Halloween History and Customs | Live @ Treadwell's Books

Recorded on October 1st, for this Live Show we return to our favourite bookshop of all, Treadwell's in London, to discuss Halloween folklore, ghostlore, customs, and our new book Three Ravens Ghost Tales.

Hosted by Treadwell's founder, owner, and historian of Gardnerian Wicca Christina Oakley Harrington, who Martin spoke with on Local Legends episode 66 over the summer, we are joined by a lovely live audience to discuss the 'thinning of the veil' on October 31st and the roots of many superstitions associated with this time of year.

We explore why apples are so central to autumnal divination, the symbolic significance of fire at this time of year, how saints were celebrated during Hallowmas, Dumb Suppers, the ghost story tradition, and much more besides.

Ending with questions from the audience which cover our inspirations, working methods, and our connections with the "supernomal," we also chat about some favourite classic ghost stories, make a few jokes, and have fun!

If you are ever in London, Treadwell's is an independent bookshop and cultural hub in Bloomsbury that specializes in occultism, magic, witchcraft, folklore, and mysticism. For those interested in the history and practices of Western esotericism, magic, and ritual arts, regional folk traditions, comparative religion, the anthropology of the sacred, and ancient spiritual paths, there is nowhere like it – not least in terms of the shop’s stock of collectible vintage editions, hard-to-find texts, herbals, and specialised monographs!

Visit the Treadwell's Books website here.

Photo credit: Leo at Treadwell's Books.

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!

🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop

👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon

📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales

👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027

📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens

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