What could frighten a sceptical Victorian investigator so badly that he collapsed in terror and remembered almost nothing of the hours that followed? In the autumn of 1835, strange events reportedly began to disturb the peace of Willington Mill in Northumberland. What followed was a haunting that would become one…
Can paranormal investigators ever truly separate what they observe from what they already believe? And what happens when the search for answers begins to influence the evidence itself? In this episode of Haunted History Chronicles, I welcome back psychical researcher Ciaran Farrell for the first instalment of a fascinating series…
What if understanding a haunting means looking beyond the ghost? A shadow glimpsed in an empty room. An object moving without explanation. A sudden sensation that someone, or something, is watching. For centuries, experiences like these have inspired ghost stories, fuelled investigations and divided opinion. But what actually makes an…
What if everything you thought you knew about Voodoo was wrong? Beyond the Hollywood curses, sinister dolls and frightening stereotypes lies a spiritual tradition shaped by resilience, powerful women, ancestral connections and the belief that death need not sever our relationships with those who came before us. This week, we…
15th October, 1675. Torsåker, Sweden. Seventy-one people condemned for witchcraft. One day of executions that would leave a scar on Swedish history. The Torsåker witch trials of 1675 were the largest witch trials in Sweden's history. In a single day, 71 people — 65 women and six males, including four…
What is it about Jamaica Inn that refuses to let people go? Standing amid the rugged landscape of Bodmin Moor, the Inn has become inseparable from tales of smugglers, travellers, ghosts and, of course, Daphne du Maurier. Yet beneath the legends lies something even richer: generations of people whose lives…
On 9 October 1906, Rhoda Derry died at the institution that had finally offered her something she had been denied for much of her life: compassionate care. She was buried on the hospital grounds in grave 217. Today, her memorial bears words that transform this from simply another tale of…
On the night of 4–5 October 1930, the enormous British airship R101 set out on what was intended to be a pioneering flight to India. It would never reach its destination. In the early hours of 5 October, R101 came down near Beauvais in northern France. Fire engulfed the wreckage…
What happens when the Devil enters the courtroom? For centuries, that wasn't simply a theological question. There were times when courts treated Satan, demons and witchcraft as very real forces capable of corrupting bodies, destroying crops, causing death and driving human beings towards terrible acts. But as society changed, so…
What happens when a city doesn't simply remember its dead, but continues to live alongside them? In New Orleans, cemeteries are woven into the cityscape, generations of families carry stories of the unexplained, and traditions of prayer, Voodoo and ancestor veneration keep the boundary between the living and the dead…
On 23 September 1979, a group of primary school children took an evening walk through Wollaton Park in Nottingham — and returned with one of the strangest stories in British paranormal history. The children reported encountering dozens of tiny, gnome-like figures travelling around the park in small cars. According to…
What if the most extraordinary Gothic tale wasn't fiction at all? Born into wealth in New Orleans, Micaëla de Pontalba would endure betrayal, confinement, violence and an attempt on her life — yet somehow emerge unbroken, reshaping not only her own destiny but the city she called home. Her story…
What if magick isn't something supernatural at all — but something we've simply forgotten how to notice? This week, I’m joined by @PattiNegriGoodWitch to explore intuition, spirit communication and the paranormal — from haunted places and haunted dolls to the energies we may unknowingly create ourselves. It’s a conversation about…
How does someone shape an entire movement... and yet almost disappear from history? If you've explored Spiritualism, the paranormal or psychical research, you've almost certainly encountered the legacy of Maurice Barbanell—even if you've never recognised his name. In this episode, historian Dr Nick Richbell joins me to discuss his new…
On the night of the 31st August 1977, something began inside an ordinary council house in Enfield, North London, that would develop into one of the most famous—and fiercely disputed—poltergeist cases in history. At around 9:30pm, 11-year-old Janet Hodgson and her brother Johnny told their mother that something was moving…
There are landscapes where history never seems entirely past — where an ancient track, a ruined church, a lonely cave or a stretch of woodland can feel like a threshold between what we know and something altogether stranger. In this episode, we journey into the old borderlands of Mercia, exploring…
Why do some places suddenly feel unnaturally cold—and could there be more to it than a simple draught? In this episode of Haunted History Chronicles, I welcome back psychical researcher Ciaran Farrell to explore one of the most frequently reported yet least understood features of paranormal encounters: cold spots. Far…
On 21st August 1614, Erzsébet Báthory died imprisoned within the walls of Čachtice Castle. More than four centuries later, the woman remembered as the "Blood Countess" remains one of history's most infamous and controversial figures. Reputed to have been a vampire, the world's most prolific female serial killer, and a…
Why Do So Many Extraordinary Experiences Happen at Night? Last week, TyLean Tuijl challenged many of the assumptions surrounding possession, encouraging us to move beyond Hollywood stereotypes and consider a far more complex psychological, cultural and experiential picture. In this follow-up conversation, we explore another question that naturally emerged from…
On this day, 10 August 1901, two English women claimed to experience one of history's most famous and enduring paranormal mysteries – the Versailles Time Slip. While visiting the gardens of the Petit Trianon at the Palace of Versailles, Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain believed they had somehow stepped…
What does it really mean to be possessed? For centuries, stories of possession have been shaped by religion, folklore and popular culture. Films have taught us to expect dramatic exorcisms, distorted voices and supernatural battles between good and evil. But what if the reality is far more complex? Can possession…
How far would an institution go to explain the unexplained? In Part One, Ciaran Farrell recounted the childhood experiences that began in a haunted holiday home before, according to his account, following him into his boarding school. In Part Two, we explored how the alleged paranormal activity escalated, affecting pupils…
The story continues... In the first episode, Ciaran Farrell shared the extraordinary experiences that began with a family holiday to a reportedly haunted house in Broadstairs. What should have ended when the holiday was over instead followed him home and into his boarding school, where increasingly disturbing events drew the…
What happens when a haunted holiday doesn't end when you leave? In this extraordinary first part of a series of conversations, Ciaran Farrell shares the deeply personal story that shaped the rest of his life. What began as a family holiday in a supposedly haunted house in Kent soon became…