BBC Sounds Witch Farm The BBC Sounds podcast "Witch Farm" delves into the mysterious and intriguing world of witchcraft. Hosted by journalist Sarah Baxter, this series takes listeners on a journey exploring the history, folklore, and modern perceptions surrounding witches. Through interviews with historians, occultists, and practicing witches, "Witch Farm" seeks to debunk stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding witchcraft. It delves into the origins of witchcraft, examining its ancient pagan roots and its intersection with Christianity throughout history. Listeners will learn about famous witch trials, such as the Salem Witch Trials in colonial America, and their lasting impact on society. In addition to investigating the historical aspects, "Witch Farm" also delves into the present-day practice of witchcraft.
The week in audio: The Witch Farm; File on 4: Is the Patient Breathing?; The Martin Lewis Podcast
It’s not Halloween quite yet, though if you’re in search of a horror show, you know where to find it. The Conservative frontbenches, boom-tish! And appropriately, as it turns out, Liz Truss gave a spine-chilling impression of a dead woman walking in her interview with the BBC’s political editor, Chris Mason, sampled generously across BBC radio on Tuesday morning. Truss has an exceptionally dull speaking voice, as though she’s fading into the background, bored by what she’s saying before she actually says it. Scary.
And if you’re after some more unwanted ghostly presences, Danny Robins is back with a new Radio 4 series and podcast, The Witch Farm. Yes, the audio king of true-life scary tales has unearthed another it-actually-happened haunting. In 1989, young couple Liz and Bill Rich move to Heol Fanog, a remote cottage in the Brecon Beacons. In the show, the couple are played nicely by Alexandra Roach and Joseph Fiennes, though I did blench when Liz declared that she could feel her unborn child kick at three months pregnant. That really would be creepy. But the proper house-based spookiness starts after she has the child, and the audio effects are suitably realistic and scary: running footsteps (in empty corridors), loud banging (when no one is there), door slamming (when the door didn’t move)…
The Witch Farm follows the template Robins set in The Battersea Poltergeist: he reports the tale in an engagingly excitable manner; scenes are recreated by actors; two parapsychologists, Evelyn Hollow and Ciarán O’Keeffe, analyse what we’ve just heard; listeners are asked to contribute their theories. In such a way, a single spooky story can be stretched across several enjoyable episodes.
File on 4's Is the Patient Breathing made me cry. It’s an absolute must-hear
And it is enjoyable. Perhaps it was predictable that a gruff local would tell the Riches that their cottage was built from the stones of destroyed graves, but there are two more unexpected factors that hook you into the next episode. First, the Riches’ electricity bill: why is it so huge? They discover that when the spookiness is occurring, the electricity drains out of the cottage at such a pace that the numbers on the electricity meter actually whizz around. And second, the introduction, at the end of this episode, of the real-life Liz Rich. In later shows, Robins will be taking her back to Heol Fanog. Good (spooky) stuff.
The Witch Farm wasn’t the scariest thing I heard last week, though. That, sadly, was File on 4: Is the Patient Breathing?, in which reporter Rachel Stonehouse took a look at the state of the ambulance service in the UK. Listening, I found myself rigid with fear.
Stonehouse followed two paramedics as they worked their shift. Their calm, unflappable warmth and professionalism was interspersed with audio from people across the UK who’ve had to wait for hours for ambulances to arrive, with sadly predictable consequences. Hearing their phone calls – their politeness to the call handler, their reasonableness: “Oh, I know you’re busy,” said one – was both heartbreaking and completely terrifying. People are dying because ambulances don’t get to them. Ambulances don’t get there because they’re in queues outside hospitals. The queues don’t move because the beds are full. Sometimes, paramedics – highly trained medical professionals – spend an entire shift waiting. In August this year, in England alone, handover delays meant we lost 138,000 paramedic hours.
Ambulances in a queue in London, 2021. Sopa
We hear the consequences. A family describes their devastation at losing a father who would have been saved if an ambulance had arrived within, say, 10 hours of their first 999 call. A man talks about how his back was broken because no ambulance came, so his wife drove him to hospital and he had a seizure on the way. This show made me cry. It’s an absolute must-hear, especially for any ghouls who might think that the way out of this omnishambles is to impose more budget cuts upon our beleaguered public services.
‘Sage words’: Martin Lewis. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Observer
Have a cup of tea and calm down for a bit, because I’ve got some extra scares for you! The bumptious, likable money-saving expert Martin Lewis has a regular slot on Nihal Arthanayake’s 5 Live show, and this has been repackaged in the past few weeks as a fun podcast, The Martin Lewis Podcast. Last week, Lewis delivered sage words on the mortgage crisis, started for no real reason by our soon to be ex-prime minister corpse bride. Lewis is a great listen. He’s upbeat, clear and fun to hear, even when what he’s talking about is serious. Though he can’t give direct advice (he’s not allowed to), he turns listeners’ problems into realistic risk assessments so that they can make better decisions. Thus the scary stuff seems manageable, even when you’re spooked out of your wits. Somehow, in these strange times, Lewis is the ghostbuster we need.
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The Witch Farm
Dare you visit Britain’s most haunted house? Joseph Fiennes and Alexandra Roach star in a new paranormal cold case podcast from Danny Robins, creator of The Battersea Poltergeist.
It’s 1989, rural Wales, a lonely old farmhouse in the shadow of the imposing Brecon Beacons mountains. Young, pregnant Liz Rich and her artist husband Bill rent an isolated farmhouse in the Welsh countryside, with Bill’s teenage son Laurence. They’re hoping for a fresh start, but the house holds dark secrets, and the family’s new life becomes a terrifying ordeal that will change them forever.
Their dream home has become a haunted nightmare – but what is real and what is in their minds?
Written and presented by Danny Robins, creator of The Battersea Poltergeist, Uncanny and West End hit 2:22 – A Ghost Story, The Witch Farm stars Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Alexandra Roach (No Offence), with original theme music by Mercury Prize-nominated Gwenno. This 8-part podcast series interweaves a terrifying supernatural thriller set in the wild Welsh countryside with a fascinating modern-day investigation into the real-life mystery behind what has been called Britain’s most haunted house.
Listen to The Witch Farm on the following platforms:
Cast:
Bill Rich ….. Joseph Fiennes
Liz Rich ….. Alexandra Roach
Wyn Thomas ….. Owen Teale
Lawrence Rich ….. Jonathan Case
Electrician ….. Delme Thomas
Written and presented by Danny Robins
Experts: Ciaran O’Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow
Sound design by Charlie Brandon-King and Richard Fox
Music by Evelyn Sykes
Theme Music by Gwenno
Researcher: Nancy Bottomley
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard
Directed by Simon Barnard
Consultant was Mark Chadbourn, author of the book on the case, Testimony
A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4
The Witch Farm BBC Radio 4
It's 1989, rural Wales, a lonely old farmhouse in the shadow of the imposing Brecon Beacons mountains. Young, pregnant Liz Rich and her artist husband Bill rent an isolated farmhouse in the Welsh countryside, with Bill's teenage son Laurence. They're hoping for a fresh start, but the house holds dark secrets, and the family's new life becomes a terrifying ordeal that will change them forever.
Their dream home has become a haunted nightmare - but what is real and what is in their minds?
Written and presented by Danny Robins, creator of The Battersea Poltergeist, Uncanny and West End hit 2:22 - A Ghost Story, The Witch Farm stars Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid's Tale) and Alexandra Roach (No Offence), with original theme music by Mercury Prize-nominated Gwenno. This 8-part series interweaves a terrifying supernatural thriller set in the wild Welsh countryside with a fascinating modern-day investigation into the real-life mystery behind what has been called Britain's most haunted house.
- 10 OCT 2022
Welcome to… The Witch Farm
Is this the most haunted house in Britain? Danny Robins investigates in a spine-chilling mix of drama and documentary, starring Joseph Fiennes and Alexandra Roach.
- 16 OCT 2022
Episode 1: Heol Fanog
It’s 1989, rural Wales, a lonely old farmhouse in the shadow of the imposing Brecon Beacons mountains. Young, pregnant Liz Rich and her artist husband Bill rent an isolated farmhouse in the Welsh countryside, with Bill’s teenage son Laurence. They’re hoping for a fresh start, but the house holds dark secrets, and the family’s new life becomes a terrifying ordeal that will change them forever.
Their dream home has become a haunted nightmare - but what is real and what is in their minds?
Written and presented by Danny Robins, creator of The Battersea Poltergeist, Uncanny and West End hit 2:22 – A Ghost Story, The Witch Farm stars Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Alexandra Roach (No Offence), with original theme music by Mercury Prize-nominated Gwenno. This 8-part series interweaves a terrifying supernatural thriller set in the wild Welsh countryside with a fascinating modern-day investigation into the real-life mystery behind what has been called Britain’s most haunted house.
Cast:
Bill Rich . Joseph Fiennes
Liz Rich . Alexandra Roach
Wyn Thomas . Owen Teale
Lawrence Rich . Jonathan Case
Electrician . Delme Thomas
Written and presented by Danny Robins
Experts: Ciaran O’Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow
Sound design by Charlie Brandon-King and Richard Fox
Music by Evelyn Sykes
Theme Music by Gwenno
Researcher: Nancy Bottomley
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard
Directed by Simon Barnard
Consultant was Mark Chadbourn, author of the book on the case, Testimony
A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4
- 23 OCT 2022
Episode 2: The Watcher
Danny meets our star witness – the real-life Liz Rich, to learn more about the frightening reality of living inside what has been called Britain's most haunted house. Back in 1989, we hear how the haunting intensifies, as Bill and Liz feel a sinister presence that appears to be taking over their lives, but is it real, or is it in their heads?
The Witch Farm reinvestigates a real-life haunting – a paranormal cold case that has been unsolved for nearly 30 years - until now. Set in in the beautiful, remote Welsh countryside, this terrifying true story is told through a thrilling blend of drama and documentary.
Written and presented by Danny Robins, creator of The Battersea Poltergeist, Uncanny and West End hit 2:22 – A Ghost Story, The Witch Farm stars Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Alexandra Roach (No Offence), with original theme music by Mercury Prize-nominated Gwenno. This 8-part series interweaves a terrifying supernatural thriller set in the wild Welsh countryside with a fascinating modern-day investigation into a real-life mystery.
Cast:
Bill Rich . Joseph Fiennes
Liz Rich . Alexandra Roach
Wyn Thomas . Owen Teale
Laurence Rich . Jonathan Case
Mr Jones . Ioan Hefin
Written and presented by Danny Robins
Experts: Ciaran O’Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow
Sound design by Charlie Brandon-King and Richard Fox
Music by Evelyn Sykes
Theme Music by Gwenno
Researcher: Nancy Bottomley
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard
Directed by Simon Barnard
Consultant was Mark Chadbourn, author of the book on the case 'Testimony'
A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4
- 30 OCT 2022
Episode 3: The Old Woman
Liz witnesses a terrifying apparition, and suddenly the haunting is no longer invisible. But is seeing believing? As she tries to solve the mystery of the apparition’s identity, Bill is becoming increasingly worried about Laurence. Could he really have become possessed by the sinister presence in the house or is the remote, lonely location playing with all their minds? Danny Robins investigates.
The Witch Farm reinvestigates a real-life haunting – a paranormal cold case that has been unsolved for nearly 30 years - until now. Set in in the beautiful, remote Welsh countryside, this terrifying true story is told through a thrilling blend of drama and documentary.
Written and presented by Danny Robins, creator of The Battersea Poltergeist, Uncanny and West End hit 2:22 – A Ghost Story, The Witch Farm stars Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Alexandra Roach (No Offence), with original theme music by Mercury Prize-nominated Gwenno. This 8-part series interweaves a terrifying supernatural thriller set in the wild Welsh countryside with a fascinating modern-day investigation into a real-life mystery.
Cast:
Bill Rich . Joseph Fiennes
Liz Rich . Alexandra Roach
Laurence Rich . Jonathan Case
Bethan Morgan . Rhian Morgan
Written and presented by Danny Robins
Experts: Ciaran O’Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow
Sound Design by Charlie Brandon-King and Richard Fox
Music by Evelyn Sykes
Theme Music by Gwenno
Researcher: Nancy Bottomley
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard
Directed by Simon Barnard
Consultant: Mark Chadbourn, author of the book on the case, Testimony
A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4
- 4 NOV 2022
Case Update 1: The First Wave
Unexplained power surges, animals going mad and terrifying apparitions… in this bonus case update, Danny discusses your questions and theories after the twists and turns of the first three episodes, talks to a new witness about the electricity drain, and reveals more about the strange events thirty years ago at Heol Fanog.
The Witch Farm reinvestigates a real-life haunting – a paranormal cold case that has been unsolved for nearly 30 years - until now. Set in in the beautiful, remote Welsh countryside, this terrifying true story is told through a thrilling blend of drama and documentary.
Written and presented by Danny Robins, creator of The Battersea Poltergeist, Uncanny and West End hit 2:22 – A Ghost Story, The Witch Farm stars Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Alexandra Roach (No Offence), with original theme music by Mercury Prize-nominated Gwenno. This 8-part series interweaves a terrifying supernatural thriller set in the wild Welsh countryside with a fascinating modern-day investigation into a real-life mystery.
Cast:
Bill Rich . Joseph Fiennes
Liz Rich . Alexandra Roach
Laurence Rich . Jonathan Case
Mr Jones . Ioan Hefin
Written and presented by Danny Robins
Sound design by Charlie Brandon-King and Richard Fox
Music by Evelyn Sykes
Theme Music by Gwenno
Researcher: Nancy Bottomley
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard
Directed by Simon Barnard
Consultant on the show was Mark Chadbourn, whose book on the case, Testimony, was a huge help with research on this series
- 6 NOV 2022
Episode 4: The Painted Horse
Frightened and desperate, Liz and Bill enlist the help of a psychic medium, who becomes a divisive figure, suggesting that the haunting is the fault of somebody in the house. But, when strange, disturbing problems start affecting local farmers, Bill and Liz wonder if he could be right - are they responsible for all of this?
The Witch Farm re-investigates a real-life haunting – a paranormal cold case that has been unsolved for nearly 30 years - until now. Set in in the beautiful, remote Welsh countryside, this terrifying true story is told through a thrilling blend of drama and documentary.
Written and presented by Danny Robins, creator of The Battersea Poltergeist, Uncanny and West End hit 2:22 – A Ghost Story, The Witch Farm stars Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Alexandra Roach (No Offence), with original theme music by Mercury Prize-nominated Gwenno. This 8-part series interweaves a terrifying supernatural thriller set in the wild Welsh countryside with a fascinating modern-day investigation into a real-life mystery.
Cast:
Bill Rich . Joseph Fiennes
Liz Rich . Alexandra Roach
Larry Harry …… Tom Price
Wyn Thomas . Owen Teale
Laurence Rich . Jonathan Case
Marijke …… Laura Dalgleish
Jan …… Dan Starkey
Written and presented by Danny Robins
Experts: Ciaran O’Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow
Sound design by Charlie Brandon-King and Richard Fox
Music by Evelyn Sykes
Theme Music by Gwenno
Researcher: Nancy Bottomley
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard
Directed by Simon Barnard
Consultant: Mark Chadbourn, author of the book on the case 'Testimony'
A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4
In addition to investigating the historical aspects, "Witch Farm" also delves into the present-day practice of witchcraft. Baxter explores contemporary witchcraft communities, discussing their rituals, beliefs, and the challenges they face in a modern world. Listeners will gain insight into the various traditions and practices within the witchcraft community, highlighting its diversity.
What sets "Witch Farm" apart is its objective and balanced approach to the topic. The podcast does not sensationalize or perpetuate stereotypes; rather, it aims to educate and inform listeners about the rich history and practices of witchcraft. It encourages listeners to question their preconceived notions and approach the subject with an open mind. Overall, "Witch Farm" is a captivating and educational podcast that sheds light on the world of witchcraft. It encourages listeners to explore the complexity of witchcraft, appreciating its historical significance and its role in contemporary society. Whether you are a skeptic or a believer, "Witch Farm" offers an intriguing and informative perspective on this often misunderstood topic..
Reviews for "Exploring the Dark Side: BBC Sounds' Witch Farm and the Supernatural"
1. Mark - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with "BBC Sounds Witch Farm". The concept sounded great, but the execution was lacking. The storyline was hard to follow and it felt like there were too many characters to keep track of. Additionally, the acting was subpar and didn't engage me at all. Overall, I found it to be a waste of time and wouldn't recommend it.
2. Sarah - 1 star - I couldn't even make it through the first episode of "BBC Sounds Witch Farm". The dialogue was cheesy and the plot was predictable. The characters were poorly developed and it felt like the actors weren't giving their best performances. It's a shame, because I had high hopes for this series based on the premise. But unfortunately, it fell flat for me.
3. John - 2 stars - I struggled to get into "BBC Sounds Witch Farm". The pacing was incredibly slow and it took too long for anything of significance to happen. The atmosphere was also quite lackluster, and I didn't feel any sense of tension or excitement while listening. I wanted to enjoy this series, but ultimately it failed to captivate me.
4. Emma - 3 stars - While "BBC Sounds Witch Farm" had its moments, overall I found it underwhelming. The plot had potential, but it felt rushed and lacking in depth. Some of the character interactions felt forced and the dialogue was often cringe-worthy. I appreciate the effort put into this production, but it just didn't live up to my expectations.