The Folklore Podcast

The Seven County Witch Hunt Project podcast mini-series collaboration comes to a close. In this final episode, Professor Marion Gibson and Dr Tabitha Stanmore once again join folklorist and author Mark Norman to discuss some of their favourite stories from the three years of research they have undertaken, before reflecting on the podcast as a whole and where it will go next.The Seven County Witch Hunt blog will continue to be updated with new articles even though the primary research stage is complete. Make sure to follow it at https://medium.com/@Witches7HuntIf you have enjoyed this series and want to help to support the work of The Folklore Podcast in creating more content, please visit the Patreon page and join up at https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Mark Norman is in conversation with medical herbalist Jenny Carden, who practices as The Dartmoor Herbalist.In an interview recorded live in Jenny's workshop in the courtyard of the Museum of Dartmoor Life in Okehampton, Devon, Jenny discusses her work and the differences between a medical herbalist legally dispensing herbal blends and other forms of herbalism, both current and historic.Find out all about Jenny and her work on her website at https://thedartmoorherbalist.wordpress.com/Support the Folklore Podcast and its work providing ongoing free folklore content for everyone at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast from just £1 a month

Our six part mini-series examining the seventeenth-century witch hunts across the eastern counties of England continues with a discussion looking at a topic not generally explored in this context: the environment.Professor Marion Gibson and Dr Tabitha Stanmore of the Leverhulme Foundation funded Seven County Witch Hunt Project join folklorist and host Mark Norman once again. Topics include the influence of the weather, farming and crops and the coastal fishing trade and how all of these have a bearing on the witch trials.To support the work of The Folklore Podcast in creating more specialist mini-series and other folklore content, please visit our Patreon page at patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In this episode, Professor Marion Gibson and Dr Tabitha Stanmore turn their attention to the families involved in the witch hunts. Were all family members tarred with the same brush? How did dynamics work when families were accusing each other of witchcraft?Moving on from this, we also look at the role of familiars - not necessarily the animal familiars which are more well recognized, but ghostly assistance provided from within the family and beyond, and the role of spectral evidence that emerges from this time period.Once again, podcast host Mark Norman leads the questioning.To support the Folklore Podcast is producing more mini-series' and content such as this, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast and sign up for a membership tier for extra rewards. Or make a one-off donation at www.thefolklorepodcast.comRead the Seven County Witch Hunt Project blog at https://medium.com/@Witches7Hunt

In this mini-episode of The Folklore Podcast, recorded live at the UK Ghost Story Festival 2025 in Derby, UK, I chat with Professor Bob Edgar about the theme of Folk Horror.With specialisms in scriptwriting, adaptation, music memoir and genre fiction, Bob has notably published widely on folk horror and hauntology. He is one of the editors of the Bloomsbury Academic series 'Spectres, Hauntings and Horrors'.To support the work of The Folklore Podcast and access extra content, please visit our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The third episode of our mini-series looking at the witch hunts headed up by Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne looks at the most stereotypical of subjects - that of gender. Just how many of the accused were women and how did gender figure in the hunts and the ways in which they were carried out?The Seven County Witch Hunt Project podcast series is produced by The Folklore Podcast, and host Mark Norman is in conversation with Professor Marion Gibson and Dr Tabitha Stanmore.The Seven County Witch Hunt Project was based at the University of Exeter, and funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

In the second episode of the Seven County Witch Hunt Project podcast mini-series, we look at the accusations that were being levelled against people accused of witchcraft in the English witch hunts of the 17th century. Were these people in league with the Devil, or did the accusations reflect other tensions within the community? We also dispel some myths about the witch hunters themselves, particularly Matthew Hopkins.The Seven County Witch Hunt Project podcast series is produced by The Folklore Podcast, and host Mark Norman is in conversation with Professor Marion Gibson and Dr Tabitha Stanmore.The Seven County Witch Hunt Project was based at the University of Exeter, and funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

Scotland has a broad mix of folklore. Some is found elsewhere, or has variations in other areas, and some is unique to the country. Some is well-known and some is much more obscure.In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman is in conversation with Scottish writer Lyndsey Croal about the subject. Lyndsey often works with elements of Scottish lore, most recently that connected with the sea which she uses to good effect in a collection of short stories recently published under the title Dark Crescent. Do you know your Frittening from your Mither? There's only one way to find out!Find Lyndsey online at https://lyndseycroal.co.uk/To support the work of The Folklore Podcast and access extra bonus material, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can join as a free member or on one of a number of paid support tiers.

In the years 1645–1647, when England was embroiled in a traumatic and bloody Civil War, roughly three hundred people in the South East were accused of witchcraft. Received wisdom — and some shameless self-promotion on the part of the chief investigators — has dictated that the largest witch-hunt in English history was driven by the obsessive enthusiasm of two men: John Stearne and Matthew Hopkins, the self-appointed Witchfinder General. Much of the scholarship surrounding the so-called “Hopkins Trials” trials has focused on these two men, placing them centre-stage in a story that affected hundreds, if not thousands, of people.“England’s Mass Witch-Hunt: A Seven County History of the Hunt” is a Leverhulme-funded Project run by Professor Marion Gibson and Dr Tabitha Stanmore. The aim is to create a people’s history of the witchcraft trials of 1645–1647 and to recover the voices which were once deemed unimportant: the accused women and men, their neighbours and accusers.This 6-part mini-series produced by The Folklore Podcast and hosted by folklorist Mark Norman uncovers the stories and findings of the project. In discussion with Marion and Tabitha, we bring these new stories to a global audience for the first time.Follow the project on BlueSky at https://bsky.app/profile/witches7hunt.bsky.socialRead the project blog at https://medium.com/@Witches7Hunt

This episode of The Folklore Podcast is an interview of two halves, as host Mark Norman sits down to chat with herbalist and writer Su Bristow.In an interview recorded live at Su's dining table, the first half of the show explores her work as a herbalist. We chat about the history of using plants in folk medicine, the approaches used and how valuable or otherwise volumes such as Culpeper's Herbal are in the modern world. Su discusses her techniques and dispels some of the myths about herbal treatments and plants in folklore.Moving on from this, the conversation turns to Su's writing. As well as two non-fiction books on herbalism, Su is also the author of two folklore-themed novels. The conversation begins with her prize-winning first novel 'Sealskin' which is a reimagining of the Scottish selkie legends, before turning to 'The Fair Folk' and a foray into fairy folklore.Finally, Su discusses the novel that she is currently working on, and reads a short extract from her work in progress.Find Su on the internet at https://subristow.weebly.com/To help to keep The Folklore Podcast going and producing even more folklore content, please consider joining the Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast with a small monthly donation from just £1. A small contribution makes a massive difference. Thank you.