Welcome back to Fabulous Folklore Presents. This time, I'm delighted to be talking to Darragh Mason, a multi-award-winning photographer, author, and researcher. He studied photography at Dublin City University and has traveled extensively across Asia, Europe, and America, where he has written articles and published his photography. His work has taken him to post-war countries such as Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo. Darragh is particularly renowned for his photographic work on the Aghori Hindu sect and his research on the Djinn.

Darragh also hosts the award-nominated podcast *Spirit Box*, which explores topics of folklore, magic, and the spirit world. Beyond photography, he is the co-creator of the Sigil Engine, a technomantic art project. His book, "Song of the Dark Man, Father of Witches, Lord of the Crossroads", delves into the Dark Man as a devil-like figure in folklore and magic, exploring his role as trickster, initiatory guide of witches and creative force.

In this chat, we talk about the Dark Man as a concept, discuss his role in initiatory tales, and get into folklore as a continuum, rather than something that just happened in the past. There's a bonus rant about AI too!

Buy Song of the Dark Man: Father of Witches, Lord of the Crossroads: https://amzn.to/3V2r3x7

Find Darragh online at: https://www.darraghmason.com/

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595

Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore

Enjoyed this episode and want to show your appreciation? Buy Icy a coffee to say 'thanks' at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick

Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop

Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7

Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick

'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/

Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social