Author: Tony Liddell

The tale of the White Lady of Blenkinsopp Castle in Northumberland, said to be the ghost of the wife of Sir Bryan de Blenkinsopp doomed to haunt the castle until her buried and hidden treasure is found... then we follow the Blenkinsopp line to Bellister Castle where an unfortunate minstrel met a grisly death and haunted the Baron til his dying day as the Grey Man of Bellister. This episode's archive story comes from the Berwickshire News and General Advertiser, with a ghost story dated 6th June 1905 recanting the tale of the ghost of the Holy Pool at Melrose Abbey. The episode finishes with a look at the whimsical superstition of 'The Sign of Life'...

Episode 11 delves into the story of the Radiant Boy of Corby Castle in Cumbria, an entity described as a boy with golden hair glowing with golden light: whose appearance spells both good fortune and an untimely death for the viewer. Then we cross over into County Durham for the story of the Witch of Easington, said to shapeshift into a hare when out and about - then we also look at stories from Northumberland that bear striking similarities. Finally, we look into the archives at an article from the local press in 1955 detailing the history of Marsen Grotto near Sunderland, and its resident helpful poltergeist...

In Episode 10, the podcast reveals listener stories from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, then delves very briefly into the five thousand years of mermaid folklore, as well as looking at the docufiction production on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel ten years ago that made US watchers definitely afraid to go back in the ocean...

This episode looks at the legend of the Derwent Giants: Cor, Ben and Con, then we look at the case of the Grey Lady of the Newcastle upon Tyne Old Assembly Rooms. Following that we have a 19th century description of what a wraith or waff was, concluding with paranormal investigation accounts at The Bay Horse in Stamfordham, Northumberland.

The haunting of the mill house at Willington Dene, near Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne was one of the country's most famous hauntings in the early 19th century. It was also one of the most well documented, with a diary being kept of many of the occurrences, as well as witness statements. It has also been subject to wild speculation, especially in recent years. Unlike previous episodes, Episode 8 concentrates on the one story rather than multiple short stories, and examines the known history and the actual accounts of the haunting rather than the embellished stories that have been presented in recent decades. This story is usually called 'The Willington Mill Haunting' or 'The Willington Mill Poltergeist' - but the original stories were from the HOUSE (built in 1800) which was built before the mill (opened in 1806), NOT the mill itself. In this episode we'll look to see how the mill itself gained its reputation.

Episode 7 contains the following stories - a look at the Cauld (pronounced 'cowled' and meaning 'cold') Lad of Hylton's origins, from the brownie of folklore to the ghost of a 17th century stablehand - and a look at the recorded history behind it. Then we move on to a small collection of alleged paranormal sightings along the length of Dere Street Roman Road (recorded while actually excavating part of the road), followed by a look at the hauntings of Crook Hall in Durham. The podcast episode concludes with a (very) short ghost tale in Newcastle followed by a look in the archives at 'Occult Hooliganism' in 1913...

Episode 6 contains the following stories - the ghosts and Barguest of Glassensikes, Darlington, followed by the case of the Bronte Street poltergeist in Gateshead, 1963-4. This is followed by an account of a haunting in Ilfracombe Gardens, Whitley Bay in 1977. There are then three stories recorded via interview with John and Madeline Bell back in 2010, finishing with a small article from the Kelso Chronicle of 1845...

Episode 5 contains an update on the Within the Boggart Wood project, then stories on three ghosts in Lanchester, County Durham, the 19th century tale of the Hedley Kow (a mischievous goblin, bogle or demon depending on your viewpoint) and then finally a listener story detailing a potential UFO encounter near Hexham in the 1970s.

Covid-19 Lockdown encounters | The Ghosts of the Cooperage | Encounters with Silky (19th century Northumbrian folklore spirit)