Dark Darzet – Details, episodes & analysis

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In this episode, David, Henry, and Ross embark on a journey between the imposing Corfe Castle and the idyllic coastal village of Studland. Along the way, they detour to uncover the shrouded secrets of Rempstone Stone Circle.

Nestled beneath a canopy of ancient holly and fir trees, the trio explores the weathered remains of this 4,000-5,000-year-old monument. Their exploration takes an unexpected turn as they encounter remnants of local tradition. They craft a symbolic "Green Man" offering and fling mud at a bewildered Ross.

Intrigued by the site's history, our intrepid hosts delve into local lore, unearthing whispers of magical rituals once performed by the infamous Aleister Crowley. Stay tuned for a discussion on whether "hung like a shew" is truly an insult or a peculiar compliment!

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We went to Knowlton Church, a ruined church in Dorset, UK, which is said to be one of the most haunted places in Dorset. The church is located in a beautiful countryside setting, and the surrounding area is said to be home to many ghosts and spirits. We visited the church on a Sunday morning, and the sun was shining brightly. We felt a sense of peace and tranquillity at the church, and we did not experience any negative vibes. The bells of Knowlton Church were stolen, and the third bell was either thrown into the river or cursed by a witch.

Watch the video where we visited the site:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDazGx2TAk0&list=PL7hdqQ7VjXDqDZLUuiVPzdV5VuonOPWFV&index=6

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The Ghost of the Toll Gate 

A witch, who had taken the form of a black cat, was killed while sitting on the toll gate in Ulwell near Swanage. Since then, the gate is said to open for those who travel late at night...

The Sheela Na Gig of Studland

St Nicolas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, and students.

After raiding Lindisfarne Priory in Northumbria in AD793, the Vikings occupied, harassed, and sacked parts of England until the Norman Conquest. Studland's own church was destroyed in C9, and Wareham was sacked at least three times.

Studland's St Nicola church is unmistakably Norman and probably dates from the end of the 11th century. Oral tradition tells us that it was used by smugglers to store contraband between the 16th and 19th centuries. One of its most notable features is its corbels.

An ornamental bracket that juts from a wall to support a superincumbent weight is called a corbel. A corbel is an integral piece of the wall, while a console is attached to the structure. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger" in England.

The corbels in Studland include a copulating couple, one (maybe two) shela na gigs and a couple of men who have had their knobs knocked off.

Sheela na gigs are figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva. They are architectural grotesques found throughout most of Europe on cathedrals, castles, and other buildings. The greatest concentrations can be found in Ireland, Great Britain, France and Spain, sometimes together with male figures. Ireland has the greatest number of surviving sheela na gig carvings; Joanne McMahon and Jack Roberts cite 101 examples in Ireland and 45 examples in Britain

Most of all the surviving in situ sheela na gigs are found in areas of Anglo-Norman conquest (12th century). The areas that remained "native Irish" have few sheela na gigs. It is argued that their location on churches and the grotesque features of the figures, by medieval standards, suggest that they represented female lust as hideous and sinfully corrupting.

Another theory is that the carvings are remnants of a pre-Christian fertility or mother goddess religion. They note what they claim are differences of materials and styles of some sheela na gigs from their surrounding structures, and noting that some are turned on their side, to support the idea that they were incorporated from previous structures into early Christian buildings.

Jørgen Andersen writes that the name is an Irish phrase, originally "Sighle na gCíoch", meaning "the old hag of the breasts"

Watch the videos we made visiting these sites here:

https://tr.ee/te6j3DEKxS

Find the places we visited on our Dark Darzet map here:

https://tr.ee/dtg8GstU2i

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https://tr.ee/Y0m3vWrIXc

Buy a Tshirt here:

https://tr.ee/58AK3noXCV

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Listen to Ross on his other podcast here:

https://tr.ee/58AK3noXCV

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A Roman road runs through Thorncombe Wood at Higher Bockhampton (near Dorchester) with legends of a ghostly centurion who roams upon it!

Thorncombe Wood has been a wonderful feature of the Dorset countryside as far back as the time of famous novelist Thomas Hardy in the 1800s.

David and Ross went to explore the site of the haunting, beautifully described in the book Mysterious Dorset by Rodney Legg, kindly donated to the podcast by friend of the show Gareth

Watch the videos we made visiting these sites here:

https://tr.ee/te6j3DEKxS

Find the places we visited on our Dark Darzet map here:

https://tr.ee/dtg8GstU2i

Buy a badge and sticker here:

https://tr.ee/Y0m3vWrIXc

Buy a Tshirt here:

https://tr.ee/58AK3noXCV

Tweet at us here:

https://tr.ee/xS47fz4rDC

Listen to Ross on his other podcast here:

https://tr.ee/58AK3noXCV

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T E Lawrence and the Ghostly Motorcycle of Clouds Hill

Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence CB DSO was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer, who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.

Lawrence lived (for a time) and died in Dorset. Tales have been told of his ghostly motorcycle haunting the road where he died. There’s a conspiracy theory about his death, did he die? Or was he taken somewhere else? His ghost has also been seen in several places nearby.

We visited Lawrence's home: Clouds Hill, the site of his grave: St Nicholas' Church, Moreton, and the site of his effigy: St Martin On The Walls Church, Wareham. 

Watch the videos we made visiting these sites here:

https://tr.ee/te6j3DEKxS

Find the places we visited on our Dark Darzet map here:

https://tr.ee/dtg8GstU2i

Buy a badge and sticker here:

https://tr.ee/Y0m3vWrIXc

Buy a Tshirt here:

https://tr.ee/58AK3noXCV

Tweet at us here:

https://tr.ee/xS47fz4rDC

Listen to Ross on his other podcast here:

https://tr.ee/58AK3noXCV

Also, we’d like to acknowledge another podcast that ignited the idea to do this, listen to Eerie Essex here:

https://linktr.ee/EerieEssex

Eight Arch: Square Logic

https://www.8archbrewing.co.uk/product/square-logic/

Dorset Brewing Company Jurassic Dark

https://www.dbcales.com/

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The Singing Barrows of Weymouth were mentioned in The Hellebore Guide to Occult Britain, where they claim that, if you put your ear to the ground on the mounds at Midday, you can hear otherworldly fairy music.

It would seem that the specific barrows they are talking about are the line of six barrows known locally as the Bincombe Bumps.Bincombe, which probably means ‘valley where beans are grown’, lies midway between Dorchester and Weymouth on the South side of the Dorset Ridgeway.

The bumps are Round Barrows or Tumulus a mound of earth and stones piled over a bronze aged grave (another name for a Tumulus is a Kurgan - which we all know is the name of the baddie in Highlander).

There seems to be a number of references to music emanating from these structures, with most of the online stories pulling you back to Bincombe.

Other methods to keep Fairies off your back are:

Turn your clothes inside out. Even a pocket inside out will do –this would appear to confuse fairies, much the same way people seem to be confused by my shaving off my beard.

Wear a holed stone amulet or bells apparently also works for cattle.

Open scissors hung above a baby’s cot: apparently stops the baby been taken and replaced by a changeling. 

Don’t eat any food offered to you. If you do you are obligated to give them something in return, and therefore you are under their power.

Apparently any fairy music you may hear will be fantastic, however will be impossible to remember.

I also came across an Artist called Tessa Farmer who made a brilliant set of sculpture/installations showing what it may look like in side the fairy mounds at Bincombe, it would appear to be a mixture of taxidermy (is this what you call Mounting and Preserving Insects?) she includes my favourite depiction of fairies yet which seem to be made of bits of flying ants reconfigured to look like tiny people with wings.

http://www.tessafarmer.com/new-gallery-4/4rcozjju450uywyo96d1mmji3u58rr

HELLEBORE

a collection of writings and essays devoted to British folk horror and the themes that inspire it: folklore, myth, history, archaeology, psychogeography, witches, and the occult. 

https://helleborezine.bigcartel.com/

https://helleborezine.bigcartel.com/product/occult-britain

Ancients of MuMu – Raspberry Ripple

"Re-brew of our collab with Elusive Brewing combining two of our favourite things… beer and ice cream.

Juicy malts combine with tart raspberry and sweet vanilla to create this dessert in a glass."

https://www.8archbrewing.co.uk/product/ancients-of-mumu/

Bluebeard’s Revenge

"We have begun work with another Devon based company, Bluebeards Revenge. With a leading range of men’s grooming products that all have distinctive branding Bluebeard have wanted a beer to compliment their ‘manly’ range!"

http://huntersbrewery.com/portfolio-item/blubeard/

Watch the videos we made visiting these sites here:

https://tr.ee/te6j3DEKxS

Find the places we visited on our Dark Darzet map here:

https://tr.ee/dtg8GstU2i

Buy a badge and sticker here:

https://tr.ee/Y0m3vWrIXc

Buy a Tshirt here:

https://tr.ee/58AK3noXCV

Tweet at us here:

https://tr.ee/xS47fz4rDC

Listen to Ross on his other podcast here:

https://tr.ee/58AK3noXCV

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Dark Darzet Episode One

The Woodwose of Yellowham Forest.

-David and Ross go in search of the Dorset Bigfoot-

During our quest we drink:

Dark Ages Vanilla Porter - Copper Street Brewery, Goram IPA - Butcombe Brewery.

Check out our field report on YouTube here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFHcnYE8rPM.

Listen to our review of ‘The Ritual’ on General Witchfinders here: https://shows.acast.com/general-witchfinders/episodes/fih002-the-ritual-2017-uk-canada.

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Watch the videos we made visiting these sites here:

https://tr.ee/te6j3DEKxS

Find the places we visited on our Dark Darzet map here:

https://tr.ee/dtg8GstU2i

Buy a badge and sticker here:

https://tr.ee/Y0m3vWrIXc

Buy a Tshirt here:

https://tr.ee/58AK3noXCV

Tweet at us here:

https://tr.ee/xS47fz4rDC

Listen to Ross on his other podcast here:

https://tr.ee/58AK3noXCV

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Ross, David, and Henry for a chilling journey to Wareham, Dorset, where ancient traditions meet modern mysteries.

This episode delves into the intrigue of the Court Leet, a centuries-old legal system with eccentric roles like:

The Steward: The Lord's right-hand man, presiding over proceedings.

The Bailiff: Enacting the court's decisions.

The Reeve: The Bailiff's deputy.

Constable: Keeping order.

Carniters and Chimney Peeper: Ensuring the town's hygiene.

Scavenger: Battling unseen plagues in the town's alleys and privies.

But the darkness deepens with a recent ghost hunt in a local pub maybe linked to a shocking burglary at the historic church. Explosions rock the night as thieves make off with priceless treasures. Did they have spectral help, or is something more sinister at play?

Join the Dark Darzet crew as they:

Unravel the secrets of the Court Leet and its ghostly guardians.

Investigate the chilling ghost hunt and its paranormal encounters.

Piece together the clues behind the church burglary, a crime with explosive consequences.

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Join Ross, David and Henry as they delve into the fascinating history of Madien Castle, near Dorchester, (known as Durnovaria in Roman times), a town with a mysterious past.

Derived from the Celtic word "durnov", meaning "fist", Durnovaria was founded by the Romans in 60 AD. The name aptly reflects the landscape of the area, with fist-sized pebbles found in abundance.

The Romans established Durnovaria as their administrative center for the Durotriges tribe, a Celtic group that inhabited southwestern England. Conquered by the Romans in 43 AD, the Durotriges adapted to Roman rule, adopting their customs and practices, and continuing to reside in the region after the Romans left.

Maiden Castle, an Iron Age hillfort, stands as a testament to the Durotriges' ingenuity. Built for both defense and ceremonial purposes, it stands as one of the few surviving Roman temples in Britain.

West Dorset boasts numerous hill forts, each serving as a stronghold against invaders and a hub for trade.

Intriguingly, some locals claim to have witnessed UFO sightings in the skies above Dorchester. Additionally, a nuclear bunker lies beneath Poundbury, adding to the town's aura of mystery.

Join Ross David and Henry as they unravel the secrets of Durnovaria, a town steeped in history and intrigue.

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