The Folklore Podcast

In this episode, we examine the history and development of the seance, and our fascination with trying to communicate with the dead, from ancient Greek necromancy through to the Victorian parlour and beyond to the modern day.

Joining us is author Lisa Morton, whose book "Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances" provides the background for her conversation with podcast book reviewer Hilary Wilson.

Lisa Morton is a screenwriter, author of non-fiction books, Bram Stoker Award®-winning prose writer, and Halloween expert whose work was described by the American Library Association’s Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror as “consistently dark, unsettling, and frightening.” She has published four novels, 150 short stories, and three books on the history of Halloween. Her recent releases include Weird Women: Classic Supernatural Fiction from Groundbreaking Female Writers 1852-1923 (co-edited with Leslie S. Klinger) and Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances; her latest short stories appeared in Best American Mystery Stories 2020, Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles, and In League with Sherlock Holmes. Her most recent book is the collection Night Terrors & Other Tales. Lisa lives in Los Angeles and online at www.lisamorton.com.

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Mark Norman, creator of 'The Folklore Podcast' is joined by guest Dr Alessandra Pino to discuss the importance of food in gothic literature; what it can signify, how it can an important mechanic in storytelling and how its importance has moved over time from the concept of the ritualistic dinner party to something much different.

Together with food journalist Ella Buchan, Alessandra has written 'The Gothic Cookbook' which analyses a number of gothic tales and creates or reproduces iconic recipes based on their content. The book is coming out via Unbound and you can get a 10% discount by using the discount code GothicPod10. Visit Unbound for more information.

The Folklore Podcast is part of the Folklore Network, striving to protect and preserve folklore for the future. Please consider supporting us on Patreon or via our website to help us to continue our work.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast Book Club, guest reviewer Carly Tremayne chats with author Leon Craig about her collection of queer gothic horror stories 'Parallel Hells', which was published in 2022 by Sceptre Books. Leon discusses her inspirations, aspects of Jewish folklore in her writing and the ways in which some of her stories, written over a seven year period, tie together.

To support the work of The Folklore Podcast in collecting and preserving our folkloric heritage for the future, please visit www.thefolklorepodcast.com/support where you can join our Patreon, make a one-off donation and find out more.

In the first of a new occasional series of 'In Conversation' episodes of the podcast, we speak with TV writer and producer Rebecca Sonnenshine about her career, which includes writing for shows such as 'The Vampire Diaries' and 'Outcast' and, most recently, developing the Netflix series 'Archive 81' - based on the original podcast of the same name.

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Folklore Podcast book reviewer Hilary Wilson speaks with author Paul Robichaud about his book "Pan: The Great God's Modern Return" published by Reaktion Books. In his research for the book, Paul explored how Pan has been imagined in mythology, art, literature, music, spirituality, and popular culture through the centuries.

The Folklore Podcast is an independent podcast, part of The Folklore Network which is striving to collect and preserve folklore material in all forms for future generations. To support our work, and that of the Folklore Library and Archive please join our Patreon or make a small donation on our website. Full details at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/support

When most of us think of the term boggart, we probably first come up with the idea of a shapeshifting creature represented in the Harry Potter universe. But this is nothing like the actual folkloric creature which the word actually refers to. Boggarts have not been studied in particularly great detail until recently – they are a supernatural being specific to the north of England but having much in common with other creatures from our folklore.

Joining Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman to discuss the subject is historian and author Simon Young. Simon disputes the traditional description put forward by Katharine Briggs that the Boggart was a goblin-like creature, but argues that instead it was a much more general term which encompassed aspects of most solitary supernatural creatures from mermaids to ghosts and all points in between. This approach goes a long way to demonstrate how the continual misrepresentation of the boggart by earlier folklorists led to the fantasy version of the creature that we know today.

The Folklore Podcast is an independent podcast, part of The Folklore Network which is striving to collect and preserve folklore material in all forms for future generations. To support our work, and that of the Folklore Library and Archive please join our Patreon or make a small donation on our website. Full details at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/support

To download The Boggart Sourcebook, referred to in this episode, free of charge please visit https://www.exeterpress.co.uk/en/Book/2114/The-Boggart-Sourcebook.html

Author Elizabeth Lee discusses her book 'Cunning Women' with guest reviewer Hilary Wilson. Voted one of the best books of 2021 by readers of Grazia magazine, the novel is based around the events of the Pendle Witch Trials and follows cunning woman Sarah Haworth as she searches to find love under the gaze of a new magistrate investigating a strange series of deaths in the village.

Dr Amy Jeffs is the author of the book "Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain" which sees Amy retelling some of the well known and more obscure mythological tales of the British Isles, along with expert analysis on their themes and content. The title has been phenomenally well received and has been shortlisted for the Waterstones Book of the Year prize.

In this episode, hosted by the creator of The Folklore Podcast, Mark Norman, Amy discusses her research, themes of British mythology and some of the sources for it, and we get to listen to the Prologue of the audiobook version of Storyland.

To visit Amy's website, please click here

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This episode of the Folklore Podcast Book Club discusses the book “The Wheel: A Witch’s Path Back to the Ancient Self” written by Jennifer Lane and published by September Publishing.

The book follows Jennifer on her year-long journey via the Pagan calendar, through the seasons, as she explores how the ancient wisdom of witchcraft and paganism has profound resonance in our increasingly frenetic and detached modern world. Paganism gave Jennifer the rootedness that she was lacking in her busy and stressful life and allowed her to restore her relationship with time and the natural cycle that had previously been lost.

Book reviewer Carly Tremayne discusses the book with Jennifer, and together they explore the themes that it brings up.

Find the review for this and many other folklore book titles on the Folklore Podcast website here

The support the work of the Folklore Podcast and Folklore Network in collecting and preserving folklore materials for the future, please visit our support pages.

Mark Norman, creator and host of The Folklore Podcast, welcomes folklorist Dr Jeana Jorgensen onto the show to discuss the study of folklore, why it is important and the types of approaches which could be used. Acting as a springboard for the discussion is Jeana's book 'Folklore 101' which is one of the liveliest and most accessible introductions to the subject which anyone could hope to read.

Follow Jeana on Twitter here

Click here for Jeana's blog on Only Sky.

Please help to support the work of the Folklore Podcast and its other projects in collecting and preserving folklore materials for the future. Visit our support pages to learn more.