The Folklore of Shells and Pearls: Scallops, Rhymes and Saints
Shells evoke days at the beach and the wonders of nature. But they are the remains of living creatures—so you can see why some people think it's bad luck to bring them indoors! They're also associate...
3 Sep 202216min
Ghosts and Witches of Appalachia with Ed Karshner
In this sixth episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat with Edward Karshner, Associate Professor of English at Robert Morris University! In this interview, we chat about the folklore of Appalac...
29 Aug 20221h 25min
The Folklore of Paper: Charms, Folk Songs, and Bibliomancy
Paper is a wonderful material. It's portable and light, and as an everyday material, charms made from paper can be easily overlooked. We can reshape it, recycle it, and completely destroy it...or we c...
27 Aug 202218min
The Folklore of Glass: Slippers and Superstitions
Glass is a strange material. Its original source material is sand, but it needs human intervention through the application of heat and other processes to find form. We can see through it, but we can't...
20 Aug 202220min
The Folklore of Stones: From Hag Stones to Healing
Stones are perhaps some of humanity's oldest friends. They provided building materials and became simple tools. But they also vary in size, making some of them very portable as amulets. It's no wonder...
13 Aug 202217min
The Folklore of Metals: Gold, Silver, Iron & Copper
Different metals are often baked into mythology. Look at griffins and dragons with their hoard of gold. Or Bellerophon's use of molten lead to kill the deadly chimera. According to legend, people paid...
6 Aug 202217min
The Folklore of Edible Plants: Basil, Bay, Chamomile, Dill, Fennel & Oregano
Herbs are useful for flavouring your food or drink, but they have a range of protective and magical uses too. How is basil linked with both love and hatred? Why was dill the magician's herb? Let's fi...
30 Jul 202215min
Thyme to Find Romance? Meet the Herb of Love & Courage
Thyme appears in folklore to bring courage, help bring love, guard against evil, and give fairies somewhere to live. What else can you use thyme for? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous...
23 Jul 202214min
