Fabulous Folklore with Icy

For the unwary visitor to their lair, redcaps can be deeply dangerous creatures. These malevolent little folk are classified ‘goblins’ and that’s a word that’s rarely attached to anything positive. While they do appear in northern European folklore, they’re most often found in Border folklore. In many ways, it’s hardly surprising. The Border region is a particularly blood-soaked part of the Britis...

I have an announcement to make... I have a folklore book coming out! Rebel Folklore: Empowering Tales of Spirits, Witches and Other Misfits from Anansi to Baba Yaga , illustrated by the fantastic Melissa Jarram, is due out in September. In this episode, find out more about the book and hear one of the chapters (spoiler: it's Robin Hood)! Preorder links are: Bookshop US: https://bookshop.org/p/book...

Church bells appear in a range of ways within folklore. Sometimes they continue to ring far beneath the waves in a church under the sea. Or perhaps their peeling in the darkness guided a lost traveller back to the path and away from danger. In some tales, they’re stolen by the Devil, or by mermaids. Other times, they’re stolen by people. That’s the case in Northumbrian folklore, in which the Brink...

You might not expect to see northern vampires among the tales of Northumberland, the Borders and Cumbria. But they're there! William de Newburgh included three stories of revenants at Berwick, Melrose and Alnwick in his Historia rerum Anglicarum , a collection of five volumes that told a history of England from 1066 to 1198. And then there's the tale of the Vampire of Croglin Grange, made famous b...

Tales of fairies exist all over the world, and there are hundreds to choose from right here in the British Isles. Yet they often have a particular 'flavour' or motif that lets you group them together. One of the common motifs of folk tales in the northeast of England is that of dancing fairies. It seems the fairies in these parts loved a good feast, or a sing-song after dark. Many of the stories a...

Never mind canals, famous nightlife, and beautiful architecture - there is another side to the Dutch capital, one full of supernatural terrors and bizarre tales. Think 13th-century magicians, fleeing families, ghostly monks, and vengeful sisters, and you’re partway there. Let’s go and meet them in this week’s episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://ww...

Barcelona lies on the Mediterranean Coast in Catalonia. It's a gorgeous city, famous for architect Antoni Gaudí, artist Joan Miró and writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón, among many others. Yet you'll find more than a few Barcelona ghost stories amid the winding streets and Gothic cathedrals. Enjoy these 4 creepy ghost stories tales from Barcelona, featuring vengeful monks, poltergeists, and haunted Metro st...

The City of Light is an architectural and cultural wonder, packed with history, art, great food, and music. But there are also ghosts in Paris, loitering in the parks, wandering the boulevards, and sobbing on the bridges... Enjoy these four ghost stories from Paris, featuring the Phantom of the Opera, a blood red omen of death, a Resistance conspirator, and a lonely musician in this week's episode...

The Jewel of the Adriatic is a gorgeous wonder, filled with masks, bridges, alleyways, and mystery. But there are also ghosts in Venice, often only seen in the brief half-light when daytime gives way to the night... Enjoy these 3 creepy folk tales from Venice, featuring the Devil, the helpful dead, and even watery ghosts in Venice in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and re...

Thistles are a beautiful plant, and the beloved floral emblem of Scotland. But looks can be deceiving and thistles are considered an invasive plant. According to the 1959 Weeds Act, landowners actually have a duty to stop thistles from spreading! But do they have any value in magical or medicinal terms? Find out how thistles can banish evil, drive away gloomy thoughts, and protect your home in thi...

Daisies are a familiar sight at this time of the year in the UK, popping up in lawns and on grass verges. Their proliferation, particularly on lawns, makes them an unwanted plant for some gardeners. The flowers, or Bellis perennis , are also known as bairnwort, bruisewort, common daisy, English daisy, garden daisy, and wild daisy. Yet they're more often associated with love, childhood, and divinat...

In this 12th episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat with Sacha Coward, a queer historian who has been working in museums for the past 15 years. He is currently writing his first book about the queer history of mythology and folklore called Queer As Folklore . In this interview, we chat about queer history, mermaids, and new ways to look at folklore! Find Sacha on Twitter here: https://twitt...

Most people at some point will have experienced the pain of a nettle sting. I once managed to fall hands-first from a fence into a whole patch of nettles. So it's hardly surprising that people consider them unwanted or unloved plants. The stinging nettle, or common nettle (Urtica dioica) is Europe's most common nettle. Other names for the plant include burning weed, fire weed, and burning nettle....

Plants often become unwanted plants when they're especially prolific. Celandine is one such plant, quickly spreading to fill an area with its glossy green leaves and dizzyingly bright yellow flowers. But celandine is also a confusing plant, since the two varieties with the same name are not related. The greater celandine Chelidonium majus is a member of the poppy family, while the lesser celandine...

Dandelions are cheerful little splashes of colour in lawns and borders. They flower longer than any other plant, providing food for early pollinators. Sadly, not everyone loves them as much as I do. They're often considered weeds, and are somewhat unwanted plants. But remember. Weeds are just flowers that grow where we don't necessarily want them to. Still, they've grown up alongside us here in th...

In this 11th episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat with Rachel, the part-time storyteller and food lover behind the Folklore, Food and Fairytales podcast. The Folklore, Food and Fairytales podcast features storytelling & folklore with connected recipes and food history and the importance of honouring the stories despite how tenuous the link to the recipes becomes. As well as the podcas...

According to the Venerable Bede, what we call February was called Sol-Monath by the ancient Britons. This translates to 'Month of Cakes' and the people gave cakes to the gods as offerings. I don't know about you, but that's a practice I could get behind. It's worth bearing in mind that what we think of as 'cake' is not what people of earlier centuries had in mind. Often, early 'cake' was more like...

The Widow's Son pub in Bromley-by-Bow is famous for its collection of hot cross buns above the bar. But why are they hanging there? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/hot-cross-buns/ Water, Water, Everywhere class for Miskatonic London: https://miskatonicinstitute.com/events/water-water-everywhere...

We're told to eat fruit as part of our '5 a day' but people of years gone by had a range of uses! Apples could predict your future lover, while pomegranates kept witches at bay.  Let's discover some of these alternative uses for fruit in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fruit-folklore/ Water, Water, Everywhere cl...

Bread is a kitchen staple now, but it was once used to make predictions, bring love into your life, and cure sickness!  Let's discover some of these new uses for bread in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/bread-folklore/ Sin Eaters episode: https://pod.co/fabulous-folklore-with-icy/inviting-sin-eaters-to-a-funeral...

Coats are used to keep us warm and safe from the elements, while underwear can provide warmth and protection from our other clothes. For such intimate items, it's hardly surprising that we've got love divinations, superstitions, and lore associated with such undergarments.  And how do people develop traditions around lucky underwear? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find...

In this 10th episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat with George Popov, the Bulgarian born writer-director behind the folk horror films, 'Hex' and 'The Droving', and the 'Sideworld' documentary series. These documentaries have seen George take on the role of narrator, guiding audiences through a trove of gothic ghost stories, folklore, mythology and lesser-known paranormal encounters.  In th...

Hats and gloves end up subject to lots of folklore around dropping them, or putting them in the wrong place. But what does it all mean?  Which is a sign of luck, or that you'll invite misfortune? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/hats-gloves-folklore/ Water, Water, Everywhere class for Miskatonic...

The folklore of clothes contains ways to use the contents of your wardrobe to attract luck, discover who you'll marry, and defeat the fairies!  But how? Let's discover some of these practices in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/folklore-of-clothes/ Centre for Folklore, Myth and Magic - https://www.folkloremythmag...

Footwear is surprisingly common in folklore, with boots, shoes and stockings used for protection, divination, and medicine. Burning shoes, pinning stockings, avoiding those who are barefoot—it's all in there. Let's discover some of these practices in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/footwear-folklore/ Water, Wate...