On this week's episode of Local Legends, Martin is joined by author, folklorist, musician and songwriter Paul Weatherhead, whose book Weird Calderdale is a must-have for fans of Yorkshire folklore!
Paul is a native of the Calder Valley in Yorkshire, and was brought up in Hebden Bridge. After finishing school and his BA, Paul spent several years teaching in Greece, Moscow and Northern Siberia before he returned to Calder Valley in the late 1990s.
With a longstanding obsession with the weird history of the area he grew up, he wrote Weird Calderdale, the first edition of which was released in 2003 which went on to become a local best-seller.
After earning his MA, Paul’s writing then began to be published in various magazines and journals, including Psychology Today, The Skeptic, Northern Life and Psychedelic Scene. He frequently writes on topics including mass hysteria, delusions, weird history and folklore.
As well as his research interests, Paul is a musician and songwriter, playing electric mandolin with cult folk rock band The Ukrainians for many years, as well as composing solo work consisting of comic folk horror songs inspired by 60s psychedelia, 80s video nasties and the Hebden Bridge Times.
All of which makes Paul the ideal person to speak to about Yorkshire, and about folk music, too.
To learn more about Paul and his work and books, and to read his excellent blog, do be sure to visit his website at paulweatherhead.com.
Otherwise, settle in for a chat which engages with topics including local witches battling Cliff Richard, Yorkshire’s zombies, the Halifax guillotine, local anti-hero Tom Bell, unidentified flying objects, and so much more!
About Three Ravens 🔮
Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.
Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’
We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.
Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.
Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…
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