The last traces of blue have given way to a black, black sky, and a chill wind whistles down the narrow alleyway you’ve taken as a shortcut and are starting to wish you hadn’t.

Was that the dry rustle of dead leaves under your feet, or something else? It’s pitch black, no moon, no stars, but you can just make out marks on the walls either side of you - marks which look like words, or furious scratches.

A sound behind you makes you turn, and for just a moment you see the shape of something behind you, something which wants nothing more than to follow. It is old, and it is bored, and it has teeth...

The signs are unmistakable: it's Three Ravens Haunting Season, and in this episode we're journeying into ghostly dreams - and nightmares!

In this installment of the miniseries, Eleanor stands over Martin with a syringe, saying it'll all get better soon...

As with last week, our opening pair of tales are both winning entries to this year's Three Ravens Ghost Story Writing Competition.

The first comes from Erin Edwards, whose story "An Old Love" tells of a rare thing - a positive haunting - and the second comes from Dominic Bailey, whose story "The Warrior's Watch" fuses historical re-enactment with ancient horror, to deeply unsettling effect!

Lastly, Eleanor shares her second new ghost story for Haunting Season 2024, "The Millennium Centre." A contemporary tale, it mixes influenza with Doomsday Cults, ghosts, and the dread of poverty, and might make you think twice about examining that shadow in the corner of your room.

We'll be back on Thursday with a new Dying Arts bonus episode about Taxidermy, so speak to you again then!

The Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.

Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...

Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays (Magic and Medicines about folk remedies and arcane spells, Three Ravens Bestiary about cryptids and mythical creatures, Dying Arts about endangered heritage crafts, and Something Wicked about folkloric true crime from across history) plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.

With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?

Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcast

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