Ep 67: Patrick Harpur: Daimons and The Otherworld

To kick off series 7 we are joined by author, Patrick Harpur who is well known to many of us for his book, Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld. I also highly recommend reading The Philosopher’s Secret Fire: A History of the Imagination which sheds a lot of light on the sorts of experiences we hear about on this show, along with his other non-fiction book, A Complete Guide to the Soul.

Here we talk about Patrick’s family’s relationship with the Otherworld and whether an openness to their existence aids the potential for personal encounters. We ponder the eccentricity of our modern western culture in denying the existence of daimons and Patrick offers ideas about which gods may be ruling us at this time. 

I hope you enjoy this discussion. Let me know on Instagram and Twitter.

⭐️ In the bonus episode on Patreon⭐️

Patrick reveals his fascinating, childhood treasure-finding experience. Locating treasure is very much connected with beings from the fairy realm. It’s a lovely share.

To watch this exclusive chat join us on Patreon 👇

Warning: These are not fairytales. The Modern Fairy Sightings Podcast is designed for viewers and listeners 16 years and older. This show is unsuitable for children or anyone who might be sensitive to creepy content.

Shownotes

I mention an encounter with a werewolf-type being in Ep 14, the Guardian of the Mountain episode.

Patrick mentions his sister, Merrily Harpur’s book, Mystery Big Cats

If you enjoy the show, please consider sharing your favourite episodes with friends. Don't forget to rate and subscribe wherever you listen, and if you can, please support by joining The Curious Crew on Patreon

Want to report a sighting?

Contact me at: scarlettofthefae@gmail.com
If you love the show and want support it and join our loving community you can find us at Patreon 

Ep 66: Bethan and Icy talk Welsh and Northumbrian Fairylore!

✨ In this second and final Summer Guest Host Takeover special* I’m delighted to introduce two more spectacular human beings:  Bethan Briggs-Miller of Eerie Essex and Spectre of the Sea and Icy Sedgwick of Fabulous Folklore with Icy

🧌🧚🏻‍♀️ Icy and Bethan share encounters from their original homelands, discuss psychic home-clearing and whether it works, muse on fairy/human interactions and even divulge their own personal relationships with potential Otherworldly beings! 

The video version of this episode will release on YouTube one week after the audio release.

*JO HICKEY-HALL RETURNS SEPT 3rd with a new series ⚡️⚡️

⭐️ In the bonus episode on Patreon⭐️ 

✨🧘🏼‍♀️🧘🏽✨Jo provides a guided visualisation meditation to rebalance and aid your direction during this tricky time of transition. 

Warning: These are not fairytales. The Modern Fairy Sightings Podcast is designed for viewers and listeners 16 years and older. This show is unsuitable for children or anyone who might be sensitive to creepy content.

Shownotes

🥔** Bethan Briggs-Miller  is a folklorist, artist and co-host of two podcasts:  Eerie Essex (along with Ailsa Clarke)and Spectre of the Sea, which she creates with Owen Staton. Both shows are incredibly entertaining. Bethan has also appeared on Help! My House is Haunted.

**listen to the show for the potato reference 🤣

Contact Bethan on socials:
https://www.instagram.com/bethanbriggsmillerart/
https://www.facebook.com/bethan.r.jones.37
https://twitter.com/BethanJones9


👻 Icy Sedgwick is a folklore blogger and host of the Fabulous Folklore podcast. She is also a fiction author of dark fantasy, supernatural mysteries, Gothic horror and Westerns. Her fascination with the occult began at an early age when her mum bought her a copy of Ghosts and Legends of Northumbria!

Contact Icy by email at: icy@icysedgwick.com and socials:
https://www.facebook.com/miss.icy.sedgwick
https://www.instagram.com/icysedgwick
https://twitter.com/IcySedgwick

🌷🌸Thanks so much to Icy and Bethan and to our previous hosts, Claire and Kate. What a fabulous bunch of women 👏 I feel very grateful to be sharing this project with my friends and I really appreciate all their support. 

💚 Get in touch with The Modern Fairy Sightings Podcast on Instagram and Twitter and let me know which bits you enjoyed most. I loved hearing about Icy and Bethan’s own encounters and the story of the Silkie of Denton Hall – that one has fascinated me for years. 

For more on fairies in houses, check out these previous episodes:
Episode 10: Stay or Go?
Episode 18: Chat with Thomas Freese, Researcher of the Strange
Episode 37: Paolo Sammut: Gnomes and Fetches in the Home

Subscribe, rate, review and share the wonder ❤️✨

If you enjoy the show, please consider sharing your favourite episodes with friends. Don't forget to rate and subscribe wherever you listen, and if you can, please support by joining The Curious Crew on Patreon

Want to report a sighting?

Contact me at: scarlettofthefae@gmail.com
If you love the show and want support it and join our loving community you can find us at Patreon 


Episode 14: Guardian of the Mountain

In this first episode of series two 🎉 I chat with a guest who encounters an Otherworldly creature that we are quite familiar with in folklore. His response to the experience is admirable and most interesting. It’s a great example of how faith, and spiritual connection (of any kind!) can aid us in our most challenging moments.

Warning: These are not fairytales and the content is unsuitable for children. Some episodes may contain details which some may find unsettling or frightening. The Modern Fairy Sightings Podcast is designed for listeners 16 years and older.

Please Support Modern Fairy Sightings

Become a Patron!

Black Dog Folklore

Black Dog sightings abound in folklore collections, and sightings continue to be reported, particularly in the UK but all over the world. Many of us are familiar with the image of the Hound of the Baskervilles, but these supernatural beasts appear in a great number of forms and are known by various names in the UK depending on the location: ‘Barguest’, ‘Black Shuck’, ‘Capelthwaite’, ‘Freyburg’, to name but a few.

Folklore author, Mark Norman’s book, Black Dog Folklore is an excellent study of the subject and features a multitude of sightings and traditions in the UK.

Here’s an interesting snippet. A letter from one mid-century Devonshire-based folklorist to another, about a trackway sighting:

“The Black Dog who guards the ancient trackway from West Quantoxhead towards Crowcombe was sighted rushing down the steep sides of the Deer Park one late autumn evening. It was seen by a motor-cyclist who could not make out what animal it was: ‘about the size of a large pig – and what puzzled me was its coat looked like ruffled feathers. It was black and something like a dog, it moved like one but I have never met anything like it before or since.’ This was an unusual extension of the Dog’s known patrol.” (Ruth L. Tongue in personal correspondence to Theo Brown, 19th September 1960) (Norman, 2015, pp. 37).

Simon Young’s ‘Fairy Census’ (2014-2017) also contains a number of references to contemporary black dog sightings. Here’s one from Britain that appears to be connected with a house and another from the US, which preceded the respondent’s own pet dog’s death:

§191) (Wales, Female; 1990s).A friend and I were home one evening relaxing, my dog was out the front garden, it was late autumn, we had candles lit, listening to music, discussing spirituality/religion etc as was our passion at that time. We heard my dog a spaniel scratching the front door to come in, my friend went into the hall leaving the lounge door open to open the front door for the dog. I was sitting in my chair and could clearly see two metres or so out into the hall. I heard a commotion, like an animal’s feet running and looked out into the hall expecting to see Ben my spaniel come running into the room. I saw a man-sized ‘animal like’ creature run past and up the stairs, and heard the heavy sound of it running up on all fours, as it shot up the stairs. It was, I’d say, if standing, five foot five inches maybe more, it was sort of human crossed with an animal, I could see brownish leathery tough skin with coarse black hair sporadically growing out of its body, its head had a large flattened snout, crinkled and wrinkled like someone had forced its nose into its face, and upward protruding teeth. My friend heard it, but curiously did not see it. The dog had not come in and was still out in the garden. Over a period of a few years, I and visitors to the house would see red lights, like eyes, at night up on the landing and stairs and a few occasions hear the running up the stairs, like a very large dog. I am convinced it was a faery, a pooka, or some other thing. The house got renovated in later years and all occurrences stopped.’ ‘A large black dog, crossed with human characteristics and some other beast. Red eyes. Upward big fangs from bottom jaw. Flat large squashed in snout giving the face an ugly quite fierce expression.’ ‘Heard its running up the stairs on many occasions.’ ‘It was an old house, we held seances there, groups of friends into the paranormal would gather here over a few years, it was quite a hotspot of activity until its renovation.’ ‘It seemed like an elemental it seemed connected to the land the area the house. After renovation it stopped, it was definitely connected to the old untouched energy, before modernisation. We tried to use candles and hardly watched TV, preferring soft music at our groups of spiritual exploration there. There were a lot of experiences, by myself and others at that time.’

§273) (US (Illinois). Male; 1990s) ‘I distinctly remember this happening to me during January at 2:06 am when I was fifteen. I was lying in bed with the blinds closed and my bedroom door closed and locked. I had been asleep, but something prompted me to wake up immediately. I looked towards my bedroom door and saw a Black Dog with glowing green eyes and its tongue hanging out running from that side of my bedroom to the other side, near the foot of my bed. As the dog reached the foot of my bed, it disappeared into the shadows and never returned. I stayed awake for a few more minutes to record the time on my alarm clock and think about what happened. Then I went back to sleep. While the Black Dog was running, it made no noise whatsoever, not even the sound of its nails hitting the floor. I think it may have been running on the air rather than the actual floorboards. It didn’t seem to notice me despite my staring directly at it. I’m not sure how I could see its shape or its eyes glow when there were no lights on anywhere. How it got into and left my room is also a mystery. Its body shape was similar to my own dog at the time – labrador retriever with a slightly pointed nose and skinnier legs. To this day I’m not sure if it was a fairy dog or my dog’s doppelganger, since she died a couple months later.’

There are also a number of really great blog posts on the subject here and here

And if you’re into Gothic horror fiction Icy Sedgwick’s book, Black Dog & Other Gothic Tales, comes recommended.

References and recommended further reading/listening:

Howard Hughes’ Unexplained Podcast, Episode 351 Beasts of Britain

McGrath A.M.L. (2017) Beasts of Britain, independently published

Norman, M. (2015) Black Dog Folklore, London: Troy Books

Young, S. (ed) (2018) The Fairy Census 2014-2017. Accessed online at: http://www.fairyist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/The-Fairy-Census-2014-2017-1.pdf on 13/06/2021

Blogs:
https://www.davidcastleton.net/black-dog-legends-england-britain-ghosts-hellhounds/

http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/bdogfl.htm