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The Folklore Podcast

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Jul 15, 2017 • 53min

Episode 25 - WITCH

WITCH - Preserving Tradition and Folklore through Theatre. The special guest on this episode of The Folklore Podcast is Historian and Author Tracey Norman. Tracey is discussing her acclaimed play WITCH, which takes as its premise actual events from witch trial documents and depositions from the early modern period and maps them onto three fictitious characters. This serves to give a voice to those people from our past who were denied one at the time, telling an important story. Tracey talks about her research, the play and the other projects which are coming out of this important work. Follow the project at www.traceynormanswitch.com
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Jul 1, 2017 • 25sec

Episode 24 - EVERYONE NEEDS A HOBBY

Animal totems as symbols in folk rituals are common and go back probably further than any of us can track. By far the most prolific of these is the hobby horse. Often associated with calendar customs as well as an accompanying figure for many Morris dance sides, there are a number of common varieties of hobby horse and they are found in customs around the world. In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman examines the motif of the hobby horse as well as telling a little about a very unusual one that he is currently preserving.
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Jun 15, 2017 • 0sec

Episode 23 - THE PADDING HORROR

A deviation from the normal format of the podcast for this edition by way of a change. In this episode, host Mark Norman introduces a reading of a fiction story which he wrote using themes from his research into Black Dog apparitions, and local tradition and folklore from his area of the world. In this podcast, the story is read by Sam Burns. "The Padding Horror" is a Lovecraftian style short story which was originally written for an anthology of similar tales put together by authors voluntarily to raise money for the mental health charity MIND. An ebook of the original anthology can be purchased by donating any amount to the charity. To do this, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/secretinvasion
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Jun 1, 2017 • 0sec

Episode 22 - DEVOURING THE SUN

Before naturally occurring events were understand by humans, they needed stories in order to explain them, much in the same way as we have seen with physical conditions such as the Old Hag phenomenon which we examined earlier in this season. In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman looks at the eclipse in folklore, both solar and lunar, and relates some of the mythological and traditional tales associated with these events, as well as some obscure lore on what you should and should not do while an eclipse takes place. For the episode supplement for this episode, the Folklore Shop and more information, please visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com
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May 15, 2017 • 0sec

Episode 21: TRACKING THE CHUPACABRA

Many people believe that the Chupacabra - the mysterious 'goatsucker' of New Mexico - is a folkloric creature of some age. Yet its origin cannot be traced earlier than 1995 and even then it has been reported in two very distinct forms. In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, our special guest is Benjamin Radford, author of the definite book on the lore of the creature, "Tracking the Chupacabra". In one of the most in-depth interviews given on the subject, Ben takes us through his 5-year long investigation into the Chupacabra, and explains how he believes he has solved the mystery of where it came from, and how its folklore will continue to disseminate.
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May 1, 2017 • 35min

Episode 20: TRADITIONAL WITCHCRAFT NOW AND THEN

Creator and host of the Folklore Podcast, Mark Norman, examines the lore and practices of those who follow a Traditional pathway of Folk Magic: the Cunning Man, the Wise Woman, the pellar and the wayside witch. This episode examines to what extent the role and the techniques of the Traditional Witch have changed over the last 200 years and how similar the folk magic beliefs are in more modern times.
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Apr 15, 2017 • 0sec

Episode 19 - KNOCK ONCE FOR YES

The topics of spiritualism and mediumship have always been, and will always be, controversial. It is important to note that as folklorists, we should not be judging whether such things are 'real' or 'imagined', but rather the role that the phenomenon and the stories associated with it play within our cultures. What is certainly the case is that there have, through history, been people who claimed mediumistic powers when they had none. In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman examines some of the cases of séance room fraud through history, why people did it, how they did it and how the law brought them to book.
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Apr 1, 2017 • 1h 6min

EPISODE 18: SPECTRAL HOUNDS: A Monster Talk Crossover

In this episode, host of The Folklore Podcast Mark Norman links up with Blake Smith and Dr Karen Stollznow of Monster Talk podcast in the US for a joint episode examining the field of spectral hounds. Monster Talk is an official podcast of Sceptic Magazine and takes a critical, but open minded look at fields of the paranormal, cryptozoology and folklore. The show also goes more deeply into oral traditions and the use of the motif within folklore. This podcast is simultaneously released by Monster Talk and it is suggested that you listen to their version of the show too, as the edits will contain different material.
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Mar 14, 2017 • 0sec

Episode 17 - FOLKLORE IN FANTASY FICTION

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman interviews special guest Carin Marais, a qualified language practitioner from South Africa and writer of specualtive and fantasy fiction, about the ways in which fantasy authors use the folklore of the real world as a basis to form their own fictitious worlds. Also, how the fictitious folklore then begins to bleed back into our own lore. Using authors such as Tolkein, Terry Pratchett and Jim Butcher, as well as examples from her own Africaans and other cultures, Carin explores many well known books as well as drawing upon her own writing. An episode supplement for this episode is available to download at www.thefolklorepodcast.com
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Mar 1, 2017 • 43min

Episode 16 - INCUBUS AND SUCCUBUS

This episode of The Folklore Podcast is the second part of our examination of the folklore surrounding sleep paralysis and Old Hag phenomena. This time we focus in on some aspects of the folklore relating to the witch trials, to the sexual aspects of the incubus and succubus demonic motifs ... and a look at the role of cheese in nightmares! Following on from this, we are proud to present a special guest interview with pagan rock band Inkubus Sukkubus, who draw their name from this lore and who use much folklore in their songwriting. To support this podcast, please visit our website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com and click on support. To download the e-magazine supplement for this episode visit the supplement pages on the website.

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