The Folklore Podcast

The idea of the trickster is a strong archetype in mythology and folklore in different cultures around the world. Whether a deity, a human or something more anthropomorphic, the trickster uses their intellect to create confusion, subvert rules or simply, to play tricks. Of course, the trickster is not just confined to mythology. Where folklore crosses into popular culture, we can still find the tr...

We shine a spotlight on an often overlooked and misunderstood part of the English folk dance tradition as we welcome special guest Lucy Wright to discuss Girls' Carnival Morris tradition. One of the most spectacular forms of English folk dance, Carnival Morris emerged and remains primarily in the North West of England and is one of the few competitive folk dance forms. In what is a truly important...

Guest interviewer, writer Beth O'Brien (the founder of Disabled Tales) meets with author Catherine Bloor to discuss her novel 'Soul of a Raven', a genre-defying mix of magic, folklore and mystery set across generations and steeped in real-world history and lore. This is a Folklore Podcast Book Club episode. To support the work of The Folklore Podcast and access extra exclusive content, please visi...

We meet writer/director Peter Dunne and actress Margaret McAuliffe from the celebrated Irish horror podcast 'Petrified' to discuss dark folklore from Ireland, how the horror genre and folklore utilise in-built human fear reactions and how folklore and belief can be used to write in the horror format. Support the work of The Folklore Podcast and The Folklore Library and Archive in collecting and pr...

In the first of a short series of episodes profiling American storytellers, we meet Cooper Braun who reminds us that folk and fairy tales are not just for children. An accomplished and prize-winning slam teller, Cooper's first love is traditional tales and he discusses this in great detail. The episode ends with his telling of "The True Confessions of Prince Charming". Join our Discord server and...

Season 8 of The Folklore Podcast kicks off with an exploration of the subject of the English folk tale, with guest Neil Philip. Neil, who originally published the Penguin Book of English Folktales years ago now has a new revised edition out with Watkins publishers, full of analysis and insight into some famous and lesser known folk tales. Neil's work has been highly praised by the likes of Neil Ga...

In the final show of Season 7, we welcome back film director George Popov to discuss the second in his 'Sideworld' series of documentaries. This time, George explores folklore and legend connected with stories of the sea, in conversation with theatre and film correspondent Tracy Nicholas. You can visit the website for Rubicon Films on this link . To support the work of the Folklore Podcast and the...

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. Car...

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...

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 magic...

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...

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,...

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 archaeolo...

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...

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'...

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 materi...

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...

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 Fo...

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 Fil...

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...

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 'T...

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 suppo...

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 i...

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 Networ...

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 i...