[SPEAKER_00]: Not all of our mini-cells need to be from listeners.

[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, places or lesser known cases can sometimes take us to dark realms.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hello everyone and welcome back to what is the season finale of Dark Rounds for Season 22.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now of course, as we've discussed, from Season 23 onwards, there will be only two episodes of Dark Rounds per month, so if it's going by weekly, in order that we don't saturate your feed with dark paranormal content.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as you know by now, this feedback is being carried out [SPEAKER_00]: And one message that came through clearly was that although the content is good and you enjoy what you hear, there can be an awful lot of it that I just, and some people will drop out of listening because they feel like they're left behind.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now it was dark minisodes that we were going to make by weekly, but as ever it's your show and you've watched your opinion and we changed that.

[SPEAKER_00]: So remember this is still your show, it will be forever your show and the changes that we will bring in hopefully following your feedback will make it a better experience all round for both you and I.

[SPEAKER_00]: Or should I say for our podcast and as we reach the end of 2025 I should note just how spectacular you guys are because for a podcast that is driven by me but powered by you [SPEAKER_00]: It's amazing that we are up there with the likes of the people we are.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't really look at charts because the algorithms can basically do what they choose.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some of them can go to number one for an hour and then never hit the top 100 again.

[SPEAKER_00]: but I happen to know that we are punching well up of our weight.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm someone from an arena ticket sales background.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not as so popular, not a film star, and we're beating people of that background, and I believe that solely because it's a show driven by its fans.

[SPEAKER_00]: So 2026 starting with season 23 on Friday the 23rd of January, it all systems go.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because yes, we may well be punching above our weight according to people from the outside looking in, but I know that also the team [SPEAKER_00]: Compunge so much higher.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I want to thank each and every one of you for what being a fantastic 2025 and that's down to you.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I know 2022 is built to start even stronger and again, it's not down to the driver, it's down to the engine and that's each and every one of you guys.

[SPEAKER_00]: So thank you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I undenard about what would be our last dark realm for Season 22, indeed the last dark realm of the weekly format, because that kind of a semi-big thing given the changes that are upcoming.

[SPEAKER_00]: And when I was chewing and throwing, one place came to mind, and I immediately decided, it's that.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the simple reason I chose this place for our final dark realm is because arguably it's one of the many ingredients in the melting pot of why you're hearing my voice do this very show, because of a single photograph that was taken at this place.

[SPEAKER_00]: and that place is Rainham Hall in Norfolk, England.

[SPEAKER_00]: Rainham Hall stands as an elegant 17th century mansion with a sole steeped in darkness.

[SPEAKER_00]: Built in the early 1600s by Sir Roger Townsend, it's one of the first great country houses of its age.

[SPEAKER_00]: Men to impress people just with its grandeur.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yet behind its carved oak doors and flawless facade, grim whispers began almost immediately.

[SPEAKER_00]: Generations of the town's end family have lived and died here, and with them grew a legacy of secrets and suffering.

[SPEAKER_00]: The most infamous chapter came here in the early 1700s.

[SPEAKER_00]: When Lady Dorothy Wallpole, or Dolly, met a mysterious and tragic end inside these very walls.

[SPEAKER_00]: Married to the Evervolatile Charles Townsend, she was, according to law, locked away in her chambers after a scandal.

[SPEAKER_00]: Rain and Hall became her gilded cage, some say her eternal prison.

[SPEAKER_00]: As the years passed, the whole saw war, upheaval.

[SPEAKER_00]: During World War II, it was requisitioned by the military.

[SPEAKER_00]: Bullet-hole still pocket-marked and upper floor were soldiers once drilled.

[SPEAKER_00]: Locals whisper that in the mid-20th century, a small, secret asylum briefly operated on the estate.

[SPEAKER_00]: Rumors even hold that enemy prisoners were confined in random sellers during the war.

[SPEAKER_00]: Though official records are scarce, these tales cast a long shadow over the old beautiful mansion.

[SPEAKER_00]: Through all of its transformations, one thing remains constant.

[SPEAKER_00]: Many believe the whole turbulent history has guarded.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's given rise to restless spirits.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as ever, we are going to take a look at three of its most haunting legends, each darker than the last.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we begin to look at this truly outstanding beautiful and eerie place, with a look at the Weeping Child.

[SPEAKER_00]: The first tale we will take a look at is that of the whipping child.

[SPEAKER_00]: A ghostly young soul set to haul the nursery rooms of Rainham Hall.

[SPEAKER_00]: In life, this child may have been one of Lady Dorothy's own.

[SPEAKER_00]: A little boy who died tragically within the hall, separated from his mother by death.

[SPEAKER_00]: The boy spirit never left.

[SPEAKER_00]: His presence makes itself known through heart-rendering cries that echoed down empty corridors.

[SPEAKER_00]: Late at night, servants and guests have awakened to the faint sound of a child sobbing in the darkness, calling out for a comfort that will never, ever, call.

[SPEAKER_00]: One Victorian servant left a chilling account of such an encounter.

[SPEAKER_00]: Drawn from her bed by muffled wimpers, she crept to the old nursery, her heart pounding.

[SPEAKER_00]: She pushed on the door to find the room dark and cold, but empty.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yet, the crying continued.

[SPEAKER_00]: It surrounded her from the shadows.

[SPEAKER_00]: I had a child weeping in the dark, yet found no living soul.

[SPEAKER_00]: the terror still fresh in her mind.

[SPEAKER_00]: She was then swallowed by an immense sorrow, as though the little ghost loneliness was seeping into her own heart.

[SPEAKER_00]: Those who claim to have met the whipping child speak of the overwhelming sadness that lingers in the air.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some even whisper that a tiny handprint sometimes appears on a dusty window pane.

[SPEAKER_00]: or that the cradle that still sits in the room is found gently rocking of its own volition.

[SPEAKER_00]: Unnerving yet poignant, the whipping child of Raynam Hall does not frighten with fury or violence.

[SPEAKER_00]: Instead, its endless sobs remind all who hear them that some tragedies echo forever.

[SPEAKER_00]: And some bonds, like those between the mother and child, [SPEAKER_00]: may injure even beyond the grave.

[SPEAKER_00]: Next, we take a look at a phantom set of horns, the upper floors, known simply as the mysterious gentleman, venture upstairs and you will encounter a very different factor.

[SPEAKER_00]: They call him the mysterious gentleman, [SPEAKER_00]: He's described as a tall man in antiquated dress, and he's often cited in the room known now as the Monmouth Room.

[SPEAKER_00]: Many believe this is the ghost of James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, Charles II's ill-fated son, who stayed at Raynam Hall as a guest in life.

[SPEAKER_00]: who was beheaded for treason in 1685.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the reclaims his restless spirit returned to Raylam Hall to seek the comfort of bygone days, but, however, he may be, an encounter with this gentleman ghost is enough to chill the blood.

[SPEAKER_00]: In the 1920s, I guess spending the night in the monmouth room, I woke to find a figure [SPEAKER_00]: By the low glow of the heart, she saw an elegance, pale face gentleman, from another century, watching her.

[SPEAKER_00]: For a moment she was too terrified to scream or even move.

[SPEAKER_00]: Then, the phantom smiled.

[SPEAKER_00]: In and I quote, A most encouraging manner, and gave her a courteous bath.

[SPEAKER_00]: That gentile gesture broke her paralysis.

[SPEAKER_00]: The poor woman finally found her voice and let out that scream that had been held back, she was shaking and hysterical.

[SPEAKER_00]: By the time Helper arrived, she could barely describe what she'd seen.

[SPEAKER_00]: A bygone noble man, who appeared out of nowhere, greeted her kindly in the dead of night.

[SPEAKER_00]: Though this ghost did not harm or even speak, [SPEAKER_00]: The very sight of this seemingly calm smile in the darkness is clearly deeply unsettling.

[SPEAKER_00]: The rafter, several people would happily refuse to sleep in that room, even a polite ghost can terrify after all.

[SPEAKER_00]: What could be more disconcerting than waking to find a long dead stranger, watching you in bed, smiling.

[SPEAKER_00]: But finally, we come to the person I mentioned at the very beginning of the episode, a photograph of whom arguably is one of the big reasons you are hearing my voice right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that is, of course, the infamous photograph of the Brown Lady of Rainham Hall.

[SPEAKER_00]: It is one of the world's most famous ghost photographs, yet to be proven fake.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, the most famous and fearsome spirit of the Hall is this Brown Lady.

[SPEAKER_00]: Believe to be Lady Dorothy's ghost, doomed to endlessly wander the home.

[SPEAKER_00]: The Brown Lady get her name from the old fashioned Brown sat in gown, she said to [SPEAKER_00]: She's been seen gliding along the grand staircase and through locked doors.

[SPEAKER_00]: She emits an eerie glow, her face pale, eyeless, dark sockets where those eyes should be.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some even claim she was a ghastly grin.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even the prince regions later can George IV.

[SPEAKER_00]: Reportedly fled, Raynam Hall, after a spectral lady in Brown appeared by his bed.

[SPEAKER_00]: He vowed never to return to that a cursed house.

[SPEAKER_00]: Years later, Colonel Lothus encountered the Brown lady, gliding along an upstairs corridor.

[SPEAKER_00]: When she turned, he saw she had no eyes, only dark, hollow pits.

[SPEAKER_00]: that many servants resigned there and then, rather than risk seeing this apparition.

[SPEAKER_00]: Arguably the most harrowing encounter came when Captain Frederick Mariat, a skeptic of ghosts, stayed at Raynam to debunk the legend.

[SPEAKER_00]: For the first two nights nothing happened.

[SPEAKER_00]: But on the third, the notorious specter suddenly materialised in the hallway.

[SPEAKER_00]: floating across the floor.

[SPEAKER_00]: She carried a lantern, which cast an eerie light upon her face.

[SPEAKER_00]: But he saw made his blood run cold.

[SPEAKER_00]: The apparition had, and I quote, a malicious, diabolical grin on her lips.

[SPEAKER_00]: In genuine fear and panic, Mariat fired his revolver directly at the figure.

[SPEAKER_00]: of a bullet's past straight through the lady, embedding itself in a door behind her.

[SPEAKER_00]: Without a sound the phantom vanished, leaving Maria to loan in the darkness.

[SPEAKER_00]: By morning time the hardened sailor had fled Rainham, swearing he would never again challenge the unknown.

[SPEAKER_00]: Of all of the ghosts of Reynem Hall, the Brown Lady is the most dreaded.

[SPEAKER_00]: She embodies the house's darkest sorrows, a woman betrayed and despairing, unable to find rest.

[SPEAKER_00]: To encounter her is to come face-to-face with a genuine nightmare.

[SPEAKER_00]: Her legends has persisted through the centuries, kept alive by countless retelling of a frightful appearances.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even today, the Brown Lady's tale is whispered whenever the light flicker on the random stars.

[SPEAKER_00]: She is the ultimate reminder that some spirits fueled by tragedy and rage, refused to fade quietly into history.

[SPEAKER_00]: What fascinates me about places like Rainham Hall is, as human beings, were all too often aware of our own mortality.

[SPEAKER_00]: and we will question exactly what we leave behind.

[SPEAKER_00]: Is it merely that, as they say, lying between born and died?

[SPEAKER_00]: Is there any evidence any sort of proof we were here at all?

[SPEAKER_00]: But Raynam's ghost stories remind us that the past can cast the longest of shadows.

[SPEAKER_00]: The sobbing child, the phantom gentleman, the lady and brown.

[SPEAKER_00]: All three hauntings keeping the old mansion's dark legacy alive.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now whether believed or not, these legends endure.

[SPEAKER_00]: They endure as a testament that long after the living have gone.

[SPEAKER_00]: Something does remain.

[SPEAKER_00]: Be it a legend or something sentient in the shadows, watching and waiting in this dark realm.

[SPEAKER_00]: A huge thank you to each and every one of you who've both suggested Dark Rounds and those of you who've enjoyed the series as it's been weekly.

[SPEAKER_00]: As I say, from season 23 it goes to once every two weeks, which should hopefully make us look forward to it all a bit more, and don't stop your Dark Rounds suggestions coming through.

[SPEAKER_00]: You can send them directly through to contact at the Dark Paranormal.com.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you have your own experience that you have featured on one of our many shows, you can either go into the show notes while you'll find a link to submit your experience or go to the.paranormal.com and click on some bit my experience.

[SPEAKER_00]: And of course, until the end of January, at least you're going to be bombarded with Advertis on the podcast you listen to.

[SPEAKER_00]: I would strongly suggest taking advantage of our weak free trial of any to you wish at our patron.

[SPEAKER_00]: The links to which can be found in the show notes, head over there and depend on the to you choose.

[SPEAKER_00]: You could start with ad free episodes or go in at the top level where you receive early releases of episodes and during the downtime in seasons one of which is coming up of course you receive a weekly new episode of Dark Bite every Sunday of the year.

[SPEAKER_00]: 52 episodes per year each year.

[SPEAKER_00]: Plus full access to the back catalogue of Dark Bikes, which is now coming into around 170-plus hours of Patreon only content.

[SPEAKER_00]: And there's coming soon they will be the second edition of our newest show for our highest tier after Dark.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I give my very honest and genuine reflection on my theories about what we've discussed in the week prior.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a very informal show and it's a way of you getting to know me and my thinking process a lot more than you will in the four or five minutes after each episode.

[SPEAKER_00]: So that's all there in the show notes if you want to go and take a look.

[SPEAKER_00]: But either way, thank you for joining me on what has been a wonderful series of dark realms.

[SPEAKER_00]: and I'll speak to you again on Wednesday for a mini-sode, our final mini-sode of season 22 before our finale on Friday.

[SPEAKER_00]: And until then, stay safe and take care.