Episodes

We return to the subject of vampires on The Folklore Podcast, a subject which we last covered in detail way back in Season 2 with a two-part investigation into the folkloric vampire. This time, we focus on the vampire as it is found in the Slavic regions, with our guest Sam Grant. Sam, who travelled to the area to research the subject, is also the author of a currently unpublished novel, 'Bunika' which fuses actual Slavic vampire lore with fictional elements. In discussion with Mark Norman, the...

In this new strand of The Folklore Podcast, we delve into the archives and pull out old interviews from previous seasons that never made it to air. Today, pagan author Chris Allaun discusses his writing and in particular two of his books, 'The Black Book of Johnathan Knotbristle' and 'Whispers from the Coven', both of which are an interesting mix of a fiction novel with useable spells incorporated into the text. Support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and access extra bonus content at www.patr...

It all starts when two friends are invited to the home of a mysterious spiritualist medium to experience a seance in their search for evidence of the paranormal. But the medium’s home used to belong to a girl who died there. And that’s never a good combination. So starts the story of 'The Seance', a piece of live theatre written and directed by the guest on this episode of The Folklore Podcast, Chris Stagg. Chris talks with Mark Norman, creator and host of The Folklore Podcast, about his writi...

In this special edition release of The Folklore Podcast, we chat with the New York Times Bestselling horror author Grady Hendrix about his fiction and non-fiction writing, and about his new book 'Witchcraft for Wayward Girls' which is released on the same day as this episode - January 14th, 2025. Support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and get extra exclusive content at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Folklore in the Field is the bonus episode strand of The Folklore Podcast where we chat with people out on location about their work and interests. No frills. No heavy production. Just conversation. In this episode, Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman chats with children's author Claire Barker about her interests in folklore and her writing, including 'Knitbone Pepper, Ghost Dog', 'Picklewitch and Jack' and her forthcoming book 'Hettie Nettle's Handbook for Hedgewitches'. Visit Clair...

In this episode, the first show of the 10th anniversary season of The Folklore Podcast, we look at the classic TV mini-series 'The 10th Kingdom' which is celebrating its 25th birthday. Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman gives an overview of some of the content that you can expect during the season. This is followed by an interview with special guest Simon Moore, who wrote the screenplay for 'The 10th Kingdom'. Simon gives some insights into his writing and the show and discusses the...

The old Irish tradition of using enormous stones in the landscape, sometimes known as testing stones, as a feat of strength has been all but lost for generations. Such stones were lifted to honour the dead at funerals, as a rite of passage to adulthood, as a test of suitability for particular jobs or roles, and for many other purposes. There are many such stones still lying in the Irish landscape, the purpose forgotten, until recently. Thanks to the diligent research and investigation of the gu...

In this bonus interview from The Folklore Podcast, recorded live at the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research 40th anniversary conference at Sheffield Hallam University, Dr Megan Kenny sits down to chat with Folklore Podcast host Mark Norman and Perry Carpenter from the Digital Folklore Podcast. Megan is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Sheffield Hallam and talks about power and psychology in folklore. You can listen to Megan's own podcast Monstrous Flesh, which looks at wo...

As listeners in the US celebrate Thanksgiving, this bonus minisode takes a look at what we actually know about the history of this celebration versus the popular myth. Support the Folklore Podcast via our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast for additional content.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast we enter the secretive world of the circus and the carnival sideshow - a community with much tradition and folklore but at the same time many secrets. Our guest Nathan Wakefield, himself a variety performer, uncovers the world of the Sideshow Geek - controversial and eccentric acts which shocked many an audience member in the sideshows of the past. But how much of the act was genuine, and how much was just that - an act? Nathan's book, 'The Rise and Fall...

We meet musician and composer Freya Waley-Cohen to talk about her work and the ways in which folklore and the occult have inspired her music. In particular, we look at 'Spell Book', a dramatic song cycle which sets spell-poems from Rebecca Tamas' book WITCH to original music. You can visit Freya on the web and learn more about her work at https://www.freyawaleycohen.com/ To support the work of the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and access extra content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepod...

There can be few people who don't have at least a passing awareness of the legend of the lost continent of Atlantis. But probably a significantly smaller number don't know much about Lemuria, another alleged land mass which sunk to the depths and which has since been seized upon by occultists to posit theories about our ancestral past. In this episode of the Folklore Podcast we sort the aquatic wheat from the chaff with special guest Justin McHenry whose latest book provides an in-depth look at...

In this episode of the podcast, we explore the use of folklore as an inspiration for the creation of music, with award-winning musician, composer and songwriter Kate Young. At the time of release, Kate has just released her much-anticipated debut album, Umbelliferæ (pronounced ‘um-bell-ifer-aye’), a captivating record inspired by plantlore and the ancient medicinal uses of wildflowers from the British Isles. Drawing from world traditions, chamber music, and indie/pop influences with a stunning ...

Folk tales have been important to us for centuries, but in the grand span of their existence we only started writing them down relatively recently. In this episode of the Folklore Podcast, we are joined by Scottish storyteller Allison Galbraith, who is one of those who not only tells in person, but also commits stories to print. Amongst these is the tale Zombie Cow, which she performs as part of this episode and which we couldn't resist using as an episode title. This episode is a rich investi...

In one of our occasional Folklore in the Field episodes, recorded live at events, Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman is joined by Bronte Schiltz for a discussion of representations of the ghost on television. This interview was recorded at the UK Ghost Story Festival 2024 at the Museum of Making in Derby, UK. To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

A quick interruption to your lives with some news about the podcast!

In another of our occasional series looking at the work of American storytellers, we meet the award winning Laura Packer. Based in Minnesota, Laura has over 25 years of storytelling experience and was recently inducted into the United States National Storytelling Network’s Circle of Excellence - a select group of storytellers determined by their peers to be standard bearers of the art, and masters at the craft. You can find Laura online at https://laurapacker.com/ Please visit www.patreon.com...

To coincide with his new book 'Zoinks - The Spooky Folklore Behind Scooby-Doo' going to pre-order, Folklore Podcast creator Mark Norman presents a special episode looking at the way that folklore and the paranormal are represented in Scooby-Doo through the lens of Shaggy and Scooby's favourite thing - food. To pre-order a copy of Zoinks and receive an exclusive set of collector's cards with your order, please visit https://auk.direct/product/zoinks/ To support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon a...

In terms of folklore, ghostly encounters are not about the proof of existence of the supernatural so much as they are about the meaning of the experience to the individual. Folklore is about examining the story, the meaning that it has for the witness, and the way in which that narrative is both transmitted and recorded. We discuss the recording process of ghostly encounters, the 'writing of ghosts' with our guest Amelia Cotter, who has dome precisely this across different genres, including non...

An episode of 'Folklore in the Field' presenting interviews and discussions recorded live at events we attend. This episode features a roundtable discussion on the topic of folklore and magical practice, recorded in association with Crossed Crow Books. Folklore Podcast creator Mark Norman hosts guests: Blake and Wycke Malliway - owners of Crossed Crow Books and Malliway Bros occult shop Jac D Hawkins - author of Elemental Spirits Albert Bjorn Shiell - author of Icelandic Plant Magic This d...

Wherever we might be in the world, we find that folklore will always take on very specific regional variations: any area will have both its own unique stories and versions of other tales which have been shaped by local knowledge or events. In the UK, where the country is divided into counties, records vary very much from place to place. The country of Lincolnshire has some fascinating folklore and yet, historically, it has been quite overlooked in terms of collecting and recording these stories...

In this episode of the Folklore Podcast we explore the psychology of trauma and its intersection with alleged paranormal phenomena, with guests Bill and Jaci Kousoulas. For some, paranormal occurrences can be a precursor to later trauma, either on a personal level or on a larger scale. For others, trauma may act as a catalyst from paranormal events and they find after suffering a personal loss or other tragedy that they become susceptible to what we might term supernatural happenings. But what ...

The image of the fox appears in many cultures as a trickster figure, but in Asian folklore there are some subtle differences. The Chinese fox is a symbol of intelligence, and has the ability to shapeshift for example. Exploring the folklore of the Asian countries, with particular reference to foxes, in this episode creator and host of the podcast Mark Norman is joined by New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo. Yangsze's novel 'The Ghost Bride' was serisalised and broadcast as a Netflix ...

In the field of Gothic literature, from the Penny Dreadful and Chapbook through the Penny Bloods and novels. whether it a classic like Bronte or something less well known, there are many ways in which the female characters may as monstrous. We explore the landscape of 'mad', murderous and shape-shifting women with Gothic scholar Dr Nicole C. Dittmer, author of 'Monstrous Women and Ecofeminism in the Victorian Gothic'. After listening to this episode, seek out Story 4 of 'Stories from the Heart...