

The Folklore Podcast
Mark Norman
Folklore: Beliefs, traditions & culture of the people. Traditional folklore themes from around the world. An accessible podcast ranked in the top 0.5% of shows globally, bringing free access to many of the world's experts in folklore, authors, broadcasters and more.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 11, 2025 • 38min
A History of Paganism: Folklore Podcast Rewind with Liz Williams
Award winning author, historian and occultist Liz Williams discusses her book 'Miracles of our own Making: A History of Paganism', published by Reaktion Books.The interview takes in the history of paganism and Liz's work in Druidry as well as her writing.Read the review of the book on the Folklore Podcast website at https://www.thefolklorepodcast.com/miracles-of-our-own-making.htmlSupport the Folklore Podcast on Patreon to access extra content (free and paid tiers are available) at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Apr 26, 2025 • 1h 4min
Episode 173 - BROKEN FOLK
Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman delves into the topic of folk music and performance with special guests Lunatraktors. The duo, formed in 2017 and made up of Carli Jefferson and Dr Clair Le Couteur aim to strip folk back to the bare essentials of rhythm and voice, and use in-depth research methods to investigate Anglo-Celtic music, to which they then apply a modern twist.Carli and Clair also discuss their latest release Wassail, which you can also hear in the episode.To support the work of The Folklore Podcast and help to keep the show going, please visit https://www.patreon.com/c/thefolklorepodcast where you can sign up as either a free or paid supporter and access bonus content.Explore the Lunatraktors website at https://www.lunatraktors.space/Watch Lunatraktors performances on their YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LunatraktorsWatch the Lunatraktors TEDx Talk at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v-5QB1QQpM&t=605s

Apr 16, 2025 • 54min
Meet the Author: Kailey Tedesco
In this 'Meet the Author' bonus episode of The Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman introduces a conversation between literary correspondent Hilary Wilson and university lecturer and poet Kailey Tedesco.Kailey discusses her poetry collection 'Motherdevil' which takes the story of the Jersey Devil and the Pine Barrens as its inspiration for an exploration of folklore and motherhood.Kailey Tedesco is a university lecturer delivering courses in horror writing and gothic literature. This episode is part of the 'Folklore Podcast Rewind' strand, and was recorded at Halloween, 2024.Visit Kailey's website at www.kaileytedesco.comTo support The Folklore Podcast as well as accessing extra bonus content, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Apr 6, 2025 • 31min
Episode 172 - DRACULA AND THE WESTCOUNTRY
Folklore Podcast creator and host, Mark Norman, explores the rumours that the author of 'Dracula', Bram Stoker, found inspiration for his famous count in the rural backwaters of the county of Devon, in the South-West of the United Kingdom. Could there by any truth to the ideas that Count Dracula emerged as much from the Devon countryside as he did from the Carpathian mountains?This episode of The Folklore Podcast is written and presented by Mark Norman. To support the podcast, and help to facilitate the creation of more episodes featuring new research, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Mar 25, 2025 • 33min
Folklore in the Field - RONNIE TURNER
Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman meets with Ronnie Turner. author of the gothic and folk horror novel 'Small Fires' in this episode of the podcast, recorded on location during Ronnie's recent book signing tour.To support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Mar 15, 2025 • 1h 13min
Special Edition - CYNTHIA PELAYO
We chat with Bram Stoker and International Latino Award Winning horror author Cynthia Pelayo as her latest book, 'Vanishing Children' is released.Cynthia's writing intersects with the world of fairy tales, with Charles Perrault's story of Sleeping Beauty providing inspiration for 'Vanishing Children'.Please note that this interview deals with themes of parental loss, and touches on suicide.To support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and help us to keep making the show, and to get extra content, please visit http://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Mar 11, 2025 • 37min
Bonus Episode: FOLK HORROR IN GAMING - GAST
Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman chats with Kat the Lore Mistress about using folklore and folk horror themes in tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs). In particular, we look at a new Zine based folk horror game called GAST for which Kat is part of the development team.To find out more about GAST and the creators Hatched Games, visit their website at https://www.hatchedgames.co.uk/Visit Kat's website at https://www.theloremistress.co.uk/Support the Folklore Podcast on Patreon and get extra content at https://www.patreon.com/c/thefolklorepodcast

Mar 2, 2025 • 1h 9min
Episode 171 - NORDIC FOLK
We welcome back onto The Folklore Podcast musician and composer Einar Selvik, founder of the band Wardruna and expert in Old Norse music and culture. Einar discusses his beliefs and connections with nature, the way he goes about composing his music through the use of old Norse runes, and his latest work Birna, named for the old Norse she-bear.To support The Folklore Podcast, please consider making a small donation via our website, or visit https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can find exclusive bonus content.

Feb 24, 2025 • 52min
Meet the Author: Alexandra Beaumont
We meet British fantasy author Alexandra Beaumont, who specializes in utilizing folklore and the gothic in her writing. She discusses themes of Cornish folklore and her novel 'Dissonance of Bird Song' which was voted the Independent Press Award Distinguished Favourite for 2025.Visit Alexandra online at https://www.alexandrabeaumontauthor.com/Support The Folklore Podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Feb 15, 2025 • 54min
Episode 170 - SCOTT COHEN
RETURN TO 10th KINGDOM:We chat with actor Scott Cohen, who played Wolf in the mini-series 'The 10th Kingdom' about possible plans for a sequel, his thoughts on the show and its characters and genre fiction more broadly, as well as discussing his career as an actor and theatre producer.Visit our Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can join as a free member and listen to our storytelling show 'Stories from the Hearth', or support the podcast on one of our paid tiers and access a back catalogue of bonus material.