The Folklore Podcast

In the field of Gothic literature, from the Penny Dreadful and Chapbook through the Penny Bloods and novels. whether it a classic like Bronte or something less well known, there are many ways in which the female characters may as monstrous.

We explore the landscape of 'mad', murderous and shape-shifting women with Gothic scholar Dr Nicole C. Dittmer, author of 'Monstrous Women and Ecofeminism in the Victorian Gothic'.

After listening to this episode, seek out Story 4 of 'Stories from the Hearth', our storytelling show, in your podcast feed for a reading of 'The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains' narrated by Nicole.

To support our work creating free folklore-related content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

We welcome writer and folklore graduate Liza Frank to the Folklore Podcast for an episode looking at the many different ways in which you might be able to combine a bit of folklore into your daily life.

In conversation with Mark Norman, creator and host of The Folklore Podcast, Liza looks at divination, calendar customs, food folklore and lots more ideas which came out of the Everyday Lore Project which she ran for a year through lockdown. Liza also discusses how this material then went on to form the basis of her book Everyday Folklore.

Visit Liza's website at www.liza-frank.com

To support the Folklore Podcast and its work creating and producing accessible folklore content for everyone, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Nick Medina's debut novel from 2023, 'Sisters of the Lost Nation', describes the hunt for answers as a Native girl searches for information about women who have been mysteriously disappearing from her tribe's reservation. As she searches for clues, she learns more about the myths and stories of her people and how they may offer help.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, we chat with Nick about various aspects of Native American folklore, his inspirations for this particular plot from the real world and other aspects of indigenous culture.

Visit Nick's website at www.nickmedina.net

Explore the Folklore Podcast website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com or sign up to the Patreon page to offer support at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Folklorist Mark Norman, the creator and host of The Folklore Podcast, returns to write and present an individual episode of the show.

Spurred on by the recent viral sharing of the Chicago Rat Hole, Mark takes a look at the history of this simulacrum as well as other folk art and belief associated with our roads from flacking to the Virgin Mary, and from holes in the ground to manholes in space. Maybe.

To support The Folklore Podcast and help us to keep writing and creating free folklore content, please consider signing up to our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast or making a one-off donation on our website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

Aisling is the Irish for dream or vision, and it may take the form of a vision poem. The genre was developed as a part of the wider Irish language poetry field at the end of the 17th century, going into the 18th. More broadly, aisling is a vision which is said to connect the seer strongly with the landscape and identity of Ireland and its sacred sites.

Our guest today, author Jeremy Schewe is considered to be connected in exactly this way. In 2017, Jeremy completed 21 years of study in Celtic alchemy and traditional ecological knowledge and he now helps other people with their own similar paths of discovery. He is a certified herbalist and record keeper of traditional Celtic ecological lore.

In the episode of the podcast, Jeremy talks about his connections to sacred Ireland, his new book Aisling, and his wider views of landscape, identity and place.

Visit Jeremy's website at https://www.inchantedjourneys.com/

Find Jeremy's book at www.crossedcrowbooks.com

Support the work of The Folklore Podcast at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Season 9 of The Folklore Podcast kicks off with another examination of folklore writing for a younger audience.

Special guest on this first episode of a new season, Louie Stowell, discusses Norse Mythology, gods, writing folklore for children and much more as we examine her ongoing book series "Loki - A Bad God's Guide".

There's also a chance to hear an extract from the first audiobook in the series, painting a picture of what a Norse God might be like in the body of a mortal 11-year-old child.

You can visit Louie's website at www.louiestowell.com

Support the work of The Folklore Podcast in bringing free access to the world's experts in folklore by joining our Patreon page for extra content at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Audiobook extract: Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good © 2022 Louie Stowell. ℗ 2022 W. F. Howes Ltd. Used with permission of the publisher.

The Folklore Podcast Christmas Special for 2023.

In an interview recorded live at the science fiction and fantasy convention Armadacon, we chat with Pat and Jan Harkin, the husband and wife team responsible for rediscovering all of the Terry Pratchett short stories published together for the first time in the new anthology 'A Stroke of the Pen'.

The episode closes with a reading of one of these stories, 'How it all Began' by actor David Tennant.

To support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and help us to keep producing content for the next season, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

We welcome award-winning children's author Sophie Anderson back onto the podcast to celebrate the launch of her latest book, 'The Snow Girl'.

Sophie researches and works closely with Slavic and Russian folk stories, using them as inspiration for her own stories. We talk about this rich vein of lore as well as her thoughts on using folklore more generally in fiction writing.

There's also a chance to hear an extract from the audiobook version of 'The Snow Girl', courtesy of Usborne Books.

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast in bringing many hours of free folklore content to the public,please visit our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast or make a small donation via our website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

A short trailer for our new storytelling podcast, 'Stories from the Hearth', where you - the Folklore Podcast listeners - narrate old folk and fairy tales.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts by searching for 'Stories from the Hearth (A Folklore Podcast Production)

It seems strange that there have been very few quality studies undertaken of female ghosts in America. On this episode of the podcast, we meet two researchers who have happily redressed this balance in their book 'A Haunted History of Invisible Women', Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes.

The episode also features a preview of a track from the new album Solstice Wyrd, performed by Lunatraktors.

Support the work of The Folklore Podcast on our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In a crossover episode, The Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman is joined by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, the creators and presenters of The Three Ravens podcast.

Between them, the trio have an in-depth discussion of all things folklore and folk tale, and Eleanor and Martin present their version of the story The Two Sisters.

Visit www.threeravenspodcast.com to find out all about Eleanor and Martin, or listen to their podcast

Support The Folklore Podcast in what we do and access extra content at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

We explore the concept of the elements - Earth, Air, Fire and Water - with our guest, author and Wiccan practitioner and teacher Deborah Lipp. Her book on the subject, The Way of Four, was updated this year and republished in a new edition by Crossed Crow Books.

Deborah discusses not only the ritualistic importance of the elements, but also how they can be and are integrated into our daily lives. Science may have renamed them, but their attributes and importance remain the same in the modern world.

Find Deborah online at www.deborahlipp.com

Crossed Crow Books are at www.crossedcrowbooks.com

Support the work of The Folklore Podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In one of our occasional 'In Conversation' episodes, where we have no set theme but just chat with a fascinating guest from the world of folklore, we welcome Rev Peter Laws.

Peter is the host of three of his own podcasts, an expert on 'Uncanny' with Danny Robins and the author of a number of books, including non-fiction title 'The Frighteners' which explores our interests with anything morbid.

We cover ghosts, monsters, horror films and the significance to Peter of black rabbits.

To find out more about Peter, please visit www.peterlaws.co.uk

To support our work on Patreon to keep The Folklore Podcast running, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

We get the rare opportunity to host an actual urban legend, as we welcome the mysterious Chuck Tingle onto The Folklore Podcast.

In an interview which we think we surprise many, Chuck discusses his new mainstream horror writing, deconstructs the horror genre ... and maybe separates out some of the fact and fiction in his own work and life. You'll have to be the judge of that.

Chuck is, undoubtedly, the embodiment of living folklore. If you thought you knew what his work was about, think again.

You can help to continue to support the work of The Folklore Podcast as we head towards our ninth season with a small donation on our website, or by joining our Patreon page where you can access bonus content.

Rebels come in many flavours. Cultures around the world have their own examples of rebellious characters embedded within their folk tales. Some help others, some help themselves. Some you would love to meet, others you would do well to avoid.

But what exactly is the meaning behind our rebellious folk characters? What purpose do their stories hold and what do they tell us about ourselves?

Joining Mark Norman, creator and host of The Folklore Podcast, to discuss the role of the rebel in world folklore is returning guest Icy Sedgwick. Icy is a blogger and writer, the host of Fabulous Folklore podcast and the author of 'Rebel Folklore', published recently by Dorling Kindersley.

To find out more about all of Icy's work, visit her website at www.icysedgwick.com

You can support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon for as little as the price of a bar of chocolate each month, and help us to keep creating folklore content for the future. Please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can sign up and access bonus content and other rewards too.

Tolkein, Pratchett, Gaiman ... there have been many great writers who use folklore to underpin their narratives.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, author, musician and poet Ceallaigh MacCath-Moran joins us to discuss the creative application of folklore in writing. Ceallaigh is the creator of the newsletter, dispatch and podcast 'Folklore and Fiction' which examines folklore scholarship aimed at storytellers and writers.

Learn more on Ceallaigh's website at https://csmaccath.com/folkloreandfiction

To support The Folklore Podcast and our portfolio of folklore work and content, please visit our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can also access extra content.

In this second of three bonus mini episodes recorded live at the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research 40th anniversary conference in Sheffield, Perry Carpenter (Digital Folklore Podcast) and Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman chat about the folklore, creatures and beliefs of Iceland and Sweden with our two international guests.

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast in continuing to produce episodes of the podcast, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

It is now 50 years since the infamous horror film 'The Exorcist' made its way into cinemas, creating a rapid reputation which would go on to see it become a cult classic in the genre as well as spawning a raft of other franchise material which was not foreseen or intended.

The recent death of the movie's director William Friedkin has brought to the forefront once more the important legacy which 'The Exorcist' has created. It is far more than simply a horror classic. It is a part of our social history, providing a cultural commentary on the world.

In terms of folklore, it is based on a series of events which actually happened (whatever they may have been) and as well as drawing on these it shines a light on the often dangerous world of exorcism today.

Film historian, broadcaster and author Nat Segaloff joins us to discuss 'The Exorcist' and it role in our society.

On the anniversary of his birth, we delve into the life of the cult American pop culture 'psychic' with a knack for failing to make accurate predictions, The Amazing Criswell. Leading us on this journey is Edwin Lee Canfield, who has spent the last two decades researching Criswell's life and interviewing those who knew him.

Find more about Edwin's book on Criswell here.

To buy a copy of The Vampire's Tomb Mystery, mentioned at the end of this episode, please visit this link.

To support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and help us to keep producing content into the future, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

We explore the ways in which folklore can sit behind some of the everyday rituals that we perform at home with guest Alise Marie, author of 'The Beauty Witch's Secrets'. Following a pagan path in her work, Alise explores the ways in which plants, in conjunction with traditional beliefs about the cycle of the seasons, can be used in the field of health and beauty.

You can visit Alise Marie's website at www.thebeautywitch.com

To support the Folklore Podcast in continuing to create freely accessed folklore content, please consider joining our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Literary correspondent Hilary Wilson chats with Genevieve Cogman, author of the 'Invisible Library' series, about the first book in a new trilogy. 'Scarlet' is a new take on the story of the Scarlet Pimpernel and the French Revolution, this time with added vampires!

Learn more about Genevieve on her website at http://www.grcogman.com/

If you enjoy the free folklore content that we create and want to do more to help, please visit our support pages at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/support where you can learn more about things that you can do to support us.

In a new occasional strand of The Folklore Podcast, 'Folklore in the Field', we will be presenting interviews and other items of folklore interest which we have captured on location.

This episode, recorded at the 40th anniversary conference of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research at Sheffield Hallam University, features Mark Norman (host of The Folklore Podcast) and Perry Carpenter (co-host of Digital Folklore Podcast) in conversation with Dr Diane Rodgers of the Centre for Contemporary Legend Research Group.

If you enjoy this episode, please consider supporting the Folklore Podcast to help us to keep making content. You can join our Patreon community where you can get exclusive extra content, or just make a small one-off donation. Please visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com/support to do either of these.

We shine a spotlight on some of the folklore and tales of importance in African culture. Guiding us on this path is Helen Nde, writer, artist and the curator of Mythological Africans. She is in conversation with Tracy Nicholas, as part of our occasional series on storytelling and storytellers.

Visit Helen's website at https://www.mythologicalafricans.com/

To help us to continue producing free content on The Folklore Podcast, and to access a catalogue of exclusive bonus content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The day that Rowena Murray was born, two-hundred-and-fifty starlings dropped dead out of the sky. Or so her mother says. Ever since, she has been marked by Death. First came the visions; then her boyfriend died suddenly. Now Death has taken her father, too.

Salvation, Rowena is told, lies to the North: in Culcrith, where her grandmother can save her from the curse...

We meet author Nadia Attia who discusses her debut novel 'Verge' and the folklore behind its story.

To support The Folklore Podcast with a small monthly donation and receive bonus content and other benefits, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In this last of three interviews recorded live at the UK Ghost Story Festival in Derby, podcast host Mark Norman chats with author Lauren McMenemy, who was also one of the people helping with the organisation of the festival itself. The pair discuss ghosts, recommendations for spooky fiction and the time that Lauren spent living in the bizarre serial killer capital of Australia!

To support the work of the Folklore Podcast and help us to keep producing more folklore content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Following on from our last episode looking at execution ballads, we stick with the subject of the folklore of death. This time, we focus our attention on England in the 19th century. Discussing the topic with podcast host Mark Norman is author and researcher Claire Cock-Starkey whose PHD research covers this subject.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and access extra content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

On her website, Execution Ballads, Dr Una McIlvenna writes:

"Across Europe, from the sixteenth century until the early twentieth century, the news of the deeds of criminals and their subsequent executions was delivered via song, often printed on cheap, single-sheet broadsides or small, book-like pamphlets, as well as passed on orally or via manuscript. Songs were usually set to a familiar tune (often indicated at the top of the pamphlet), which allowed anyone to easily sing along. They were sold in busy streets and marketplaces by street singers, who usually sang the contents of the pamphlet in order to promote their wares."

In the episode of the podcast, Una discusses, and sometimes sings extracts of, execution ballads spanning four centuries of our history.

Content warning: This episode contains descriptions of historic execution and torture. Listener discretion is advised.

To support our work with folklore and to help us to keep producing content, please visit our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Odyssey Theatre is Ottowa's premiere professional theatre company, specialising in the old tradition of masked performance. So what happened when the world when into lockdown and theatre became, for a while, a think of the past?

In the case of Odyssey, it became an opportunity to branch out into audio drama with 'The Other Path' - a magical podcast which reimagines traditional folk tales in a new and immersive modern setting.

In this episode we meet Laurie Steven (creator and director) and writers Marty Chan and Daniel Peretti to explore the process of developing these modern twists on some classic tales.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon for as little as £1 a month and help us to keep producing free content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Links to guest biogs and more information can be found on the episode page for this episode on the Folklore Podcast website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

The Folklore Podcast presents a recording of a panel discussion hosted at Maidstone Museum on the subject of the Kentish tradition of Hoodening and the Hooden hobby horse. This panel was presented as part of a museum exhibition entitled "Animal Guising and the Kentish Hooden Horse" which runs until June 2023. The recording was provided for broadcast by Maidstone Museum.

The discussion panel is chaired by Professor Ronald Hutton and features Dr Geoff Doel (lecturer in medieval and traditional culture), George Frampton (author of 'Discordant Comicals') and Ben Jones (St Nicholas-at-Wade Hoodeners).

Music featured in this episode is performed by Mary Foxley.

To support the Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive in its work preserving folklore for the future, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

We explore the figure of the Slavic forest witch Baba Yaga in this episode of The Folklore Podcast, through the lens of a new women in horror anthology called 'Into the Forest'. Amongst the 23 stories and poems in the book are ones written by a New York Times bestselling author, a number of Bram Stoker Award nominees, and our guest Catherine McCarthy - a Welsh author of dark fiction.

Catherine chats with film studies lecturer Jenny Barrett about her background and inspirations, and her take on Baba Yaga.

Into the Forest is published by Blackspot Books. You can find Catherine on Twitter here.

To help us to keep producing this podcast, as well as supporting our non profit work through the Folklore Library and Archive, please consider joining our Patreon page for extra content.

We welcome Dr Amy Jeffs back to The Folklore Podcast. After the much-lauded success of her first book, 'Storyland' we chat about Amy's new book 'Wild', published by Quercus, which examines tales from Early Medieval Britain. In the book, Amy provides new tellings of some of the stories of the period, once again giving her expert analysis on the material.

Visit Amy's website at https://www.amyjeffshistoria.com/ or follow her on Twitter @amy_historia

Closing music in this episode is 'Callanish - Sacred Moon', performed by Car Dia. Find them on the web at www.pagansongs.com

If you find The Folklore Podcast of value to you, please consider supporting us with a small donation via our website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com or join our Patreon page for extra content and support our work there.

In another interview recorded live at the 2023 UK Ghost Story Festival at the Museum of Making in Derby, Folklore Podcast host Mark Norman chats with Norwegian author Camilla Bruce about the folklore of her country, ghosts, witches and the inspiration for her writing.

Visit Camilla's website at www.camillabruce.com

To support the Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive in its work preserving folklore materials for the future, and to access bonus material, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In the next in our occasional series of episodes looking at American storytellers, theatre and film correspondent Tracy Nicholas meets teller Rachel Ann Harding.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Rachel Ann's website links:

http://rachelannharding.com/

https://storystorypodcast.com/

https://www.storieswithspirit.co/

https://www.facebook.com/storieswithspirit/

A Folklore Podcast Bonus Feature.

Recorded live at the UK Ghost Story Festival 2023 at the Museum of Making in Derby, host Mark Norman chats with screenwriter and novelist Stephen Volk.

To support the work of the Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive is preserving folklore for the future, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The idea of the trickster is a strong archetype in mythology and folklore in different cultures around the world. Whether a deity, a human or something more anthropomorphic, the trickster uses their intellect to create confusion, subvert rules or simply, to play tricks.

Of course, the trickster is not just confined to mythology. Where folklore crosses into popular culture, we can still find the trickster looming large from older texts such as Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with Puck at the centre, to Looney Tunes’s Bugs Bunny.

On this episode of the podcast, special guest Dr. Shepherd Siegel, author of two books on the theme of the trickster, discusses the subject with literary correspondent Hilary Wilson.

To support the work of the Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

We shine a spotlight on an often overlooked and misunderstood part of the English folk dance tradition as we welcome special guest Lucy Wright to discuss Girls' Carnival Morris tradition. One of the most spectacular forms of English folk dance, Carnival Morris emerged and remains primarily in the North West of England and is one of the few competitive folk dance forms.

In what is a truly important episode covering history, tradition, inclusion, gendering and diversity, Lucy provides an in-depth look into an area in which she is one of the world's very few researchers.

To support the work of the Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive is preserving material such as this for the future, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast or go to our website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com and make a small one-off donation.

Guest interviewer, writer Beth O'Brien (the founder of Disabled Tales) meets with author Catherine Bloor to discuss her novel 'Soul of a Raven', a genre-defying mix of magic, folklore and mystery set across generations and steeped in real-world history and lore.

This is a Folklore Podcast Book Club episode.

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast and access extra exclusive content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

We meet writer/director Peter Dunne and actress Margaret McAuliffe from the celebrated Irish horror podcast 'Petrified' to discuss dark folklore from Ireland, how the horror genre and folklore utilise in-built human fear reactions and how folklore and belief can be used to write in the horror format.

Support the work of The Folklore Podcast and The Folklore Library and Archive in collecting and preserving folklore for everyone on our Patreon page where you can also find more exclusive folklore content.

In the first of a short series of episodes profiling American storytellers, we meet Cooper Braun who reminds us that folk and fairy tales are not just for children. An accomplished and prize-winning slam teller, Cooper's first love is traditional tales and he discusses this in great detail.

The episode ends with his telling of "The True Confessions of Prince Charming".

Join our Discord server and access extra content at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast and help our work this year.

Visit Cooper's website at https://www.cooperbraun.com/

Season 8 of The Folklore Podcast kicks off with an exploration of the subject of the English folk tale, with guest Neil Philip. Neil, who originally published the Penguin Book of English Folktales years ago now has a new revised edition out with Watkins publishers, full of analysis and insight into some famous and lesser known folk tales. Neil's work has been highly praised by the likes of Neil Gaiman (who supplied the foreword for this book), Alan Garner (who is discussed in this episode too) and Philip Pullman.

Neil is in conversation with Dr Jenny Barrett, film lecturer from Edge Hill University, and the episode is presented by creator of the Folklore Podcast, Mark Norman.

To support the work of the Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive in collecting and preserving folklore for the future, access extra material and join our Discord server, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In the final show of Season 7, we welcome back film director George Popov to discuss the second in his 'Sideworld' series of documentaries. This time, George explores folklore and legend connected with stories of the sea, in conversation with theatre and film correspondent Tracy Nicholas.

You can visit the website for Rubicon Films on this link.

To support the work of the Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive in collecting and preserving folklore materials for the future, please visit our Patreon page.

The stories in our culture are vital to our identity. But, what happens when our history and the stories associated with it are rewritten? How has folklore been used in the past to convey hidden meaning, or weaponised in a power struggle?

Discussing these important cultural points in this episode of the Folklore Podcast is journalist and broadcaster Jane Thynne, author (under the pen-name C.J. Carey) of the novels Widowland and Queen High.

You can visit Jane's website at https://janethynne.com/

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive in preserving folklore and making it freely available for the future, please visit our Patreon page or learn more about our fundraising.

In 1943, a group of boys wandering the woodlands near Hagley Hall, in Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England, discovered the remains of an unknown woman stuffed inside a hollowed Wych Elm tree. To this day her identity remains unknown.

In 1944, however, mysterious graffiti began to adorn the walls of the West Midlands reading WHO PUT BELLA IN THE WYCH ELM? This graffiti reignited interest and the theories about her were plentiful.

In 2017, filmmaker Tom Lee Rutter released the award-winning docu-drama 'Bella in the Wych Elm' and explored many of these theories.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, our film and theatre correspondent Tracy Nicholas chats with Tom about the case, his film and other work. You can visit the Carnie Films website to learn more here.

To support The Folklore Podcast in its aims to make preserve folklore materials and make them available for the future, please consider joining our Patreon page where you can access exclusive member-only bonus content.

The Folklore Podcast's literary correspondent Hilary Wilson speaks with Veronica Varlow on the subject of Bohemian Magick, also the title of the author's most recent book.

Veronica is the last daughter in a line of Bohemian witchcraft practitioners who learnt her techniques from her close relationship with her Czech-Romani grandmother. In the episode we hear about her life growing up and her magical work as well as some of the contents of her book.

Neil Gaiman says of Veronica: "The remarkable Veronica Varlow seizes life with both hands and bends it to her will. Learn from her."

To support The work of the Folklore Podcast and The Folklore Library and Archive in keeping folklore materials accessible for the future, please visit our Patreon page or Support page. Thank you.

A bonus episode of The Folklore Podcast exploring the different types of divination found in cultures around the world, and looking at how these can be used through storytelling mechanisms for playing games.

Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman talks to David Whitworth of The Drunken Storyteller podcast about a new book on this subject which he is developing for UK-based game company Hive Mind Games.

To support the Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive in their goal to collect and preserve folklore materials, and make them freely available for the future, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can also access extra content.

Hive Mind Games are on the web at www.hivemindgames.co.uk

You can visit the Kickstarter for the book, Eye to the Void, at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/coreycreates/eye-to-the-void-using-divination-in-ttrpgs

We look into the crossover between the fields of linguistics, social history and folklore with an examination of the secret language Polari. Coming from 16th century roots, Polari is generally known in modern times as an underground gay language popular in the 1960s and 1970s, in no small part thanks to the Radio 4 comedy show Round the Horne and its characters Julian and Sandy. But, before this, other forms of the language existed between fairground workers, the theatrical community, dock workers and more.

After a brief history of the development of Polari and a look at the film 'Putting on the Dish' which may have helped with the modern interest in Polari, we are joined by Prof. Paul Baker from Lancaster University, author of the book 'Fabulosa!'. He speaks with Dr Paul Cowdell of the Folklore Society on the topic.

To watch the film 'Putting on the Dish', visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8yEH8TZUsk

For more on Polari from Paul Baker's web pages, visit https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/staff/bakerjp/polari/home.htm

To support the Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive in its mission to preserve and make freely available folklore materials for the future, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Storytelling is not just about entertainment. Now, and especially in the past, the purpose of story has also been to educate, to inform, and to place us within our own culture, time, place and landscape.

In a new collaboration, TV presenter and anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota teams up with professional storyteller Jason Buck to provide historical interpretation of real-world artefacts and archaeological sites through story, blending the facts with creative retellings of possible events which might lie behind them.

In the episode of The Folklore Podcast, folklorist Mark Norman discusses the use of folk tale and story in this way with Mary-Ann and Jason. The episode also features four of their stories by way of example.

The Folklore Podcast is an official podcast of the Folklore Library and Archive, a volunteer-led organisation dedicated to preserving our folklore for the future. Please help us to continue in this work, please visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com/support to learn about ways that you can assist us.

The legend of the Selkie, a woman or man who comes ashore as a seal before shedding their skin to turn human, is common in the Scottish Islands, but has parallels in other cultures. In this episode of the podcast, host Mark Norman summarises a little of the Selkie folklore, before introducing an in-depth look at the new independent film 'Mara: The Seal Wife' which has the story of the Selkie Wife at its heart. Podcast film reviewer Tracy Nicholas discusses the film with its writer and director, Uisdean Murray.

Also featured in this episode is a telling of a Selkie Wife story by storyteller Sarah Lloyd Winder, recorded exclusively for The Folklore Podcast.

Featured music is 'Tranquility' by Kevin MacLeod, used under a Creative Commons 3.0 attribution licence.

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast please visit our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The investigation of alleged physical medium Kathleen Goligher by the engineer William Jackson Crawford is both fascinating and strangely tragic, but remained until recently a 'lost case' of Edwardian Spiritualism.

In the episode of The Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman is joined by the author A.J. West whose research into the story has led to the highly praised gothic novel 'The Spirit Engineer', supported by the family descendants of both the Crawfords and the Golighers.

You can read much of the research into this case and view some rare photographs on the web at www.ajwestauthor.com

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast in collecting and preserving important folklore for the future, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast or make a small donation on the web at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

Hilary Wilson talks to the eminent Professor Frank Gonzalez-Crussi about his book 'The Body Fantastic' which explores some of the surprising folklore and mystery surrounding the human body.

The Body Fantastic is published by MIT Press.

The Folklore Podcast Book Club is an official podcast of The Folklore Library and Archive. To help us to continue our work collecting and preserving folklore materials for the future, please consider joining our Patreon page or making a small donation at www.folklorelibrary.com/fundraising

We travel through both time and space to discuss the representation of folklore in the long-running British science fiction TV show "Doctor Who". Host of the Folklore Podcast Mark Norman is joined by BBC Audio Original Dr Who writer Will Hadcroft, and Gareth Preston of the 'Very British Futures' podcast.

The Folklore Podcast is the official podcast of the Folklore Library and Archive. You can find out more about the Library at www.folklorelibrary.com

To support our work preserving folklore material for the future, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can also access extra content

We are joined by three-time Carnegie shortlisted author Melinda Salisbury to discuss her new retelling of the myth of Persephone in the Young Adult novel "Her Dark Wings", published by David Fickling Books.

The Folklore Podcast Book Club is an official podcast of the Folklore Library and Archive. Please visit the website at www.folklorelibrary.com for more information, or click here to join the Folklore Podcast Patreon and access additional content.

We turn our attention to the medium of film in this episode of The Folklore Podcast. Host Mark Norman is joined by film director and presented George Popov to talk about his new documentary feature 'Haunted Forests of England'. This film is part of the new Sideworld project and is the first in a series which will look at different aspects of folklore, myth and legend. It is released by Rubicon Films.

The Folklore Podcast is the official podcast of the Folklore Library and Archive. To support our work, please visit our Patreon page or check our support and fundraising page to help us in our quest to collect, preserve and make available folklore for the future.

In this episode, we examine the history and development of the seance, and our fascination with trying to communicate with the dead, from ancient Greek necromancy through to the Victorian parlour and beyond to the modern day.

Joining us is author Lisa Morton, whose book "Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances" provides the background for her conversation with podcast book reviewer Hilary Wilson.

Lisa Morton is a screenwriter, author of non-fiction books, Bram Stoker Award®-winning prose writer, and Halloween expert whose work was described by the American Library Association’s Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror as “consistently dark, unsettling, and frightening.” She has published four novels, 150 short stories, and three books on the history of Halloween. Her recent releases include Weird Women: Classic Supernatural Fiction from Groundbreaking Female Writers 1852-1923 (co-edited with Leslie S. Klinger) and Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances; her latest short stories appeared in Best American Mystery Stories 2020, Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles, and In League with Sherlock Holmes. Her most recent book is the collection Night Terrors & Other Tales. Lisa lives in Los Angeles and online at www.lisamorton.com.

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to help us to keep creating and making available free folklore-related content.

Mark Norman, creator of 'The Folklore Podcast' is joined by guest Dr Alessandra Pino to discuss the importance of food in gothic literature; what it can signify, how it can an important mechanic in storytelling and how its importance has moved over time from the concept of the ritualistic dinner party to something much different.

Together with food journalist Ella Buchan, Alessandra has written 'The Gothic Cookbook' which analyses a number of gothic tales and creates or reproduces iconic recipes based on their content. The book is coming out via Unbound and you can get a 10% discount by using the discount code GothicPod10. Visit Unbound for more information.

The Folklore Podcast is part of the Folklore Network, striving to protect and preserve folklore for the future. Please consider supporting us on Patreon or via our website to help us to continue our work.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast Book Club, guest reviewer Carly Tremayne chats with author Leon Craig about her collection of queer gothic horror stories 'Parallel Hells', which was published in 2022 by Sceptre Books. Leon discusses her inspirations, aspects of Jewish folklore in her writing and the ways in which some of her stories, written over a seven year period, tie together.

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast in collecting and preserving our folkloric heritage for the future, please visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com/support where you can join our Patreon, make a one-off donation and find out more.

In the first of a new occasional series of 'In Conversation' episodes of the podcast, we speak with TV writer and producer Rebecca Sonnenshine about her career, which includes writing for shows such as 'The Vampire Diaries' and 'Outcast' and, most recently, developing the Netflix series 'Archive 81' - based on the original podcast of the same name.

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast and its other projects in collecting and preserving folklore materials for the future, please visit our Patreon page or the support pages of our website. Thank you.

Folklore Podcast book reviewer Hilary Wilson speaks with author Paul Robichaud about his book "Pan: The Great God's Modern Return" published by Reaktion Books. In his research for the book, Paul explored how Pan has been imagined in mythology, art, literature, music, spirituality, and popular culture through the centuries.

The Folklore Podcast is an independent podcast, part of The Folklore Network which is striving to collect and preserve folklore material in all forms for future generations. To support our work, and that of the Folklore Library and Archive please join our Patreon or make a small donation on our website. Full details at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/support

When most of us think of the term boggart, we probably first come up with the idea of a shapeshifting creature represented in the Harry Potter universe. But this is nothing like the actual folkloric creature which the word actually refers to. Boggarts have not been studied in particularly great detail until recently – they are a supernatural being specific to the north of England but having much in common with other creatures from our folklore.

Joining Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman to discuss the subject is historian and author Simon Young. Simon disputes the traditional description put forward by Katharine Briggs that the Boggart was a goblin-like creature, but argues that instead it was a much more general term which encompassed aspects of most solitary supernatural creatures from mermaids to ghosts and all points in between. This approach goes a long way to demonstrate how the continual misrepresentation of the boggart by earlier folklorists led to the fantasy version of the creature that we know today.

The Folklore Podcast is an independent podcast, part of The Folklore Network which is striving to collect and preserve folklore material in all forms for future generations. To support our work, and that of the Folklore Library and Archive please join our Patreon or make a small donation on our website. Full details at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/support

To download The Boggart Sourcebook, referred to in this episode, free of charge please visit https://www.exeterpress.co.uk/en/Book/2114/The-Boggart-Sourcebook.html

Author Elizabeth Lee discusses her book 'Cunning Women' with guest reviewer Hilary Wilson. Voted one of the best books of 2021 by readers of Grazia magazine, the novel is based around the events of the Pendle Witch Trials and follows cunning woman Sarah Haworth as she searches to find love under the gaze of a new magistrate investigating a strange series of deaths in the village.

Dr Amy Jeffs is the author of the book "Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain" which sees Amy retelling some of the well known and more obscure mythological tales of the British Isles, along with expert analysis on their themes and content. The title has been phenomenally well received and has been shortlisted for the Waterstones Book of the Year prize.

In this episode, hosted by the creator of The Folklore Podcast, Mark Norman, Amy discusses her research, themes of British mythology and some of the sources for it, and we get to listen to the Prologue of the audiobook version of Storyland.

To visit Amy's website, please click here

To support the work of the Folklore Podcast and Folklore Network in collecting and preserving folklore materials for the future, please visit our support pages

This episode of the Folklore Podcast Book Club discusses the book “The Wheel: A Witch’s Path Back to the Ancient Self” written by Jennifer Lane and published by September Publishing.

The book follows Jennifer on her year-long journey via the Pagan calendar, through the seasons, as she explores how the ancient wisdom of witchcraft and paganism has profound resonance in our increasingly frenetic and detached modern world. Paganism gave Jennifer the rootedness that she was lacking in her busy and stressful life and allowed her to restore her relationship with time and the natural cycle that had previously been lost.

Book reviewer Carly Tremayne discusses the book with Jennifer, and together they explore the themes that it brings up.

Find the review for this and many other folklore book titles on the Folklore Podcast website here

The support the work of the Folklore Podcast and Folklore Network in collecting and preserving folklore materials for the future, please visit our support pages.

Mark Norman, creator and host of The Folklore Podcast, welcomes folklorist Dr Jeana Jorgensen onto the show to discuss the study of folklore, why it is important and the types of approaches which could be used. Acting as a springboard for the discussion is Jeana's book 'Folklore 101' which is one of the liveliest and most accessible introductions to the subject which anyone could hope to read.

Follow Jeana on Twitter here

Click here for Jeana's blog on Only Sky.

Please help to support the work of the Folklore Podcast and its other projects in collecting and preserving folklore materials for the future. Visit our support pages to learn more.

Season 7 of The Folklore Podcast begins with an examination of the case of the Bideford Witches - three poor women from a port town in Devon in the South West of the UK who are notable for the fact that they were the last three women accused of witchcraft to be hanged in England. But exactly how much of their story has anything to do with witchcraft, and how much is a commentary on the social and physical conditions of those living in poverty in our past?

Dr John Callow discusses his research into the case, which forms the backbone of his new book on the women.

Visit John's website at www.johncallow.co.uk

To support the Folklore Podcast and its work collecting and preserving folklore for the future, please visit the support pages on our website.

We round off Season 6 with a special feature length episode. Broadcaster and comedian Robin Ince is in conversation with podcast creator and host Mark Norman in this live recording, made as part of Robin's 100 Bookshops tour in 2021, supporting his book "The Importance of Being Interested". The discussion covers science, folklore, storytelling and the intersection of all three things in an free-form conversation.

This episode is closed in traditional fashion by the talented music duo Lunatraktors, with a unique performance of "The Holly and the Ivy" using reconstructed pre-Christian themes of the song.

To support the Folklore Podcast in its aim to collect and preserve folklore materials for the future, please visit our Patreon page or make a small donation via our website.

Visit The Cosmic Shambles Network for more of Robin's work, and the Lunatraktors website to learn more about them.

In the final episode of The Folklore Podcast Book Club for 2021, guest reviewer Bethan Briggs-Miller (Eerie Essex podcast) speaks with author Clio Velentza about her modern reworking of the Faust story, "The Piano Room", published by Fairlight Books.

The Folklore Podcast Book Club is part of The Folklore Network. To support our work preserving folklore for the future, please visit our Patreon page.

Guest reviewer Hilary Wilson speaks with Dr Maria DeBlassie about her book "Weep Woman Weep" which centres around the Mexican legend of La Llorona. The discussion takes in a diverse range of topics from urban legend to New Mexico folk medicine via the decolonisation of the diet and more.

Visit Maria's website here

To support our work saving and preserving folklore for the future, please visit our Patreon page.

Hearing stories. Telling stories. Adapting stories. The power of stories...

We speak with Nydia Hetherington, author of "A Girl Made of Air" and Molly Aitken, author of "The Island Child" about their use of folklore and story in their novels. For Nydia, these stories are drawn from Manx folklore which Molly's book is firmly rooted in Irish lore.

The Folklore Podcast Book Club is part of the Folklore Network; committed to collect, preserve and make available folklore material in all forms for the future. To support our work, please visit our Patreon page or visit our website here where you can learn more and make a one-off donation.

Lindsay Sharman and Laurence Owen of Long Cat Media, the creators of fiction podcast Mockery Manor, discuss working with themes of folklore and fairy tale in the construction of their popular show. We examine some of the folklore which has found its way into Mockery Manor as well as a wider discussion of this way of telling stories.

Visit Long Cat Media on the web here

To support our work at The Folklore Network in collecting and preserving folklore in all forms for the future, please visit our Patreon page here or visit our website to learn more

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast Book Club, Jhenah Telyndru joins us to discuss her book examining the Welsh Goddess character Blodeuwedd, whose complexity makes her much misunderstood. Jhenah hold an MA in Celtic Studies from the University of Wales and approaches the subject both from the academic angle and also from her own spiritual side, bringing a unique perspective to the subject.

Blodeuwedd is published by Moon Books, whose website is here

Visit Jhenah's website here

The Folklore Podcast Book Club is part of the Folklore Network, striving to collect and preserve folklore for the future. You can support us on Patreon or click here for more information.

Sculptor Aidan Harte joins podcast host Mark Norman to discuss the figure of the Pooka in Irish folklore, as well as the recent controversy surrounding the design for a statue of the beast which he was commissioned to produce for the town of Ennistymon.

This episode also features musician Enda Haran performing his protest song about the Ennistymon Pooka.

Visit Aidan's homepage here

Visit Enda Haran Music here

The Folklore Podcast is part of the Folklore Network, working to collect and preserve our folklore for the future. To help us undertake this vital work, please visit our Patreon page or make a small donation on our website.

Host Mark Norman is joined by Nina Allan, author of 'The Dollmaker' to discuss her novel 'The Good Neighbours' which fuses crime investigation, the power of myth is shaping human narratives and the world of fairy belief.

We discuss some of the themes of the book, including the work of Victorian painter Richard Dadd, whose most famous work 'The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke' adorns the cover of the novel and beliefs in the world of fairy.

Visit Nina's website here

The Folklore Podcast Book Club is part of The Folklore Network, which strives to collect and preserve folklore materials for future generations, housing them in The Folklore Library and Archive. Please share our work and, if you can, support us here for extra content.

Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman is joined by Gabriela Houston, author of the fantasy novel 'The Second Bell' to discuss the folklore of her native Poland. Gabriela uses various aspects of Slavic lore, in particular a reworking of the traditions relating to striga, in this book, although the conversation branches out far more into various aspects of folklore including healers, superstition and all things monstrous.

The Folklore Podcast is part of The Folklore Network, which aims to protect and preserve our folklore for future generations. To help support what we do, please consider a small donation via our website or joining our Patreon page.

In an episode of The Folklore Podcast Book Club which is a continuation of our discussion with Prof. Jack Zipes on the main podcast, guest reviewer Hilary Wilson talks with artist Natalie Frank about her collaboration visualising the fairy tales in the book 'The Island of Happiness' from Princeton University Press.

The Folklore Podcast Book Club is part of The Folklore Network, collecting, conserving and preserving folklore for the future. You can support our work on Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast or by making a donation on the website at http://www.thefolklorepodcast.com

Music: 'November' by Kai Engel. CC BY 4.0. Click here to see Kai's catalogue.

When we think of tellers and recorders of fairy tales, our mind naturally turns to Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault or, of course, the Grimm Brothers. And yet, the 17th century French writer who actually coined the term ‘conte de fee’, or fairytale, when she published her major collection of them in 1697 goes largely unremembered - sidelined perhaps because of her gender at a time when such prominence amongst women was sadly much more rare.

That writer, who compiled the original collection in the French language, was Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, known more colloquially as Madame d’Aulnoy. Her work is not often found in English-language volumes, but is rather sidelined to one or two translated stories being put into anthologies alongside other writers.

But in April of this year, Princetown University Press released a new English collection of Madame d’Aulnoy’s tales, beautifully visualised by Natalie Frank and translated by the eminent Professor Jack Zipes. The book, called The Island of Happiness features a new translation of The Tale of Mira, one of d’Aulnoy’s earlier stories in which the beautiful protagonist kills any man who falls in love with her, before herself falling for a man who is indifferent to her.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, guest interviewer Hilary Wilson speaks to the eminent Professor Jack Zipes, translator of D'Aulnoy's works and expert on the literary fairy tale. on the life of Madame D'Aulnoy.

To support all of the Folklore Podcast Network's projects and help to enable us to continue providing free access to the world's experts in folklore and their materials, please visit our Patreon page or made a small donation via our website.

Guest interviewer Becky Jones meets Dr Martin Shaw, mythologist and storyteller and the author of the book 'Smoke Hole', published by Chelsea Green Publishing. 'Smoke Hole' uses traditional folk tales as a metaphor on modern life.

Martin is director of the Westcountry School of Myth and the interview looks at his work as a wilderness guide, the ways in which his writing provides commentary on the modern through mythology and much more.

Click here to find out more about the Westcountry School of Myth

Click here to watch the video version of this interview on our YouTube channel

The Folklore Podcast Book Club is part of the Folklore Library and Archive. To support our work in preserving and making folklore resources available for future generations, please click here.

We celebrate the 100th episode of The Folklore Podcast with special guest Mary-Ann Ochota who joins us to discuss the theme of folklore in the landscape. We cover archaeology, anthropology, the importance of communal spaces and much more.

Please visit our website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com where you will find a variety of ways to support all of The Folklore Podcast's projects and we move into our next 100 shows.

Guest book reviewer Hilary Wilson speaks with Thomas Honegger, the author of the book 'Introducing the Medieval Dragon', published by University of Wales Press. The book explores the characteristics of the medieval dragon and discusses the sometimes differing views found in the relevant medieval text-types.

The book is available from the publisher here

To support The Folklore Podcast in producing free content with access to the world's experts in the fields of folklore as well as maintaining folklore for the future through the Folklore Library and Archive, please visit our Patreon page or make a one-off donation here.

Charlotte Sophia Burne was a pioneering British Folklorist who was not only the first female president of The Folklore Society, but also undoubtedly the first female president of any learned society in the country. She was instrumental in the production of the second edition of 'The Handbook of Folklore' and her work on folklore in the county of Shropshire is still well respected today.

Our guest Nicole Stout is a direct descendent of Charlotte and also the author of 'Unexpected Companions', a novel in which Charlotte features, using many words and events based on her life. Nicole discusses the life and career of Charlotte in this episode, which is part of our occasional series on great folklorists.

To visit Nicole's website and find her book, please click here.

The Folklore Library and Archive contains digitised copies of all the notebooks of Charlotte's which are known to still exist today. Click here to visit the website, where you will find them in the Document Archives.

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast and The Folklore Library and Archive, please visit our Patreon page.

On this episode of The Folklore Podcast Book Club we talk with author Lizzie Fry about her fiction title 'The Coven' published by Sphere Books. The book is a global thriller, set in a world where witchcraft is real and the US president decrees that all witches must be imprisoned for their own safety - creating a world in which being female is only one step away from being criminal.

To support the Folklore Podcast Network and help us to preserve and make available folklore resources for the future, please visit our Patreon page or make a small one-off donation on our website.

Guest reviewer for The Folklore Podcast Book Club, Hilary Wilson, interviews author David Castleton about his book 'Church Curiosities'.

To support us in creating free content across The Folklore Podcast network, please click here

David's book is available from the publisher at https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/church-...

David's blog can be found at https://www.davidcastleton.net/

Watch the video of this interview at https://youtu.be/tsGqrgDym-A

We travel back to the 11th century to examine the use of erotic magic and the church's response to this in the form of penitential literature, with a particular focus on the writings of the bishop of the Holy Roman Empire, Burchard of Worms. Guest Larissa Lyth speaks about the types of magic employed, how women were viewed by the church at this time and the types of penance given for magical use.

Please note this this episode discusses adult themes of a sexual nature and carries a content warning for abortion, and as such is not considered as suitable for children.

To support us in providing free folklore content across the Folklore Podcast network, please visit our Patreon page.

We are joined by author Joanne Harris, on her second visit to The Folklore Podcast network. Joanne discusses her latest book 'Honeycomb' - a collection of 100 stories set amongst the world of fairy lore which had a very unusual method of writing.

If you enjoy this episode please consider making a small donation to The Folklore Podcast on our website, or signing up to our Patreon page. Thank you

We talk with American author CM McGuire about her debut Young Adult novel 'Ironspark' which takes as its central theme an ongoing battle between humans and the fae folk, through a family connection going back years. The book uses ideas of existing fairy folklore to shape its narrative.

We speak with PhD researcher Karin Murray-Bergquist about her research into ghost ship stories off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, and her project which is plotting these onto a new digital map of the area.

To view the map, visit Karin's MapHub page

To contact Karin with stories, please email her at [email protected]

You can view Karin's other projects on her website

To support The Folklore Podcast and help our network to keep producing free content, please visit our Patreon page

Guest reviewer Howard David Ingham, from Room 207 Press, discusses the book 'New Queer Horror Film and Television', published by University of Wales Press.

This is an audio version of a Folklore Podcast Book Club episode originally made for YouTube. You can watch the original on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/FolklorePodcast

To support The Folklore Podcast in all of its projects to preserve folklore and make it available to the public, please visit our Patreon page.

In a feature length episode, special guest Howard David Ingham takes an in-depth look at the life and career of the late Gordon Higginson - one of the most prolific psychic and physical mediums of the 20th century and yet a character who is relatively unknown by most.

To see Howard's replication of the manifestation of ectoplasm, please click here.
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To support all of the work of The Folklore Podcast in bringing world-class presenters and folklore resources to a global audience, please consider joining our Patreon page, or making a one-time donation

In this episode of the Folklore Podcast Book Club, originally made as a video release for YouTube, we discuss the book "Tales of Witchcraft and Wonder" with authors Candia and Tony McCormack, founders of the pagan rock group 'Inkubus Sukkubus'.

The book examines the stories behind 13 of the tracks from their trilogy of albums bearing the book's title, looking at the history and folklore which led to the penning of the songs.

Inkubus Sukkubus can be found on the web at www.inkubussukkubus.com

To support the Folklore Podcast in producing folklore content across all of its strands and mediums, please visit our Patreon page

Our adventure in the Atlas Mines concludes as storyteller Matthew Dawkins brings our campaign in the folk horror world of Solemn Vale to a conclusion.

Please note that this episode is not suitable for children.

This episode was produced in association with Red Moon Roleplaying

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and help us to keep producing content, please sign up for our Patreon page,.

Storyteller Matthew Dawkins leads us further into the Atlas Mines in the second episode of our roleplaying adventure set in the world of the new Folk Horror game Solemn Vale, designed by Dirty Vortex.

Please note that this episode is not suitable for children.

This episode was produced in association with Red Moon Roleplaying

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and help us to keep producing content, please sign up for our Patreon page,.

We explore the history, arts and ritual practice of the artisan Japanese performers, the Geisha, with special guest Hachiko.

Hachiko is a westerner who follows a Geisha lifestyle, based in the Devon town of Totnes.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and help us to keep producing content, please click here

We join up once again with our friends at Red Moon Roleplaying for a return visit to the fictional town of Solemn Vale.

Our protagonists arrive in Solemn Vale to investigate the viability of reopening the tin mines buried beneath the town.

Solemn Vale is a Folk Horror roleplaying game created by Dirty Vortex. For more information join the Solemn Vale Facebook Group.

This episode is flagged as not suitable for children under the age of 15.

Guest book reviewer Charlie Farrow interviews with author C.M. Rosens about her book "The Folklore of Pagham on Sea" - a companion book to the paranormal novel "The Crows".

Support The Folklore Podcast in its continued output of folklore-related content at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Watch the YouTube version of this episode at www.youtube.com/FolklorePodcast

Author website: www.cmrosens.com

Writer and broadcaster Danny Robins talks about his investigative docu-drama "The Battersea Poltergeist" which examines in detail a major forgotten poltergeist case from 1950s Britain. The series, starring Dafne Keen and Toby Jones in the dramatised elements, and with Ciaran O'Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow representing the parapsychologists, was released via BBC Radio 4 and used original case materials as well as throwing up some new details.
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To support all of the work of The Folklore Podcast in bringing world-class presenters and folklore resources to a global audience, please consider joining our Patreon page

Audio version of the YouTube based Folklore Podcast Book Club.

Dr Sharon Blackie discusses her anthology collection, published by September Publishing. Foxfire, Wolfskin features positive and powerful reworkings of folk tales from around the world featuring shapeshifting women at their heart.

Sharon's website: https://sharonblackie.net/​

September Publishing: http://www.septemberpublishing.org/​

Follow Sharon on Twitter @sharonblackie

To support the Folklore Podcast please visit our Patreon page or make a small donation at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

We take a deep dive into the world of urban legends, internet memes and more to try and make a case to legitimise the world of Digital Folklore. Does all folklore have to be old? What is digital folklore anyway? We explore the subject with assistant professor of folklore at Utah State University, and co-founder of the Digital Folklore Project, Dr Lynne McNeill.

Content warning: Please be aware that this episode features discussion of suicide cult legends.

Music guest: Helen Bell. Find her work at www.helenbell.co.uk

Support the Folklore Podcast to help us keep making content on our Patreon page

Episode 4 of the Folklore Podcast Book Club, originally made as a video for the podcast YouTube channel. Folklore Podcast creator Mark Norman speaks to author Roger Clarke about his classic book 'A Natural History of Ghosts'.

Watch the original interview on our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/FolklorePodcast

Support the preservation of folklore and creation of folklore content at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Creator and host of The Folklore Podcast Mark Norman is joined by highly regarded musician Einar Selvik, founder of the band Wardruna, to discuss Old Norse music - how it was created and what it meant to the people who played and listened. Einar is one of the world's leading experts in this field and his work is regularly accessed by scholars the world over. We also feature some music from the Wardruna back catalogue.

To support all of the work of The Folklore Podcast in bringing world-class presenters and folklore resources to a global audience, please consider joining our Patreon page, or making a one-time donation via the Folklore Podcast website.

Audio only version of the original You Tube interview for episode 3 of the Folklore Podcast Book Club.

Podcast host Mark Norman discusses the book 'Medieval Folk Tales for Children', published by The History Press, with the author Dave Tonge.

Dave also performs one of the tales from the book.

To support The Folklore Podcast and keep us producing regular, free content, please either:

Join our Patreon page: www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Click the donate button: www.thefolklorepodcast.com

Season 6 of The Folklore Podcast kicks off with a special feature length interview.

Lecturer and historian Dr Thomas Waters discusses some of the research which comprises his book 'Cursed Britain - a history of witchcraft and black magic in modern times'. Having spent 12 years trawling the case records in order to write this book, Thomas discusses some fascinating aspects of witchcraft belief and accusation which took place far later in our history than we might at first think.

The conversation also looks at some of the famous practitioners and researchers in the field and covers both tragic and positive events in our history.

This episode carries a content warning for its discussion of modern day witchcraft and abuse cases.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and access extra content, please click here

Tracey and Mark Norman discuss the book Lanny, by Max Porter, published by Faber and Faber. This is an audio version of an episode originally filmed for YouTube. To see the original please visit www.youtube.com/FolklorePodcast and choose the Book Club playlist.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and access bonus content and discussion, please click here

In the final episode of Season 5 of The Folklore Podcast, released on December 31st, 2020, we are joined by Swedish folklorist Tommy Kuusela to discuss the unique divinatory ritual of the Year Walk, which traditionally took place on this date. We also cover some of the Swedish forest spirits which may be encountered whilst undertaking the walk.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and access bonus content, please click here

Folk song holds a vital place within everybody's culture. From political songs to work songs, lyrics record our feelings, our traditions and, of course, our stories across the ages. In the episode of the podcast, folk singers and writers Sandra Kerr and John Faulkner talk about their thoughts on the subject, developed over many years from their early careers being taught by such names as Lonnie Donegan and Peggy Seeger to university lecturing and 21st century performances. Plus, of course, we discuss the children's TV classic Bagpuss and its use of folk song and influence on culture even today - Sandra and John having written all the music and songs for this, as well as voicing Madeleine the Rag Doll and Gabriel the Toad.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and access extra content, please click here.

Due to listener demand, we are releasing audio only versions of the Folklore Podcast Book Club, which is originally made for YouTube.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast Book Club, author and storyteller Tom Phillips discusses his book 'Forest Folk Tales for Children'.

Tom's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TomtheTaleTeller

Tom's Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TaleTellerTom

Tom's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj2-...

Storytelling Cafe: https://worldstorytellingcafe.com/tom...

Mark Norman, the creator of The Folklore Podcast presents an investigation into the legend of the White Bird of the Oxenhams - a death portent said to be attached to a family in Devon which spanned many hundreds of years.

This episode was written by Tracey and Mark Norman.

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to access extra exclusive content for supporters. Visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Japanese culture and folklore is very distinctive, but not always as dissimilar from our own as we might think in the West. Podcast creator and host Mark Norman is joined by bestselling author Natasha Pulley to discuss the culture represented in two of her books - The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and The Lost Future of Pepperharrow - and Japanese ritual and belief more generally.

The episode is closed by a track from musical guests Foxtails Brigade, who took the internet by storm recently with their unique video for the track 'My Favourite Things'.

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A free ghost story for Halloween. "The Diary of Mr Poynter" by MR James. Performed by Circle of Spears Productions.

Learn more about the performers at www.circleofspears.com

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon

Bestselling author Joanne Harris joins Mark Norman, the creator of The Folklore Podcast in a discussion of the importance of folklore, storytelling and her brand new book Orfeia - the third in a series of folklore-rich novellas constructed as reworkings of some of the Child Ballads. At the end of the episode, as a bonus feature, Joanne herself reads the first chapter of Orfeia.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and help us to keep producing content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can also access a whole catalogue of exclusive extra material.

We talk to the Welsh Children's Laureate Eloise Williams and children's authors P.G. Bell and Matt Brown about a really important new project to bring out the first ever dual Welsh/English language reworking of 'The Mabinogion' aimed specifically at children.

The project, being realised through Unbound, will involve 11 of the best Welsh children's writers and will also include packages and teaching materials for schools.

Musical guest: Sharron Kraus

To support the project being discussed in this episode, please click here.

To access exclusive bonus content and help keep The Folklore Podcast running, please click here.

Creator and host of The Folklore Podcast, Mark Norman, is joined by Carnegie shortlisted children's author Zana Fraillon, whose latest book 'The Lost Soul Atlas' deals with the folkloric trope of a passage through the afterlife. Zana also discusses her love of folklore generally and some of the Australian influences from her own culture in her writing.

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to help us to keep making new episodes.

One year on from the phenomenally popular re-release of the classic Usborne book 'All About Ghosts', we return to the stable as Usborne reprint the equally iconic 'All About UFOs' from their World of the Unknown series.

Joining host Mark Norman to discuss the topic are TV impressionist and astronomer Jon Culshaw (who wrote the foreword for the new printing) and returning guest Dr David Clarke, who was the official spokes-person when the Ministry of Defence declassified many of their UFO documents at the National Archives.

Musical guest: Polly Preacher

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon for extra material and to keep the show going.

Journalist and author Asher Elbein and illustrator Tiffany Turrill join Folklore Podcast host Mark Norman to look at the folklore of the Appalachian regions of the United States. How did Cherokee and incoming tales and beliefs combine to forge the stories that we find in this area of the world? As a springboard for this discussion, we use Asher and Tiffany's book 'Ghost Days'. The stories of protagonist Anna O'Brien are set in the region and feature many of the characters and creatures from Appalachian lore.

Tiffany's website: www.tiffanyturrill.com

Asher's website: www.asherelbein.com

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and keep the free episodes coming, please click here.

We present the second part of our mass recording session with 11 other folklore and mythology themed podcasts, trying to decide who has the best and most entertaining folklore tale. Last week you heard the stories. This week ... it's the free-for-all discussion and voting. Who will come out on top?

Featuring musical guests Strangefolk

We are putting out an episode a week through September. If you would like to see more content coming out permanently, please consider helping us to reach our next support goal by signing up for our Patreon. You can access a whole back catalogue of exclusive extra content there too.

www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast to keep us free and viable!

Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman invites 11 more of the world's great folklore and history podcasts - from America, Australia and the UK - to join a mass recording session to discuss their favourite folklore stories.

In this episode you will hear stories from all 12 of the podcasts. Some of the tales are well known. Others far more obscure. But which one is the ultimate folklore story?

In the next episode, you will get to hear the discussion and see which story was voted into the top slot.

During September, the Folklore Podcast will be releasing an episode every week. If you would like to see more content as a permanent fixture, please help us to reach our next Patreon support goal. Visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast to sign up and receive extra content and rewards.

There can be little doubt that, of all the instruments in the orchestra, the harp is the most beautiful and ethereal sounding of them all. Its religious connections with the angelic host are widely known, but not discussed as often are its appearances in folklore.

On this episode of the podcast, recorded in the open-air, host Mark Norman talks with professional harpist Elizabeth-Jane Baldry, the world's only silent movie harp accompanist and a composer whose unique research into fairy harp music led to a West End play with Simon Callow and a performance at Prince Charles's unveiling of the Elfin Oak in Kensington Gardens.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and keep the project viable, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

To hear Elizabeth-Jane's radio interview on Fairy Harp music, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeQoIO7uyc0

Following on from our foray into roleplaying games with bonus content adventures for the folk horror games of Solemn Vale and Shivering Circle, we explore the subject in more detail.

How is folklore represented in the tabletop gaming environment? Is it all monsters and creatures, or are there other approaches which look more into our social history? What makes for a strong narrative dynamic and do these techniques draw on the oral storytelling which transmitted folklore in the first place?

In an interview recorded for the 2020 Archaeogaming Convention hosted by the Archaeological Fantasies podcast, we are joined by game developer Matthew Dawkins and GM storyteller Tom Murr to examine this area.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and get uncut access to video versions of our interviews as well as much more extra content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Sensationalised by Hollywood, the reality behind the rituals and practices of exorcism is somewhat different. Historian Dr Francis Young joins podcast creator and host Mark Norman to discuss the approach taken in medieval times, representations of the rituals in folklore and more.

Francis also offers the following book recommendations for further reading:

A History of Exorcism in Catholic Christianity, and A History of Anglican Exorcism (by himself)

The Devil Within (Brian P. Levack)

The Haunted: A Social History of Ghosts (Owen Davies)

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to keep the show free and to allow us to create more content: www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Released on Midsummer Day 2020, Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman introduces a look at the festival through the lens of the folk horror film Midsommar. Mark discusses some aspects of the festival and presents two pieces by volunteer researchers Joana Varanda and Pola Schiavone. The first of these discusses a theory that the narrative construction relates to the cards presented in the Major Arcana of the Tarot. In the second, the role of food as a ritual within both the film and the festival is examined.

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and receive the transcript of this episode and other exclusive content and rewards. Click here to visit the Patreon page.

Our adventure at The Shivering Circle concludes, and you get to hear what happened after the team left Hoddesham.

Storyteller: Howard David Ingham

Guest Players: Hjalmar Norden and Jenny Bremberg

Produced in collaboration with Red Moon Roleplaying

Music written and performed by Kai Engel. Used under a Creative Commons Licence from freemusicarchive.org

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to keep our content free and the show viable. www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The penultimate episode of our Folk Horror storytelling game, The Austringer. Eric Higginson, the presenter of 'World of the Strange' arrives to film his segments for the programme on The Shivering Circle. And things continue do, indeed, get strange.

Please note that this content is not suitable for children.

Storyteller: Howard David Ingham

Produced in collaboration with Red Moon Roleplaying

Music by Kai Engel, under a Creative Commons License from freemusicarchive.org

All over the world, and throughout the ages, people have been convinced that we are not alone on this earth. That other creatures exist in our world, alongside humans and animals and that even though they may resemble us, they are entirely different beings, neither human nor divine but representing something else. They have been known by many names and take many forms.

So begins the Introduction to the book 'Vaesen', by Swedish author and illustrator Johan Egerkrans. On this episode of The Folklore Podcast, Johan joins podcast creator and host Mark Norman to discuss his research into the Swedish creatures of myth and folklore known as the Vaesen.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and keep new content coming out ad-free, please click here.

Our storytelling adventure 'The Austringer' continues. As this episode begins, Gareth the runner is heading to the vets to report the unfortunate accident which the team had on the road to Hoddesford.

Please note: this content is not suitable for children due to language.

Special guests: Jenny Bremberg and Hjalmar Norden of Red Moon Roleplaying

Storyteller: Howard David Ingham

Music: Kai Engel, used under Creative Commons Licence from freemusicarchive.org

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and help us to keep producing free content for you to enjoy.

www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

We begin a new series of bonus content, with another roleplaying story which is rich in folklore. 'The Austringer' is set within the game 'The Shivering Circle' which was developed and written by Howard David Ingham, who also acts as storyteller for this adventure.

Our team of characters are travelling to film at the mysterious stone circle on Hoddesham Down, which is known for its strange phenomena. They are making an episode of 'Eric Higginson's World of the Strange'. Will anything unusual happen while they are on site...?

We are joined for this adventure by Hjalmar Norden and Jenny Bremberg from Red Moon Roleplaying.

Please note: this content is not suitable for children due to language.

Music: Kai Engel, used under Creative Commons license from freemusicarchive.org

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and help us to keep producing free content for you to enjoy. www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Our folk horror adventure in the fictional village of Solemn Vale concludes. Will Graham and Linda Parker resolve their difficulties and get back to normal life...?

Produced in collaboration with Red Moon Roleplaying

Storyteller: Matthew Dawkins

Music by ProtoU. Used with permission from CryoChamber.

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon here.

Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman is joined by buildings archaeologist James Wright to explore the different ways in which both high status and the more common buildings were protected from harm by both their builders and their occupants, through the use of ritual marking. The discussion also takes in medieval graffiti along the way.

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon for extra audio and other content, and help to keep the show free to listen to. Visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Having finished the tour of the house left to her by her late aunt Demelza, Linda Parker and her husband Graham return to the 'Bowler's Arm' pub in Solemn Vale for a hearty pint of Badger's Stump and a look at the local entertainment. Nothing can possibly go wrong...

Produced in collaboration with Red Moon Roleplaying.

Storyteller: Matthew Dawkins

Music by ProtoU, courtesy of Cryochamber.

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to enable us to keep producing free entertainment. Please click here.

Our adventure in Solemn Vale continues (and continues to get stranger). Graham and Linda choose to avoid a suggestion that they might want to return to London and instead find lodgings at The Bowler's Arm pub. What could possibly go wrong...?

Produced in collaboration with Red Moon Roleplaying.

Listen to the unedited recordings and other bonus content, and help to support The Folklore Podcast and keep us producing extra content on our Patreon page.

As we pass Walpurgis Night, the Folklore Podcast releases from its archives a public lecture given in 2017 by the eminent and popular historian Ronald Hutton. Written just before the publication of his book, 'The Witch', in this talk Ronald picks apart the mythology of the Wild Hunt and argues that its origins come from a melding of various folk tales, rather than the traditional shamanistic pagan roots often attributed.

The question and answer session from this talk is available on our Patreon page.

This episode contains adult language and is not suitable for listeners under the age of 18.

Welcome to Episode 3 of “Family Matters” - a folk horror roleplaying adventure set in the fictional village of Solemn Vale. Located somewhere in the South West of England, an idyllic facade of rural bliss masks a dark and sinister side of a community riddled with malevolence and corruption.

Solemn Vale is a narrative driven storytelling game where the players tell abhorrent tales of horror and the supernatural, making it a perfect mechanism for us to explore, through storytelling and narrative, ways of incorporating folklore into the everyday. If you want an easy-to-understand hint into the style of the game, think about the classic folk horror stable of films such as The Wicker Man or Blood on Satan’s Claw.

Produced in collaboration with Red Moon Roleplaying

Music by ProtoU, courtesy of CryoChamber

Storyteller: Matthew Dawkins

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to help us keep producing content

This episode contains sexual content and is not suitable for listeners under the age of 18.

Welcome to Episode 2 of “Family Matters” - a folk horror roleplaying adventure set in the fictional village of Solemn Vale. Located somewhere in the South West of England, an idyllic facade of rural bliss masks a dark and sinister side of a community riddled with malevolence and corruption.

Solemn Vale is a narrative driven storytelling game where the players tell abhorrent tales of horror and the supernatural, making it a perfect mechanism for us to explore, through storytelling and narrative, ways of incorporating folklore into the everyday. If you want an easy-to-understand hint into the style of the game, think about the classic folk horror stable of films such as The Wicker Man or Blood on Satan’s Claw.

Produced in collaboration with Red Moon Roleplaying

Music by ProtoU, courtesy of CryoChamber

Storyteller: Matthew Dawkins

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to help us keep producing content

Welcome to Episode 1 of “Family Matters” - a folk horror roleplaying adventure set in the fictional village of Solemn Vale. Located somewhere in the South West of England, an idyllic facade of rural bliss masks a dark and sinister side of a community riddled with malevolence and corruption.

Solemn Vale is a narrative driven storytelling game where the players tell abhorrent tales of horror and the supernatural, making it a perfect mechanism for us to explore, through storytelling and narrative, ways of incorporating folklore into the everyday. If you want an easy-to-understand hint into the style of the game, think about the classic folk horror stable of films such as The Wicker Man or Blood on Satan’s Claw.

Produced in collaboration with Red Moon Roleplaying

Music by ProtoU, courtesy of CryoChamber

Storyteller: Matthew Dawkins

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to help us keep producing content

Please note that this content is not suitable for children.

Folklore Podcast creator Mark Norman presents a series of short bonus articles looking at Easter traditions in various parts of Europe, researched and written by members of the podcast volunteer team.

Contributors: Selene Paxton-Brooks, Pola Sciavone, Joana Varanda and Lara C Cory.

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In the last episode of The Folklore Podcast to be recorded out of the confines of a house, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Hedge Druid Stephen G. Rae (known as The Bard of Cumberland) discusses his path as a druid with podcast volunteer Joana Varanda. The conversation takes in such diverse elements as Cumberland and Tibetan folklore, yeti, boggarts, being a druid and more, along with some traditional folk tales.

Music: Celtic Impulse Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon for additional content. Visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

John Billingsley:

​Soft Power: the emergence of modern apotropaics in Albania

​Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman presents a study of the serpent-like creature of UK folklore, The Lambton Worm, and its place in the wider lore of dragons and similar creatures. Featuring guest contributions and a look at a new audio drama featuring the beast. Folk singer Roly Veitch performs the traditional song associated with the worm (click here to visit his website), Director Steven Sloss discusses the audio drama (available here).

Musical guest: L.M. Cooke
​Artwork donated by Laura Page. Visit her website here

​Click here to support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon.

Author Edward Parnell joins The Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman to discuss his book 'Ghostland', which examines the intersections between folklore, folk horror, the landscape and literature.

Musical guests: The Last Inklings

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast for exclusive extra content

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, we hear from author of dark historical fiction Anna Mazzola about her book 'The Story Keeper'...

A dark tale of folklore and disappearances on the Isle of Skye.

Audrey Hart travels to Skye and to the mansion of a reclusive folklorist to collect the folk and fairy tales of the local people. It is 1857, the Highland Clearances have left devastation and poverty, and the crofters are suspicious and hostile, claiming they no longer know their stories.

Then Audrey discovers the body of a young girl washed up in the bay beneath Lanerly, and the crofters reveal that it is only a matter of weeks since another girl disappeared. They believe the girls are victims of the restless dead: spirits who take the form of birds

Anna discusses her research and the ways that she negotiates history and folklore to produce fiction based on historical fact and narrative.

This episode is closed with music from singer/songwriter Sharron Kraus.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Released during National Storytelling Week 2020, this episode of The Folklore Podcast features guest interviewer Joana Varanda in discussion with British storytelling legend, and the first Storyteller Laureate Taffy Thomas MBE about his life and work. Taffy is the patron of the Society for Storytelling, has received the English Folk Dance and Song Society Gold Badge Award and his repertoire of around 300 stories, collected mostly by the traditional oral methods, makes him the most well known and respected of all English storytellers.

We present a recording of a performance by Bulgarian/English storytelling group 'A Spell in Time', recorded live in 2013 at the Folklore Society's Beasts in Legend and Tradition conference at Paignton Zoo.

Storyteller Moni Sheehan and musician Ivor Davies discuss the Bulgarian dragon known as the Zmey.

The episode is closed by special musical guest Polly Preacher.

Folklore Podcast Patreon: www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

A Spell in Time: https://www.spellintime.co.uk/

Polly Preacher: https://pollypreacher.bandcamp.com/

Season 5 of The Folklore Podcast kicks off with a special extended episode. Host Mark Norman is joined by author Morgan Daimler to discuss their book 'A New Dictionary of Fairies' which builds on the research done by eminent folklorist Katharine Briggs, focusing on fairies in the Celtic and Western European traditions.

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon: www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Visit Morgan's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/MorganDaimler

Featured music guest, Chalk Horse Music: www.chalkhorsemusic.com

This special bonus episode of the Folklore Podcast, presented while the show is dark during December, gives listeners the chance to hear a talk on the folklore-rich Sherlock Holmes story "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by two very well-respected presenters.

Recorded at the Gothic Horror festival Hell Tor in November 2019, screenwriter Stephen Volk (Ghostwatch, Gothic) and actor and film historian Jonathan Rigby (English Gothic, American Gothic) discuss the development of the story of The Hound by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, look at some of the local stories which informed it, and talk through some of the film and TV adaptations of the story over the years.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Compared to the amount of folklore surrounding death customs and beliefs, there is little discussion about the beginning of our timelines - the traditions relating to pregnancy and birth. Redressing the balance, on this episode of The Folklore Podcast host Mark Norman is joined by Jemma Nicholls, a doula who has recently begun developing workshops looking specifically at these traditions and customs. Jemma has been researching these areas for some time, leading to the putting together of her new workshop entitled Charms and Childbirth.

Website: www.thefolklorepodcast.com

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Twitter: www.twitter.com/folklorepod

The rugged coastlines of the county of Cornwall, on the south-western tip of the UK, are etched with stories. Here you’ll find tales of powerful mermaids, spiteful witches, crafty smugglers and woeful ghosts. Up on the moors are mischievous creatures, huge giants and elusive beasts.

Joining the creator of The Folklore Podcast Mark Norman on this episode of the podcast is Cornish folklore writer Anna Chorlton. Through her new book, Cornish Folk Tales of Place, Anna retells collected tales of North and East Cornwall. These stories were recorded through a community project called Mazed Tales, which can be found on the internet at www.mazedtales.org.

Anna discusses the project, her writing and folklore collecting in Cornwall historically, and more.

Russian hereditary witch,occultist and witchcraft scholar Natasha Helvin joins podcast host Mark Norman to discuss the beliefs, traditions and practices associated with witchcraft in the Slavic tradition. In what ways is this similar to other traditional witchcraft practices and how does it differ?

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The Girl Who Speaks Bear is Sophie Anderson's second book based around traditional Russian folk tales. Despite having only been published for a short time, she has already been shortlisted for a whole raft of awards - the Carnegie Medal, Children's Fiction Book of the Year, the Waterstones prize and many more.

On this episode of the podcast, host Mark Norman talks to Sophie about Russian folklore, why it is important to her and how she uses it in her writing as a storytelling mechanism.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to keep the show ad-free, and enjoy extra content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In 1977, a set of three childrens books were published which would go on to become a cult classic. Among the most borrowed (and probably most stolen) from school libraries across the country, these three titles made up the Usborne Mysteries of the Unknown series. Individually, they were the Worlds of the Unknown that looked at Ghosts, Monsters and UFOs.

Recently, an internet petition and campaign ran to bring back the most loved of these three titles, Ghosts. In this episode of the podcast, host Mark Norman discusses the importance of this book with Usborne staff member Anna Howorth (who launched the campaign to bring the book back) and director of the animated film 'Borley Rectory', Ashley Thorpe.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and help keep all episodes ad-free, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Belief in magic and particularly the power of witchcraft was once a deep and enduring presence in popular culture; people created and concealed many objects to protect themselves from harmful magic. Brian Hoggard's book, Magical House Protection examines the principal forms of protection in Britain and beyond from the fourteenth century to the present day. Witch-bottles, dried cats, horse skulls, written charms, protection marks and concealed shoes were all used widely as methods of repelling, diverting or trapping negative energies. Many of these practices and symbols can be found around the globe, demonstrating the universal nature of efforts by people to protect themselves from witchcraft.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, Brian discusses at length both the contents of the book and his extensive research project which has accumulated over 2,000 examples since it started in 1999.

1686, Iceland. A wild, isolated landscape that can swallow a man without so much as a volcanic gasp, where superstitious Icelanders are haunted by all-too-recent memories of witch trials.

Such is the setting for the novel "The Glass Woman", written by the special guest on this episode of The Folklore Podcast, Caroline Lea. The book is variously described as 'rich in superstition and mystery' and 'both chilling and beguiling'.

Caroline joins podcast creator and host Mark Norman to discuss her research into the folklore and superstition of historic Iceland, how she came to weave it into her novel, and more general thoughts on landscape and tradition.

Help to keep The Folklore Podcast freely available by supporting us on Patreon with a small monthly donation at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The country of Iceland is both bleak and beautiful in equal measure, and is also home to some of the darker aspects of folklore and belief. In this first of two episodes of the podcast looking at Icelandic Lore through the lens of popular authors, host Mark Norman is joined by bestselling Icelandic crime novelist Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Yrsa has lived in Iceland her whole life and has woven many aspects of its folklore into her award-winning crime novels. She discusses her memories of folklore as a child and those stories which resonate today.

To support The Folklore Podcast and access extra content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In this episode of the podcast, host Mark Norman is joined by comedian and author Jem Roberts to discuss his new book, 'Tales of Britain'. A number of years in the compiling and producing, Tales of Britain takes 77 well known and more obscure folk tales from around the country and retells them for the 21st century, along with a unique travel guide which allows the reader to visit the locations in which they were set.

To support the Folklore Podcast and access extra content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The second of two interviews examining themes of witchcraft. Following on from the last episode of Cunning Folk, in this episode of the podcast Mark Norman is joined by Marion Gibson, Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter. Marion discusses her latest book, 'Rediscovering Renaissance Witchcraft' and the unique degree course on magic and witchcraft that she teaches at the University.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

PhD researcher Tabitha Stanmore joins the Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman, and historian Tracey Norman, to discuss her research into the role of the service magician in history. Spanning the years from c. 1350 to c. 1650, Tabitha researches how magic was practiced and by whom, whether this changed over the period, and how magical practice was affected by perspectives on gender. She also explores the extent to which magic was tolerated at different social strata, from the employment of village cunning folk to magic's use at the English royal court.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The landscape that surrounds us is rich in folklore connected with the plants and flowers that dwell within it. Some of these are old and connect with the world of fairy. Some are more modern and relate to invasive species. All are fascinating. In this episode of the Folklore Podcast, storyteller and environmentalist Lisa Schneidau discusses the research which went into her book "Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland" and tells some of the stories related to our plant-based beliefs.

To support the Folklore Podcast please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In this episode, Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman takes a look at some of the old (and a few of the modern) customs and traditions associated with Valentine's Day. From the medieval period, by way of early house visiting traditions and love divination, the episode explores many of the UK practices before travelling around the world to look at a selection of other ways that Valentine's is celebrated

Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman is joined in this episode by folklore blogger and film academic Icy Sedgwick to discuss the genre of horror and supernatural in film. The discussion explores the research being undertaken by Icy as part of her PhD on the representation of hauntings on the movie screen and particularly looks at the tropes we find in folkloric accounts of ghosts. Do these translate to the portrayal of the ghost in film, and do the films themselves create their own folklore and mythos which works its way back into our own cultures?

To keep the Folklore Podcast running and providing free content each month, please consider a small monthly donation at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

To kick off Season 4 of The Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman examines traditional New Year customs and celebrations around the world, noting the many similarities in different cultures as well as the unique aspects found from place to place.

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon, and keep the show running, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The Krampus has become a big folkloric figure at Christmas time in recent years. But less discussed and of equal interest are the female figures of the Perchten from the alpine regions. On this, the final episode of Season 3 of the Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman redresses the balance in an interview with alpine folklore expert Al Ridenour, the creator of the Bone and Sickle podcast.

To support the Folklore Podcast, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In the first of two episodes of the podcast examining festive folklore for December, Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman looks at the history and origins of the Mummers Play and other Yuletide folk plays and traditions. Contesting the broad opinion that they plays 'are just pagan' the episode traces similarities and differences through other performances such as the pantomime and the Commedia Dell'arte before examining other similar practices such as the Mummering house visits of Newfoundland and the Irish Wrenboys. This episode also contains recordings of performances made in the field.

Support the continuing free episodes of the podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Prejudices against people because of the colour of their skin are unacceptable. And yet, it is often socially accepted to make fun of people because of the colour of their hair. Why should this be any different? And is there any evidence to back up the beliefs?

In this episode Mark Norman, the creator of The Folklore Podcast, discusses the beliefs, superstitions and folklore attached to those sporting red hair.

To support the continued ad-free production of the podcast, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

As beautifully performed and presented as it was, there is far more to the concept of the 'genie' than Disney's manic blue singing version in Aladdin. The genie is the Westernised version of the Jinn, the supernatural being from Islamic and Arabian mythology and lore. On this episode of the Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman and researcher Tracey Norman are joined by Dedra Stevenson, an author from the UAE who draws on a lot of this folklore in her fiction writing. Dedra explains exactly what the Jinn are, and how they are a very real part of Muslim beliefs.

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon for extra content and rewards at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The lullaby as a song type is found in cultures all over the world. Whilst the familiar interpretation is as a gentle song to lull a child to a restful sleep, in this episode podcast creator and host Mark Norman offers some alternative readings where the lyrics and back-story are somewhat darker and more likely to induce nightmares. The episode also features a guest talk from Armenian folklore researcher and lecturer Hasmik Matikyan on the lullaby as a form of work song, drawn from her own cultural experiences and interviews.

The mythology of the Norse peoples is a rich and varied one, but little is found in the archaeological record to tell us much for certain. Some things we speculate about, others we get from primary sources. But what are these sources?

In this episode of the podcast, Noah Tetzner from the "History of Vikings" podcast gives a basic introduction to the area of Norse mythology, discussing the mythic landscape and beliefs from the Scandinavian regions.

A guest lecture from the great British folklorist Jeremy Harte who examines the character of the miller in folklore. Recorded live at the Folklore Society Conference at the Museum of English Rural Life in 2018.

Access all episodes of the podcast for free at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

This episode features two guest speakers, recorded live at the flagship conference of The Folklore Society in 2018, held at the Museum of English Rural Life in Reading and examining aspects of rural life and folklore from around the world.

Rosalind Kerven presents "Spinners, Servants and Midwives: Women at Work in British and Irish Folk Narratives" and Jo HIckey-Hall speaks on fairy lore in her paper "Wilt gie us the lend of thy plough and tackle?: Fairies at Work".

Full details of the guests and other episodes of the podcast can be found at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

This guest talk was recorded at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic's Ritual Magic conference in May 2018.

William Dawson Bellhouse (1814-1870) was many things - magician, surgeon and galvanist to name but three. His personal magical workbook, the survival of which is uncommon among 19th century cunning folk, is now in the collection of the New York Public Library. The book provides a window into Bellhouse's methods, derived from both popular tradition and printed works including the Heptameron and the works of Agrippa. Its contents provide us with insights into the spiritual toolkit of a practitioner of ritual magic working at the time.

This episode of the Folklore Podcast is the first featuring expert presentations from the Hidden Charms 2 conference in Salisbury - a conference organised by Brian Hoggard of the Apotropaios website with John Billingsley and Jeremy Harte. The conference featured a day of talks on protection magic, charms, concealed apotropaic objects and similar themes.

In this talk, "Witch Bottles - Findings from the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic" - collections researcher and museum manager Dr Peter Hewitt discusses some of the bottles held at the museum, and argues that we may use folklore to help to decode the meanings that these bottles have for us in the modern world. Dr Hewitt suggests that their uses were far more varied than just as protective devices.

To access a transcript of this episode, join the Folklore Podcast Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In the winter of 1855, after a heavy fall of snow, residents across a large area of the county of Devon, in the South West of the UK, awoke to find a mysterious trail of prints in the snow. Looking like an hoof, the single-file line of prints allegedly covered a distance of some 100 miles, ignoring obstructions in their path and continuing over high walls hayricks and even the roofs of houses. No satisfactory explanation has ever been given for the event, which became known as the Great Devon Mystery.

Although the case has been widely reported, interestingly it is not the only time that this has happened. Very similar lines of marks have been found in different parts of the world over the last 175 years or so. It's just that the other cases are much more obscure.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman compares and contrasts cases from 1840 through to 2009.

In this episode of the Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman is joined by guest Dr Claudia Schwabe, assistant professor of German at Utah State University. Amongst other things, Claudia teaches classes on fairy tales and in this interview she discusses the content of her forthcoming book "Craving Supernatural Creatures" which examines German fairy tale creatures through the lens of American Pop Culture.

Of all the objects in your house, the mirror probably has more superstitions attached to it than any other. It may be used for divination. It may be a portal to another dimension. And woe betide you if it should fall off the wall and break.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, folklorist Mark Norman - the creator and host of the podcast - looks at the mirror through history and in various cultures to explore some of the more obscure folklore attached to it.

Research assistance provided by Tracey Norman.

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This episode presents a recorded folklore talk from the archives of the podcast creator and host, Mark Norman.

Alien Big Cats was recorded in September 2013 at the Folklore Society conference 'Beasts in Legend and Tradition'. The talk, presented by writer and folklorist Steve Patterson, examines the zoological phenomenon of out of place cats in the landscape. Whilst there is plenty of evidence to suggest that big cats do live in the British landscape, Steve discusses the ways in which these cases feed into the folklore narrative of the creatures before moving on to discuss the image of the cat in mythology.

To access bonus content and support the running of the Folklore Podcast, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

There is no doubt that modern day ghost hunting is a big deal. From television programming to participatory events, the search for evidence of ghosts is more prevalent than ever. But how does folklore have a role to play in paranormal investigation? Benjamin Radford is editor of Sceptical Inquirer science magazine, a critical investigator and author or co-author of over 20 books and many hundreds of articles. In the episode of the Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman discusses Ben's book 'Investigating Ghosts' and looks together they look at the important place for folklore in the field of ghost investigation.

Many fairy tales have their roots in a much darker past, but these origins are watered down to make the tales more wholesome or moral. But did the story of Hansel and Gretel really stem from a case of entrepreneurial intrigue and murder in 17th century Germany? And did the Grimm Brothers know more than they were letting on it their version of the story? Why do the illustrations in their book look so similar to modern day locations? In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman examines a case to which their is certainly more than it seems at first glance.

To support the Folklore Podcast and earn rewards, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

There is a piece of artwork which has been around for many years and has a long and involved narrative surrounding it. It may be found in thousands of homes in differing prints and is usually known as The Crying Boy. This image has a wonderful and fascinating urban legend attached to it - a legend which has been tracked and analysed for many years by Dr David Clarke, the guest on this episode of The Folklore Podcast. Is The Crying Boy really cursed? Find out its history in this episode.

The case of Gef, the alleged talking mongoose, which may or may not have been a poltergeist, or a ghost, or a hoax, or any one of a number of things, took place over a period of around 8 years on a remote farm in the Isle of Man in the 1930s. It was investigated by Harry Price, Nandor Fodor and other researchers, but there was never a definite conclusion as to what was going on.

On this episode of The Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman talks to Christopher Josiffe, the author of the award winning book on Gef, published in 2017, and the result of 7 years of research by Chris into the subject.

The skills of weaving, spinning and knitting were vital to clothe and keep warm members of every class, race, religion or social group from the poorest to the richest. And so, we find wool, yarn and thread and the working of those materials rooted very deeply in the folklore of countries around the globe.

In this episode, Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman discusses the folklore associated with wool, thread, spinning and associated crafts, through folk and fairy tales, customs and more.

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This episode of the Folklore Podcast examines the broad themes of witchcraft and the supernatural, but focuses down to look at how they were portrayed in the early modern period; specifically, how witches were represented on the 17th century musical stage. Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman is joined by special guest and musicologist Shauna Caffrey who discusses her unusual research into the role of witches in the opera. To find out more about Shauna and her work, please visit the guests page on our website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

In the second part of this two-part examination of vampire from lore from around the world, Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman moves on to discuss ways of ensuring that the recently deceased do not rise again as vampires and, if these measures fail, what differing methods are available to destroy a creature. What are the differences between pinning and staking? Which wood should you use for your stake? Why were some bodies buried with farm implements?

To access the entire back catalogue of the Folklore Podcast for free, purchase episode supplements or other folklore products or learn more about the guests on the podcast, please visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com

To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon, get extra content and rewards and ensure the continuing development of the show, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Many of the folk tales that inspire us, teach us or just intrigue us have been passed down through many generations. In some cases we can find a root for the story. In most, we cannot. But they draw on the knowledge, the beliefs and the imaginations of our ancestors. Many of the stories that we have today, both the well-loved tales and the more obscure lore, survive because of the practices and skills of the storyteller.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman is joined by classically trained actor and professional storyteller Jon Buckeridge, of Parable Arts, to discuss the synergies between folklore and storytelling.

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Learn more about Jon and his work at www.parablearts.co.uk

Most people are familiar with the story of 'Count Dracula' and have more than a good general knowledge of the typical vampire tropes of stage and screen; the fangs, the pale skin, the blood sucking. But to truly understand the motif of the vampire in culture, we need to look across the world at all of our cultures and this is where the folklorists approach is so valuable. In the first of this special two-part examination of the vampire, podcast creator and host Mark Norman examines the origins and emergence of the idea of the vampire across races, religions and cultures through the folklore record. Part two next month will examine death lore and protection symbolism.

An e-magazine supplement for this episode and the back catalogue are available at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

To support The Folklore Podcast, pleas visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Through the early to mid part of the 20th century there were a number of characters, often women, who would travel their parts of the world collecting folk songs, stories and superstitions and recording them for the future. These people are often forgotten in modern times, but without them we would not have the archives and knowledge of our folkloric past that we do now.

In this episode of the Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman talks to Cindy Campbell-Stone, Vice-president of the Helen Creighton Folklore Society about Canada's 'First Lady of Folklore' and offers a chance to hear some of Helen's original field recording audio as well as modern renditions of songs and stories that she collected.

You can learn more about Helen and the Society at www.helencreighton.org

In the days before we had a good understanding of many medical conditions, folklore would generate around them in order to reconcile what was happening and provide explanations. Such is the case with sleep paralysis, often referred to these days even in medical circles as Old Hag Syndrome. The name derives from the hallucinatory aspect where people often report a hag sitting on their chest preventing them from moving. In medieval folklore the demonic Incubus and Succubus were to be blamed for this condition.

This is the first of a two part examination of Old Hag Syndrome and the theme was suggested by one of our listeners to the Folklore Podcast. The second part of this episode will be in two episodes time and will feature some very special guests.

To download the e-magazine supplement for this episode please visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com

Patrons receive all of our supplements free. To become a patron please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The witch trials of the 16th and 17th century have many facets within the accusations of the women (and men) involved. One of the most intriguing is the links between accused parties and the fairies. How did these people claim to be convening with the fae? What fairy magic did they profess to use?  In this special extended episode of The Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman is joined by historian and tour guide of London's Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Jon Kaneko-James. Jon works extensively with original documents from the period and discusses a case that he stumbled across about which little is generally discussed.

Jon writes extensively on the history of the supernatural on his blog at www.jonkanekojames.com He has released an exclusive blog in support of this episode which can be used along with the transcript of this episode and Jon's suggested reading which is available in the episode supplement from our website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

Before the rise of the Gothic novel, faciliated by the development of cheap printing systems, the Chapbook and Bluebook were common forms of literature, particularly in the United Kingdom. For a penny or half-penny, members of the public of any class with the ability to read suddenly had access to a wealth of information (of varying degrees of accuracy) and stories of adventure and morality through these publications. Although looked down on by the higher classes of the time, and indeed by scholars of today, the Chapbooks and Bluebooks are a wonderful repository of folklore which can tell us much about the beliefs and traditions of the people of the time. In this edition of The Folklore Podcast, the first of Season 2, creator and host Mark Norman examines some of the folklore presented in the old Chapbooks and how it was used to teach lessons to others.  An e-magazine supplement supports this episode, featuring some of the illustrative covers from old Chapbooks being discussed. You can get this from our website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com. Patrons of the podcast at any level from $1 per month receive all of our supplements via our Patreon page. More details at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Cryptozoology is an area of 'Fortean' study (or zoological study depending on your views) which can be of great interest to folklorists because of its reliance on anecdote and oral transmission of stories. In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman introduces a guest lecture from Paul Michael Donovan of Federation University, Australia on the indiginous legends surrounding the cryptid known as the Bunyip. An e-magazine supplement for this episode with further reading suggested by Paul is available to download from The Folklore Podcast website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

No matter which was you cut it and no matter how you celebrate it, there is no doubt that Yule is a time of year steeped in tradition. Some of this will be unique to your own family and some will be more generally known. Other symbols and motifs occur frequently and are either timeless or have been changed and appropriated in other ways over the years.

In this edition of The Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman examines some of the customs, traditions and beliefs surrounding the festivities of Christmas, Yule and/or the Winter Solstice (to name but three variations). From candles to trees, reindeer to mistletoe and Santa to Krampus, learn some of the ancient roots and origins of the imagery that endures to this day. You may be surprised by some of the history of your favourite Christmas symbols.

Belief in fairies throughout the world is ancient and deep-rooted, and this means that there is much folklore and tradition surrounding fairy in all of its forms: elves, pixies, sprites, brownies ... the list continues. Widespread belief in fairies waned enormously in the 19th century but this does not mean that it has died out.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman talks to Jo Hickey-Hall about their research into modern fairy sightings and how they sit alongside our more traditional patterns of belief.

For more information on this episode, our guest, and to download the e-magazine supplement please visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com

Fire can be a powerful and sometimes all consuming force. Helpful and dangerous in equal measure, the ability to use fire sets man apart from the animals. It should not be too surprising then that fire features heavily in our folklore and traditions.

This episode looks at aspects of fire within our folklore from around the world, from calendar customs to mythical creatures; old gods to modern practices. Gather round your hearth and learn about the folklore of fire with The Folklore Podcast.

An e-zine supplement for this episode is available to download from our website, where you can also sign up for our free newsletter, listen to past shows and subscribe to the podcast.

Hallowe'en, Samhain or Allantide. However you view the time surrounding October 31st, it is an important part of our ritual year. It is traditionally a time when the veil between the worlds is thinned, when magic is more powerful and when spirits roam the Earth.

Joining regular host Mark Norman on this edition of The Folklore Podcast is special guest Judith Hewitt. Judith is co-manager, with her husband Peter, of the world famous Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle, Cornwall. Throughout 2016, the Museum has staged an exhibition looking at representations of Hallowe'en in the past and now.

Judith discusses the folklore of All Hallows past and present: the glitter and the gravedust.

An episode supplement for this episode, containing a full transcript along with photos of the exhibition and some of the Museum's Hallowe'en collection is available to download from the Supplements page on our website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com or is free to Patrons at any level from www.patreon/com/thefolklorepodcast

The Autumn Equinox passes and as the Wheel of the Year turns we enter a state when the world is said to be in balance. This is a time of harvest and of appreciation for the fruits of the land. The Folklore Podcast moves into October with two seasonal episodes looking at important folklore at this time of the year.

In this episode, The Folklore Podcast's creator and host Mark Norman moves from broader folklore themes to something much smaller, and discusses the varying roles of the apple and apple trees in our folklore. Superstitions, traditions and religious imagery are all discussed, and the show additionally includes some of Mark's field recordings from a traditional wassail ceremony in 2016.

Supplementary e-magazine and more podcast infromation available on the website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

Dr David Waldron, lecturer at Federation University, Australia, and folklore researcher gives an exclusive talk to The Folklore Podcast on the phenomenon of ghost hoaxing and guising in Victorian Times. How did figures such as Springheeled Jack come about. Why did people do this and how has it continued into our modern folklore?  Visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com to download the supplementary magazine for this episode.

Host of the Folklore Podcast, Mark Norman, is one of a few researchers specialising in the field of Black Dog ghosts and holds what is thought to be the UKs largest archive of sightings and traditions. In this episode, Mark draws on his extensive archive to examine ghostly apparitions of Black Dogs in folklore and specifically how the relate to the wider European folklore of the Wild Hunt legend. An electronic magazine supplement accompanies this show with more information on the subject matter included. Visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com and click on Episodes.

Cats ... shoes ... bottles ... coins. At first glance these objects don't seem to have much in common. But these, and many other objects, are all items which have been found concealed within the fabric of old buildings during renovations or other works. Why were they placed there?

Joining host Mark Norman on this episode of The Folklore Podcast is Dr Ceri Houlbrook, an historical ethnographer and archaeologist who works as research assistant on the Concealed Revealed project, which is asking just this question.

A 16-page electronic magazine supplement is available to complement this edition, featuring a full episode transcript, more information, suggested reading and galleries of images relating to the finds. Visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com and click on Episodes to find this.

Ghosts are undoubtedly one of the most popular aspects of folklore stories. But in folklore there are two distinct types of ghost: the folk (or legendary) ghost or the haunting. In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, regular host Mark Norman examines two particular folk ghost motifs, the 'Cockstride' ghost, which serves some form of penance for evil, and the Phantom Coach.

The talk is illustrated with many examples from the South West of the United Kingdom, where these folk ghosts occur a lot in traditional accounts.

An episode supplement is available to download for this episode from the Folklore Podcast website. The supplement is a full 16-page fully designed e-zine featuring many more case studies, additional notes, comparisons of folk ghosts with stories in fictional literature and suggested reading.

The inaugural episode of The Folklore Podcast examines the recent development of the Slender Man phenomenon, with folklorist and associate professor, Dr Andrea Kitta.

It is a rare event indeed to be present at the birth of a Folklore motif or symbol and see it enter into a cultural environment. Is that what we are seeing with Slender Man? Andrea discusses her work and research on the subject.

Please visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com and click on Episodes for more information and to download the Supplement.

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