Perhaps most famous as the home of the druids, Ynys Môn, also known as Anglesey, occupies 275 square miles just off the north Wales coast. It is an ancient place. Archaeologists found Neolithic settlements at Llanfaethlu, making these some of the oldest villages in Wales. The Neolithic Castell Bryn Gwyn site remained in use until […]
Legends of Drake’s Island: Tunnels, Ghosts, and a White Lady
Drake’s Island sits in Plymouth Sound, around 500 m from the mainland. The island is just 6.5 acres, and around 250 yards wide at its broadest point. You can reach the island by boat in 10 minutes. Its name refers to Sir Francis Drake, a problematic figure often lauded for his circumnavigation efforts. Much of […]
Listener Supernatural Experiences Part 4
Today marks All Saints’ Day, also known as All Hallows’ Day or the Feast of All Hallows. That’s why Hallowe’en is called that – it’s All Hallow’s Eve. The day celebrates saints, but the far more interesting day for folklore is tomorrow – All Souls’ Day. All Souls’ Day marks remembrance of the dead, whether […]
How do we understand the reputation of the Amityville Horror House?
If I ask you to think of a famous haunted house, will your mind wander to a white Dutch Colonial house, with quarter-round windows lit from within to look like red eyes? Yes? Then the reputation of 112 Ocean Avenue has done its work, aided and abetted by The Amityville Horror. Even if that wasn’t […]
Just How Bad were the Prisons of the Doge’s Palace?
The Palazzo Ducale dominates the view as your vaporetto approaches the San Marco stop. The huge building is an example of Venetian Gothic architecture, all pointed arches and quatrefoils. It’s hard to believe that two prisons lie within its bulk, with a third inside the pristine white building alongside it. Tourists might be the only […]
Newgate Prison: Novels, Escapees, and Dreadful Conditions
If you’ve ever read any Charles Dickens novels, especially Great Expectations, then you’ll have run into Newgate Prison. The hulking, notorious jail loomed large in London’s history before its demolition in 1902. While accurate execution statistics are difficult to find, there’s a suggestion that over 1000 people faced capital punishment at the prison between 1790 […]
