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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 29/09/2026

5/5 Overnight rain washed away some of the covering, revealing the medieval figures underneath. It’s incredible to think that one rainy night helped save something that had come so close to being lost forever. #WenhastonDoom #MedievalArt #SuffolkChurches #ChurchCrawling

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 29/09/2026

4/5 The Doom’s survival is almost as fascinating as the painting itself. Hidden beneath whitewash for centuries, the boards were removed during restoration work in 1892 and left outside in the churchyard. And then it rained...

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 29/09/2026

3/5 Elsewhere, the dead rise from their graves, St Peter welcomes the saved into Heaven and demons hustle the damned towards the Jaws of Hell. I’m particularly fond of this unfortunate man being trampled underfoot. He looks as though he’s suddenly questioning all his life choices.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 29/09/2026

2/5 There are so many strange little details to spot. My favourite is St Michael weighing a soul’s good and bad deeds, while demons lurk nearby trying to influence the result. Medieval ideas about the Last Judgement brought vividly to life.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 29/09/2026

1/5 The Wenhaston Doom, Suffolk One of the main reasons I wanted to return to St Peter’s Church was to see its wonderful medieval Doom again. Unusually, it was painted on oak boards rather than directly onto the wall, and probably dates from around 1520.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 22/09/2026

3/3 Source: Maureen James, “Dollies and Lover’s Knots”, Smallholder, September 2009. #Folklore #StrawWork #CornDollies #FolkCrafts

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 22/09/2026

2/3 At harvest time, young men would make small twisted straw emblems and give them to their sweethearts, who wore them over their hearts. They were known as “Countryman’s Favours”, “Lover’s Tokens” or “Harvest Knots”. Another folklore rabbit hole, I suspect...

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 22/09/2026

1/3 Recently spotted the Two Crooked Ladies stall at The Mount Without, full of beautiful corn dollies and straw work, and came away with this little Lover’s Knot brooch. I’m becoming increasingly fascinated by traditional straw work and the folklore tangled up in it.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 20/09/2026

1/3 A lovely little surprise in the latest @hauntedmagazine.bsky.social I met Matthew Hartley & Andrew Mitchell at Not of this Wold in Louth back in April, where Andrew and I both had pieces in the Not of this Wold 2 anthology.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 20/09/2026

2/2 My favourites are the four wonderfully hairy woodwoses supporting the font alongside four lions. Each wild man carries a club. Exactly the sort of odd medieval carving I love! Source: Friends of St Mary’s Halesworth church guide. #ChurchCrawling #Woodwose

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 20/09/2026

1/2 One thing I was very happy to see again at St Mary’s, Halesworth, was its fantastic medieval font. I’ve seen it before, but it’s still stunning. Dating from the early 15th century, it’s covered in some wonderful carvings.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 20/09/2026

3/3 My favourite detail, though, is the wonderfully odd grotesque peering down from the middle of the arch. I’ve no idea what he’s supposed to be, but he definitely has character! Source: Friends of St Mary’s Halesworth church guide. #ChurchCrawling #Halesworth #HiddenHistory

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 20/09/2026

2/3 Thomas was an executor of William Argentein’s will and may have been involved in the final stages of the church’s medieval rebuilding. The headstops may even represent Thomas and Margaret, while the carved roses were probably once painted red during the reign of Henry VI.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 20/09/2026

1/3 Another detail from my summer visit to St Mary’s, Halesworth: this wonderful 15th century vestry arch. The inscription asks for prayers for Thomas Clement and his wife Margaret, who paid for the vestry.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 19/09/2026

2/2 One of the heads has been suggested as a possible depiction of Ulf, a priest recorded in the Domesday Book as holding the Rectory Manor in Halesworth. There’s no way of knowing if it really is Ulf, but I rather like the possibility. #ChurchCrawling #Suffolk #HiddenHistory

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 19/09/2026

1/2 A little detail from my summer visit to St Mary’s, Halesworth, in Suffolk. Before the Reformation, the priest would have used this doorway to enter and leave the church. At either end of the arch are these rather wonderful carved heads.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 19/09/2026

2/2 A very lovely bunch of weirdos. Hope to see many of you again next year! #StrangeDaysFestival #Forteana #Folklore Photo credit: A couple were yoinked from other people, although I’ve completely forgotten which ones and from whom! Happy to add credits if claimed.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 19/09/2026

1/2 One of the best things about Strange Days was the people. Catching up with old friends, finally meeting people I’d previously only known online, and making some new friends along the way. Lots of laughs, drinks and conversations about ghosts, folklore, UFOs and all manner of weirdness.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 19/09/2026

2/2 Plenty of dancing, drinking and general silliness along the way too. Weird, eclectic and a lot of fun. Pretty much the perfect soundtrack to the weekend! #StrangeDaysFestival #HENGE #DogShow #RealCheesemakers #Forteana

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 19/09/2026

1/2 Strange Days wasn’t just about the talks and all the Fortean weirdness. There was plenty of wonderfully weird music too! I managed to catch HENGE, Experimental Sonic Machines, Dog Show, Steve Davis & Kavus Torabi and The Real Cheesemakers.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 19/09/2026

I saw Ian Simmons, Lionel Fanthorpe, Dom Joly, Morag Rose, Dominic Chorney, Don’t Scare Claire & Peter Laws, Jon Downes, and Justin Chubb & Chris Lambert. Haunted cities, canal monsters, alien artefacts, Mexican vampires, folklore, conspiracies and Fortean weirdness! #StrangeDays #Forteana

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 19/09/2026

1/2 A rather belated Strange Days Festival post! I came home a couple of weeks ago and promptly got hit by back-to-back viruses, so my plans to share more from the weekend rather fell by the wayside. I had to pace myself, so couldn’t catch the whole programme, but still saw some brilliant talks.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 08/09/2026

In case you missed it, my latest article, ‘Something Wicked This Way Hops’, is out now in @hauntedmagazine.bsky.social ! Phantom white hares, death omens, restless spirits and shapeshifting witches. I had great fun disappearing down this particular folklore hare hole... #Folklore #Forteana

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 08/09/2026

I stumbled across this story completely by accident after spotting the words “cruelly murdered” on an old gravestone in Bungay. Naturally, I had to find out more! What followed was murder, the gallows, a “penny a peep” corpse and a haunted pub. wp.me/py3eK-wN%E2%... #bungayghost #ghoststory

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 08/09/2026

2/2 I’ve corresponded with Lionel for a couple of years, so meeting him was really quite special. I brought homemade mirabelle plum jam from our allotment, while my husband gave him some of our Ghostly Goblin Gooseberry wine. Appropriately eccentric gifts, I thought! #Forteana #StrangeDaysFestival

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 08/09/2026

1/2 Finally got to meet one of my paranormal heroes at Strange Days Festival, the wonderful Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe, along with his lovely wife Patricia. I adored Fortean TV growing up and have such fond memories of staying up late with Mum to watch all the ghosts, mysteries & general weirdness.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 08/09/2026

3/3 And then there was the drinking, laughing, music and dancing. Because you can only listen to so much high strangeness before you need to have a boogie in a field. 😂 So many happy memories from one wonderfully odd weekend. Can’t wait for Strange Days next year! #strangedaysfestival #paranormal

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 08/09/2026

2/3 There were some fascinating talks, lots of great conversations, old friends to catch up with and new ones made along the way. One of my favourite things was simply being amongst people who are quite happy to chat about ghosts, folklore, UFOs and other strange things.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 08/09/2026

1/3 What a brilliantly weird weekend at Strange Days Festival! 👽 A few days of Forteana, folklore, ghosts, UFOs, music and assorted high strangeness, surrounded by like-minded weirdos. Exactly my sort of weekend.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 26/08/2026

1/2 My latest article, "Something Wicked This Way Hops", is in Haunted Magazine, Issue 50 Part 2. I explore the uncanny hare in British and Irish folklore, from phantom white hares and restless spirits to death omens and shapeshifting witches.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 30/07/2026

When you arrive at your AirBnB and realise it's only a few minutes drive to the scene of the Geldeston Hateful Thing..... 😲 (Image Source: Chris Spalton www.reddit.com/r/folklore/s...) #hauntedsuffolk #geldeston

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 30/07/2026

2/4 A little research revealed she was Matoaka, better known by the nickname Pocahontas. Her connection to Heacham comes through her husband John Rolfe, whose family came from the village.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 30/07/2026

1/4 I recently visited the Norfolk Lavender fields near Heacham. As we drove through the village, I spotted its fascinating village sign from the road and quickly snapped a photo. It made me wonder who the elegantly dressed woman at its centre was.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 30/07/2026

3/3 I suspect my flat is slowly becoming home to an ever-growing audience of pottery faces... #MedievalPottery #FaceCup #TimeTeam #LivingHistory

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 30/07/2026

2/3 At the Festival of Archaeology at Blaise Castle last week, I spotted a replica medieval face jug that looked strangely familiar. Geoff confirmed it was made by the same potter, Jim Newbolt of Trinity Court Pottery, whose medieval work has featured on Time Team.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 30/07/2026

1/3 I've developed quite a soft spot for face jugs, face cups and other pottery full of character, so I was delighted when my friend Geoff gave me this wonderful medieval style face cup. I love his slightly disapproving expression and those beetle-like eyebrows!

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 30/07/2026

1/3 Last week we visited the grave of Keith Floyd in Henbury Cemetery, Bristol.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 25/07/2026

1/2 I spotted these two rather special church kneelers in St Peter & St Paul's Church Swaffham. One features the emblem of the town, John Chapman Pedlar of Swaffham anf his trusty dog, while the other features the emblem of the Girl Guides.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 25/07/2026

2/4 It was only after I got home that I discovered the smaller panels tell the story of the Great War. They depict scenes including the fighting at Zeebrugge & Mons, a field hospital, and the belief that St Michael & a host of angels appeared over the battlefield at Mons.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 25/07/2026

1/4 I photographed this First World War memorial window during my visit to St Peter & St Paul's Church in Swaffham. Made by William Morris & Co. (Westminster), it stands in the south transept and depicts St George, St Martin, St Michael and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 25/07/2026

1/2 I recently visited St Peter and St Paul's Church in Swaffham and came across a memorial to Katherine Payne Steward (d. 1590). Depicted kneeling in prayer and holding a skull, she was the grandmother of Oliver Cromwell through her daughter Elizabeth.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 22/07/2026

3/4 After knowing the story for so many years it was wonderful to finally see them in person. They are a reminder of how folklore and local history can become intertwined.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 22/07/2026

2/4 The present church dates largely from the 15th and early 16th centuries. Tradition says that John Chapman helped fund part of its rebuilding. His memory lives on in carvings of the Pedlar, his dog and, it is thought, his wife.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 22/07/2026

1/4 I'd wanted to visit St Peter and St Paul's Church in Swaffham for quite some time. I first heard the story of the Pedlar of Swaffham as a child so it was lovely to finally see the famous carvings of John Chapman and his faithful dog for myself.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 19/07/2026

1/2 A childhood folktale, a medieval church and a mystery carved in wood.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 08/07/2026

4/4 I've lightly enhanced these photos to help bring out the carvings. If you're looking for historic graffiti yourself, take a torch as shining a light across the stone makes these hidden marks much easier to spot. #HistoricGraffiti #ApotropaicMarks #Norfolk #MedievalChurches

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 08/07/2026

3/4 One carving particularly caught my eye. From memory, I think the church guide identified it as part of a stylised Norman horse on a reused stone from an earlier church. I forgot to photograph the information panel though, so if anyone knows more, I'd love to hear from you.

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Emma LH Ghost Catcher Isles @ghostcatcherisles.com · 08/07/2026

2/4 Among them were hexafoils (or daisy wheels), compass drawn symbols thought to have been carved to help ward off evil. I also found mason's marks, initials and other intriguing carvings left by people centuries ago.

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