How did popular culture add to Bedlam's fearsome reputation?
Bedlam, or Bethlem Royal Hospital to give it its full name, is actually the world's oldest psychiatric institution. It began life in 1247 in the Priory of St Mary of Bethlehem, which stood where we no...
4 Okt 202524min
Foxes in Folk Tales: From Aesop to Reynard
Foxes appear in literature and legend across the world. Look at Brer Fox in the American South. In Rebel Folklore, I discussed the Jiuwei Hu of China, or nine-tailed fox, who drains men of their life ...
27 Sep 202518min
Monsters and Strange Creatures with Natalie Lawrence
Natalie Lawrence is an author and illustrator who explores our relationship with the natural world, looking through multiple lenses - from the biological to the mythic and psychoanalytic. She complete...
22 Sep 202549min
Hedgehogs in Folklore: Witches, Familiars, and Milk Thieves
Hedgehogs are one of the stranger mammals you might encounter. They're nocturnal, they hibernate, they're prone to rolling into a ball when frightened, and they're extremely vulnerable to habitat loss...
20 Sep 202520min
Moles in Folklore: Folk Remedies and Weather Omens
Moles are fascinating creatures. They're phenomenal diggers and while they weigh around 120g, they can shift 540 times their body weight of earth. Given they live entirely underground, they're a rare...
13 Sep 202520min
Otters in Folklore: Brave Helpers or Fearsome Monsters
Otters are some of the most charming mammals you might encounter. Sometimes nicknamed the "water sausage" by the internet, otters are playful, intelligent, and capable of using tools. They also appea...
6 Sep 202515min
Creepy Listener Stories of Space and Place
When we think about folklore, we often think about the characters involved: King Arthur, Queen Mab, Lady Godiva, and more. Yet folklore has an intrinsic link with place, too. Even the most throwaway...
30 Aug 202521min
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
