Welcome to Ghost Catcher Isles, chronicling the weird, wonderful and eerie of the isles of Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Come with me on my adventures into the strange and paranormal
Back in April 2026, I had the pleasure of having my piece about the Lincolnshire Bigfoot published in ‘Not Of This Wold II: A Second Anthology of Weird Lincolnshire Writing’, edited by Kate Cherrell. I also had the opportunity to read an excerpt from it at the Not of this Wold event in Louth, which was a very new but lovely experience.
I first came across the Lincolnshire Bigfoot in December 2025, when I went to see ‘Uncanny Live: Fear of the Dark’ at the Bristol Old Vic. During the show, the subject of Bigfoot in Britain came up in response to an audience question, and Lincolnshire got a brief mention. I must admit, my first reaction was to laugh at the idea of Bigfoot wandering around Lincolnshire, but curiosity soon got the better of me. What particularly interested me wasn’t just the alleged sightings, but the landscape in which they took place, and how folklore, atmosphere and our perceptions can influence the way we experience a place.
I recently decided to record a new version of my reading at home, this time experimenting with atmospheric music and sound effects. It’s been an enjoyable little project and a chance to learn more about audio production, which is something I’m hoping to explore further in future.
You can listen to the finished recording below. It’s only a short excerpt from the original piece, so if it piques your curiosity, I hope you’ll consider picking up a copy of Not Of This Wold II, which features my writing alongside contributions from other writers.
Enjoyed the reading?
If you’d like to read the full Lincolnshire Bigfoot piece, you can find it in ‘Not Of This Wold II: A Second Anthology of Weird Lincolnshire Writing’, edited by Kate Cherrell.
The anthology brings together a collection of weird Lincolnshire writing from a range of contributors so there’s plenty more to discover beyond my little encounter with the county’s alleged Bigfoot!
(Image: Before the Tide Takes Them. Source: Places Remember, N.Higgins, 2026)
I recently had the chance to take a small part in a new audio drama podcast called Places Remember. The first episode, “Before the Tide Takes Them”, takes us to Happisburgh on the Norfolk coast and into the rather dark story of Jonathan Balls, better known as the Happisburgh Poisoner.
Happisburgh has always had a special place in my heart. My mum Sue was born there and spent her early years living in a little cottage in the village with my grandma Jean and my Irish grandad Terry. My great grandma, Nanny Winnie, also lived in Happisburgh and once worked as a barmaid at the Hill House pub. I grew up in a nearby village and have lots of childhood memories of visiting relatives in Happisburgh and playing at Nanny Winnie’s house. She now rests with her second husband Bob in St Mary’s churchyard.
When I think of Happisburgh I think most of all of the beach. It was one of my mum’s favourite places, her “happy place”, and I have many memories of walking there with her. Then there is the wonderful candy-cane red and white lighthouse, standing like a lone sentinel over the village and coastline.
(Image: Handwritten extract from Susan M. Gayfer’s personal notebooks. Source: E.Holohan personal collection 2026)
Sadly it is also a coastline that is gradually disappearing. Coastal erosion has long been part of Happisburgh’s story, which makes the title “Before the Tide Takes Them” feel particularly appropriate. There is something quite poignant about preserving the stories of a place where the landscape itself is being slowly and steadily lost.
My mum loved the paranormal, Forteana, true crime and dark history, and she was fascinated by Happisburgh’s many strange stories. Jonathan Balls was a particular favourite of hers.
The story takes us back to the 1840s, when a disturbing series of deaths among Balls’ family and others in the village eventually raised suspicions of poisoning. Arsenic was discovered, questions began to be asked, and the story became considerably darker.
And then there is Jonathan Balls’ burial. Why, according to local tradition, did he want to be buried with a Bible, a plum cake, a fire iron, coal tongs and handkerchiefs?
I’m not going to tell you. You’ll have to listen!
(Image: St Mary’s, Happisburgh. Source: E.Holohan 2025)
My mum always wanted to know more about the case and, for reasons probably best described as dark tourism, was particularly keen to discover exactly where Balls was buried in Happisburgh churchyard. I think she would have been rather excited that I ended up taking part in an audio drama about him. She’d certainly have been grilling me for more information and poring over all the research on the website. And I strongly suspect she’d still be asking me where his grave was so we could go and find it.
So when Nigel told me he was thinking about a new project based around Happisburgh, I really wanted to be involved. I asked for a small role and ended up playing Maria Lambert, one of the gossiping villagers. It seems quite appropriate that my first venture into voice acting involved gossiping about suspicious happenings in a Norfolk village!
Some of the scenes were recorded online with other members of the cast, while for others I recorded my lines separately and sent them in. My husband Ed also got involved by playing Reverend Birch, so it was a first venture into voice acting for both of us. I was slightly nervous about hearing myself in the finished episode, but I was actually quite pleased with how I sounded. Even a little of my original Norfolk accent crept back in. I’m Norfolk Broads born and bred, although these days my accent is fairly neutral most of the time.
The whole cast did a great job, particularly considering that many of us hadn’t done voice acting before. The music and sound effects really bring it together, and I loved hearing the story gradually unfold. Nigel and Allison rounded it all off perfectly with their narration and deeper discussion at the end.
And this is only the beginning. Before the Tide Takes Them is the first part of a Happisburgh trilogy, combining original audio drama with discussion of the real history and research behind the story. The drama is based on historical events and contemporary newspaper reports, although characters, dialogue and some events have been imagined or adapted.
For me, being involved means a little more than simply having a small part in a podcast. Happisburgh is part of my family history and part of my childhood. It is the beach with memories of my mum, Nanny Winnie resting in the churchyard and that familiar lighthouse watching over a coastline that is slowly changing.
Being able to play even a tiny part in keeping one of its stranger stories alive feels rather special.
You can listen to “Places Remember: Before the Tide Takes Them” here:
It is also available through Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
There is also a new accompanying Places Remember website. This is still being populated, but Nigel and Allison are gradually adding historical sources, research and further information uncovered during their investigations, so it is well worth keeping an eye on as it develops:
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