The Cornish Bird

If there is one mythical creature that Cornwall is famous for it is its Little People or piskies. This episode looks at two stories of folks being led astray and disappearing into magical realms that have been recorded in Cornish folklore.

For roughly one hundred years there have been strange sightings of a half man, half bird creature close to the church in the small Cornish village of Mawnan Smith.

The small village of Flushing near Falmouth was once known as Nankersey and has a fascinating history, not least its connection to the famous Packet Ships. In 1803 one of those vessels, the Lady Hobart, hit an iceberg 350 miles from the nearest land and what followed is an amazing story of survival.

Sarah Polgrean was hung outside Bodmin Jail in August 1820 for poisoning her husband, but what exactly were the circumstances leading to his death and should she have been executed given the flimsy evidence against her or was her conviction more of a 19th century witch hunt?

In this episode we take a look at a little known aspect of one of the most critical battles in British naval history, this is the story of an encounter between four Cornish fishermen and the Spanish Armada.

Who doesn't love a story about strange things falling from the sky!? Listen to the true tale of an unusual weather event that occurred near Redruth in 1886.

Carved into a smooth rock face of a hidden cave on Crantock beach is the face of a woman and a strange poem . . . discover the story of the artist behind this work and my struggle to uncover the truth behind the legends.

This bizarre story of love, marriage and burnt effigies takes place in the little village of Bugle, deep in Cornwall's Clay Country. Cornish writer Elizabeth Dale tells one of the strangest stories she has come across in all her years researching Cornwall's history.

In this episode I tell the story of Tryphena Pendarves and look into the stories that her ghost haunts Treslothan Church and the nearby Pendarves woods. I also tell my own spooky experience with this place . . .

The people of Cornwall held on to their belief in witchcraft, charms and fortune telling well into the 20th century. One man, John Roberts, known as Jan Taddy, was thought to be a white witch and was charged and imprisoned for telling fortunes in 1903. But given that many of his clientele appear to have been wealthy women, is there more to this story than meets the eye.