The Faerie Phenomenon: Some Podcasts and Video

I was recently invited on to three podcasts to discuss the faerie phenomenon. As always, it is more difficult to articulate thoughts about such a complex subject when under the pressure of immediate response, compared to having time to formulate ideas in a blog post. But the format of a podcast does have an immediacy about it, which creates a level of authenticity. The phenomenon runs at different levels, and sometimes it is healthy to meet with different responses to it in real time.

The first podcast is from Anthony Peake’s Consciousness Hour – In Conversation. Anthony is a prolific and astute writer about a range of subject matter, centring around consciousness and how we perceive reality. His most recent book is Hidden Universe: An Investigation into Non-Human Intelligences. He has been conducting podcasts for many years, and has recently introduced the in-conversation format, which allows for a more informal, long-form discussion about the subject at hand. These are produced with Sarah Janes, who adds an extra dimension to the discussions. This podcast (first broadcast on 1 March 2021) covers much ground, but centres around how the faeries are experienced during altered states of consciousness. This ranges from the faeries in folkloric records through to my own experiences of them, most especially due to Charles Bonnet Syndrome. But we also stop off for an interesting chat about solipsism and the nature of a DMT experience. The podcast can be found here:

APCH INCON 015 Dr Neil Rushton

The second podcast is from Cliff Dunning’s Earth Ancients site, broadcast on 13 March 2021. We were restricted to an hour, but a lot was packed in, including a tangent off into the murky territory of the alien abduction phenomenon, and how it might relate to faerie folklore. The interview (audio only on Spreaker) starts at about 37.20.

Earth Ancients – The Faerie Phenomenon

The third podcast is with the folklore researcher Jo Hickey-Hall, who has been producing an excellent series of interviews on her Modern Fairy Sightings Podcast. We talk about some of her interviewees’ experiences, as well as my own, and take a deep dive into what they might be saying about consciousness and the faerie phenomenon.

The Modern Fairy Sightings Podcast

The fourth link is something quite different. A few years ago I wrote an article about the strange and compelling story of Anne Jefferies from the 17th century. Her well-documented case describes her journey into a faerie-inhabited otherworld on the back of what seems to have been an epileptic episode. I have only recently discovered that Madame Raven has turned this into a video. She has done a fabulous job with it, bringing it to life with beautiful diction and her own take on the story. Here it is…

The Faerie Abduction of Anne Jefferies

I have a few more podcasts in the diary over the next couple of months, but there has been a dearth of articles posted here since the Autumn of 2020, which I hope to put right during the Spring months. The faeries will continue to be investigated, whatever the cost.

The cover image is by Brian Froud (who is discussed in all three podcasts) from his seminal book with Alan Lee from 1978: Faeries.

Dead but Dreaming – the novel, is available now.