Brownies in Folklore: Household Help or Hindrance?
Katharine Briggs considers the brownies as one of the "most easily described and most recognizable" fairy types. Their territory stretched from the Midlands, up through the north and east of England, ...
21 Maj 202216min
The Barguest: Demon Dog, Silly Sprite or Spectral Hound?
The barguest is a fascinating creature, most often found in the folklore of northern England. In many tales, the barguest was most popularly a death omen. In a most fitting way, Sir Walter Scott thou...
14 Maj 202218min
The Northumberland Silky: Mischievous Fairy or Lonely Ghost?
Many lonely and remote parts of the British Isles echo with tales of local spirits. Whether they're fairies, remnants of older mythologies, ghosts, or Land Spirits decked out in another guise, their s...
7 Maj 202223min
Cider Folklore: Wassailing and the Apple Tree Man
Cider has a long history, especially here in Britain. When the Romans arrived in Britain, they discovered the locals drinking a beverage made from apples. It wasn't quite cider yet, and no one knows h...
30 Apr 202215min
Meeting The Devil's Drink: Coffee Folklore in Legend and Ritual
Coffee is an incredibly popular drink all over the world. Director David Lynch reportedly said, "Even a bad cup of coffee is better than no coffee at all". From Ethiopia to Yemen, and then on into Eu...
23 Apr 202221min
Wine and Witchcraft: A Beverage fit for Apotropaic Success
Like beer, wine has enjoyed a long and prosperous history. It's been enjoyed by the ancients, used as a safe alternative to water, prescribed as medicine, and offered in ritual. And like beer, wine al...
16 Apr 202221min
The Folklore of Tea: Magic, Predictions and Poison
The folklore of tea is woven through the history of this fascinating plant. Well-known for its use in fortune-telling, through reading tea leaves, it also has a range of magickal uses and appears in m...
9 Apr 202222min
