Modern Fairy Sightings Podcast Archives

Ep 60: Owen Staton Storyteller: Welsh Fairies and Legends

I chat with Owen Staton, host of storytelling podcast, Time Between Times and Spectre of the Sea, an atmospheric thriller series weaving Welsh legend and folklore, which he co-hosts with Bethan Briggs-Miller (pictured above). We are treated to not one but TWO fantastic stories…including my personal favourite about the Tylwyth Teg (Welsh Fae folk) plus we hear Welsh legend, Gwion and the Witch .

We hear about Owen’s childhood orb experience and he recounts some strange occurrences that took place during his days working as a police officer in south Wales.

Get yourselves comfortable and settle down for this tremendous treat of a storytelling session. Warning: while listening to Owen’s stories do not drive or operate machinery.

Main Image: Owen and Bethan Briggs-Miller host Spectre of the Sea.

⭐️Join the Curious Crew to support the show and access bonus content 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.

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Owen hosts ‘Spectre of the Sea’ podcast with Bethan Briggs-Miller.

Two Bonus Patreon Episodes!

⭐️The first bonus episode on Patreon is a Pixie talk by Claire Casely, fairy researcher and Host of Faery Whispering Podcast, who lives in Devon. As a further bonus, Owen will join The Curious Crew on Patreon, 22nd August for a Zoom chat, Q and A plus an exclusive story-time.⭐️

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 59: The Burgundy Kingdom – Shropshire Fairies

This episode, full of childhood encounters, holds a particularly enchanting quality. As a sick child lies in bed, he is visited by pixies. On another occasion, at the end of the Second World War, a terrifying goblin appears at the end of his bed. A member of the same family later experiences a bedtime parade of magical wonders. Her resulting dream journeys to a ‘Burgundy Kingdom’ makes her wish dearly that she could return.

Some of those experiences are beautiful and wondrous while others are quite unsettling. A further reminder that this podcast is not suitable for children or for those who are sensitive to creepy content.

⭐️On the bonus episode we hear more about the history of the house including a particularly unnerving event which took place soon after the passing of its owner. In that same bonus we will hear about our guest’s experience at the famous 800 year old oak tree, Old Knobbly in Essex.⭐️

Main Image: ‘The Sleepless Child’ by H. Stratton from ‘Songs for Little People’ (1896)

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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.

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

Ep 58: Professor Ronald Hutton’s Encounter with a Leannán Sídhe

Professor Ronald Hutton of University of Bristol

Professor Ronald Hutton, a leading expert on ancient and medieval paganism and magic, shares an Otherworldly encounter which took place near the Ring of Kerry on the west coast of Ireland, during his twenties.

We discuss his personal experience and he offers what traditional fairylore can tell us about modern encounters with the Unseen.

A video version of this interview is available on Patreon. An exclusive bonus episode will follow this coming week!

⭐️Join the Curious Crew to support the show and access bonus content on Patreon ⭐️

Please subscribe, rate and share this podcast 💚

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 56: London Goblins Pt 2 “They Live Among Us”

Following Episode 55: Terrified by Goblins in my London Flat, in this second part of our interview, my guest reveals what was going on in her life at the time of the encounter. She describes the sense of trauma that these types of experiences can sometimes leave you with.

We also discuss her childhood and how home environment, family traditions and beliefs can encourage children’s imaginations to foster a sense of limitless possibility, which can continue into adulthood.`

⭐️ In the bonus episode on Patreon, we hear some further reflections from our guest about the location where the events took place. Join us there for just £3 a month and get access to the Discord group, Zoom chats and meet each other at exclusive events ⭐️

This episode features amazing FAN ART inspired by the previous episode by artist and listener of the show, Jonathan Dodd. Thank you Jonathan for allowing me to share your creation! Our guest said that she felt the artwork will either help listeners visualise the situation or give them nightmares! She said she remembers them, “looking a bit different to this (much more evil, dirty and intense) but the green bodies, angle and the window behind is really very good and it’s a wonderful picture.”

Main image: ‘The Goblins That Watch You Poo’ by Jonathan Dodd inspired by the previous episode.

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Show notes

Image Reddit: https://i.redd.it/mamehuq8as141.jpg

Hypnopompia

Our guest rising in the night to use the loo provides a potential hypnopompic aspect to the event. The state when we are still heavy with sleep and not quite awake is called hypnopompia relating to the Greek words hýpnos, meaning “sleep,” and pompḗ, meaning “a sending away”.

We may gain access to the unconscious mind during these times as we’re not fully integrated in the material world but hovering at an etheric level where we can access enlightening information and visions.

Visionaries such as Salvador Dali, Mary Shelley and Thomas Edison enlisted these states for inspiration, by holding objects in their hands while relaxing. When their hands became limp as they fell into a sleep state, the object’s falling clattering noise would arouse them. That altered state allowed them to access ideas and visions from deep within their consciousness.

Here’s a nice article on hypnogogia (altered state when going into sleep): https://lonerwolf.com/hypnagogia/

Old Maps Online

I mentioned this website https://www.oldmapsonline.org/ which can overlay historical maps with contemporary ones.

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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 55: Terrified by Goblins in my London Flat!

In 2018, after months of unusual phenomena in her London flat, a woman finally came face to face with the troublesome culprits. During a night time trip to the bathroom she was horrified to see two goblins, stacked one atop the other, peering at her from the threshold of the door.

Since that time, she has struggled to come to terms with the reality of what happened. In our western society, people are wholly unaccepting that these experiences take place, least of all that they could ever happen in urban areas.

We discuss the events that finally led to that night, her relationship with the flat, which had always unnerved visitors and how the decision to share her story was not taken lightly.

Is it purely location that invokes these visitations? What other factors are involved? We discuss aspects of liminality including thresholds, stages of life and geographical landmarks.

✨In the bonus episode on Patreon, I narrate several other modern encounters which bear a striking resemblance to our guest’s experience. Join us there for just £3 a month and get access to the Discord group and regular events.✨

Main image: Created by the guest as a close likeness of the one of the goblins she saw in her flat.

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Show notes

Briggs, K. (1976) An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies and Other Supernatural Creatures. New York: Pantheon Books.

Bathing Fairies of Ilkley on Boggart and Banshee Podcast (Simon Young and Chris Woodyard)

Bord, J. (1997) Fairies: Real Encounters with Little People. London: Michael O’Mara Books

Goblin Market, Christina Rossetti (composed in 1859 and published in 1862)

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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 53: Dartmoor Gnomes and Seer Lineage

Another delve into the original interview recordings I made in early 2017 when the Modern Fairy Sightings Project first launched. Mark Norman and I were at the time researching for the Devon chapter in Simon Young’s book Magical Folk.

One particular woman responded to a poster I’d pinned up in Dartmoor, calling for people to contact with their fairy encounters! We spoke about her family history with fairies and her own understandings of the Otherworld.

Later on in the show, I share more reported fairy sightings on Dartmoor featured in Janet Bord’s book, Fairies: Real Encounters with Little People.

In the bonus episode on Patreon, we explore 20th century Dartmoor folklore by Theo Brown, which mentions a few stories of sightings in Postbridge, not far from Bovey Tracey, where our guest had lived.

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Shownotes

Janet Bord’s Fairies: Real Encounters with Little People (1997)

Theo Brown’s Tales of a Dartmoor Village: Some Preliminary Notes of the Folklore of Postbridge (1973)

Susan Chittenden’s A Romance of Two Worlds (2021) (pls email me for Susan’s contact)

J. R. W. Coxhead – Devon Traditions and Fairytales (1959)

Edward L. Gardner: Fairies: A Book of Real Fairies (1974)

Marjorie T. Johnson’s (Simon Young ed) Seeing Fairies: From the Lost Archives of the Fairy Investigation Society, Authentic Reports of Fairies in Modern Times (2019)

Dermot MacManus Middle Kingdom: The Faerie World of Ireland (1980)

Simon Young’s Magical Folk: British and Irish Fairies: 500AD to the Present (2020)

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

Ep 52: Interview with Kate ‘Hare Girl’ Ray

I speak with paranormal investigator, Kate ‘Hare Girl’ Ray from her excellent YouTube podcast show, Hare in the Hawthorn.

Originally hailing from Nottingham, Kate has a particular interest in the Wollaton Gnomes case, and is a published author on the subject. She also writes for Haunted Magazine and creates magnificent mushroom-related art pieces in her spare time!

Kate shares a gnome encounter that took place in her teens at the Uffington White Horse and describes the time she acted as a mediator between a troubled home owner and an angry French Fae being, for the TV show Help my House is Haunted. We also discuss the strange potency of this time we are living through.

A video version of this episode will release on The Modern Fairy Sightings YouTube channel next weekend.

In the bonus episode waiting for you on Patreon, Kate shares a shocking experience which left her terrified but offered a greater understanding and respect for the Fae. Join us there for access to a whole back catalogue of bonus episodes.

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Shownotes

In the main episode, Kate describes a being she saw on the way down to Wayland Smithy from the Uffington Horse. Here’s what she created in its likeness:

Likeness of a Fairy Being seen by Kate Ray in the bushes near Wayland Smithy

By Kate HareGirl Ray of Hare in the Hawthorn

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

Ep 49: Artist, Brett Manning discusses dreams, inspirations and magic rabbits

A beautiful in-depth chat with Brett Manning – a well known and much admired artist of the strange. Her new book, One Foot in the Green presents insightful and characterful interpretations of the Fae and cryptid beings.

Brett’s sense of the Otherworld is inspired by her own dreams and personal experiences. This chat is a really generous and open hearted discussion about her relationship with these beings and their realms.

Connect with Brett’s work on Instagram at BrettManningArt and BrettisaGirl on Etsy.

Hop over to the Patreon BONUS EPISODE to hear excerpts from Brett’s book, One Foot in the Green.

Content 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 do subscribe, rate and share this episode and support the podcast by joining Patreon if you can. Thank you

Podcast intro music: Transmutate by Snowflake (c) copyright 2020 Licensed. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Modern Fairy Sightings Green Man Artwork: Peter Hall Studios

Ep 46: A Series of English Encounters

My guest’s numerous encounters include a multiple witness sighting in some British woods, the story of a haunted fairy painting that you will never forget and a Samhain-timed brush with the Fae on Glastonbury Tor.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, our guest reveals that these experiences run in the family. Sit back, relax and listen to this fascinating collection of stories from a long-time experiencer of the Otherworld.

On the Patreon bonus episode, our guest describes a perilous visit to West Kennet Longbarrow...the scene of many strange encounters.

Main Image: ‘Glastonbury Tor by Moonlight 2’ by Peter Spencer49 on Flickr

Please do subscribe, rate and share this episode and support the podcast by joining Patreon if you can. Thank you ❤️

Podcast intro music: Transmutate by Snowflake (c) copyright 2020 Licensed. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Modern Fairy Sightings Green Man Artwork: Peter Hall Studios

Ep 43: “Listen to your kids…they are closer to the soul world”

My guest describes how he supported and encouraged his son’s explorations and experiences with beings from the Otherworld.

I previously spoke to his son, Tristan (now aged 27), in Ep 15 but here we hear about how, as a father, he became a scribe for Tristan’s mystical encounters. Their moonlit forest walks, packed with extraordinary visions and interactions, were documented between the ages of 11 to 19 and form a collection called, The Books of Dreams and Visions (B.O.D.A.V.s).

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Warning: These are not fairytales. The Modern Fairy Sightings Podcast is designed for viewers and listeners 16 years and older and may contain creepy or frightening content.

Show notes

I mention using Insight Timer App. It’s free and has a wide variety of meditations and visualisations to listen to. Meditating every day, even for five minutes really aids wellbeing.

Our guest mentioned, Phantases: A Faery Romance by George McDonald and Moon Magic by Dion Fortune.

You can find The Books of Dreams and Visions Facebook group here.

Examples of some illustrations drawn by Tristan at the time of his experiences:

Bonus Episode

The bonus episode on Patreon continues the conversation and we hear what it was like to revisit all the ‘baby books’ and journals during the Covid lockdown of 2020.

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