Podcast episodes

The episode opens with the 1828 poem "The Benighted Traveller", then moves to the history and tales of fairies and the Lambton Worm at Penshaw Monument near Sunderland. This episode's archives story relates a case of mistaken identity in 1848, followed by the second story of the day which looks at the history and ghostlore of Knaresdale Hall in Northumberland and the poor girl drowned in a pond for catching her brother and aunt doing naughty things... the episode then concludes with a 19th century superstition on how to cancel a betwitchment... if you don't mind getting sore knuckles...

Episode 22 starts with the origins of Burns Night and a look at the folklore surrounding Scotland's national dish, haggis. From there the episode turns to Durham City and the tale of Sir John Duck and the Raven, before heading across to Northumberland for a swift peek at the ghosts of The Lord Crewe Arms in Blanchland. From there, the Boggart gives a reading from the 1850 book "The Phantom World, or the philosophy of spirits, apparitions" before concluding with another 1962 from the archives tale of Blyth's 'Peter the Poltergeist'.

As the podcast sneaks into 2024, The Boggart starts the New Year with a report of a ghost in Sunderland in 1786, then moves on to give a rapid tour of some UK-wide and North East ghosts and hauntings associated with World War II, including brief glimpses at The North East Aircraft Museum, Harperley POW Camp and the Grainger Market in Newcastle. The episode is rounded off with a look at some Northern English and Scottish New Year traditions, including first footing and not letting your fire go out...

Episode 20 marks the Boggart's 2023 Christmas episode, and the last episode of 2023. For the Scrooges among you, the episode delves into the non-festive tale of The Hexham Heads, before then plunging into the folklore surrounding this festive season. There's also a shoutout to two of my favourite podcasts - The Three Ravens and The Whispering Woods. I hope you have a fantastic festive season, and see you all in 2024!

In this Episode, The Boggart looks at the Alpine tradition of Krampus, the half-goat demon said to punish naughty children on the eve of the 5th December, and how the story has developed in time, becoming a political tool in the first half of the 20th century, and also how Krampus may have influenced the United States cryptid known as the Goatman...

Episode 18 finds the Boggart telling the tale of the haunting of the Harperley Hotel near Stanley (North East UK) while hosting the Do Business Network (DBN) After Dark Halloween Networking Event. 

Episode 17 opens with some ghostly tales from Washington Old Hall, Tyne and Wear, ancestral home to the first President of the United States. Then we move northwest to a ghost tale from 1841 in Galashiels, before heading to Yorkshire for the folk tale of the Giant of Penhill. The episode finishes with a strange listener submitted tale about a pair of haunted boots...

Episode 16 sees in the Autumn Equinox in the UK with two dark tales from Northumberland... the grisly fates of William Winter and his murderous accomplices (warning... it ain't pleasant...) and then the ghostly bridal party of Featherstone Castle, said to be seen in nearby Pynkin’s Cleugh on the 17th January every year. As well as this we hear the folk custom of 'breaking rainbows' and also the 'from the archives' account of a poltergeist in Embleton in 1957.