The Folklore Podcast

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 prod