Wyrd Wessex

Craig and Andy dive deep into the chilling four-decade history of the Penhill Poltergeist in Swindon. From post-war council housing built over ancient, capped brewery springs to an official authority spokesman going on record to confirm a haunted house, the Wyrdos unpack how a modest 1950s estate became Wiltshire's epicentre for high strangeness.

The Wyrdos pull back the curtain on the bizarre and terrifying events on Westbury Road and Melksham Close—where heavy cassette players levitated, doors snapped off their hinges, children were pinned to walls by invisible forces, and a BBC camera crew captured drastic temperature drops during a 1973 exorcism.

They trace the legacy of Swindon's professional ghost-hunting priest Canon Christopher Harmon, examine the tragic history and dark trauma of the land beneath the concrete, and debate whether psychokinesis, sleep deprivation, or underground water tables were to blame.

Finally, Craig and Andy share their own unnerving experiences with things that go thud in the night.

Stay Wyrd.

Explore the Wyrd Wessex Map
Every local UFO encounter, ghost story, cryptid sighting, and ancient earthwork featured on the show is plotted directly onto our custom interactive Google Map. Head to our Instagram bio or join our Discord to explore the locations!

Send Us Your Stories
Have you experienced high-strangeness, seen something unexplained in the skies, or have local folklore to share? Fill out our form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10MVzaWqJXVbLonxf1WiwM4n41-R2fiDMqDN3WKQzYMA/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=100798326189189740063

Or email us directly: wyrdwessex@pm.me

Join the Wyrdo Community
Buy Me a Coffee (Ad-Free Episodes, Discord & Bonus Shows): https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wyrdwessex

Instagram: @Wyrd_Wessex (Make sure to include the underscore!)

Socials Everywhere Else: @wyrdwessex

Shop our merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/saxonforageruk/shop?asc=u

Huge thanks to our current supporters: Steve, Emma, Jen, Dan, Vicki, Steph, Gabby, Andrew, John, Rosie, Nick, Simon, and Terry!

Written by Craig Brooks and hosted by Craig Brooks and Andy Stevens

Edited by Craig Brooks

Intro music by Antipodean Writer: Full of Soul - Neon Waves Extended - Remix
Outro music by Colt Fingaz: Ding Ding Dong
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy and Craig dive deep into the explosive history of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. From the religious turmoil of the English Reformation to a secret cellar beneath Parliament packed with 36 barrels of gunpowder, we unpack how a Protestant lawyer's son from York became "Guido" Fawkes—a mercenary, explosives expert, and the most infamous figure in British history.

The Wyrdos pull back the curtain on the tragic local story of Margaret Clitherow and her brutal crushing in York, tracing how her death became the catalyst for Fawkes's radicalisation. They also unravel the mysterious warning letter delivered to Lord Monteagle, the undercover guise of "John Johnson," the tense search of the vault, the horrific tortures of the Rack and the Little Ease in the Tower of London, the final shootout at Holbech House, the gruesome executions, and how a failed 17th-century coup birthed modern traditions from "Penny for the Guy" to V for Vendetta.

Stay Wyrd.

Explore the Wyrd Wessex Map: Every local UFO encounter, ghost story, cryptid sighting, and ancient earthwork featured on the show is plotted directly onto our custom interactive Google Map. Head to our Instagram bio or join our Discord to explore the locations!

Send Us Your Stories: Have you experienced high-strangeness, seen something unexplained in the skies, or have local folklore to share? Fill out our form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10MVzaWqJXVbLonxf1WiwM4n41-R2fiDMqDN3WKQzYMA/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=100798326189189740063

Join the Wyrdo Community: Buy Me a Coffee (Ad-Free Episodes, Discord & Bonus Shows): https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wyrdwessex

Instagram: @Wyrd_Wessex (Make sure to include the underscore!)
Shop our merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/saxonforageruk/shop?asc=u

Written by Craig Brooks and hosted by Craig Brooks and Andy Stevens
Edited by Craig Brooks

Intro music by Antipodean Writer: Full of Soul - Neon Waves Extended - Remix Outro music by Colt Fingaz: Ding Ding Dong
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode—exploring the crossover between ancient divining practices and modern technology—Craig and Andy tackle the history, pseudoscience, and dark real-world fallout of dowsing and quantum-generated coordinates.

From 16th-century German mining texts, Martin Luther’s warnings of demonic witchcraft, and modern UK water utilities using hazel twigs to the rise of Randonautica during lockdown, we dive into how intention, mind-matter interaction, and confirmation bias shape our search for the unexplained. We discuss the terrifying true cases linked to the app—including the Seattle Alki Beach suitcase murders—before heading out into the field. Armed with the app and an intention set strictly for "beer", Craig and Andy venture into the darkening woods near Ashurst in the New Forest, navigating sketchy log crossings, abandoned woodland camps, and a race against the clock to catch a train.

Explore the Wyrd Wessex Map: Every local UFO encounter, ghost story, cryptid sighting, and ancient earthwork featured on the show is plotted directly onto our custom interactive Google Map. Head to our Instagram bio or join our Discord to explore the locations!

Send Us Your Stories: Have you experienced high-strangeness, seen something unexplained in the skies, or have local folklore to share? Fill out our form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10MVzaWqJXVbLonxf1WiwM4n41-R2fiDMqDN3WKQzYMA/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=100798326189189740063

Join the Wyrdo Community: Buy Me a Coffee (Ad-Free Episodes, Discord & Bonus Shows): https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wyrdwessex

Instagram: @Wyrd_Wessex (Make sure to include the underscore!)

Shop our merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/saxonforageruk/shop?asc=u

Stay Wyrd!
Written by Craig Brooks and hosted by Craig Brooks and Andy Stevens
Edited by Craig Brooks
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Halloween special and anniversary episode of Wyrd Wessex, Craig and Andy dive deep into a chilling collection of spooky listener-submitted stories.

The wyrdos tackle everything from terrifying childhood hauntings and mystery man voices to self-knocking doors and the delicate line between real-world truth and individual perception.

The conversation expands into high-strangeness territory with a detailed submission from Dr. P, exploring potential abduction events in North Wales, surreal owl encounters, and the deep-rooted UFO lore surrounding Pembrokeshire, Stacks Rocks, the Coombs family farm, and the famous Welsh Triangle.

Moving closer to home, Craig reads a local Devizes story set in Albion Place, cross-referencing the location with rare ghost tour guidebooks by local historian John Gervin. To top it all off, Andy sneaks in a private last-minute submission about late-night supermarket apparitions, nun-like Bluecoat robes, local convents, and a quick nod to the 100th anniversary of Harry Houdini's death

Timestamps:
00:00 - Halloween Anniversary Intro & Smoke Machine Scares
01:04 - Story 1: Abandoned to a Poltergeist
03:20 - Story 2: Squirrel Halloween cross
05:55 - Story 3 The old women's feet above the floor
08:35 - Story 4: Dr. P's Abduction Event & The Staring Barn Owl
15:24 - Story 5: The Albion Place Haunting (Devizes)
19:53 - Story 6: Hostile Household Spirit & Escalating Activity
30:00 - Story 7: The Supermarket Nun
38:14 - Wrap Up, Houdini Centenary & Happy Halloween

Explore the Wyrd Wessex Map: Every local UFO encounter, ghost story, cryptid sighting, and ancient earthwork featured on the show is plotted directly onto our custom interactive Google Map. Head to our Instagram bio or join our Discord to explore the locations!

Send Us Your Stories: Have you experienced high-strangeness, seen something unexplained in the skies, or have local folklore to share? Fill out our form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10MVzaWqJXVbLonxf1WiwM4n41-R2fiDMqDN3WKQzYMA/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=100798326189189740063

Join the Wyrdo Community: Buy Me a Coffee (Ad-Free Episodes, Discord & Bonus Shows): https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wyrdwessex

Instagram: @Wyrd_Wessex (Make sure to include the underscore!)

Shop our merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/saxonforageruk/shop?asc=u

Stay Wyrd!

Written and hosted by Craig Brooks and Andy Stevens
Edited by Craig Brooks
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Wyrd Wessex, Andy and Craig head to Lyndhurst in the heart of the New Forest to sit down with author, folklorist, and storyteller Brice Stratford. Over a series of pints at historic local spots, the conversation dives deep into what it truly means for folklore to be anchored to a specific landscape, contrasting genuine rooted community traditions with modern "fake lore" and commercialised New Age myths.

Brice pulls back the curtain on why he takes issue with the ubiquitous New Forest witch Sybil Leek, championing instead real historical figures like Mary Dore—an 18th-century woman whose legacy of shape-shifting, stick-gathering, and feuding with the Duke of Montague remains etched into local memory. The trio also unpacks the oral endurance of the William Rufus legend, the legendary Cobb's arrows, the mechanics of dragon-slaying motifs, the fiery ghost stories of the Fox and Hounds, the whispered panels of St. Michael and All Angels Church, the shadowy history of the Hawkhurst smuggling gang at the Crown Hotel, and local cryptids like the Stratford Lion.

Explore the Wyrd Wessex Map:Every local UFO encounter, ghost story, cryptid sighting, and ancient earthwork featured on the show is plotted directly onto our custom interactive Google Map. Head to our Instagram bio or join our Discord to explore the locations!

Send Us Your Stories: Have you experienced high-strangeness, seen something unexplained in the skies, or have local folklore to share? Fill out our form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10MVzaWqJXVbLonxf1WiwM4n41-R2fiDMqDN3WKQzYMA/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=100798326189189740063

Join the Wyrdo Community: Buy Me a Coffee (Ad-Free Episodes, Discord & Bonus Shows): https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wyrdwessex

Instagram: @Wyrd_Wessex (Make sure to include the underscore!)

Shop our merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/saxonforageruk/shop?asc=u

Stay Wyrd!
Written and hosted by Craig Brooks and Andy Stevens
Edited by Craig Brooks
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.