'The Witch Farm': Danny Robins Explores A Paranormal Case Dubbed 'The Welsh Amityville' In His New Podcast Series

Danny Robins dives into the dark secrets of Heol Fanog and investigates the real-life haunting which took place there in the 1990s in his new paranormal podcast series, 'The Witch Farm'.

Danny has stirred up some of the biggest conversations in the paranormal community over the last two years with his podcast series 'The Battersea Poltergeist' and 'Uncanny'.

Now the award-winning writer and broadcaster is back just in time for Halloween with a new eight-part BBC podcast series, which will see him re-open the case file on Heol Fanog, a farmhouse in the wild Welsh countryside. Joined by a panel of experts he'll investigate the real-life haunting which took place there.

The terrifying supernatural thriller is set at a remote farmhouse in the Brecon Beacons that's had more exorcisms than any other in British history. The story of the haunting will be told through a mixture of documentary and drama performed by 'Shakespeare In Love' star Joseph Fiennes and Alexandra Roach, who played a young Maggie in 2011's 'The Iron Lady'.

Heol Fanog was built in the 1950s in an area which is said to have a history of witchcraft. It's claimed that the area was once home to a witches coven, who'd performed Satanic rituals on the site. This claim is sure to be something that Danny looks into during the series, but he won't have to get to the bottom of the case alone.

Once again, sharing their expert opinions on the case throughout the series will be Ciarán O'Keeffe - a ghost hunter and parapsychologist working out of Buckinghamshire New University, and Evelyn Hollow - a writer and parapsychologist from Edinburgh best known for her recent appearance in the Discovery+ series, 'Spooked Scotland'. Danny will also be opening up the investigation to listeners by inviting them to share their thoughts and theories about the case, which dates back to 1989 and lasted for six years.

Danny and producer/director Simon Barnard have pulled from original accounts of the haunting as written in 'Testimony', a book on the case by best-selling author, Mark Chadbourn, which is still available to buy as an eBook from Amazon. Liz Rich, the mum at the centre of the haunting also features in the podcast.

Liz was pregnant with her first child when she moved into the idyllic hillside farm with her husband Bill, and his teenage son from a previous relationship. To start with the lonely farmhouse on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park seemed like the perfect home for the couple. It was the ideal setting to raise a family and Bill, who was a successful artist, had room for a studio and all the inspiration he needed from the Welsh countryside.

Within weeks of moving into the farmhouse the unsettling activity began in the form of unexplained footsteps and an exorbitant electricity bill. After working with their energy provider to rule out rational causes, such as electrical faults, they concluded that their high energy usage was due to unexplained power surges.

Over the next year, Liz and Bill welcome their second child together, Rebecca, into their home as the paranormal activity continued to escalate. The occurrences included objects moving around the house, farm animals mysteriously dying, unexplained putrid smells, doors slamming in empty rooms, and sudden temperature drops. The family also reported hearing banging and thumping all over the house, as well as what they described as loud snoring.

Bill seemed to be affected by the haunting the most. His art started to become much darker and more sinister. He began spending more and more time alone in his studio obsessively painting.

Perhaps most disturbing of all were the apparitions that Liz, Bill and the kids reported witnessing. These included dark shadowy figures, a hooded figure seen standing at the foot of their beds, a man with injuries who looked like he'd been involved in an accident, and an old woman with a hooked nose.

Danny will explore this story in much greater detail in the eight-part BBC Sounds podcast series, which also airs on BBC Radio 4. Danny's podcasts are known for their fittingly haunting theme music and original scores. 'The Witch Farm' features music by Evelyn Sykes, and the theme tune is performed by critically-acclaimed Welsh musician, Gwenno.