history and forgotten stories that never made it into print.
“One of the great things about working in a newspaper is that there is so much that doesn’t make the page that doesn’t get printed,” he said.
That research eventually led to his first book, Ghosts of Wales.
“It led to me being able to write my first book on the subject, which is coming up to its tenth anniversary,” he said. “I started off as an arts journalist and now, ten-plus years later, I’ve sort of morphed into the spooky bloke instead.”
Today, Mark Rees is busier than ever.
Alongside his books and academic research, he is one of the team behind Paranormal Unpacked, a YouTube channel investigating famous paranormal cases.
The project began after Mark and his colleagues tracked down witnesses connected to a famous Swansea poltergeist case from the 1960s.
“We hoped a few thousand people might watch it,” he said. “It’s gone past a hundred thousand now.”
The success of the channel has opened new opportunities and introduced him to a growing audience interested in folklore and paranormal history.
“It’s exploded,” he said. “Paranormal Unpacked has surprisingly become a big chunk of my day-to-day activities now.”
Away from YouTube, Mark is also working on new writing projects, including a major study of Halloween traditions.
“This Halloween I get to go and visit all of the attractions associated with Halloween in Britain and in Ireland as well,” he said.
“The irony is, if you say that to most journalists, it sounds like hell. I’m the one person who could enjoy that.”
Despite spending years investigating haunted locations, castles and ghost stories, Mark remains cautious when asked whether he believes in ghosts.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of people who believe in ghosts,” he said. “I 100% believe the people I’m interviewing do believe in what they’re saying.”
He added: “Until I’ve experienced it myself, I’m never going to be fully on board.”
For Mark Rees, the real value of folklore is not necessarily proving the supernatural, but understanding the people behind the stories.
“It ties in a lot more with social history than it does trying to prove anything supernatural,” he said.
Find out more about Mark Rees
- Website: https://markreesonline.com/
- Books: https://markreesonline.com/books/
- Ghosts & Folklore of Wales podcast: https://markreesonline.com/ghosts-folklore-wales/
- Paranormal Unpacked: https://www.youtube.com/@ParanormalUnpacked
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reviewwales/
