Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast The Folklore Podcast

The British ritual year is full of fascinating public events, sports, games, processions and festivals. Whether long-running or modern, revival or continuous, there is something for everyone and a rich background of folklore and tradition behind them all.

A new 6-part documentary series, "Gatherings", shines a light on some of these, but in an unusual way. No presenter. No celebrity. No narrative. Gatherings presents the events as the onlookers would see them, along with interviews with organisers, participants and visitors.

In this episode of the podcast, I meet with the director Dave Brewis to learn more about how the series came about, the ethos behind it and, of course, the events themselves.

You can learn more about Gatherings, and find out how to watch, at https://gatherings.tv/

Support the Folklore Podcast and get extra content, as either a free member or on a supporter's tier, at https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The Folklore Podcast is an independent podcast. Please help to spread the word by sharing episodes and other content.

I gather together a gaggle of witchcraft historians to discuss the cult TV gameshow 'The Traitors'. To what extent do the machinations of the contestants in the show, whichever version that might be, draw parallels with the witch-hunts of the Early Modern Period?

Joining me to debate this are:

Professor Marion Gibson

Dr Tabitha Stanmore

Tracey Norman

All of whom are returning guests to the show.

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

While there are many famous names associated with the ghost story, some are less commonly linked, and even fewer are women. In the episode of the podcast we focus on one of those in particular, Edith Nesbit.

Best known as a children's writer under the name E. Nesbit, Edith wrote some effective spooky tales for adults. Many of these have not seen much light of day.

A new one-woman theatre show - HAUNTED SHADOWS - performed by Claire Louise Amias and directed by Jonathan Rigby shines a light on Edith and her gothic stories. I meet Claire to discuss Edith Nesbit's work, and of course her new show.

Haunted Shadows is a production of A Monkey With Cymbals theatre company. Find out more on their website at https://www.amonkeywithcymbals.co.uk/haunted-shadows

Follow them on social media:

Instagram: @AMonkeyWithCymbals

Facebook: @AMonkeyWithCymbals

X: @Monkeywithcymb

Bluesky: @ClaireLouiseAmias.bsky.social

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast in creating free folklore content for everyone, please join our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast - you can also join the free member community there too.

Returning guest to the podcast, witchcraft historian Professor Marion Gibson, discusses her book 'Witchcraft: A History in 13 Trials'. The book, and this interview, explores the history of witchcraft accusation and persecution through a number of key trials at different points in history - some well known and some more obscure.

You can visit Marion's website at https://mariongibson.co.uk/

Support the work of The Folklore Podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can get extra content both as a free member or on a paid tier.

Folklore Podcast creator Mark Norman once again meets up with children's author Claire Barker, this time to discuss the final version of her new book 'Hettie Nettle's Handbook for Hedgewitches'.

Described in the episode as a groundbreaking book, and not without good reason, Hettie Nettle introduces children to the subjects of solitary witchcraft, seasonal workings, our relationship with nature and much more in a safe and meticulously researched way.

In this episode, we chat about the ethos of the book, the ways in which it deals with folklore and how it fuses real-world practice with fiction.

Support the work of The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and get extra rewards, either as a free member or from just £1 a month for bonus content. Visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast for more details.

In May of 2025, I was honoured to be asked by the British Academy to chair the final panel in their 'Folklore Reimagined' series, 'Lore of the Land'. This panel was titled 'Stories of wetlands, woods and weather'.

How have landscapes been represented and perceived throughout time? What do the stories we tell about our environments reveal about ourselves? And how can our historical relationship with the land help us reconsider our connection to the natural world today? 

The panelists for this discussion were Professor Melanie Giles FBA, British archaeologist specialising in Iron Age Britain; Fiona Stafford FBA, Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford; and Marilina Cesario, Professor in the School of Arts, English and Languages at Queen’s University Belfast.

You can watch the original filmed panel on the British Academy's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej60YO1_qrI

The Folklore Podcast has been committed to producing high quality free folklore content for almost a decade, bringing you access to the world's experts in the subject. To help us to keep doing what we do, please consider supporting us with a small monthly subscription on our Patreon page, where you can find more subscriber-only content. Please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast and help to fund the podcast for the future.

In this episode of the podcast, host Mark Norman takes an in-depth look at the White Witch of Exeter. Most times, when we speak of 'white witches' we are talking about a particular person, but in the case of the Devon city of Exeter, the White Witch was something a little different.

Mark discusses the history of this character from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, and looks and some of their practices and cures.

The content of this episode is drawn from the book DEVON'S FORGOTTEN WITCHES, 1860-1910 written by Tracey and Mark Norman and published by The History Press. Order a copy from the Folklore Podcast website or wherever books are sold.

To support the Folklore Podcast please join the Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast for free or on a paid support tier and get extra content.

The Seven County Witch Hunt Project podcast mini-series collaboration comes to a close. In this final episode, Professor Marion Gibson and Dr Tabitha Stanmore once again join folklorist and author Mark Norman to discuss some of their favourite stories from the three years of research they have undertaken, before reflecting on the podcast as a whole and where it will go next.

The Seven County Witch Hunt blog will continue to be updated with new articles even though the primary research stage is complete. Make sure to follow it at https://medium.com/@Witches7Hunt

If you have enjoyed this series and want to help to support the work of The Folklore Podcast in creating more content, please visit the Patreon page and join up at https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Mark Norman is in conversation with medical herbalist Jenny Carden, who practices as The Dartmoor Herbalist.

In an interview recorded live in Jenny's workshop in the courtyard of the Museum of Dartmoor Life in Okehampton, Devon, Jenny discusses her work and the differences between a medical herbalist legally dispensing herbal blends and other forms of herbalism, both current and historic.

Find out all about Jenny and her work on her website at https://thedartmoorherbalist.wordpress.com/

Support the Folklore Podcast and its work providing ongoing free folklore content for everyone at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast from just £1 a month

Our six part mini-series examining the seventeenth-century witch hunts across the eastern counties of England continues with a discussion looking at a topic not generally explored in this context: the environment.

Professor Marion Gibson and Dr Tabitha Stanmore of the Leverhulme Foundation funded Seven County Witch Hunt Project join folklorist and host Mark Norman once again. Topics include the influence of the weather, farming and crops and the coastal fishing trade and how all of these have a bearing on the witch trials.

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast in creating more specialist mini-series and other folklore content, please visit our Patreon page at patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In this episode, Professor Marion Gibson and Dr Tabitha Stanmore turn their attention to the families involved in the witch hunts. Were all family members tarred with the same brush? How did dynamics work when families were accusing each other of witchcraft?

Moving on from this, we also look at the role of familiars - not necessarily the animal familiars which are more well recognized, but ghostly assistance provided from within the family and beyond, and the role of spectral evidence that emerges from this time period.

Once again, podcast host Mark Norman leads the questioning.

To support the Folklore Podcast is producing more mini-series' and content such as this, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast and sign up for a membership tier for extra rewards. Or make a one-off donation at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

Read the Seven County Witch Hunt Project blog at https://medium.com/@Witches7Hunt

In this mini-episode of The Folklore Podcast, recorded live at the UK Ghost Story Festival 2025 in Derby, UK, I chat with Professor Bob Edgar about the theme of Folk Horror.

With specialisms in scriptwriting, adaptation, music memoir and genre fiction, Bob has notably published widely on folk horror and hauntology. He is one of the editors of the Bloomsbury Academic series 'Spectres, Hauntings and Horrors'.

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

The third episode of our mini-series looking at the witch hunts headed up by Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne looks at the most stereotypical of subjects - that of gender. Just how many of the accused were women and how did gender figure in the hunts and the ways in which they were carried out?

The Seven County Witch Hunt Project podcast series is produced by The Folklore Podcast, and host Mark Norman is in conversation with Professor Marion Gibson and Dr Tabitha Stanmore.

The Seven County Witch Hunt Project was based at the University of Exeter, and funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

In the second episode of the Seven County Witch Hunt Project podcast mini-series, we look at the accusations that were being levelled against people accused of witchcraft in the English witch hunts of the 17th century. Were these people in league with the Devil, or did the accusations reflect other tensions within the community? We also dispel some myths about the witch hunters themselves, particularly Matthew Hopkins.

The Seven County Witch Hunt Project podcast series is produced by The Folklore Podcast, and host Mark Norman is in conversation with Professor Marion Gibson and Dr Tabitha Stanmore.

The Seven County Witch Hunt Project was based at the University of Exeter, and funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

Scotland has a broad mix of folklore. Some is found elsewhere, or has variations in other areas, and some is unique to the country. Some is well-known and some is much more obscure.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman is in conversation with Scottish writer Lyndsey Croal about the subject. Lyndsey often works with elements of Scottish lore, most recently that connected with the sea which she uses to good effect in a collection of short stories recently published under the title Dark Crescent. Do you know your Frittening from your Mither? There's only one way to find out!

Find Lyndsey online at https://lyndseycroal.co.uk/

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast and access extra bonus material, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can join as a free member or on one of a number of paid support tiers.

In the years 1645–1647, when England was embroiled in a traumatic and bloody Civil War, roughly three hundred people in the South East were accused of witchcraft. Received wisdom — and some shameless self-promotion on the part of the chief investigators — has dictated that the largest witch-hunt in English history was driven by the obsessive enthusiasm of two men: John Stearne and Matthew Hopkins, the self-appointed Witchfinder General. Much of the scholarship surrounding the so-called “Hopkins Trials” trials has focused on these two men, placing them centre-stage in a story that affected hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

“England’s Mass Witch-Hunt: A Seven County History of the Hunt” is a Leverhulme-funded Project run by Professor Marion Gibson and Dr Tabitha Stanmore. The aim is to create a people’s history of the witchcraft trials of 1645–1647 and to recover the voices which were once deemed unimportant: the accused women and men, their neighbours and accusers.

This 6-part mini-series produced by The Folklore Podcast and hosted by folklorist Mark Norman uncovers the stories and findings of the project. In discussion with Marion and Tabitha, we bring these new stories to a global audience for the first time.

Follow the project on BlueSky at https://bsky.app/profile/witches7hunt.bsky.social

Read the project blog at https://medium.com/@Witches7Hunt

This episode of The Folklore Podcast is an interview of two halves, as host Mark Norman sits down to chat with herbalist and writer Su Bristow.

In an interview recorded live at Su's dining table, the first half of the show explores her work as a herbalist. We chat about the history of using plants in folk medicine, the approaches used and how valuable or otherwise volumes such as Culpeper's Herbal are in the modern world. Su discusses her techniques and dispels some of the myths about herbal treatments and plants in folklore.

Moving on from this, the conversation turns to Su's writing. As well as two non-fiction books on herbalism, Su is also the author of two folklore-themed novels. The conversation begins with her prize-winning first novel 'Sealskin' which is a reimagining of the Scottish selkie legends, before turning to 'The Fair Folk' and a foray into fairy folklore.

Finally, Su discusses the novel that she is currently working on, and reads a short extract from her work in progress.

Find Su on the internet at https://subristow.weebly.com/

To help to keep The Folklore Podcast going and producing even more folklore content, please consider joining the Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast with a small monthly donation from just £1. A small contribution makes a massive difference. Thank you.

Award winning author, historian and occultist Liz Williams discusses her book 'Miracles of our own Making: A History of Paganism', published by Reaktion Books.

The interview takes in the history of paganism and Liz's work in Druidry as well as her writing.

Read the review of the book on the Folklore Podcast website at https://www.thefolklorepodcast.com/miracles-of-our-own-making.html

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to access extra content (free and paid tiers are available) at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman delves into the topic of folk music and performance with special guests Lunatraktors. The duo, formed in 2017 and made up of Carli Jefferson and Dr Clair Le Couteur aim to strip folk back to the bare essentials of rhythm and voice, and use in-depth research methods to investigate Anglo-Celtic music, to which they then apply a modern twist.

Carli and Clair also discuss their latest release Wassail, which you can also hear in the episode.

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast and help to keep the show going, please visit https://www.patreon.com/c/thefolklorepodcast where you can sign up as either a free or paid supporter and access bonus content.

Explore the Lunatraktors website at https://www.lunatraktors.space/

Watch Lunatraktors performances on their YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/Lunatraktors

Watch the Lunatraktors TEDx Talk at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v-5QB1QQpM&t=605s

In this 'Meet the Author' bonus episode of The Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman introduces a conversation between literary correspondent Hilary Wilson and university lecturer and poet Kailey Tedesco.

Kailey discusses her poetry collection 'Motherdevil' which takes the story of the Jersey Devil and the Pine Barrens as its inspiration for an exploration of folklore and motherhood.

Kailey Tedesco is a university lecturer delivering courses in horror writing and gothic literature. This episode is part of the 'Folklore Podcast Rewind' strand, and was recorded at Halloween, 2024.

Visit Kailey's website at www.kaileytedesco.com

To support The Folklore Podcast as well as accessing extra bonus content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Folklore Podcast creator and host, Mark Norman, explores the rumours that the author of 'Dracula', Bram Stoker, found inspiration for his famous count in the rural backwaters of the county of Devon, in the South-West of the United Kingdom. Could there by any truth to the ideas that Count Dracula emerged as much from the Devon countryside as he did from the Carpathian mountains?

This episode of The Folklore Podcast is written and presented by Mark Norman. To support the podcast, and help to facilitate the creation of more episodes featuring new research, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman meets with Ronnie Turner. author of the gothic and folk horror novel 'Small Fires' in this episode of the podcast, recorded on location during Ronnie's recent book signing tour.

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

We chat with Bram Stoker and International Latino Award Winning horror author Cynthia Pelayo as her latest book, 'Vanishing Children' is released.

Cynthia's writing intersects with the world of fairy tales, with Charles Perrault's story of Sleeping Beauty providing inspiration for 'Vanishing Children'.

Please note that this interview deals with themes of parental loss, and touches on suicide.

To support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and help us to keep making the show, and to get extra content, please visit http://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman chats with Kat the Lore Mistress about using folklore and folk horror themes in tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs). In particular, we look at a new Zine based folk horror game called GAST for which Kat is part of the development team.

To find out more about GAST and the creators Hatched Games, visit their website at https://www.hatchedgames.co.uk/

Visit Kat's website at https://www.theloremistress.co.uk/

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and get extra content at https://www.patreon.com/c/thefolklorepodcast

We welcome back onto The Folklore Podcast musician and composer Einar Selvik, founder of the band Wardruna and expert in Old Norse music and culture. Einar discusses his beliefs and connections with nature, the way he goes about composing his music through the use of old Norse runes, and his latest work Birna, named for the old Norse she-bear.

To support The Folklore Podcast, please consider making a small donation via our website, or visit https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can find exclusive bonus content.

We meet British fantasy author Alexandra Beaumont, who specializes in utilizing folklore and the gothic in her writing. She discusses themes of Cornish folklore and her novel 'Dissonance of Bird Song' which was voted the Independent Press Award Distinguished Favourite for 2025.

Visit Alexandra online at https://www.alexandrabeaumontauthor.com/

Support The Folklore Podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

RETURN TO 10th KINGDOM:

We chat with actor Scott Cohen, who played Wolf in the mini-series 'The 10th Kingdom' about possible plans for a sequel, his thoughts on the show and its characters and genre fiction more broadly, as well as discussing his career as an actor and theatre producer.

Visit our Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can join as a free member and listen to our storytelling show 'Stories from the Hearth', or support the podcast on one of our paid tiers and access a back catalogue of bonus material.

In this bonus episode of The Folklore Podcast we shine a light on another fantastic folklore audio project as we meet Charlie Dobres, the writer and creator of audio drama The Maiden and the Dragon. This 6-part production takes a well-known folk tale that we have covered on this show before, The Lambton Worm, and retreats it with a female protagonist in the lead role.

You can access more content from The Folklore Podcast, as well as supporting the show and helping it to continue, by visiting the Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Visit Charlie's website at https://goodintentmedia.com/

We return to the subject of vampires on The Folklore Podcast, a subject which we last covered in detail way back in Season 2 with a two-part investigation into the folkloric vampire.

This time, we focus on the vampire as it is found in the Slavic regions, with our guest Sam Grant. Sam, who travelled to the area to research the subject, is also the author of a currently unpublished novel, 'Bunika' which fuses actual Slavic vampire lore with fictional elements. In discussion with Mark Norman, the creator and host of The Folklore Podcast, Sam explains the fundamentals of Slavic lore as it relates to the image of the vampire.

You can visit Sam's website at www.bunikanovel.com

Join the Folklore Podcast Patreon, either as a free member or for a small monthly amount, to access a wealth of exclusive extra folklore content and support the show.

In this new strand of The Folklore Podcast, we delve into the archives and pull out old interviews from previous seasons that never made it to air.

Today, pagan author Chris Allaun discusses his writing and in particular two of his books, 'The Black Book of Johnathan Knotbristle' and 'Whispers from the Coven', both of which are an interesting mix of a fiction novel with useable spells incorporated into the text.

Support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and access extra bonus content at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

It all starts when two friends are invited to the home of a mysterious spiritualist medium to experience a seance in their search for evidence of the paranormal. But the medium’s home used to belong to a girl who died there. And that’s never a good combination.

So starts the story of 'The Seance', a piece of live theatre written and directed by the guest on this episode of The Folklore Podcast, Chris Stagg.

Chris talks with Mark Norman, creator and host of The Folklore Podcast, about his writing and interest in horror, and specifically about the logistics of placing a seance live on stage in front of an audience.

You can find Chris on social media:

Twitter/Instagram @cw_stagg

Bluesky @cwstagg.bsky.social

To support The Folklore Podcast in producing more content, please consider joining the Patreon page to access more content at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In this special edition release of The Folklore Podcast, we chat with the New York Times Bestselling horror author Grady Hendrix about his fiction and non-fiction writing, and about his new book 'Witchcraft for Wayward Girls' which is released on the same day as this episode - January 14th, 2025.

Support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and get extra exclusive content at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Folklore in the Field is the bonus episode strand of The Folklore Podcast where we chat with people out on location about their work and interests. No frills. No heavy production. Just conversation.

In this episode, Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman chats with children's author Claire Barker about her interests in folklore and her writing, including 'Knitbone Pepper, Ghost Dog', 'Picklewitch and Jack' and her forthcoming book 'Hettie Nettle's Handbook for Hedgewitches'.

Visit Claire online at https://clairebarkerauthor.com/

Support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon to access exclusive extra content at https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In this episode, the first show of the 10th anniversary season of The Folklore Podcast, we look at the classic TV mini-series 'The 10th Kingdom' which is celebrating its 25th birthday.

Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman gives an overview of some of the content that you can expect during the season. This is followed by an interview with special guest Simon Moore, who wrote the screenplay for 'The 10th Kingdom'.

Simon gives some insights into his writing and the show and discusses the subjects of fairy tales and folklore. The interview also gives some information about the potential for a possible return to 'The 10th Kingdom' through new novelization and the options for a new TV series.

To support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and get exclusive bonus material, please visit https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Find The Folklore Podcast on the web at http://www.thefolklorepodcast.com

The old Irish tradition of using enormous stones in the landscape, sometimes known as testing stones, as a feat of strength has been all but lost for generations. Such stones were lifted to honour the dead at funerals, as a rite of passage to adulthood, as a test of suitability for particular jobs or roles, and for many other purposes.

There are many such stones still lying in the Irish landscape, the purpose forgotten, until recently. Thanks to the diligent research and investigation of the guest on this episode of The Folklore Podcast, David Keohan, these stones are gradually being rediscovered, mapped, and lifted once again.

In this episode, we learn about the Irish traditions behind the Lifting Stones, and David's efforts to rediscover them.

You can follow David on his Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/_indiana_stones_

If you enjoy this episode, please consider subscribing to our Patreon page. You can do this for free to access our storytelling podcast, Stories from the Hearth, or for a subscription from just £1 a month, you can access a whole catalogue of exclusive member only content. Visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast for more details

In this bonus interview from The Folklore Podcast, recorded live at the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research 40th anniversary conference at Sheffield Hallam University, Dr Megan Kenny sits down to chat with Folklore Podcast host Mark Norman and Perry Carpenter from the Digital Folklore Podcast.

Megan is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Sheffield Hallam and talks about power and psychology in folklore.

You can listen to Megan's own podcast Monstrous Flesh, which looks at women in horror, wherever you get podcasts. The website is at https://www.monstrousflesh.co.uk/podcast

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

As listeners in the US celebrate Thanksgiving, this bonus minisode takes a look at what we actually know about the history of this celebration versus the popular myth.

Support the Folklore Podcast via our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast for additional content.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast we enter the secretive world of the circus and the carnival sideshow - a community with much tradition and folklore but at the same time many secrets.

Our guest Nathan Wakefield, himself a variety performer, uncovers the world of the Sideshow Geek - controversial and eccentric acts which shocked many an audience member in the sideshows of the past. But how much of the act was genuine, and how much was just that - an act?

Nathan's book, 'The Rise and Fall of the Sideshow Geek' offers an in-depth look at this fascinating topic, aspects of which are touched on in this interview. Please note that this episode carries a content warning for stories of acts which may have involved abuse of animals.

Useful links:

Nathan's performing website: https://nathanmcscary.com/

Nathan's publisher's website: http://outsidetalkerpress.com/

Book softcover: https://outsidetalkerpress.bigcartel.com/product/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-sideshow-geek

Book hardcover: https://outsidetalkerpress.bigcartel.com/product/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-sideshow-geek-snake-eaters-human-ostriches-other-extreme-hardcover

eBook Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/u/38YOew

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

We meet musician and composer Freya Waley-Cohen to talk about her work and the ways in which folklore and the occult have inspired her music. In particular, we look at 'Spell Book', a dramatic song cycle which sets spell-poems from Rebecca Tamas' book WITCH to original music.

You can visit Freya on the web and learn more about her work at https://www.freyawaleycohen.com/

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

There can be few people who don't have at least a passing awareness of the legend of the lost continent of Atlantis. But probably a significantly smaller number don't know much about Lemuria, another alleged land mass which sunk to the depths and which has since been seized upon by occultists to posit theories about our ancestral past.

In this episode of the Folklore Podcast we sort the aquatic wheat from the chaff with special guest Justin McHenry whose latest book provides an in-depth look at the stories of Lemuria.

You can visit Justin's website at https://www.justinjmchenry.com/

To support The Folklore Podcast and help us to keep going into our 10th season, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In this episode of the podcast, we explore the use of folklore as an inspiration for the creation of music, with award-winning musician, composer and songwriter Kate Young.

At the time of release, Kate has just released her much-anticipated debut album, Umbelliferæ (pronounced ‘um-bell-ifer-aye’), a captivating record inspired by plantlore and the ancient medicinal uses of wildflowers from the British Isles. Drawing from world traditions, chamber music, and indie/pop influences with a stunning song-led string quintet collection, each track is a unique journey through soundscapes inspired by specific plants, which Kate has woven together with stories and melodies that capture the essence of their characteristics and historical uses.

You can find out more about Kate and her music, and get a copy of her album, from her website at https://kateyoungmusic.com/

Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to help us to keep producing the content you enjoy. You can join as a free listener and access our storytelling podcast there, or from a small amount each month access our back catalogue of bonus materials. Visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast to sign up.

Folk tales have been important to us for centuries, but in the grand span of their existence we only started writing them down relatively recently. In this episode of the Folklore Podcast, we are joined by Scottish storyteller Allison Galbraith, who is one of those who not only tells in person, but also commits stories to print.

Amongst these is the tale Zombie Cow, which she performs as part of this episode and which we couldn't resist using as an episode title.

This episode is a rich investigation into the art of storytelling, the written word and much more.

Visit Allison's website at www.voiceandstory.com

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

In one of our occasional Folklore in the Field episodes, recorded live at events, Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman is joined by Bronte Schiltz for a discussion of representations of the ghost on television.

This interview was recorded at the UK Ghost Story Festival 2024 at the Museum of Making in Derby, UK.

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

A quick interruption to your lives with some news about the podcast!

In another of our occasional series looking at the work of American storytellers, we meet the award winning Laura Packer.

Based in Minnesota, Laura has over 25 years of storytelling experience and was recently inducted into the United States National Storytelling Network’s Circle of Excellence - a select group of storytellers determined by their peers to be standard bearers of the art, and masters at the craft.

You can find Laura online at https://laurapacker.com/

Please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can join our Patreon support page for free or pay a small amount each month to help our work.

To coincide with his new book 'Zoinks - The Spooky Folklore Behind Scooby-Doo' going to pre-order, Folklore Podcast creator Mark Norman presents a special episode looking at the way that folklore and the paranormal are represented in Scooby-Doo through the lens of Shaggy and Scooby's favourite thing - food.

To pre-order a copy of Zoinks and receive an exclusive set of collector's cards with your order, please visit https://auk.direct/product/zoinks/

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

In terms of folklore, ghostly encounters are not about the proof of existence of the supernatural so much as they are about the meaning of the experience to the individual. Folklore is about examining the story, the meaning that it has for the witness, and the way in which that narrative is both transmitted and recorded.

We discuss the recording process of ghostly encounters, the 'writing of ghosts' with our guest Amelia Cotter, who has dome precisely this across different genres, including non fiction, fiction and poetry. Amelia is in conversation with correspondent Tracy Nicholas.

Visit Amelia online at www.ameliacotter.com

To support the work of the Folklore Podcast and to help us to keep making content, please visit our Patreon pages at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

An episode of 'Folklore in the Field' presenting interviews and discussions recorded live at events we attend.

This episode features a roundtable discussion on the topic of folklore and magical practice, recorded in association with Crossed Crow Books.

Folklore Podcast creator Mark Norman hosts guests:

Blake and Wycke Malliway - owners of Crossed Crow Books and Malliway Bros occult shop

Jac D Hawkins - author of Elemental Spirits

Albert Bjorn Shiell - author of Icelandic Plant Magic

This discussion was recorded in Reading, UK in March 2024.

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Wherever we might be in the world, we find that folklore will always take on very specific regional variations: any area will have both its own unique stories and versions of other tales which have been shaped by local knowledge or events.

In the UK, where the country is divided into counties, records vary very much from place to place. The country of Lincolnshire has some fascinating folklore and yet, historically, it has been quite overlooked in terms of collecting and recording these stories.

A new project, based at Nottingham Trent University, seeks to redress the perceived imbalance. On this episode of the podcast, creator and host Mark Norman is joined by Dr Anna Milon and Dr Rory Waterman to discuss the folklore of Lincolnshire and The Lincolnshire Folk Tales Project.

You can visit the project website at https://lincolnshirefolktalesproject.com/

To support The Folklore Podcast and help us to keep going, as well as getting access to extra member content, please consider joining our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In this episode of the Folklore Podcast we explore the psychology of trauma and its intersection with alleged paranormal phenomena, with guests Bill and Jaci Kousoulas.

For some, paranormal occurrences can be a precursor to later trauma, either on a personal level or on a larger scale. For others, trauma may act as a catalyst from paranormal events and they find after suffering a personal loss or other tragedy that they become susceptible to what we might term supernatural happenings. But what is the psychology between this intersection of trauma and the paranormal?

We explore the answer to this question with particular focus on the tragedy of the Point Pleasant Bridge collapse and its connection to the Mothman sightings.

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