The Shropshire Witches Podcast

A short, haunting tale of Marion de la Bruyere at Ludlow Castle. Alix reads the story of a life cut short and the ghost said to linger, a quiet reminder of history’s darker side.

The Devil’s Chair is one of Shropshire’s most enduring legends, a stone seat shrouded in mystery and superstition. Local folklore warns of anyone who dares to sit upon it after dark risks more than a fright – the dead walking when the veil between worlds is thinnest. In this narration, I take you to that solitary chair, exploring its history and its spirits.

This episode welcomes historian and broadcaster Matt Lewis to explore how the Middle Ages imagined monsters. From dragons and demons to mysterious beasts said to haunt the edge of the known world, we look at what these creatures reveal about medieval fears, faith and storytelling. Where did these strange beings come from and why did people believe in them so strongly? Matt unpacks the sources, symbolism and surprising truths behind the monsters that stalked the medieval imagination.

In this bonus content Alix Chidley-Uttley reads chapter one of that most spooky tale, The Woman in Black.

What do our funerals say about us? In this episode of The Shropshire Witches, we explore the rituals, superstitions, and customs that surround death from the practical to the profound. We look at how people have marked the passage from life to death. Some practices linger, others have vanished but the urge to ritualise grief remains.
Expect folklore, history, and a few unexpected truths about how the dead were once honoured and what we’ve chosen to forget.