Albert Einstein, one of the 20th century's most transformative figures, found refuge in the secluded expanse of North Norfolk's coast during a critical juncture in his life. His odyssey to Roughton Heath was fraught with danger, yet it proved to be a defining moment in his evolution as both a scientist and a public intellectual, whose revolutionary ideas had the potential to reshape our understanding of the world.

If you're captivated by such narratives, please consider leaving a review, subscribing, and recommending our podcast to others who share your passion for history, folklore, and the macabre in East Anglia. This episode was brought to you by me, Richard Sheppard, with the insightful research of Dr. Linda Sheppard. Should you feel inspired to reach out, contact us at hallowedhistories@gmail.com.

We return from a short break with more tales of the strange and extraordinary from England's East Coast. In this episode, we explore a recent excavation along the River Nene near Peterborough. A farm has been discovered, offering a unique glimpse into the lives, labor, and constructions of Bronze Age inhabitants. We delve into how a fire immortalized Must Farm and discuss the ways in which these ancient people, though from a distant past, share many similarities with us.

If you're captivated by such narratives, please consider leaving a review, subscribing, and recommending our podcast to others who share your passion for history, folklore, and the macabre in East Anglia. This episode was brought to you by me, Richard Sheppard, with the insightful research of Dr. Linda Sheppard. Should you feel inspired to reach out, contact us at hallowedhistories@gmail.com

We are reaching the end of our strand of the Winter Tales here at Hallowed Histories, but we couldn't resist a couple more stories best enjoyed after dark.

For the penultimale episode we are drawing again from the anthology Slow Burn Horror. We supported this project from it's Kickstarter inception all the way through to the beautiful book we now have on the shelf. We kicked off the season with One Candle by Kathryn Leigh, and now we revisit this treasure trove again with Within Walls by Georgina Pearsall. It's a remarkable story, full of squirming eeriness and atmosphere, plus it's set in Norwich.

Reading it is the multitalented Emma Zadow. Emma is a playwright, actor, writer and all round artist. I met her at Adam Z Robinson's ghost story writing seminar at the National Centre for Writing. Check out Adam's episode on my other podcast, as well as Steph McKenna's episode from the NCW.

This has been Hallowed Histories with me, Richard Sheppard, with research and tech support by Dr Linda Sheppard and Stephen L. Parkes. Write to us at ⁠hallowedhistories@gmail.com⁠ if you fancy, and we’ll see you again soon.

When we left Sherlock Holmes he was just about to explain who and how the vicious attack on Mr and Mrs Cubbit was perpetrated. We return you once more to the beautiful Norfolk countryside, the scene of a most gruesome murder. Once again, thanks to David Mccabe for his reading. Enjoy, and we’ll see you next week for another of Hallowed Histories Winter’s Tales.

This has been Hallowed Histories with me, Richard Sheppard, with research and tech support by Dr Linda Sheppard and Stephen L. Parkes. Write to us at hallowedhistories@gmail.com if you fancy, and we’ll see you again soon.

Hello and welcome back to the Hallowed Histories strand of Winters tales, and tonight we have a real classic for you. The Adventure of the Dancing Men is a classic slice of Sherlock Holmes, and one set in North Walsham. We’re breaking it into two parts for you, so stay tuned for the conclusion in a couple of days.

Arthur Conan Doyle was a frequent visitor to East Anglia, and as we covered in our episode on Black Shuck, he drew inspiration from Norfolk’s demon dog to create one of his most iconic creations – the Hound of the Baskervilles.

During another visit to Happisburgh in 1903, Conan Doyle noticed the sketches of the landlord’s son in the hotel he was staying. These dancing stick figure men became the inspiration for the macabre code that is at the heart of this story.

Conan Doyle was a man with many interests – golf, folklore, walking, ghost stories, you know, all those things that we do best around here.

Breathing life into the story is our reader, the actor David Mccabe. As with a lot of our readers this season, I met David while working on the Maddermarket theatre’s revival of Dracula last November. David played what is traditionally the thankless role of Jonathan Harker, but brought enough wit and energy to his acting to make sure his performance really stood out.

It was a pleasure to share a dressing room with him as well, because he is one of the most well-read men I have had the pleasure to meet, and that’s always a quality to treasure.

But for right now, imagine yourself in the study of the world’s most famous detective, with the fire roaring, foggy London just through the window, and a case about to present itself.

Contact us at hallowedhistories@gmail.com for more details and stay tuned every week until well past the twelfth night for more chills.

We present the 1992 adaptation of Robert Westall's classic, Norfolk-set novella, Yaxley's Cat. Set in Cley-Next-The Sea, it combines folk horror, pagan magic and the usual warnings about city folk going to the country. Robert Westall's work can be found here

Director: Nigel Bryant

Rose: Kathryn Hurlbutt

Jane: Susan Mann

Tim: Richard Pearce

Vicar: Jonathan Wyatt

Miss Yaxley: Patience Tomlinson

Nathan Gotobed: Peter Tuddenham

Jack Sydenham: Graham Howes

Shopkeeper & Doctor: Jo Kendall Contact us at hallowedhistories@gmail.com for more details and stay tuned every week until well past the twelfth night for more chills.

We're back with our strand of ghost stories for Christmas, this time expanded all the way through January and encompassing ghost stories, horror stories, detective stories and anything else with a local connection that tickles us.

This time Kathryn Leigh returns to haunt us with One Candle, an itchy and scratchy tale of moths, mothers and monsters. Kathryn recently collaborated on the Slow Burn horror anthology we have been banging the drum for, more details here.

It's read by John Davis, most recently seen as Van Helsing in the Maddermarket Theatre's revival of Dracula, who brings all his formidable talent to this eerie tale that will have you turning the bedside lights off for a change.

Contact us at hallowedhistories@gmail.com for more details and stay tuned every week until the twelfth night for more chills.

When we left our last episode, the storm had hit East Anglia with full force. Lives were lost, communities shattered and thousands were left without electric, light, heat and hope. Today we are going to focus on the community of Sea Palling, and how one of the worst hit villages survived the night, and how the lessons of the storm led to investment in infrastructure that would ensure it never happened again.
Please leave a review, subscribe and recommend this podcast to anyone you know with an interest in East Anglia, history, folklore and the macabre. Contact us at hallowedhistories@gmail.com if the spirit moves you, or check out our website at hallowed-histories.org. This episode was hosted by me, Richard Sheppard, with research by Dr Linda Sheppard and tech wizardry by Stephen L Parkes.