The Three Ravens Podcast

On this week's episode of Three Ravens we're off to Essex, exploring the history and folklore of a county that has everything. Apart from mountains... We start off discussing April Fool's Day, which has a surprisingly long legacy, after which we embark for Essex! We begin by talking about a bunch of strange historical quirks in the county, including lots of things to do with ponds - ones in which...

On this week's episode of Local Legends, Martin is joined by author and storyteller Tom “The Tale Teller” Phillips. Leicestershire born and raised, Tom is the county's most celebrated storyteller - even the Leicestershire Guild of Storytellers told us, directly, that he is the person to talk to about Leicestershire's lore. And just a fraction of his knowledge and passion is on show in his collecti...

For our second episode of Magus , we are delving into the deep dark cave of history to the unravel the mysterious life of Mother Shipton, a Tudor era prophetess with links to folkloric sites all over England, from Knaresborough to the Rollright Stones to Somerset and beyond. Our journey starts in the English Renaissance, where we explore how the concept of a witch had been presented and appeared i...

On this week's episode of Three Ravens, we are diving deep into the pink river of Leicestershire's history and folklore - and Eleanor has written a real weepy story, so brace yourself for that one! We start off discussing the Nothing Day that is the 24th March - a day which used to be something, all before the Julian calendar happened, and the Archangel Michael got a bit big for his boots. After w...

For this week's episode of Local Legends, Martin is joined by academic, storyteller, author, and bona fide expert in Buckinghamshire’s folklore, Dr Terrie “Red Phoenix” Howie. Terrie, who performs as “Red Phoenix” when she’s leading workshops or telling stories, would be an absolutely worthwhile guest for this episode just from a storytelling perspective. She has performed all over the country as...

For this week's bonus episode, we have something very special for you - the second installment of our new series, Forgotten Melodies , which is all about folk music, featuring explorations of types of folk song and original recordings which put fresh spins on trad tunes! In this episode we are talking all about Ben's absolute favourite kind of folk song, the Sea Shanty, as well as 'Songs of the Se...

On this week's episode of Three Ravens, we are chatting all about the history and folklore of Buckinghamshire, a county once believed - completely wrongly - to have very few folktales... We start off chatting about St Patrick's Day, discussing his weird life amongst pirates and of generally annoying people, all before he became Patron Saint of Ireland, after which we bounce on over to Buckinghamsh...

On this week's episode of Local Legends, Martin is joined by author, academic, and storyteller Dr Anthony Nanson, who has written three books just about Gloucestershire's folklore! Born in Lancashire, Anthony is a storyteller who has had a pretty amazing career. He has toured internationally as well as all over the UK, and, with his wonderful wife Kirsty Hartsiotis, is also a founder member of per...

For this week's Bonus Episode, we're wandering wild places to explore the history and folklore of Trolls, which, though they sound pretty ancient, are a surprisingly modern folkloric creation! We start off chatting about the modern perception of Trolls, including the quite sinister online iteration we all know as the "Internet Troll" and the mass-produced toys, invented in the 1950s, now an animat...

On this week's episode of Three Ravens, we are chatting all about the history and folklore of Gloucestershire, a county of three halves... We start off discussing the strange tradition of Penny Loaf Day, born out of premonitory nightmares and 13th century standards of measurement, after which we gallop over to Gloucestershire! After chatting through some amazing aspects of the county's history, fr...

On this week's episode of Local Legends, Martin is joined by local historian David Longman, whose work chronicling Bedfordshire's 149 churches has thrown up some fascinating and very funny stories! Before embarking on this particular project, David had spent 39 years working as a teacher and headteacher in middle schools in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Northamptonshire. Outside of his life in...

On this week's Bonus Episode, Eleanor explains the strange science of Ley Lines, from the very origins of related theories in the ancient world to the various places invisible earth energies hold in the modern consciousness. We start off talking about the very earliest versions of something we might recognise as a Ley Line appeared in writing, in the form of Ancient Chinese 'Dragon Veins,' before...

On the first episode of Three Ravens Series 6, we are making a right old fuss about an often overlooked county when it comes to folklore - Bedfordshire, the county of John Bunyan, little blue spacemen, and mysterious Medieval serial killers... We start off chatting about both St Winwaloe's Day, which is surprisingly saucy actually, and all the madness of Shrove Monday, after which we bustle across...

Thank you so much for your patience everybody, and now the wait is over: we are BACK for Series 6 - and have so much cool stuff coming your way!   In this little introductory episode we outline the plan as it stands between now and the end of June (when Series 6 will end) and provide the usual Episode 0 explainer about what Three Ravens  is for new listeners, while also chatting through...

We’re on a break at the moment, researching and writing our sixth series, but, to fill the gap, this is the last of six new compilation episodes containing a trio of stories from across our earlier series. We’ve entitled this episode Three Watery Graves, for reasons which will quickly become apparent, if they aren’t already. Each is also a ghost story, so if you’re in the mood for that sort of thi...

We’re on a break at the moment, researching and writing our sixth series, but, to fill the gap, this is the fifth of six new compilation episodes containing a trio of stories from across our earlier series. We’ve entitled this episode Three More Devils because... well, Old Nick has been at it again! They include our first-lap Hertfordshire story, The Blind Fiddler of Anstey , our second lap Shrops...

We’re on a break at the moment, researching and writing our sixth series, but, to fill the gap, this is the fourth of six new compilation episodes containing a trio of stories from across our earlier series. We’ve entitled this episode Three Remarkable Beasts because these tales are all about pretty weird creatures. They include our Hampshire story from Series 4, The Wherwell Cockatrice , our rece...

We’re on a break at the moment, researching and writing our sixth series, but, to fill the gap, this is the third of six new compilation episodes containing a trio of stories from across our earlier series. We’ve entitled this episode Three Murders, as these stories are all about people being “done in” by nefarious means. They include our second-lap County Durham story, The Cold Lad , our recent H...

We’re on a break at the moment, researching and writing our sixth series, but, to fill the gap, this is the second of six new compilation episodes containing a trio of stories from across our earlier series. We’ve entitled this episode Three Tales of Friendship for obvious reasons. These stories are about pals – the bestest of buddies – or about forging friendships, because, in times like these, w...

We’re on a break at the moment, researching and writing our sixth series, but, to fill the gap, this is the first of six new compilation episodes containing a trio of stories from across our earlier series. We’ve entitled this episode Three Tales of Chivalry because, following on from our 25-part retelling of Gawain and the Green Knight , we imagined listeners might be jones-ing, for some shining...

On this week's episode of Local Legends, Martin is joined by author, folklorist, musician and songwriter Paul Weatherhead, whose book Weird Calderdale is a must-have for fans of Yorkshire folklore! Paul is a native of the Calder Valley in Yorkshire, and was brought up in Hebden Bridge. After finishing school and his BA, Paul spent several years teaching in Greece, Moscow and Northern Siberia befor...

For this week's bonus episode, we proudly present the first installment of a new series, Magus , all about the legendary lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history, and their legacies in the magic of the modern day. In this first episode we are exploring the mythical life and magical accomplishments of King Solomon, including some of the iconic objects associated with him, such as the...

For the icing on the cake of our Series 5 finale, we split Eleanor's chunky new mystery story "Old Stinker" into three parts, and this is its' suitably lycanthropic conclusion! If you missed the first two parts, GO BACK! The tale begins in Series 5 Episode 13, continued with "Old Stinker Part II" and ends here, with Finn, Oona and Mr Timms taking a trip to the funfair - though what they find there...

As part of our Series 5 finale, we've split Eleanor's tangled mystery story "Old Stinker" into three parts. This is the second. If you missed the first section, do check out yesterday's Yorkshire episode, in which Oona St Clair, in her new job working for 'Heritage Management' company Spenser & Associates, found herself drawn to Wold Newton, alongside her boss, Finn, and his friend and fellow...

For our Series 5 finale, we're talking about the history and folklore of England's largest county, and Eleanor is telling a story so epic we've split it into three ridings! Or, should that be three parts?! We start off chatting about St Hilary of Poitier, a right pain of a saint known for his pedantry and not much else, after which we yomp on to Yorkshire and get a bit literary! We discuss all sor...