The Folklore Podcast

A deviation from the normal format of the podcast for this edition by way of a change. In this episode, host Mark Norman introduces a reading of a fiction story which he wrote using themes from his research into Black Dog apparitions, and local tradition and folklore from his area of the world. In this podcast, the story is read by Sam Burns. "The Padding Horror" is a Lovecraftian style short stor...

Before naturally occurring events were understand by humans, they needed stories in order to explain them, much in the same way as we have seen with physical conditions such as the Old Hag phenomenon which we examined earlier in this season. In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman looks at the eclipse in folklore, both solar and lunar, and relates some of the mytholog...

Before naturally occurring events were understand by humans, they needed stories in order to explain them, much in the same way as we have seen with physical conditions such as the Old Hag phenomenon which we examined earlier in this season. In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman looks at the eclipse in folklore, both solar and lunar, and relates some of the mytholog...

Many people believe that the Chupacabra - the mysterious 'goatsucker' of New Mexico - is a folkloric creature of some age. Yet its origin cannot be traced earlier than 1995 and even then it has been reported in two very distinct forms. In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, our special guest is Benjamin Radford, author of the definite book on the lore of the creature, "Tracking the Chupacabra"....

Many people believe that the Chupacabra - the mysterious 'goatsucker' of New Mexico - is a folkloric creature of some age. Yet its origin cannot be traced earlier than 1995 and even then it has been reported in two very distinct forms. In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, our special guest is Benjamin Radford, author of the definite book on the lore of the creature, "Tracking the Chupacabra"....

Creator and host of the Folklore Podcast, Mark Norman, examines the lore and practices of those who follow a Traditional pathway of Folk Magic: the Cunning Man, the Wise Woman, the pellar and the wayside witch. This episode examines to what extent the role and the techniques of the Traditional Witch have changed over the last 200 years and how similar the folk magic beliefs are in more modern time...

Creator and host of the Folklore Podcast, Mark Norman, examines the lore and practices of those who follow a Traditional pathway of Folk Magic: the Cunning Man, the Wise Woman, the pellar and the wayside witch. This episode examines to what extent the role and the techniques of the Traditional Witch have changed over the last 200 years and how similar the folk magic beliefs are in more modern time...

The topics of spiritualism and mediumship have always been, and will always be, controversial. It is important to note that as folklorists, we should not be judging whether such things are 'real' or 'imagined', but rather the role that the phenomenon and the stories associated with it play within our cultures. What is certainly the case is that there have, through history, been people who claimed...

The topics of spiritualism and mediumship have always been, and will always be, controversial. It is important to note that as folklorists, we should not be judging whether such things are 'real' or 'imagined', but rather the role that the phenomenon and the stories associated with it play within our cultures. What is certainly the case is that there have, through history, been people who claimed...

In this episode, host of The Folklore Podcast Mark Norman links up with Blake Smith and Dr Karen Stollznow of Monster Talk podcast in the US for a joint episode examining the field of spectral hounds. Monster Talk is an official podcast of Sceptic Magazine and takes a critical, but open minded look at fields of the paranormal, cryptozoology and folklore. The show also goes more deeply into oral tr...

In this episode, host of The Folklore Podcast Mark Norman links up with Blake Smith and Dr Karen Stollznow of Monster Talk podcast in the US for a joint episode examining the field of spectral hounds. Monster Talk is an official podcast of Sceptic Magazine and takes a critical, but open minded look at fields of the paranormal, cryptozoology and folklore. The show also goes more deeply into oral tr...

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman interviews special guest Carin Marais, a qualified language practitioner from South Africa and writer of specualtive and fantasy fiction, about the ways in which fantasy authors use the folklore of the real world as a basis to form their own fictitious worlds. Also, how the fictitious folklore then begins to bleed back into our own lore. Us...

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman interviews special guest Carin Marais, a qualified language practitioner from South Africa and writer of specualtive and fantasy fiction, about the ways in which fantasy authors use the folklore of the real world as a basis to form their own fictitious worlds. Also, how the fictitious folklore then begins to bleed back into our own lore. Us...

This episode of The Folklore Podcast is the second part of our examination of the folklore surrounding sleep paralysis and Old Hag phenomena. This time we focus in on some aspects of the folklore relating to the witch trials, to the sexual aspects of the incubus and succubus demonic motifs ... and a look at the role of cheese in nightmares! Following on from this, we are proud to present a special...

This episode of The Folklore Podcast is the second part of our examination of the folklore surrounding sleep paralysis and Old Hag phenomena. This time we focus in on some aspects of the folklore relating to the witch trials, to the sexual aspects of the incubus and succubus demonic motifs ... and a look at the role of cheese in nightmares! Following on from this, we are proud to present a special...

MORE THAN JUST A WORD: "Folklore" : What It Meant and What Happened To It. On this episode of the Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman is joined by fellow Folklore Society committee member Dr Paul Cowdell. In what you might like to consider as a kind of 'Folklore 101', Paul goes back into history to examine the emergence of both the word Folklore and the discipline itself and traces them through to...

MORE THAN JUST A WORD: "Folklore" : What It Meant and What Happened To It. On this episode of the Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman is joined by fellow Folklore Society committee member Dr Paul Cowdell. In what you might like to consider as a kind of 'Folklore 101', Paul goes back into history to examine the emergence of both the word Folklore and the discipline itself and traces them through to...

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 prevent...

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 prevent...

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 an...

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 an...

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 throug...

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 throug...

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 crypt...

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 crypt...