The Fairy Dance at Morlais Hill

There are places where the veil between worlds grows thin…

High above Merthyr Tydfil, the ruined walls of Morlais Castle have watched the centuries drift by. Yet local people have long whispered that, on certain midsummer nights, music can still be heard echoing among the ancient stones. A harp. A fiddle. Laughter carried upon the wind. They say those who follow the melody may find themselves welcomed into a dance unlike any other—a dance where joy is boundless, the night never seems to end… and time itself begins to lose all meaning.

In this haunting episode of Time Between Times, Welsh storyteller Owen Staton brings an old valley legend to life in his own rich and atmospheric style. Journey into a forgotten world of moonlit castles, the mysterious Tylwyth Teg, and a young collier whose single step into the fairy dance will change everything.

So, draw your chair a little closer to the fire, let the shadows gather, and listen carefully… for if, one summer evening, you should hear music drifting across a lonely Welsh hillside, remember this tale.

The Fair Folk are not always searching for victims.

Sometimes…

They are simply looking for one more dancer.

If you enjoy Time Between Times, you can support the podcast and help keep these old stories alive by visiting:

Website: https://www.welshstoryteller.com

Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/owenstaton

Substack: https://owenstaton.substack.com

 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/owenstaton7

You can also follow Owen on social media by searching “Time Between Times Storytelling with Owen Staton” on Facebook and your favourite podcast platform.

Until next time…

Nos da… and don’t stray from the path.

High upon the lonely slopes of Mynydd y Drum lies an old Welsh legend that has haunted the valleys for generations. It tells of hidden treasure, forbidden magic, a bargain struck in desperation… and a single candle whose slow, mysterious disappearance marked the passing of a man’s life.

In this episode, Owen Staton retells the chilling tale of John Gethin and the Candle, one of Wales’ most unsettling folk legends. Journey into a world where ancient mountains guard terrible secrets, where courage is tested against supernatural terror, and where every bargain has its price.

Then, as the fire crackles at the heart of the forest, Owen is joined by the wonderful Eleanor Greenwood—performer, writer, mask maker and storyteller. Together they explore folklore, performance, the power of masks, and the timeless magic of stories that refuse to be forgotten.

You can discover more about Eleanor’s work here:🌿 https://www.eleanorgreenwood.co.uk

Eleanors Youtube channel is here

https://www.youtube.com/@Eleanor_r_Greenwood

Eleanor and Owen's Film - Morwyn llyn Y fan

https://youtu.be/j4akhjGQ65Y?si=ARnYg0prduGFTKOZ

Podcast thumbnail features one of Eleanors masked performances as featured on her webpage .

If you enjoy Time Between Times, please consider supporting the podcast and helping these stories continue to reach listeners around the world.

🌙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/owenstaton7🔥 Ko-fi: https://www.ko-fi.com/owenstaton🌲 Website: https://www.welshstoryteller.com

Thank you, as always, for joining me beside the fire. Draw your chair a little closer, listen carefully to the wind, and remember…

Some treasures are best left unclaimed .

Take care

Owen

The White Rider of Maes Gwenllian

This week, gather with me beside the fire as we journey into one of the most inspiring and haunting stories in all of Welsh history.

Together, we travel back to the year 1136, when Wales stood on the brink of being overwhelmed by the Norman Marcher Lords. At the heart of that struggle was a remarkable woman—Princess Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd—who refused to wait behind castle walls. Instead, she mounted her horse, drew her sword, and led her people into battle in defence of her homeland.

But history is only the beginning…

For when the battle was over and Gwenllian fell upon the fields of Kidwelly, the people of Wales believed her story had not ended. Across the lonely marshes of Maes Gwenllian, where mist curls through the reeds and silence hangs heavy in the evening air, many have claimed to see a spectral rider upon a white horse. A noble figure searching endlessly through the twilight—not for revenge, but for her children, her people, and the Wales she gave everything to protect.

Tonight, we’ll explore both the history and the haunting, discovering how one woman’s extraordinary courage transformed her into one of the greatest heroines of Wales and one of its most enduring legends.

So settle beside the fire, let the flames warm your face, and listen for the distant thunder of ghostly hooves across the Welsh night.

Welcome… to Time Between Times.

If you enjoy these stories and would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here:

🌙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/owenstaton7

☕ Ko-fi: https://www.ko-fi.com/owenstaton

🌿 Website: https://www.welshstoryteller.com

Tickets for the Ghost light performed by Owen Staton

https://pontardaweartscentre.com/shows/the-ghost-light-with-owen-staton/

You can also subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, leave a rating or review, and share the episode with anyone who loves folklore, history, myths, legends and ghost stories.

Until next time…

Nos da.

Owen x

n this enchanting episode of Time Between Times, Owen journeys to the rugged shores of Scotland to tell the haunting folkloric tale of The Selkie’s Skin — a story of love, longing, and the irresistible call of the sea. Beneath the glow of the moon and the whisper of the tide, this ancient legend unfolds with all the mystery and melancholy that has captivated listeners for generations.

Then, as the flames crackle at the firepit deep within the heart of the forest, Owen is joined by the remarkable Natalie Huber Rodriguez, an extraordinary storyteller from the Taíno Nation of America. Natalie shares the inspiration behind her acclaimed podcast, Monstress, and speaks passionately about the power of storytelling, heritage, and cultural memory.

To complete this unforgettable evening, Natalie honours us with a deeply moving tale from her tribal folklore — a story rich with wisdom, emotion, and ancestral spirit, reminding us that the oldest stories are often the ones that speak most powerfully to the human heart.

So settle beside the fire, listen to the wind through the trees, and step once more into the Time Between Times.

www.welshstoryteller.com

www.ko-fi.com/owenstaton

www.patreon.com/owenstaton7

Please find Monstress presented by Natalie on the link below

https://open.spotify.com/show/25ieyZR3Sb6KcZ6b6loB4h?si=097e5ce23f774c3a

Find Natalie on Instagram

@asihacuya

This week on Time Between Times Storytelling with Owen Staton, we’re staying close to home as we climb one of the most atmospheric roads in South Wales…

The lonely Bwlch Road between Baglan and Cwmavon.

Many of us have driven this road countless times. We’ve watched the mist roll over the mountain, felt the wind buffet the car, and admired the breathtaking views across Port Talbot and the Afan Valley. But what if this ancient pass remembers far more than it reveals?

Local legend speaks of a mysterious figure standing beside the old mine workings high on the mountain. Silent. Motionless. Forever pointing into the darkness beneath the earth.

Who is he?

A miner who never returned home?

A guardian watching over those still resting beneath the mountain?

Or a warning to those who venture too close to forgotten places?

In this new episode, I weave together the history of the Bwlch, the rich mining heritage of the Port Talbot area, and one of its most intriguing ghost stories into a tale of memory, mystery and the enduring spirit of our Welsh landscape.

If you’ve ever travelled the road between Cwmavon and Baglan, this story may make you see it in a very different light.

So dim the lights, settle by the fire, and join me as we journey once more into the Time Between Times…

🎙️ Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

🌙 More stories: www.welshstoryteller.com

☕ Support the podcast: www.ko-fi.com/owenstaton

❤️ Become a patron: www.patreon.com/owenstaton7

Nos da, my friends… and if you find yourself crossing the Bwlch after dark, keep your eyes on the roadside… because some sentinels never abandon their post.

The Fairy Funeral

This week on Time Between Times Storytelling with Owen Staton, we leave the well-worn paths behind and climb into the lonely Welsh hills, where the veil between our world and the Otherworld is said to be at its thinnest.

When an old shepherd hears the distant ringing of unseen bells, he finds himself standing before a silent funeral procession unlike any ever witnessed by mortal eyes. Drawn towards a tiny white-thorn coffin carried by the mysterious Tylwyth Teg, he uncovers an ancient truth about memory, loss, and the stories that refuse to die.

Inspired by the rich folklore of Wales, The Fairy Funeral is an original tale of haunting beauty that explores the hidden roads of the Fair Folk and reminds us that every name remembered keeps a light burning against the darkness.

So dim the lights, settle by the fire, and join me for another journey into the places where myth lingers in the mist and every whisper on the wind carries the echo of an older world.

Welcome… to  The Time Between Times.

www.welshstoryteller.com

www.ko-fi.com/owenstaton

www.patreon.com/owenstaton7

High above an ancient Cornish church, something waits in the gathering dusk.

In 1976, terrified witnesses reported seeing a towering winged figure perched upon the church tower at Mawnan Smith. With glowing eyes, vast feathered wings, and a shape that seemed both human and owl, the creature would become one of Britain’s most enduring modern mysteries: the Owlman of Mawnan.

Join Owen Staton as we journey into the shadowed woodlands of Cornwall, where ancient trees crowd forgotten paths and old stones hold older secrets. Together we’ll explore the chilling encounters, the folklore of the night, and the unsettling feeling that sometimes, when darkness falls, something may be watching from above.

So settle by the fire, listen to the wind beyond the window, and keep your eyes on the sky.

Because tonight, we enter the woods beneath the church tower… and search for the Owlman.

Welcome to The Time Between Times.

Take care

Owen x

www.welshstoryteller.com

www.ko-fi.com/owenstaton

www.patreon.com/owenstaton7

The Red Lady of Paviland.

Friends, tonight I’m taking you to a place where the land falls away into the sea, where the wind howls across the cliffs of Gower and the waves whisper against ancient stone. Hidden there is a cave that kept its secret for more than 33,000 years.

In the latest episode of The Time Between Times, we journey deep into Ice Age Wales to uncover the extraordinary story of the Red Lady of Paviland — one of the oldest ceremonial burials ever discovered in Western Europe.

This is a story that has everything I love: mammoths wandering across frozen landscapes, ancient rituals lost to time, archaeological mysteries, and a remarkable discovery that challenged everything people thought they knew about the distant past.

Who was the young man buried beneath a blanket of red ochre? Why was he laid to rest with such care? And what can his grave tell us about the beliefs, hopes and dreams of people who lived tens of thousands of years ago?

It’s a tale of wonder, mystery and deep human connection — a reminder that even across unimaginable stretches of time, the people of the past are never quite as distant as they seem.

So pull up a chair by the fire, settle in, and join me as we step beyond history and into deep time itself.

I can’t wait for you to hear this one. Welcome… to The Time Between Times.

www.welshstoryteller.com

www.ko-fi.com/owenstaton- Please buy me a Ko-fi

www.patreon.com/owenstaton7- Become a Patreon

The Death Messenger of Mellincourt

Three knocks.

A cold winter night.

And a visitor who never arrives by chance.

In this haunting journey into the folklore of the Neath Valley, Owen Staton ventures deep into the shadows of Welsh belief to uncover the chilling tale of The Death Messenger. Drawn from the pages of nineteenth-century folklore, this unforgettable story tells of Modryb Nan of Mellincourt, an old woman who receives a mysterious midnight visitor dressed in black. A figure whose face is never seen. A figure everyone knows, yet nobody dares name.

As the fire burns low and moonlight spills across the mountains, a young man witnesses a terrifying encounter that will stay with him forever: a dance with Death itself.

Rich with atmosphere, ancient superstition, and the wild beauty of the Welsh landscape, this episode explores one of Wales’ most unsettling traditions—where Angau, the personification of death, is not an idea but a presence that walks the lonely roads between worlds.

So settle beside the fire, listen for the wind beyond the door, and pray you do not hear three knocks in the darkness.

Because some visitors arrive only once.

And when they leave, they never travel alone.

www.welshstoryteller.com

www.ko-fi.com/owenstaton

On a wild and windswept night in Cornwall, the distant cry of hounds carries across the moor.

They are searching still.

In this episode of Time Between Times, we delve into the chilling legend of Dando, the hunting priest whose thirst, pride, and reckless words led him into the company of the Devil himself. What began as a Sunday hunt through the Cornish countryside became a ride into darkness from which there could be no return.

Join Owen Staton beside the fire as we journey through ancient valleys, moonlit rivers, and haunted moorlands where the Wild Hunt still rides. Hear of spectral hounds with burning eyes, a mysterious stranger bearing an infernal drink, and a cursed priest condemned to an eternal chase beneath storm-filled skies.

This is a tale of temptation and damnation, of loyalty beyond death, and of the terrible price paid by those who follow their desires too far.

So settle back, listen to the wind outside your window, and ask yourself…

If you heard the baying of hounds in the darkness, would you dare to follow?

Some hunts end at Sunset and some hunts never end .

www.welshstoryteller.com

Owen's Ko-fi page

www.ko-fi.com/owenstaton