S5 Ep5: Ghosts of Legendary Labyrinths, Part 2

On the island of Britain, between the Atlantic ocean and the North Sea, lies a haunted castle. Okay, yes—technically there are probably a bunch of haunted castles on -this- island. We’re looking for Alnwick Castle in Northumberland in northern UK, in particular.

Alnwick castle (parts of which were founded in 1096) has a peculiar bamboo labyrinth in “Alnwick Gardens” that was created from 500 live, evergreen and yet perennial bamboo grasses. Bamboo is part of the grass family Poaceae. The jumbo sized grassy bamboo reaches up and over the paved pathways creating a natural arch and tunnel-like walkway. The shaded corridors wander, and upcoming tunnels await your visit in shadow.

Google images of the labyrinth at Alnwick castle do indeed confirm the dark corridors. But the labyrinth is not the darkest part of the Alnwick Gardens—And I’m being, -deadly- serious...

Once upon a time, when lace up roller skates, feathered hair, and bubble gum were hip, there were two guys that didn’t see eye to eye. Stephen, a university educated storyteller and author. And Stanley who never darkened the door of film school, telling stories from books and making popular acclaimed movies—his way, with generous creative changes, one of which you may recognize,

The book “The Shining” by Stephen King was published in January of 1977–and please note: this is your spoiler alert at least in regards to the Shining labyrinth...

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Spooky, supernatural, unexplained, paranormal art

The Whispering Gallery podcast explores spooky, spine-tingling and hard-to-believe art stories; including cursed paintings and gems, paintings and prints of monsters, hauntings, UFOs and more. We look at art history a little differently.

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Many thanks to the following resources for my research and the production of this episode:

Photo Source: Creative Commons License https://art.thewalters.org/detail/2191/theseus-and-the-minotaur-2/
Theseus and the Minotaur, sculpture (terracotta), by Arnold Seligmann, French, 18th century

https://audioboom.com/channels/5015282-the-whispering-gallery
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nandi_(Hinduism)
wikipedia.org
Drone snap, Crete Greece agar by drone 4k YouTube
https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/museo-gregoriano-egizio/sala-v--statuario/statua-antropomorfa-del-dio-apis.html bull headed statue of Apis Egyptian god, manifestation of Ptah. https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/collex/exhibits/discovery-collection-memory-oriental-institute-100/human-headed-winged-bull/#:~:text=The%20lamassu%20is%20a%20mythological,the%20iconography%20of%20these%20figures.
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/thes/hd_thes.htm#:~:text=Theseus%2C%20forgetting%20his%20father's%20direction,giving%20the%20sea%20its%20name.
https://www.mandycanudigit.com/2019/04/22/tai-haku-cherry-trees-at-the-alnwick-garden/
https://www.pottertour.co.uk/alnwick-northumberland/alnwick-gardens-treehouse-restaurant.html
https://www.spookyisles.com/grey-lady-ghosts/
https://hauntedpalaceblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/the-legend-of-the-alnwick-castle-vampire/
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/spaces/golden-rectangle-garden.htm
Bamboo image https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Alnwick_Garden#/media/File:Alnwick_bamboo_labyrinth.jpg By Vadakkan - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=131405002
https://www.thebondgate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/The-Alnwick-Garden-map-1030x730.png map
Google Maps screenshot https://www.google.com/maps/@55.4131471,-1.699987,338m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/alnwick-poison-garden
https://geektrippers.com/harry-potter-filming-locations-in-scotland/
https://www.spookyisles.com/grey-lady-ghosts/
From “Spectacular Hedge Mazes From Around the World” by Couples Wanderlust on YouTube https://hauntedpalaceblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/the-legend-of-the-alnwick-castle-vampire/
https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/backgrounders/fibonacci-and-golden-ratio
https://plantsciences.montana.edu/horticulture/ASHS_Teaching_MethodsWG/Landscape-Design/Vendrame_Basic%20Principles%20of%20Landscape%20Design.pdf
https://www.britannica.com/technology/labyrinth-architecture
https://happytowander.com/harry-potter-filming-locations
https://freesound.org/ (thank you for the music and sound fx from the community!)

Whispering Gallery podcast, strange art stories, art history, art labyrinth and mazes

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