In this episode on late examples of American witchcraft, Chris and Simon discuss a bewitched village, a witch trial—in Salem, Ohio, 'calico soup' made with a witch’s dress, and some horrifying witch murders. Unusually, the two actually agree on some of the similarities between American Witch/Hex Doctors and Britain's Cunning Men and Women.

Chris and Simon are all aflap over the history of fairy wings—when did fairy wings first appear and how did they become a standard feature of western fairies? Sylphs, putti, and Victorian prostitutes flit by as the two bicker over how images of supernatural beings change when influenced by popular culture. Strap into your stage flying harnesses--it's going to be a bumpy ride... 

Chris and Simon talk about the folklore and Forteana of charms and talismans and ways to either attract good luck or keep off the bad: bones and blood and corpse magic for gamblers, military charms of the Great War, cauls and German submarines and the condemnation of ‘mascotitis.’  Some adult content...
The source book is free! 

A spooky story for our listeners from nineteenth-century Ohio. Happy Christmas and please subscribe!

Chris and Simon discuss fairy food, ‘hungry ghosts’, and a little-known case of Mary Doheny, a ‘fairy resurrectionist’ in 19th century Ireland, who claimed to be able to bring the dead back to life. Transcripts from the Doheny’s trial for fraud illuminate contemporary Irish beliefs about the dead and the world of the Good People. Witnesses swore that they saw their dead loved ones in the flesh, but how did Mary do it? A booklet accompanies the podcast: The Fairy Witch of Carrick-on-Suir: A Source Book for a Nineteenth-Century Resurrectionist

Chris and Simon ponder the fundamental question: What is a ghost? Are they merely folktales? Blots of undigested mustard? Proof of life after death? Also news of a boggart and banshee Facebook page, a t-rex ghost and a naked Icelandic zombie doing housework.

Simon and Chris celebrate the first year anniversary of the Boggart and Banshee podcast  by examining a little-known case of a North Yorkshire family tormented by witches and their familiars. Trances were minutely documented in a journal kept by poet Edward Fairfax, father of two bewitched and one witch-murdered daughter.  Accompanying booklet: Edward Fairfax, The Fewston Witches 1621-1623: A Yorkshire Coven (Pwca Books and Pamphlets).

Chris and Simon discuss fairy fashions and how they have changed through the ages, in literature, folklore, fairy sightings, and popular culture. The color green, archaic fashions, wings, and a tiny pair of shoes made of mouse skin all make an appearance on the catwalk.    

To celebrate Simon’s just released book "The Nail in the Skull and Other Victorian Urban Legends", Chris and Simon share some of their favorite gruesome and naughty urban legends from the nineteenth century.

Chris and Simon look at the folklore of spook lights and road ghosts while discussing the story of 'The Headless Motorcyclist of Elmore,' a rural legend that shifted from a very traditional tale of the spirit of a dead man appearing as a ball of light to the dramatic tale of a motorcyclist we know today. Does folklore have its own standards of truth?