The Folklore Podcast

The stories in our culture are vital to our identity. But, what happens when our history and the stories associated with it are rewritten? How has folklore been used in the past to convey hidden meaning, or weaponised in a power struggle?Discussing these important cultural points in this episode of the Folklore Podcast is journalist and broadcaster Jane Thynne, author (under the pen-name C.J. Carey) of the novels Widowland and Queen High. You can visit Jane's website at https://janethynne.com/To support the work of The Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive in preserving folklore and making it freely available for the future, please visit our Patreon page or learn more about our fundraising.

In 1943, a group of boys wandering the woodlands near Hagley Hall, in Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England, discovered the remains of an unknown woman stuffed inside a hollowed Wych Elm tree. To this day her identity remains unknown. In 1944, however, mysterious graffiti began to adorn the walls of the West Midlands reading WHO PUT BELLA IN THE WYCH ELM? This graffiti reignited interest and the theories about her were plentiful. In 2017, filmmaker Tom Lee Rutter released the award-winning docu-drama 'Bella in the Wych Elm' and explored many of these theories.In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, our film and theatre correspondent Tracy Nicholas chats with Tom about the case, his film and other work. You can visit the Carnie Films website to learn more here.To support The Folklore Podcast in its aims to make preserve folklore materials and make them available for the future, please consider joining our Patreon page where you can access exclusive member-only bonus content.

The Folklore Podcast's literary correspondent Hilary Wilson speaks with Veronica Varlow on the subject of Bohemian Magick, also the title of the author's most recent book.Veronica is the last daughter in a line of Bohemian witchcraft practitioners who learnt her techniques from her close relationship with her Czech-Romani grandmother. In the episode we hear about her life growing up and her magical work as well as some of the contents of her book.Neil Gaiman says of Veronica: "The remarkable Veronica Varlow seizes life with both hands and bends it to her will. Learn from her."To support The work of the Folklore Podcast and The Folklore Library and Archive in keeping folklore materials accessible for the future, please visit our Patreon page or Support page. Thank you.

A bonus episode of The Folklore Podcast exploring the different types of divination found in cultures around the world, and looking at how these can be used through storytelling mechanisms for playing games.Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman talks to David Whitworth of The Drunken Storyteller podcast about a new book on this subject which he is developing for UK-based game company Hive Mind Games. To support the Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive in their goal to collect and preserve folklore materials, and make them freely available for the future, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can also access extra content.Hive Mind Games are on the web at www.hivemindgames.co.ukYou can visit the Kickstarter for the book, Eye to the Void, at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/coreycreates/eye-to-the-void-using-divination-in-ttrpgs

We look into the crossover between the fields of linguistics, social history and folklore with an examination of the secret language Polari. Coming from 16th century roots, Polari is generally known in modern times as an underground gay language popular in the 1960s and 1970s, in no small part thanks to the Radio 4 comedy show Round the Horne and its characters Julian and Sandy. But, before this, other forms of the language existed between fairground workers, the theatrical community, dock workers and more.After a brief history of the development of Polari and a look at the film 'Putting on the Dish' which may have helped with the modern interest in Polari, we are joined by Prof. Paul Baker from Lancaster University, author of the book 'Fabulosa!'. He speaks with Dr Paul Cowdell of the Folklore Society on the topic.To watch the film 'Putting on the Dish', visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8yEH8TZUskFor more on Polari from Paul Baker's web pages, visit https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/staff/bakerjp/polari/home.htmTo support the Folklore Podcast and the Folklore Library and Archive in its mission to preserve and make freely available folklore materials for the future, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

Storytelling is not just about entertainment. Now, and especially in the past, the purpose of story has also been to educate, to inform, and to place us within our own culture, time, place and landscape.In a new collaboration, TV presenter and anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota teams up with professional storyteller Jason Buck to provide historical interpretation of real-world artefacts and archaeological sites through story, blending the facts with creative retellings of possible events which might lie behind them.In the episode of The Folklore Podcast, folklorist Mark Norman discusses the use of folk tale and story in this way with Mary-Ann and Jason. The episode also features four of their stories by way of example.The Folklore Podcast is an official podcast of the Folklore Library and Archive, a volunteer-led organisation dedicated to preserving our folklore for the future. Please help us to continue in this work, please visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com/support to learn about ways that you can assist us.

The legend of the Selkie, a woman or man who comes ashore as a seal before shedding their skin to turn human, is common in the Scottish Islands, but has parallels in other cultures. In this episode of the podcast, host Mark Norman summarises a little of the Selkie folklore, before introducing an in-depth look at the new independent film 'Mara: The Seal Wife' which has the story of the Selkie Wife at its heart. Podcast film reviewer Tracy Nicholas discusses the film with its writer and director, Uisdean Murray.Also featured in this episode is a telling of a Selkie Wife story by storyteller Sarah Lloyd Winder, recorded exclusively for The Folklore Podcast.Featured music is 'Tranquility' by Kevin MacLeod, used under a Creative Commons 3.0 attribution licence. To support the work of The Folklore Podcast please visit our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

The investigation of alleged physical medium Kathleen Goligher by the engineer William Jackson Crawford is both fascinating and strangely tragic, but remained until recently a 'lost case' of Edwardian Spiritualism.In the episode of The Folklore Podcast, host Mark Norman is joined by the author A.J. West whose research into the story has led to the highly praised gothic novel 'The Spirit Engineer', supported by the family descendants of both the Crawfords and the Golighers. You can read much of the research into this case and view some rare photographs on the web at www.ajwestauthor.comTo support the work of The Folklore Podcast in collecting and preserving important folklore for the future, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast or make a small donation on the web at www.thefolklorepodcast.com

Hilary Wilson talks to the eminent Professor Frank Gonzalez-Crussi about his book 'The Body Fantastic' which explores some of the surprising folklore and mystery surrounding the human body. The Body Fantastic is published by MIT Press.The Folklore Podcast Book Club is an official podcast of The Folklore Library and Archive. To help us to continue our work collecting and preserving folklore materials for the future, please consider joining our Patreon page or making a small donation at www.folklorelibrary.com/fundraising

We travel through both time and space to discuss the representation of folklore in the long-running British science fiction TV show "Doctor Who". Host of the Folklore Podcast Mark Norman is joined by BBC Audio Original Dr Who writer Will Hadcroft, and Gareth Preston of the 'Very British Futures' podcast.The Folklore Podcast is the official podcast of the Folklore Library and Archive. You can find out more about the Library at www.folklorelibrary.comTo support our work preserving folklore material for the future, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can also access extra content