Ruth is Stranger Than Fiction

The county of Norfolk has its fair share of glacial erratics: rocks deposited by the movements of ice many thousands of years ago. These stones now stand, aliens to the landscape around them, and magnets for mysterious legends and strange folklore. In this mini episode, we hear about three such boulders and their sometimes surprising stories: the great stone of Lyng (St Edmund!), the Stockton standing stone (cursed!), and the Merton stone (orgies! Armageddon!).

We’re going to Essex! Not in real life of course, but via the medium of podcasting (with a little help from Google Street View). It’s time for a visit to Boote House in Felsted to see the rather unusual carving that adorns its walls - it’s the Felsted hag! But who or what does this grotesque figure represent? In our quest to find out, we come across shipyards and witch trials, and cast aspersions on the acting skills of both Jude Law and Sean Pertwee.

Visit the hag here!

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It’s 27th July, 1921, and King Street in the centre of Cambridge is bustling with the crowds of the Wednesday market. But something terrible is about to unfold at Alice Lawn’s general store… join Ruth and Chris for the story of one of the most violent and shocking murders in the history of the city. Where will the investigations of Constable Alfred Flint lead? What is the significance of a morning pint at the Rose and Crown pub? And will an unreliable young bicycle thief ultimately be found guilty of the crime? Let’s find out.

For this mini episode we delve into the murky world of grindylows and water hags - bogeymen (or perhaps more accurately, bogeywomen) from folklore that serve to warn children away from the watery danger of rivers, lakes, wells, and resevoirs. Starting with Mother Lumpkin’s hole on the Minsmere River in Suffolk, a quick exploration of these straggle-haired, sharp-toothed creatures whisks us from East Anglia to the rest of the UK, Europe, and beyond as Mother Lumpkin is joined by Peg Powler, Jenny Greenteeth, and more alarming child-snatchers! Watch out for their grasping fingers.

Episode illustration shows an engraving of the sea witch by Harry Clarke.

In the local history books of Suffolk, one name is particularly associated with witchcraft and wizardry - that of old Winter. According to tales handed down from generation to generation, Winter the cunning man used his skills for good, helping the people of rural Suffolk to deter criminals and fight back against malevolent curses and bedevilment. In this mini episode we hear several stories of Winter’s escapades, culminating in the horrific saga of some capering sheep and the fiery death of Ipswich woman Grace Pett via internal combustion in the year 1744. Happy 2021!

Get those sleighbells ready, oh lovely listeners, and grab yourself a large serving of eggnog… our first Christmas episode is here. The esteemed M.R. James is our companion tonight. Renowned scholar, one time director of The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, and perhaps most importantly, finest purveyor of the festive tradition of stories of the supernatural. It may be a mini episode but it’s stuffed full of macabre musings, sinister landscapes, and brandy… happy Christmas one and all!

It’s time for another mini Stranger! Recorded during lockdown, Ruth and Chris investigate the most peculiar tale of the green children of Woolpit, Suffolk. The sudden and unexplained appearance of two mysterious and verdant siblings in the 12th century has subsequently given rise to folklore and speculation, with theories spanning from fairy folk to, gasp, ALIENS! Join us for a brief romp through the history and theories behind the story.

Episode illustration - Babes in the Wood etching by Hubert von Herkomer.

Ruth is Stranger than Fiction makes a rare foray into the 20th century with the bizarre story of Harold Davidson, the rector of the Norfolk parish of Stiffkey from 1906 - 1932. We are joined by old favourite Jake Dyer and a delightful new guest, Ed Ramage, to explore the unusual escapades of this unlikely figure, from a career on the London stage to his self-proclaimed role as ‘the prostitute’s padre.’ Prepare yourselves for the usual strange alcoholic concoctions (Stripper Vicars and Hanky Pankies anyone?) and rather a lot of lewd innuendos (in YOUR endo, etc etc…). It’s one of the silliest yet.

Important note: never fear, we recorded this episode sometime before the lockdown 2.0 so no rules were broken!

Happy Hallowe’en to you all! We’ve got some spooky stories for you this episode with further investigations into ghostly goings on through the history of Cambridge. Our special guest is Justin Crane, who recounts some tales of the macabre and mysterious and offers a rather alarming box of wine. We also cover Abbey House, said to be the most haunted building in the city and home to an unlikely selection of phantoms, including an overbearing squire, a tragic nun, and a strange creature called Wolfie.

Episode illustration - Hare in the Snow by Ferdinand von Rayski.

Welcome back to our exploration of the sordid trade of the resurrectionists of 19th Century Britain. In this second episode, recovered from the hysteria inspired by Nelson the clown and his unlikely goose chariot (see Part 1), we finally get to the particular case of the body snatchers of Great Yarmouth. What brought them to this town on the Norfolk coast, so far from the medical schools of the cities? How did the residents of the town react to the snatching of their recently deceased relatives? And what became of the stolen corpses? It’s a grisly tale and no mistake.