{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Medieval Archives","title":"The Ghosts of Byland Abbey: Medieval Ghost Stories from Yorkshire","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1475,"description":"The Ghosts of Byland Abbey\nExecutive Porducer:\nMichelle Oleander\nAssociate Executive Producer:\nMari Hopegood\n\nAround the beginning of the fifteenth century, someone at Byland Abbey in Yorkshire began recording stories about ghosts said to haunt the surrounding countryside.\nThese were not the pale, drifting spirits of later ghost stories. The ghosts of Byland could knock men from horses, tear their clothes, follow travelers for miles, change shape and, apparently, even be physically wrestled to the ground.\nMost were not simply wandering the earth to frighten the living. They had unfinished business. A debt remained unpaid, a sin required absolution, stolen property had to be returned, or some other wrong needed to be put right before the dead could finally rest.\n\nIn this Medieval Archives Halloween special, we head into medieval Yorkshire to meet some of the strange spirits preserved in the Byland Abbey stories, including Snowball the Tailor and his shapeshifting ghost, the restless Robert of Kilburn, a dead rector who refused to stay buried, a traveler pursued along a dark road, and a father who encounters the child he never knew.\n\nSo pull up a chair, pour yourself something appropriate for Halloween, and spend a little time with the dead.\n\nWell...\n\nthe dead who refused to die.\nIn This Episode:\nThe ghost stories recorded at Byland Abbey around 1400\nWhy medieval ghosts were surprisingly physical\nSnowball the Tailor and one seriously persistent spirit\nRestless corpses, haunted roads and unfinished business\nWhat the stories reveal about medieval ideas of sin, absolution and the dead\nThe strange and heartbreaking story of Richard Rowntree’s child\nRead More:\nRead the companion article: The Ghosts of Byland Abbey: Medieval Ghost Stories\n<----------->\nContact: podcast@medievalarchives.com\nFollow Medieval Archives on X.com | Mastodon | Bluesky\n📜Sign Up for our newsletter\nMedieval Archives is proudly independent and ad-free thanks to our community of producers. If you...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/QBgEp8EifHKFgS9OPlNKISA26zTMcTQM5C_0GpxbCjw/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS83ZTdm/ZDI4NjhkMTM1MzAx/ZDIzMzc2M2FhY2Uz/YmMyNy53ZWJw.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}