Delving into gripping Scottish mysteries for spooky new documentary series

Familiar Scottish myths are unravelled to reveal unsettling mysteries, brutal histories and underlying questions in a new swirling cauldron of a documentary series.  

Mythland is a double bill weekly documentary series, co-produced by the BBC and The Open University, starting on Halloween, Saturday 31st October, at 21:00 on BBC Scotland and also accessible on BBC iPlayer.

Through historical records, local testimony and expert insight, presenters Evelyn Hollow and Dr Zara Gladman explore famous stories of Scotland’s people and past and discover why so many stay drawn to the possibility that something extraordinary lies just beyond explanation.

We’ve been surprised by the way these myths continue to evolve and resonate throughout history shaping the way we think and tell our own stories today."

From Scotland's persecuted witches to the Falkirk Triangle’s UFOs and Skye’s Fairy Flag, to Mary Queen of Scots and the elusive Loch Morar monster, Hollow and Gladman follow the evidence and ask why these stories retain such a powerful pull on the imagination.

Mythland’s five 30-minute episodes take viewers on a tour of these tales spanning the country. In the Falkirk Triangle, they investigate the extraordinary UFO stories surrounding Bonnybridge, a village often called the UK’s UFO capital. Up in Skye they find the Fairy Flag of Dunvegan, one of Clan MacLeod’s most treasured possessions to discover a world where folklore and family history intertwine. While over in Fife, the haunting case of Lilias Adie takes our sleuths beyond the fantasy of witchcraft and into the devastating reality of female persecution, complete with a robbed grave and missing skull.

OU academic consultants for the series are Dr Joanne Reardon, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and Dr Francesca Benatti, Senior Research Fellow in Digital Humanities.

Wednesday 28 October 2026