The Screaming Skulls: Guardian Spirits or Poltergeists-in-Waiting?
English folklore is full of peculiarities. The legends of the so-called screaming skulls are definitely among them. These are skulls kept in mansions and farmhouses, sometimes considered to be guardi...
23 Aug 202526min
Storytelling and Making Folklore Accessible with Three Ravens
I'm talking to Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux from the Three Ravens podcast about the difficulties in defining 'folklore', the importance of storytelling, which of England's 39 historic counties has t...
20 Aug 20251h 32min
How does 'Poltergeist' draw on actual poltergeist accounts?
Poltergeist marked Hollywood's big-budget engagement with the ghost film in 1982. Produced by Stephen Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper, it took the haunted house film and mashed it together with ...
16 Aug 202527min
The Power and Allure of Poisonous Plants with S.A. Lawless
S.A. Lawless is an herbalist, gardener, forager, mycophile, outdoor educator, and published author and illustrator, with a long-held fascination with folklore and witchcraft, currently living in rural...
12 Aug 20251h 27min
The Wesley Poltergeist and the Bishopwearmouth Poltergeist Go Head-to-Head
Last week, we looked at some poltergeist definitions and whether such definitions are even helpful. Can something as truly bizarre as a 'knocking spirit' be boiled down to a series of checkboxes on a ...
9 Aug 202527min
Poltergeists: Noisy Ghosts or Household Spirits?
This episode of Fabulous Folklore begins with a reading of the Poltergeist entry from my new book, Ghostlore, before we explore the problem with poltergeists - how do you define one?! From deciding w...
2 Aug 202519min
White Ladies, Ghost Nuns & Spectral Children in Haunted Madrid
People have lived in the Madrid area since prehistoric times. Occupied by Romans, Moors, and then the Spanish, it has quite the history. Over 6.8 million people live in Madrid. That's less than Paris...
26 Jul 202520min
Murder Ballads and Dark Folk Music with Katy Horan
In this chat, I'm talking to illustrator Katy Horan about murder ballads, discussing what they are, how they work within folk music, how contemporary musicians have tried to reclaim the tradition, and...
24 Jul 202550min
