Mok O'Keeffe didn't believe in ghosts until he bought a castle in Wales. Now the 56-year-old baronial Lord of Glenbach bosses them around — telling spirits to leave when they keep him up at night.
But his journey from devastation to paranormal landlord began in 2010, when his world fell apart in London. "I lost my entire family within two years," he said. His brother Andrew died at 44; his father died the day after Andrew's funeral. His mother lost her full mental capacity. Mok lost his job and sold his house under duress, living on £20 a week.
“Mok O'Keeffe, who lost his family, now bosses ghosts in his £900,000 Welsh castle after buying it near Abergavenny.”
Andrew had asked Mok to help raise his three nieces with his sister-in-law. "My mother went into a care facility around the corner. I was doing school runs, seeing my mother in the morning and in the evening, and trying to start a business. I was in a terrible way," Mok said.
Using savings, he bought a small cottage in Gloucestershire, where he unexpectedly met Joe — the love of his life. "Life is a journey, and if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have met Joe. Or Gladys," Mok said. "I met Joe in a little village just near Highgrove, where King Charles lives. I thought I was the only gay in the village. What was the likelihood I would meet a man, fall in love and marry him?"
The couple moved to Wales five years ago so Joe could be nearer his family. For £900,000, they bought a "baby castle" — a five-bedroom home with Elizabethan roots, a turret and a title near Abergavenny. Mok now posts about his experiences on YouTube and Instagram as @Lifewithmok.
The previous owner warned him: "This house is haunted." She said she'd been lifted and carried down the stairs. Mok replied: "I don't believe in that nonsense. But I do now."
When he moved in, he told the ghosts he was happy to share the house but they must leave him alone. They did — for a few months. Then he started seeing moving figures and lights flickering on and off.
Delving into the castle's past, he uncovered a sinister history. Hundreds of years before, people were taken to what is now Wales' most haunted pub — the Skirrid Mountain Inn — for execution. The night before they were hanged, they would sleep in what is now Mok's bedroom. "I didn't believe in ghosts until I bought my castle, now I boss them around," Mok said, describing how he now commands the spirits. A psychic has confirmed dark forces are at work in the castle, but Mok remains unafraid — a man who lost everything and found a haunted home, a husband, and a life he never expected.
