EP116 Sacred Fire of Beltane: Strange superstitions & magical rites of the May Day festival celebrated by the ancient Druids of Britain. Explore the lore on the Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast

Ghosts and Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees

What happened during the biggest fire festival of the ancient druids of Britain?

Welsh folklore tells us that the British pagans loved nothing more than a big bonfire to mark special occasions, from the Summer Solstice to the Winter Solstice, and Midsummer to Samhain. But there was one fire festival to rule them all, the biggest fire festival of all, and precursor to May Day: Beltane.

Explore the lore with Mark Rees (Ghosts of Wales) on the Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast... if you dare!

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What is the Ghosts and Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees podcast?

The "Ghosts and Folklore of Wales" podcast explores Welsh ghosts and ghost stories, lore, myths and legends.

Launched by author and journalist Mark Rees in early 2020, this weird and wonderful podcast takes a fascinating look at the country's countless curious subjects by combining decades of research and insights from many books and articles with long-lost tales from dusty old tomes.

Ranging from "real life" encounters with the uncanny to fantastical adventures from the Mabinogion, new episodes are uploaded every other (Folklore) Thursday and feature everything from pesky poltergeists to fire-breathing dragons and the odd wicked, and not-so-wicked, witch.

Along with the regular stories you can also expect the odd special guest, an occasional "live" ghost hunt, and all sorts of crazy ideas. Seasonal specials include the dark folklore and Gothic Halloween (Nos Calan Gaeaf) traditions of old, to everyone's favourite skulled-skulled Christmas visitor, the Mari Lwyd herself.

Dare you explore haunted Wales? From the sublime mountains and cascading waterfalls to the bustling cities and a remote farm, think of it as opening the Welsh The X-Files... and some tenuous Ghostbusters links!

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a spooky episode, 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

It's spooky time!