The Folklore Podcast

In this episode of the Folklore Podcast, based on a talk written for the UK Ghost Story Festival, creator and host Mark Norman discusses some of the examples of Screaming Skulls from British Folklore. How many are there? What are their meaning? And do they actually scream? If you enjoy this and other episodes of the podcast and you want to show your support, and unlock extra bonus content, please visit the Patreon support page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast. You can join for free, and t

In this very special milestone episode of The Folklore Podcast, we reunite the key cast members from the 1989 Nigel Kneale TV adaptation of Susan Hill's classic ghost story, THE WOMAN IN BLACK to discuss the production and their memories of it. You'll hear from the two main actors - Adrian Rawlins (Arthur Kidd) and Pauline Moran (The Woman) as well as Fiona Walker, who played Margaret Toovey and is the widow of the director Herbert Wise. They are joined by Susannah Wise (Herbert's daughter and

This episode of The Folklore Podcast is sponsored by Moon and Bird Books. On the day of its release, we welcome author and illustrator Denise Gallagher onto The Folklore Podcast to discuss her new book of folk tales 'How to Calm a Rain Bull'. The book looks at stories from cultures all over the world that relate to the changing seasons, which Denise retells with the colour of those cultures at their heart. You can hear one of the stories exclusively recorded for this podcast, as well as Denise

The Ancient Ways: A Year of Folklore, Traditions and Rituals to Reconnect with Nature is a debut book from second generation new-age traveller and hedgewitch Seren Hawley-Plows. In the book Seren explores how, in the past, humans' lives centred around the rhythms of the natural world and how doing the same can help you to lead a more connected and fulfilled life. The Ancient Ways is structured around the seasons and pagan festivals and aims to be an empowering guide to reconnecting with the nat

We visit the circus in this episode of The Folklore Podcast. Specifically, we are guests of Paulo's Circus where, after watching a traditional circus performance, we interview Kenny Darnell, son of the current circus owner and part of a family with circus heritage going back many generations. Kenny talks about circus heritage, the importance of the art form in the modern world, and some of the myths and superstitions attached to the circus, its workers and performers. We also find out about an

We explore folk medicine of two different historical periods, the tenth and the seventeenth century, in this episode of The Folklore Podcast. I am joined by special guest, author Danielle Giles, whose first two novels have this focus and provide our lens. 'Mere', set in the Norfolk marshes in the 10th century, explores the work of a convent infirmarian, and Danielle's new novel 'Gentle Things' is located around an apothecary's shop. We look at older pagan beliefs and practices and their adopti