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Ghosts, Witches, and Whispers: Exploring Otley’s Haunted History
455 Plays2 months ago
Welcome to The Bell Witch Podcast 'Witching in the 21st Century'
In episode 37 of the Bell Witch Podcast, Swailes The Friendly Green witch welcomes Daisy of Turnip Fish Theatre who recently started a ghost walk business in Otley. Swailes shares her excitement about discovering Daisy's tours, which explore Otley's haunted history. Daisy, with a background in scriptwriting, discusses her transition to creating ghost tours and shares eerie local ghost stories and haunted locations.
“The Otley Ghost Tour runs every Saturday evening at 6.30 and 8pm. Meet your ghoulish guide by the clock tower in Otley’s Market Place and brace yourself for a spine-chilling 1-hr walk around the seemingly quaint streets of this medieval town.”
Your ghoulish guide will regale you with entertaining tales of Otley’s most haunted hotspots, teaching you about the people of Otley through the ages, and how many of them are still thought to linger… The tour concludes with a free drink at one of Otley’s most haunted pubs.”
Swailes also reflects on her experiences at a late summer witch camp and hints at future podcast projects. The episode is filled with engaging anecdotes, emphasizing the importance of storytelling in preserving local folklore and history.
This is the last episode of TBWP for series 1, and will be back early September with new witchcraft wonders and fascinating Moot Loot Guests.
Please review TBWP to help it grow
email [email protected]
LINKS
Ghost episode inspired by Rose- https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Pt20TZI0bjI3XP9K8mAKB?si=e1abdff7ddeb4f95
linktree.com/friendlygreenwitch
Patreon.com/thebellwitchpodcast
Thank You to Rude Dude for the trailer swap- https://open.spotify.com/show/7GOrnLKWOe0mLBep1JFrvG?si=fc90f5810e834ff9
Turnip Fish Theatre Company (@turnip.fish.theatre) • Instagram photos and videos
Home | Nana Shop (likenanadid.co.uk)
key words-
ghost walk, Otley, haunted history, supernatural, witchcraft, local ghost stories, historical figures, witch-themed camp, ghost tours, scriptwriting, storytelling, paranormal experiences, Barley Hall, Duke of York pub, folklore, haunted locations, British Heart Foundation, Black Bull pub, parish churchyard, ghostly figure, bone house, local businesses, community history, magic, mystery, witchy content, podcast projects, personal experiences, spooky tales, rich history, supernatural world, ghostly encounters witchcraft podcast for beginners wiccan podcast for beginners how to cast spells podcast herbalism podcast for witches tarot reading podcast meditation for witches podcast crystal healing podcast kitchen witchcraft podcast green witchcraft podcast
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Transcript
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the rude dude podcast. Are you tired of sorry ass, sorry ass bums who got sober to be boring as fuck? We made some bad decisions and fried most of our brain cells, but we saved a couple to bring you this show. I'm Cam, and my partner is Hen, and we're here to do the exact opposite. At RootDude Recovery, we bring the lighter side of recovery to your ears every Monday. Are you interested in things like how to navigate anxiety, depression, without using substances? How about telling Aunt Mildred that you can't come to her 97th birthday party? well aunt mildred you're not interested fucking birthday part Are you a selfish asshole?
00:00:43
Speaker
Come to the Rude Dude Podcast, where if you're not too uncomfortable with your sexuality, to hear two grown men tell each other they love each other, give us a spin. Rude Dude Recovery is not only for people with substance abuse problems, this is a podcast for everyone. If you feel like having fun and learning new ways to become a better person, this show's for you. We welcome you to the Rude Dude Podcast.
00:01:42
Speaker
Well, hello witches and beautiful souls. Welcome to the Bellwetch podcast with me, Swales, are the friendly green witch, witching in the 21st century. You are listening to episode 37 Recently, I was in my local soft play in Eden, which is Kids About Tan. It's a play on words because there's a place called the Tan in Eden, so it's like kids about town, kids about time to live. And one of the workers, Kim, who is a fantastic cook, may I add, brought a leaflet to my attention, which was for a new ghost walk in Oakley, which is so close to me and I had no idea about it. I'd never heard of it.
00:02:28
Speaker
And she was like, you should totally get them on the podcast to talk about ghosts and stuff. And I was like absolutely yes. So it's quite a new little business and it only started up in February of 2024 and is going strong. And it happens almost every Saturday evening, sometimes twice an evening. And it sounds bloody brilliant if I do say so myself. So I had to get around for an interview and Daisy ended up being a fantastic guest. So you are in for a treat, especially with Daisy's personal ghost stories. They are absolutely fascinating and worth hanging around for.
00:03:10
Speaker
this was done relatively recently she mentions stuff going on in august and so i had to bring it to the front of the queue so she gets the most benefit from the episode so do enjoy i hope you love it i I am absolutely buzzing because I've just come back from the Lunasar camp that I go to every year at the last weekend of July. We mentioned this camp in the pilot episode of the Belwich podcast, actually. So if you're new here, do check out the pilot episode because me and my co-host fangirling over all this amazing camps that are around and up the north are very lucky. There's loads down south, but there's a little few up north and they're fantastic.
00:03:55
Speaker
where there's the big John Ballycorn structure that gets built and burnt as an offering. John Ballycorn is a scarecrow spirit who is mischievous and needs burning and then oh no we need to bring him back and so there's the whole story there and I was thinking actually that might make a really good podcast episode. I shall keep that one in mind. They were brilliant and I had my friend Beverly Thornton the official podcast photographer with me who took some outstanding pictures of a few naked pagans, myself included,
00:04:32
Speaker
with this very fetching deer skull which I absolutely adore. I'm thinking about putting the photographs on Patreon actually because I'd get banned from Facebook if I put them there but if you're interested when I get these pictures off Beverly I'm going to put them on the highest tier. So there you go and another a little exclusive on the Bellwetch podcast. I was in my element loving life and the weather was absolutely glorious pushing 25, 28 degrees, really sunny, really hot. Got a bit of sunburn though I'm just so full of amazement and love and magic and witchcraft.
00:05:12
Speaker
drank way too much mead and felt a little bit dehydrated most of the weekend but it was lovely though the people who go i just saw my kind of people my tribe i can be my authentic self in Delilah the second my beautiful big five meter bell tent and have loads of a witchy fun
00:05:35
Speaker
I have decided this is going to be the last episode of series one of the Belwich podcast. I need a month off, if I'm very honest, but it's quite a hard thing for me to to do. I love podcasting and I'm also kind of scared I'm going to lose my momentum but there's just so much going on and my head is an absolute shed which is a shed and with my kids being off and holiday season and all that I think my head just gets a bit cluttered but don't be sad because
00:06:06
Speaker
Oh, I've got an exclusive for you. I am doing another podcast project with my little girl Flossie and I want to work on that over the month and then I'm open to a release the project as the kids go back in September, early September. And so this podcast will have to just have a little bit of a pause while I work on editing the other podcast. But don't worry, I will be back in early set September, I promise. I'll be back with an exciting announcement of a launch of another podcast project. Oh my God, I am mad. And then we'll get back on to the swing of things and resume the Mootloots because I have got a massive, massive backlog of Mootloot interviews to edit and publish, but that's a podcast's life.
00:06:56
Speaker
I'll still be around, I'll still be online, you can still email me, you can connect with me on the old tinter webs. Please connect to me and join my patreon if you can, you can come in for free for free taster or join for as little as £1.50 where you get behind the scenes exclusive videos, manuscripts from the meditations, blog posts and sometimes exclusive mini episodes. £1.50 is like a cup of tea for this witch and every little thing helps to keep this podcast rolling. Or you can leave me a little rating and a review to keep me going. That'd be amazing.
00:07:34
Speaker
Thank you so much to my lovely new subscribers. Iron T has joined. Thank you so much for supporting me on my little podcast adventure. You are awesome. And also thank you to Rachel for giving me a tip via buy me a coffee. That was fabulous. It's amazing and I'm truly honored that people pay me for creating this podcast and for magic for like practical bespoke magic is the dream job to create custom magic sigils and also make a living out of it. I am just so blessed and honored that I'm trusted with information gathering and also creating custom bespoke magic for you.
00:08:19
Speaker
Anyway, time for me to press play on the Mootloo and I wish you a very happy summer and a great holiday season, whatever you are doing. And I will be back to normal with series two at the beginning of September. So enjoy with chairs.
00:08:41
Speaker
Welcome Daisy to my little witchy podcast. Thank you. Hello, Emma. About 10 minutes ago, I went, oh gosh, I don't know what she's called. Because we were talking on the old tinter webs via your, is it your company's Instagram? Yeah, turn it fish. Had they call you turn it fish? You can if you want, you can come up like, I don't mind. What's this name, this spindle? What is it? Spindle Shanks McScrew. You're gonna have to tell me what that's about. I don't really know myself. ah so that's my ah That's the ghost tall, that's the ghost leader's name.
00:09:20
Speaker
It's kind of loosely based off of Spindle Shanks, who, if you ever watched Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids as a child on CITV. I think I'm a bit too old for that actually. ah They're all on YouTube and they're great. They're really creepy little cartoons. And at the beginning there's this old man and he he goes, you are welcome to grisly tales for gruesome kids. And he's got a little purple spider called Spindle Shanks. So that's where that comes from. Boris the spider is like another famous spider.
00:09:55
Speaker
So I've only just come across Otley Ghost Hunt Taws and that really, really surprised me because I'm only up the hill sort of near Eden. I go to soft play in Eden every week with my kids and the lady who helps run them the soft play said, oh my gosh, have you seen this? And she gave me a leaflet. That's so cool. It's reached Yeaton. I know. And I was just like, I cannot believe I've only just heard of this. It just proves how hard it is to get the message out there. Do you know what it is? It's hard to get out of the valley that is oddly. Like talking of spiders, I say that people are like spiders in a bathtub and they get stuck in the valley and you can't climb up the Shebin or the hills to get out. But I obviously need to up my marketing regime and go to Yeaton and Geisley.
00:10:44
Speaker
Yeah absolutely and I just thought it'd be awesome to ask you to come on because I make this in Rodden area which is like a neighbouring village. Literally up the hill. Also a big shout out to kids about Tan which is like my local soft play. Like whoop whoop I love them so much. To Kim who brought it to my attention she'll be ecstatic that I've mentioned her. Yes, thank you Kim very much. Can you tell me a little bit about, is it a new is it a new adventure starter or has it been going a while?
00:11:19
Speaker
It's fairly new, yeah, so I started in February and um before then and I was working in York on the Witches' Tar, funnily enough. I worked there, not very long, only for about five months and then I started thinking, well, I'm a scriptwriter so I did at uni and things like that and I loved it but it made me really curious about Ockley's history and sort of local history and what that might have to offer. So I decided to do a bit of research and yeah and then it sort of just followed on from there. I was working anyway, I was only doing the witchtoll once a week and I decided right I can just write my own and take it about and yeah so that's how it started. But I decided to concentrate more on ghosts because funnily enough there are quite a few haunting this little town.
00:12:06
Speaker
I was going to say, I bet Ottley's packed chock-a-block full of spooky going on. It is chock-a, especially in the pubs. And that's just the regulars. Oh, I like it. I mean, is it going well? Are you getting a nice little the following? Yeah, I think so. It started off very well. um It's dipped a little bit for summer, which was to be expected because it's quite light out there. But I'm thinking October time and come autumn. Beginning to pick up now, actually. ah So I've got a few more booked on than usual this weekend, which is quite nice. Yeah, I think October's going to be a fun one, for sure. And we've got special special plans. Yeah, I think but think there'll be a few more ghosts and a few more scares. And I'm going to up the story game a little bit.
00:12:55
Speaker
So there are plans in progress, for sure. So exciting. Are you like a one-woman band then? Or do you have a bit of a team? Well, I'm a one-woman band, but every so often I have a friend who happens to be dead and she pops out and terrifies people occasionally. But I don't see it happen very often. She just sort of does it when I'm not expecting it. Oh, that's fabulous. I love that. You've just been up to Edinburgh Fringe, have you? ah So that's it. That's in August, so I've got a few weeks, thankfully, to rehearse. But yeah, funnily enough, again, that's ah that's another witchy-themed thing. So that'll be, yeah, it's a three-hander called My Pretty's.
00:13:43
Speaker
ah which is about two women who decide to start a smoothie business after they realise that their boyfriend has been two-timing them, Fred the postman, and his little troll. Yeah, and then they just sort of gradually turn more and more witchy as the play goes on, and it all turns to turmoil. Oh, that sounds so good. Lovely. Oh, yeah. somehow somehow turned into a musical as we've been rehearsing, so we'll see. Just following the floor. Yeah, pretty much. Every rehearsal's completely different, but we'll see how it ends up when we actually get there. Well, I'm hoping, Daisy, that there's gonna be a witch or two in your storytelling. I could tell you some York ones, if I can remember them. It'd be good to dust the cobwebs off. There's a spider theme going on. I know, yeah, what's going on? They're following me. Yeah, I could think of some witches. There's a good one, Peggy Flounders, in North Yorkshire, I think it was.
00:14:40
Speaker
but she was my favourite one on the tour because she seemed really misunderstood. She lived, I think, I can't remember the story properly, I think she lived in the 1800s and she had a beard and that's why what she was known for. She had a beard and she's quite angry all the time. And one of her next door neighbour accused her of making his cows go lame, which is ridiculous. so she was just labeled in the village as being a witch but because the witch law was the witchcraft law was ended she didn't get any repercussions like she wasn't she wasn't punished at all so she lived like to a really long age when she was like 82 or something by the time she died which was pretty good for them them days but looking back like she clearly had polycystic ovary syndrome or something like that and she was just so misunderstood and
00:15:28
Speaker
It's just awful. But I could think of better ones than that. I just remember her. Yeah. No, and it's good to remember her on this podcast. Yeah, of course. It's lovely and refreshing to hear that she lived to a ripe old age. Yes, not many of them did. Her and Mother Shipton, they did all right. Mother Shipton is my favourite witch. One day I'll do an episode on her because I love her. Yeah, I think she deserves the whole episode. Absolutely. great I went to the petrifying well recently, made a little wish, dipped my hand in the in the well. Aww, did you get some water? You can get water, can't you, in a little... Yeah, I didn't actually. No, I made the wish. I didn't get any water. Apparently you can leave things as well. I didn't realise at the time that you could actually take things to hang on the well. Not anymore. You used to be able to because they had so much. Yeah, i when I were young, you could. But when I went last time, which is quite a long time ago now, I actually took something. I can't remember what it was and they were like, oh, we don't do that anymore just because we've got no storage for it. But you can buy little teddies that they've made to sell.
00:16:31
Speaker
I was a bit like, I don't really want to do this. Thank But yeah, in old days, you used to be able to do that. Yeah, and you can see all the celebrities who've left things, which is quite weird. Like like a pair of wife fronts and all kinds. Yeah, yeah, it's all sorts. So what? Right, well Daisy, do you want to tell us a little bit of history and scary stuff about Otley? Of course. So the town of Otley gets its name from Otho who was a Saxon chieftain and owned all the lands between the rivers Humber and Tyne from about 620 AD. So this makes Otley therefore a borough older than both Leeds and Bradford.
00:17:14
Speaker
also gets a mention in William the Conqueror's 1086 Doomsday Book where it's referred to as Othelet and its coat of arms consists of three castles and a pair of crossed keys which is etched onto the other side of the clock tower. Now the clock tower is located in a marketplace and is right next to the British Heart Foundation charity shop which is the first haunted location on the tour and it used to be a building which towered over all the other shops in the marketplace and the clock tower as it was an entire story higher than it is now. I think it must have been um knocked down probably for like asbestos or some you know some reason or other but it used to be the most impressive building and now it's just sort of you know the British Art Foundation which is
00:18:04
Speaker
still quite impressive I guess in its own way. And once upon a time in the early Georgian era it was owned by three men John Charles and Fred Walker. They owned the house and then later after them it was owned by a JW Hellewell who ran his local grocery business from the building, which was known as the Oldie Corner Shop. Now, statements from staff in 1999 detail the presence of a mischievous spirit on the shop floor. So, for example, one shop member went one morning and it was complete and utter chaos in the shop. There was no sign of breaking whatsoever, but there were three smashed picture frames on the floor and the mannequins in the shop window had been turned around.
00:18:47
Speaker
Many of the staff members reported the smell of tobacco and pipe smoke on the shop floor often and lots of them heard footsteps walking across the floor while they were downstairs in the cellar and supposedly alone. Now doing the research it's quite funny finding out about these three men, the three smashed picture frames and this smell of tobacco which I'm wondering whether that was sampled by R.J.W. Heliwell in his old corner shop. But yeah, it would surprise me if they were still there lingering. The marketplace as well is really interesting to think about its past and some of the medieval marketplace vendors used to sort of haunt the cobbles once upon a time.
00:19:32
Speaker
So nowadays, Autley Marketplace is, to be fair, it's pretty bustling. There's a thrice weekly market and a farmer's market as well once a month. I think it's the first Monday of every month. But once upon a time in the medieval era, there was a eye licker who would quite literally lick the cataracts from people's eyes. Oh my god, that is gross. I know, it's horrible. But this would attract much attention from like passers-by so they'd all gather and watch as they licked people's eye jelly. Licked them all clean. I know. Oh my god. Do you know what the weirdest thing is? Apparently it still goes on today in some parts of the world. I'm not too sure where but I did like when I was googling eye liquor I found articles for places where they still
00:20:22
Speaker
still did that so you know if you ever get cataracts then i guess you'll know where to go oh my god that just that chills me more than the ghosts I know, it's disgusting, sorry. And just next door to that, arguably worse, depending on your preference, would have been the marketplace dentist who would use pliers to yank teeth from people's mouths, which they didn't have and any anaesthetics back then, so they were the marketplace vendors. While we're in the marketplace, a very haunted pub.
00:20:54
Speaker
called the Black Bull, which is, you know, have you been to that one? I have, yes, a couple of times, yeah. It's of course the oldest pub in Otley and is well known for that and is now a grade two listed building. Many of the regulars and customers do say that it's haunted and I fully believe them. People have often heard heavy footsteps again coming from the room above the bar and some customers have even reported having had their faces stroked by invisible fingers.
00:21:28
Speaker
ah yeah So it's it's best known for having been drunk dry as they say by Oliver Cromwell's troops on the eve of the Battle of Marston in 1644 but then they were featured more recently obviously on Channel 4's The Hairy Bikers They highlighted the importance of using local businesses and preserving local history, which is something I always tell the Ghost Tour members, is exactly what they're doing when they join while we're on the Black Bull.
00:21:59
Speaker
If you venture up Kurt Gate a little bit from the marketplace and you cross the road, you'll go past the Navi's Memorial, which is a stop on the tour, and then you walk through the parish churchyard, which is said to be haunted by a lady with long blonde hair, a white flowing dress and no eyes. They must have been licked out by the eye licker.
00:22:27
Speaker
She's often spotted by children and she's often seen meandering around the graves and singing to herself. But then when you go through the parish church, yeah, back to the Black Bull, there once upon a time was a, just north of the church, was a bone house, which was a small wooden shack where bones and skulls and all other parts belonging to the dead would be thrown. after they had risen to the ground surface after heavy bouts of rain. One evening, many, many moons ago, in the Black Bull pub, there were two men and they were drinking, well, there were probably more than two men, but at the time, and in the story, there were two men and they were drinking gallons of ale. And one of the men dared the other to venture to the bone house and retrieve a skull. And if he succeeded on this mission, a gallon of ale would be waiting for him, all paid for.
00:23:22
Speaker
So he ventured up to the bone house and approached it with gusto and found his trophy on the floor. unaware that his mate had slipped out the back and followed on after him up Kurt Gate. So he opened the door, picked up a skull and heard the words, that's mine. He dropped the skull in fright and then he dusted himself off and picked up another one. He heard the words, that's my father's. Sorry, I have to do the voice. I have to do the voice.
00:23:54
Speaker
So he dropped it again. Then he was gasping for a gallon of ale. So he picked it up another skull and heard the words, that's my grandfather's. I don't know how this is gonna sound on a record if I'm doing it anyway. It's great, I love it. So then he decided to challenge the voice and he said, who at that? and the devil came the reply wow i think you're a very greedy devil said the man and he scuttled off back to the pub threw his trophy on the ground and exclaimed i've won but it's the devil's and he's coming for it and then he got very very very drunk
00:24:31
Speaker
And the devil came. Oh, we don't know. I think it probably did. It's funny because I feel some of these, some of these um tales you're telling me, I have a weird kind of sense of like I might know them a little bit, especially with the charity shop ghost. When you were saying about, I was a bit like, I feel like I've heard little bits and bobs of this story before. It's like urban legends, isn't it? yeah how straight Yeah, I guess they do all sort of roll into one in a way. They influence each other. Yeah, they must do. I feel like all ghost stars, especially local ones, probably do merge and have, you know, from town to town, people will tell
00:25:15
Speaker
ghost stories that are similar and they you know it's like word of mouth isn't it sort of especially when you're telling ghost stories in the pub and things like that like things will get mashed together and change slightly depending on the town but it's quite interesting thinking about it like that and it's beautiful you know these stories need to be getting told you know like you said there's an art and a beauty in sharing stories i did an amazing ghost tour in robert hud's bay by rules that was my favorite yeah she's still going so glad to hear that when i was little like i went on that tour it definitely influenced this ghost tour because it was like my favorite one of my favorite childhood memories i love robert hud's bay
00:25:56
Speaker
It is beautiful. I went there yeah February after and did the tar and rose was just amazing. And she would just, you know, like dressed up as she were really into it. You could tell her passion or just oozing out of it. And it influenced me to do a whole podcast on Robin Hood's Bay ghosts and stuff, which I will link in the synopsis of this episode. So when I heard there was one down the road, I was just like, mate, I need to. And that was this was more or less also influenced by Rose as well, in a way. I mean, that was the first ghost tour I ever went on. And hi, Rose, if you're listening. I hope she is. Yeah, we're like proper fangirling over your Rose because you're awesome and it's great to see you thriving. You are into ghosts. You must like ghosts. Have you actually ever experienced anything paranormal yourself? Oh.
00:26:44
Speaker
Now we're talking. oh yeah Several times, actually. It's really strange, ah especially before and during the making of the ghost tour, funnily enough. I don't know if maybe I was just hypersensitive to it or they were trying to contact me, but I like to think that they like the ghost tour and they they like to be involved and they like that their stories are being shared. but In York was a strange one. In fact, there's two. When I was... ah where was I? It was... It's meant to be a really, really haunted area. In York. Barley Hall. I went through this little ginnel and my tall was... I was only about five people on the tall. This was the witch tall.
00:27:28
Speaker
There's about five people behind me, but they were a little distance behind because they're a bit slow, bless them. And I went forward and I was in this courtyard and into Barley Hall, beautiful this hall. And it's usually, it's often very quiet and it's quite hidden, but they say that it is haunted by the spectral presence of a lady. And that's sort of all we know. We don't know who it was, but it could have been a witch. We but don't know. And anyway, so I walked through the Skinnel and I just heard this like someone whispering and there are windows all around and I thought someone's actually, you know, taking the Mickey or what's going on. So I was sort of looking up and I just.
00:28:09
Speaker
sort of started thinking and what is still going and i didn't see anything there was literally no one there and then the rest of the tall court opened it just stopped but i just felt like you know and it feels eerie and it feels weird and i was just like right that was something then i knew exactly where it was and it was in the corner just before you go through the rest of the ginnel past the hall and it was this like a sloping roof and it was just up there it freaked me out. I did the rest of that stop and I just sort of kept looking up like as I was doing it which was a very professional but I did and I didn't see a thing there was absolutely no one there. So that was one york experience but then another one and you know these are they're quite they're quite little but when they sort of happened and you notice it it's there and it it sticks with you a bit. So the witches for the witches tour we got changed in a part of the
00:29:02
Speaker
So we put all our hats and that's where we sort of stored everything, the broomstick and stuff like that. And it was at the Duke of York pub, which is in Kings Square. ah So it's pretty central next to the shambles and you know, York, all the pubs that are haunted. Also, they say they are, they're all very old. So this one, we had to go right to the top of the pub. But i went I went in before the tour started and before I got changed for a week, as you do. And I went to the ladies toilet. and um and it was just very strange. The toilet roll just started sort of going down and I was like you know put my hand on it and stopped it and rolled it back again and then it started going again and then I stopped it and then it stopped and then it went down a little bit stopped on its own down a bit stopped on its own and then downloads more so I stopped it
00:29:55
Speaker
And then it did the same thing, went down, wouldn't stop, down, stopped, stayed for a while and I was like, stay, did what I had to do. And then it was really dramatic, just full throttle, went around, around, around, around, around, around, around, around. And I just stared at it until the whole role had fallen and was just all on the floor and the role was empty. Oh my God. It was really weird. That is a hell of a story. It was just really strange. And then I was just, I got out, washed my hands, did my tar and went home, but it was just like, I was so freaked out. God, you were still pooja pants? Well, I'd already done that, you see. Oh my God, that is mad. I know, I just, I think they were trying to mess with me, but I was just like, do you know what?
00:30:45
Speaker
all right mate it's calm down so um but yeah it was just it was strange it was a strange one but that again was just before uh well it was while i was writing and plotting for the ottie ghost tour i think it it was actually that one was my last ever witch tour as well So it was the last time I would have been getting changed to go to the Duke of York. So maybe they were just trying to say bye. I don't know. That has blown my mind. I mean, when you hear ghost stories, you know, you try and figure out what could cause that, but it's like, there's no explanation or unless there's just somebody in his eye with like some fishing line or someone pulling it, you know. It was held very strange. Yeah. And that was, you know, it was, it was on the wall as well. so it was
00:31:34
Speaker
I guess there could have been someone on the other side of the wall in the next room, but I don't but don't think, I don't know. That's one of my favourite ghost stories ever. Remember that? On my deathbed it's amazing. and It might be you in the next life. Keeping up all these ideas how to haunt people now. Yeah, right, I've got a good idea. Right, just go to the toilet. I have got, I've got another ghost story. It links with the ghost tour as well. This is actually very, well, I find this strange anyway. I don't tell my side on the ghost tour just because, you know, I kind of want to keep the stories as they are and stuff like that and relevant to the building.
00:32:18
Speaker
so There's a stop on the ghost tour and it's for the horse and farrier which is again an old pub. and It was built in like the 17th century and it was originally called the Four Horse Shoes which is likely because it was next to the old town blacksmith. Now the blacksmith in business for years and years went by the name of George Henry Hunt and he retired in 1950 No, sorry, he retired in 1946 and then died shortly after in 1950. So um he's been spotted by multiple people inside the pub and he's often spotted behind the bar and at the foot of the stairs that lead to the upstairs function room. And the ex-manager of the pub, who I know because I used to work at the Black Horse in Oakley as well,
00:33:15
Speaker
And he was a regular there, so I'm very grateful to him. He's told me a couple of ghost stories for the talk. But he told me of this one. So he awoke from his slumber in the night to a big man in a big black trench coat at the foot of his bed. Now he told me this before I'd done any research. into the horse and farrier's ghost, or the ex-farrier George, or a blacksmith George. And it was only when I was practicing the ghost tour
00:33:51
Speaker
and practicing the script and learning my lines and things like that, that I realized that I had seen him as well, which is quite weird. So getting delving into it, this happened a couple of years ago, two and a half or so years ago, when my parents or family, we moved from one house in Otley to another. So my mum and dad moved out into the sticks in the middle of a field into a converted stables. When we first moved, my bedroom, as usual to be fair, but we'd just moved so I had an excuse, it was a complete mess. I was also at uni at the time as well so I wasn't really living there, I was kind of half and half and there was a lot of just stuff everywhere. And I have occasionally suffered from sleep paralysis but that was one of the first times that I had. I was sort of like stuck in my sleep and the corner of my room
00:34:47
Speaker
and this is of course as before the ghost toys was years ago there was a tall older man in a big coat with some kind of tool and he just gave the air of Yorkshire grump you know like an old Yorkshire grumpy irritated man and I just got the sense that he was absolutely fuming And I didn't know why, but he seemed like a right git. And I tried to bend down to turn my light off, but I was, I was sort of still asleep. And then I sort of woke up and was able to do it. And I turned my light off and the switch was on the floor. And then I was, must've still been asleep and dreaming. Cause I just kept falling and falling and falling and falling. And then I sort of woke up again and he was still there. And I was like, God's sake, I'm still, I'm still, you know.
00:35:39
Speaker
and then I eventually broke out of it and I did turn the light off. But this really freaked out. But I recounted to myself everything that I knew about this guy. So I was like, right, Yorkshire, grumpy, big coat, you know, I just started thinking about it. And this sounds really weird, but, and there's no way of me proving it, but it's true. And my friends and family will tell you that it's true because I got his name and I thought, right, Jeff, I'm gonna call him Jeff, he seems like a Jeff. um He's old, he's grumpy, and I think he used to work here on the farm. And it was when I was rehearsing my lines, and he had been spotted as well by a friend of mine, my one of my best friends' brothers. he yeah He was going to the toilet, it was New Year's Eve, and um and he waited outside because he just saw through the crack that there was someone stood there and he thought that my brother or my dad was, you know, having a slash.
00:36:33
Speaker
So he didn't go in. um And he waited there for about five minutes. And then he poked the door open. There was no one there. So he came back to me and he said, Daisy, is this place haunted? And I was like, yeah. And he went, oh, I thought I saw a man. And I was like, oh, that's Jeff. And then no it wasn't until you know all this had happened. There was another instance where I thought I saw someone crossing the landing and stuff like that. And then I finally put two and two together when I was rehearsing my lines. Oh, he's not called Jeff. He's called George. and that was an old stables and he was a blacksmith so of course he's been to this old horse stables where they obviously used to be horses
00:37:11
Speaker
and has been meddling around with their shoes. I felt like i've I've met this guy and he is a git. Oh That's it. Oh my god. Yeah. I don't usually tell people that because it's a bit weird. It's amazing. I love it. I mean he's obviously rocking up looking for an arse and there's like you. maybe that's what it is. Maybe he is just looking for a horse. I don't know. Someone needs to give him one. Yeah, give him a ah five-finger sandwich. Yeah. That's what your fives, that's what my nan would say. What's your fives? Yeah, somebody needs to give me one of them. Or a horse. Or a horse. Either or, you know, I reckon it'd be happy. Gosh, these these stars are bloody amazing. They are so good. And I knew they would be. And I'm absolutely going to come on the ghost tour.
00:38:08
Speaker
Yes. I'm going to say it's every Saturday, isn't it? Yes, every Saturday. For the summer I've only been doing one. Usually it's at half six and eight o'clock, but for the summer I've been doing eight o'clock, but sometimes, you know, it just... We play it by ear if there's people who want to book in for the earlier one candy. Surely, it's better in the dark, surely. Yeah, I think so. But it's nice in the summer, you know, the bats are out and ghosts will still linger. They'll still be there. And you get a free drink as well at the Black Horse at the end.
00:38:39
Speaker
So have you heard it on the Belle Witch podcast? Do mention to Daisy that you heard about it. On this show, I mean, when you look at Otley, it has such an old worldy look, doesn't it? It's gorgeous, really, is Otley. I love going. I don't go very often because of all the chastity shops and I just spend too much money when I go. I know. Dangerous, dangerous. But it is fun. There's a there's a nice sort of zero waste shop as well. I have to say that because it's my mum's called called like like Nana did. So I'll give that a little shout out as well. Yeah, and there's the 20p shop. I mean, I don't know anywhere else in the country that's got a 20p shop. No, you cannot go to Oakley and not go to the 20p shop.
00:39:23
Speaker
Every single thing, listeners, is 20p. Everything. Anything. Everything. Everything. But apparently, one time, the lady who was working there had just bought like a brand new Hoover. for the shop, like to hoover it. And she went out the back. I mean, you know where this is going. She went out the back and another lady or whoever was working there was like, a you know, working. And so I was like, oh, this please. They bought it for 20p and she came back. She was like, where's my hoover? Oh my God. You'd be devastated, wouldn't you? I know. To be that person who got a brand new hoover for 20p. I'd be like, are you sure? Are you sure?
00:40:06
Speaker
Yeah. It's too good to be true. I'd feel like, thank you, about now. And then I wanted to point stuff. Would hand you either. Record the 20p shops haunted. Probably, yeah. I kind of feel like I should go do a seance in it or something. Yeah, that would be fun. Some very, very cheap ghosts. cut ghost title for the episode yeah cheap goes It's been amazing. Thank you so much for coming on and telling us a few ghost stories. There is so many more, but we can't tell you them all because you're going to have to go on the ghost hunt and experience beautiful Otley. Where can we find your social media websites?
00:40:47
Speaker
Yeah so Otley Ghost Tours you can just search into Google and it will likely come up with a website called Turnip Fish Theatre Company which you can book through there. The handle for Instagram again is Turnip Fish Theatre and same for Facebook and for Twitter slash X. Yeah everything like that if you just you could type in Otley Ghost Tour or Turnip Fish and it should come up. So Turnip Fish is the theatre company from which the ghost tours are running. And if you'd like to check out anything else that they're doing, we've got an Edinburgh Fringe show coming up, so if anyone's going to Fringe, please, please come and say hello. We're playing at The Space at Surgeons Hall from the 12th to the 24th of August, theatre three. ah So it should be a lot of fun, be a lot of magic, witches and smoothies. So that and ghosts, if they're your cup of tea.
00:41:38
Speaker
Such a good combination right there, witches, gross movies. yes it's not It's not your company then. I thought it was your company. No, it is my company as well. Oh, it is. There we go. You need to blow your trumpet, girl. So yeah, Turnip Fish started a couple of years ago in Norwich just after I, well, while I was doing my degree and brought it with me to Leeds. Why Turnip Fish? Tell me the story. Turn It Fish is a song by my favourite band called the Sultans of Ping FC. If you've ever heard the song, it's me jumping. Turn It Fish is the B-side and it's brilliant, so that's where it comes from. We used to be White Lion Theatre Company because my last name was Lions and our co-founder Amelia's last name was White, but it sounded a little bit like a pub slash an EDL group, so we decided to
00:42:33
Speaker
cancel that name and go with Turnip Fish instead. I really do prefer Turnip Fish and I'm kind of concerned that I didn't work that out to be honest. I should have worked that out. It's a thinker, it's a thinker. Brilliant. And I always ask this one question before I let my guests go. Would you consider consider yourself a witch? Are you interested in witchcraft? yeah i reckon i am i feel like witchcraft is it's growing on me i have the bits i have the bats i've also always been interested in crystals and plants and nature and everything like that as i look around like the more witchy things i can see i've got a little gypsy love spell somewhere around here you but yeah i need to find more time to practice the craft but i would definitely
00:43:20
Speaker
like to consider myself a witch. I'm just gradually coming out of the broom closet. And that's okay. That absolutely is okay. Take your time and enjoy the moment. And I find with witchcraft and paganism, it just comes along, knocks on your door and opens you up a little bit and then just kind of like scurries in when you're not watching. And then before you know it, you're like a fully fledged, obsessed witch. Yeah, and I feel like when I was doing the witch tours in York as well, I was literally walking around dressed as a witch. That was probably the most witchy I've seen for quite obvious reasons, but yeah. But not with a green face. Not quite. I had a green ribbon and a green stick. That's awesome. I'm just not a fan of of the green face. ah No, it did not with a green face. Not that time.
00:44:12
Speaker
You have been listening to the Belle Witch Podcast, created with love and magic by me, Swales, the friendly green witch. I love to hear from you and I absolutely love, love, love, love to celebrate you. If you have a podcast or a business, a witchy business, a pagan related topic you love to talk about, you can reach me on the Belle Witch Podcast at Yahoo! dot com Send me a trailer and I will absolutely play it, because there is magic in sharing audiences amongst podcasts. Music by Jeff Harvey of Pixabay. The official Bell Witch photographer is the lovely Beverly Thornton. Thank you so much for choosing the Bell Witch podcast to fill your ears. Stay magical witches!