Dark Cornwall Presents: Droll Podcast Series

A journey through Cornwall’s darker screen history, from haunted houses and sea witches to Hammer horror, Doctor Who, Straw Dogs, Dracula, Enys Men, and the strange future of Cornish cinema. This episode explores how cliffs, coves, mines, villages, and old ruins have shaped Cornwall’s lasting place in horror, suspense, and the uncanny.

A chilling legend haunts a quiet Cornish village - a man-sized, winged, and watching from the treetops. Dive into the eerie true accounts of the Owlman of Mawnan Smith, and the strange creature that just might be more than myth

This episode traces how the Cornish spriggan has moved from ancient hills and burial sites into modern videogames and popular culture. Beginning with game depictions in worlds such as Skyrim, The Witcher, World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy, it explores how spriggans have become forest guardians, fae creatures, mining hoarders, or even forms the player can inhabit.The focus then returns to Cornwall, drawing on the work of Robert Hunt and William Bottrell, where spriggans are tied to cairns, dolmens and ancient burial sites, feared as hostile custodians of buried treasure and agents of consequence rather than confrontation.Rather than correcting modern interpretations, the episode places these versions side by side, reflecting on how folklore adapts over time, what changes as stories move into new mediums, and why the spriggan continues to hold its power.

Cornwall’s coast is steeped in stories of sea serpents and strange creatures from the deep. In this episode, we explore the legend of Morgawr, the mysterious monster said to haunt Falmouth Bay and the Helford River. From Victorian sea serpent reports to the famous Mary F photographs of the 1970s, from the discovery of the so-called Falmouth skull to the testimony of fishermen who knew the waters best, we trace a story where folklore, eyewitness accounts and cryptozoology collide. Along the wayls,

Beneath the hedges and fields of Cornwall lie chambers cut deep into the land. Narrow stone passages, entered on hands and knees, where the air is cool, the sound is strange, and the outside world seems to vanish. They are called fogous, and you will not find them anywhere else in Britain.In this episode, Robin Vickery takes us underground. From Pendeen Vau on the high cliffs to Halliggye on the Lizard, Carn Euny with its domed side chamber, and the Piskey Hall of Trewardreva, we explore what these ancient places were, how they were built, and the folklore that still clings to them. Were they refuges, storehouses, or ritual spaces? Why do stories of piskies, spirits, and time slips gather in their shadows?Blending archaeology with folklore, this journey is about more than facts and theories. It is about how the earth itself can hold memory. Step below the surface with us, and discover why these Cornish fogous remain some of the most evocative and mysterious places in Britain.

Beyond the cliffs of Cornwall, past the last fishing boats and into the restless Atlantic, legend speaks of a kingdom lost to the sea. Fields, forests and towers lie drowned, yet some say their bells still toll beneath the waves. This is Lyonesse… Britain’s Atlantis.In this episode of Dark Cornwall, we follow the currents of myth and memory — from Tennyson’s haunting vision of Arthur’s final journey to the traces of ancient forests, stone walls and reefs that hint at a world reclaimed by the ocean. We sail over the perilous Seven Stones, stand on the shingle bar of Loe Pool, and listen for the echoes of a land that may never truly have vanished.Step into the fog, hear the bells, and decide for yourself what lies beneath the tide.

Off the coast of Cornwall, they say a kingdom sank beneath the sea, Lyonesse, where King Arthur fell and bells still toll underwater. This episode dives into the legend’s roots, from Tennyson’s poetry to Plato’s Atlantis, and reveals what archaeology and climate history now tell us about the land that was lost. It is not just myth, it is a warning. If you care about drowned worlds, shifting coastlines, and stories with teeth, this one is for you.