Ep 76: Otherworldly People: Encounter on the Thames

Jo Hickey-Hall speaks to Frank Scannella about his encounter next to the river in Walton-on-Thames in 1982. His story ‘Meeting Nicola’, was published in the, “It Happened To Me…” section of The Fortean Times (Issue 350, 2017).  This episode was also released as a video on YouTube.

The sense of uncanniness about this meeting has always stayed with Frank. There are many liminal aspects to consider: the proximity to water, crossing a bridge, the time of his life between studies. As well as this, various folklore motifs abound: black dog, dark man, strange stillness in the environment (Oz Factor) and the way that the beings appeared and disappeared in a mysterious manner.

Most of all, there was a sense that one cannot fully describe. But you will know, if you’ve ever had a brush with the Otherworld.

The main image is Frank’s own impression of ‘Nicola.’

⭐️ BONUS EPISODE ⭐️
In the bonus episode on Patreon I share related folklore about river-related merfolk, we hear some comparable encounters submitted to Simon Young’s Fairy Census and we end with a particularly unsettling story that was posted on Reddit. It is a strikingly similar experience of a young man who came into contact with a strange man along the river in York, England, featuring lost time and other very strange factors Both men view their experiences as near misses with beings from the Otherworld and feel lucky that they lived to tell the tale.

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.

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

Shownotes

Frank is the author of Sicilian Shadows – a compelling memoir of his struggle for survival in the heartland of the Mafia as a young boy.

The ‘Curious Folk’ tier is now available to join 

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 69: Beckoned by Forest and Lake: Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Our guest describes his extreme childhood experience in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, involving musical enchantment, levitation, loss of time and senses and deep connection to raw nature.

We hear how he was enchanted into the woods and ended up in a potentially life-threatening situation. Despite the intensity of the experience, he hold the view that it opened him up to a new way of seeing the world. A truly remarkable story and a much treasured share.

A second experience was described during our conversation. It is just as amazing as the first and will be released nearer winter solstice.

TRIGGER WARNING
This story contains descriptions of a child finding themselves alone in the forest and getting into potential danger in water. Although thankfully they were not harmed, it may be a trigger point for those who are sensitive to these subjects.

⭐️ In the bonus episode ⭐️

In the bonus episode I read from Yeats’ The Celtic Twilight and a story collected by 19th century folklorist, Thomas Crofton Croker

Image: ‘Place of Ghliocais’ kindly permitted by Merle Oberon at Moth Creative https://www.instagram.com/mothcreative/

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

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

Paviland Cave ‘lady’

Welsh people as early Britons

Mary Oliver’s fairy experiences in the forest:
Marjorie T. Johnson in Seeing Fairies by Marjorie T. Johnson (2014) (ed. Simon Young) pp. 33.

The Mad Merry Pranks of Robin Goodfellow by Ben Johnson (1628)

Thomas Crofton Croker’s Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland (1825 – 1828)

Interesting articles re water related fairies:

https://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/water-fairies/

https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2018/07/01/mere-maids-freshwater-spirits-of-britain/

Please submit your fairy sightings to The Fairy Census and I would love to hear from you if you’d like to discuss your experience either for research, my forthcoming book or the Podcast.

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 20: Occurence at the Creek

This episode offers a very gentle conversation with an Australian woman who encountered an orb during a very beautiful and intimate event, whilst in nature. The experience drew her ever closer to nature and into environmentalism. We discuss her relationship with the Fae and how that connection was originally initiated through visiting her grandmother’s magical garden with her siblings, as a child. 

There is an accompanying FREE PATHWORKING MEDITATION on Patreon which is available to anyone. It’s a gentle guide to recentring yourself and it’s particularly aimed that those who need a bit of help during this difficult time to let go of anxieties and focus on what’s meaningful. You can find it by searching for ‘free meditation’ or ‘recentring’ on Patreon.

Main image: Will-o-the-Wisp by Brett Manning Art.

Become a Patron!

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

Orbs

Many people believe orbs to be physical manifestations of energy. If we work with that idea and see ourselves as energy beings we can understand that it might be the same with Otherworldly beings. Perhaps orbs are the densest manifestation of the being that we’re able to see. Orbs are round and can be different sizes and colours, but they’re usually partially opaque, sometimes with swirling movement inside. People often report seeing orbs with the naked eye but sometimes they can also turn up in photographs.

In this case, our guest saw an orb in nature and felt it was some kind of energy manifestation of a fairy. She observed a sense of fluttering from within the orb, but it was more the feeling of awe that she experienced from the event which led her to feel it was a fairy experience.

Here’s an orb fairy experience which took place in Australia from Simon Young’s excellent ‘Fairy Census’ 2014-2017::

§82) England (London). Female; 1980s* [‘1990s’]; 21-30; in woodland;…The second time I saw the fae I was living in my old house in Melbourne. I lived in a dark alleyway, off the Main Street. I was sitting in my living room one night and I saw a little ball of light whizz past the window. Then there were several other little orbs of glowing light. They were around the size of tennis balls, and on closer inspection you could see the outline of spindly little bodies glowing. This sighting went on for a few hours. Since my fae sightings I have become fascinated by the wee folk. I collect little sculptures of them, books, faerie tarot cards, I paint them and I am fascinated by them. Not obsessed honest. I have also been in some very wild places around the world and I have felt their presence. Feeling these presences have made me want to stay in places where they live. They are always like personifications of the spirit of places.’ ‘(They) were like orbs of light darting around, you could see light bursting from their bodies. The made a kind of whirring fluttering sound as they moved, like a cross between birds flapping their wings and paper fluttering.’ ‘They’re very mischievous little buggers who like to poke fun at humans.’ ‘I have only told a small handful of people about my fae experiences, most folk would think I’m nuts, and I’m definitely quite sane, well educated, thoughtful and quite open minded. I’ve never been on any psyche drugs ever or seen any doctor for mental health conditions. On both nights where I saw the fae they were very real and tangible. I have felt their presence at other times.

Young S. (2018) The Fairy Census 2014-2017,

Here’s another share about a photo of an orb, also from Simon Young’s ‘Fairy Census’ 2014-2017:

§41) England (Devon). Female; 2010s; 61-70;
‘I have a friend who does photography. She took pictures of a flower and water and put them together to look as though the flower was growing out of the water. She emailed me the picture. I didn’t see anything at first, but after I enlarged the picture I saw a pink faerie rise out of the flower, with what looked like several orbs each side of the flower with elves in them. They all rose up together. The faerie was pink. I was surprised, especially as not only did I see her ‘live’ in a picture, but the picture was ‘second hand’ so to speak.’ ‘She had a pink dress on with pink wings.’

Young S. (2018) The Fairy Census 2014-2017,

The Paranormal and Ecology

For more information about extraordinary experiences and environmentalism, I highly recommend reading Dr Jack Hunter‘s book, Greening the Paranormal.

The collection of essays explores the parallels between all aspects of paranormal experience and the study of living systems and offers a fresh perspective on our relationship with our living planet, Earth.

Here’s a great podcast interview with Jack, where he discusses these themes and more.

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