THE WITCH Mother Shipton

It was a dark and stormy night, many centuries ago. In a cave on the edge of a haunted wood, a monstrous baby was born, and instead of crying, she cackled! No one would have expected the baby to thrive, but she grew to become Mother Shipton, England’s most famous witch. Hear the amazing story of the deformed, friendless child who took on the most powerful men in the kingdom, and won!

Travel with us on location at Mother Shipton’s Cave (with a pool that turns things to stone!) with guest Jay Stelling for our Halloween Special.

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

We also highly recommend this article on Mother Shipton from an academic perspective, exploring how she has been framed through time.

Jay Stelling is an office assistant at Mother Shipton’s Cave as well as an illustrator, doll maker and storyteller from North Yorkshire, England. She graduated in 2018 from Leeds Arts University where she received a First in BA(hons) Illustration. You can often find her making tiny dolls in her little attic studio with her partner and their two fluffy cats. Jay is fascinated by fairies and folklore, with most of her work centred around charming character and children’s stories, such as fairy tales and Yorkshire legends. Jay’s first children’s book Whistle-Stop Thistle is a story about recycling and reusing scrap materials. You can purchase her dolls, her book, and more on her website.

Music featured in this episode included:

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