The Folklore Podcast

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.ukYou 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=Y8yEH8TZUskFor more on Polari from Paul Baker's web pages, visit https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/staff/bakerjp/polari/home

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.comTo 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.comTo 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 S

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

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