A plain wooden chair. A Yorkshire murder. And a warning that has followed one object for generations.

In North Yorkshire, inside Thirsk Museum, a chair hangs suspended safely out of reach. According to local legend, anyone who sits in it will meet a sudden and untimely death. Its story is tied to Thomas Busby, a man executed in 1702 for the murder of his father-in-law, Daniel Auty, near Sandhutton crossroads.

For years, the chair was kept at the Busby Stoop Inn, where locals, travellers, and sceptics could see it for themselves. Around it grew stories of dares, accidents, wartime deaths, strange coincidences, and warnings too persistent to ignore. Some accounts are rooted firmly in history. Others live in that darker space between folklore, pub memory, and local dread.

In this episode of Dark Matters, we examine the real murder behind the legend, the cursed reputation of Busby’s chair, its removal to Thirsk Museum, and the uncomfortable question at the centre of every cursed object story: when does ordinary furniture become something people are genuinely afraid to touch?

A real execution. A haunted inn. A chair lifted out of reach. And a legend that still asks whether some objects carry more than age, wood, and memory.

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A family home in Lancashire. A dark hallway no one wants to face. And a presence that seems to move through the rooms as if it still belongs there.

When Klare’s family moved into a smart semi-detached dormer bungalow in 1988, the house seemed like a fresh start. But before long, the upstairs landing, the entrance hall, and the quiet hours of the night began to carry an atmosphere none of them could easily dismiss.

There were sounds from empty rooms. Footsteps, plugs, voices, unexplained music, and the feeling of being watched from the dark. Then came the sightings: a shadow-like man at the foot of the stairs, a figure groaning at the end of a bed, someone passing outside a bathroom window where no one should have been, and later, stranger moments still — including a woman seated silently in the bedroom, dogs reacting to something unseen, and a baby monitor that seemed to record an event that never physically happened.

In this case from The Witness Files, one family’s long-running experience asks what happens when a house becomes peaceful enough to live in… but never quite ordinary enough to trust.

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Inside the atmospheric rooms of Himley Hall, an unusual evening unfolds - part paranormal investigation, part public vigil, and part live demonstration of mediumship.

Joined by The Wright Paranormal team, spiritual medium and psychic artist Emily Baker, and fifty members of the public, this episode captures a more intimate side of the unexplained: not simply the history of a haunted location, but the personal moments people take away from it.

Throughout the night, guests share the messages they felt they received, ranging from humorous and unexpected details to deeply emotional experiences connected with grief, memory, family, and comfort. Erin reflects on a message that seemed to speak to her relationship with her mother. Tommy recalls a lighter moment involving his driving lessons. Sam shares a personal and funny exchange that stayed with her. Gail speaks about an experience that brought her a sense of peace.

The episode also features a conversation with Emily Baker about her work as a spiritual medium and psychic artist, the nature of public readings, and the responsibility of delivering messages that can feel profoundly meaningful to those receiving them.

Recorded at Himley Hall, this is a reflective and human episode of Haunted UK Podcast's - On The Road - exploring belief, atmosphere, mediumship, and the powerful emotional spaces where history, memory, and the paranormal seem to meet.

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