The Three Ravens Podcast

In this Bonus Episode, Eleanor and Martin explore the history of poppets!

Part of the "Magic and Medicines" series, we chat about the many roles dolls play in magic, from Worry Dolls and Kolossoi to paleolithic carvings and ushabti, and dig into some strange corners of human history - from the Reader's Digest drive to curse Adolf Hitler to Scottish 'clay corpses', myths about Voodoo Dolls, Japanese doll burning festivals, and much more besides...

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…

About our Bonus Series 🌙

From 2023-2026 we released six different Bonus Series covering the following themes:

• Magic and Medicine - Eleanor’s 26-part exploration of the history of magical belief and folk practice.
• Three Ravens Bestiary - Martin’s A-Z of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
• Dying Arts - Eleanor’s 13-episode series about endangered and heritage crafts from their earliest origins to their fates since mechanisation.
• Something Wicked - Martin’s 13-part exploration of historic True Crime stories with folkloric twists.
• Forgotten Melodies - Eleanor’s 13-episode foray into the history of folk music and song types featuring original recordings and new arrangements by us and our musical collaborators.
• Magus - Martin’s 13-part series about the magical lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history and their legacies in the magic of the modern day.

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!

🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop

👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon

📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales

👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027

📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, Martin and Eleanor head to Leicestershire, the county where Richard III died at Bosworth Field.

After a chat about New Year's Day traditions and superstitions, we leap into the history and folklore of Leicestershire - from Simon de Montfort and Melton Mowbray pork pies to Belvoir Castle, Ashby de la Zouch, and Kirby Muxloe, as well as the Humberstone, further adventures of Bel the giant, ghost suffragettes, and more besides.

Then it's time for the main event: Martin's telling of "Black Annis."

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…

About our Bonus Series 🌙

From 2023-2026 we released six different Bonus Series covering the following themes:

• Magic and Medicine - Eleanor’s 26-part exploration of the history of magical belief and folk practice.
• Three Ravens Bestiary - Martin’s A-Z of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
• Dying Arts - Eleanor’s 13-episode series about endangered and heritage crafts from their earliest origins to their fates since mechanisation.
• Something Wicked - Martin’s 13-part exploration of historic True Crime stories with folkloric twists.
• Forgotten Melodies - Eleanor’s 13-episode foray into the history of folk music and song types featuring original recordings and new arrangements by us and our musical collaborators.
• Magus - Martin’s 13-part series about the magical lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history and their legacies in the magic of the modern day.

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!

🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop

👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon

📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales

👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027

📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Bonus Episode, Martin and Eleanor dig into the legend of the Christmas Scarecrow, Hans Trapp.

Part of the "Something Wicked" series about folkloric true crimes, we set the scene by talking about life in the Holy Roman Empire during the 15th century.

Then it's time to recount the truths and some of the likely fictions surrounding this legendary Christmas bogeyman.

For example, did he really do a deal with the devil for power?

How many people died when he flooded Weissenburg and its abbey?

What about all the baby-eating?

And why might it be wise to wear a big skirt and keep an eye on scarecrows during the festive season?

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…

About our Bonus Series 🌙

From 2023-2026 we released six different Bonus Series covering the following themes:

• Magic and Medicine - Eleanor’s 26-part exploration of the history of magical belief and folk practice.
• Three Ravens Bestiary - Martin’s A-Z of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
• Dying Arts - Eleanor’s 13-episode series about endangered and heritage crafts from their earliest origins to their fates since mechanisation.
• Something Wicked - Martin’s 13-part exploration of historic True Crime stories with folkloric twists.
• Forgotten Melodies - Eleanor’s 13-episode foray into the history of folk music and song types featuring original recordings and new arrangements by us and our musical collaborators.
• Magus - Martin’s 13-part series about the magical lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history and their legacies in the magic of the modern day.

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!

🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop

👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon

📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales

👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027

📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deck the halls and jingle your bells as Eleanor and Martin welcome you to a festive celebration of all things Christmas, Yule, and Midwinter!

Starting off deep in prehistory, we chat through the pagan origins of Midwinter celebrations as found at neolithic sites like Stonehenge, discuss Ancient Greek and Roman concepts of the end-of-year, wassailing, and Norse Yuletide, plus the long history of the Holly King, Old Man Winter, and Father Christmas.

Next we dig into the Christian tradition, chatting through Anglo Saxon, Tudor, and Stuart ideas of Christmas, and how the festive season was forever changed by Oliver Cromwell and the puritan protectorate, all before it enjoyed a very jolly Victorian reinvention.

Then, to cap things off, Martin tells an all-new story for the season, "A Song of Oak and Holly."

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…

About our Bonus Series 🌙

From 2023-2026 we released six different Bonus Series covering the following themes:

• Magic and Medicine - Eleanor’s 26-part exploration of the history of magical belief and folk practice.
• Three Ravens Bestiary - Martin’s A-Z of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
• Dying Arts - Eleanor’s 13-episode series about endangered and heritage crafts from their earliest origins to their fates since mechanisation.
• Something Wicked - Martin’s 13-part exploration of historic True Crime stories with folkloric twists.
• Forgotten Melodies - Eleanor’s 13-episode foray into the history of folk music and song types featuring original recordings and new arrangements by us and our musical collaborators.
• Magus - Martin’s 13-part series about the magical lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history and their legacies in the magic of the modern day.

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!

🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop

👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon

📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales

👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027

📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As promised, here is a spooky ghost story for Christmas care of Three Ravens.

Following in the tradition of M.R. James, E.F. Benson, and Charles Dickens, it feels only right to cosy up and listen to something scary on Christmas Eve. This year it's Martin doing the honours, with a longer story set in the English Renaissance.

We follow Maline, a young maid working in a gloomy, snow-swept castle, where few things are quite as they initially appear...

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…

About our Bonus Series 🌙

From 2023-2026 we released six different Bonus Series covering the following themes:

• Magic and Medicine - Eleanor’s 26-part exploration of the history of magical belief and folk practice.
• Three Ravens Bestiary - Martin’s A-Z of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
• Dying Arts - Eleanor’s 13-episode series about endangered and heritage crafts from their earliest origins to their fates since mechanisation.
• Something Wicked - Martin’s 13-part exploration of historic True Crime stories with folkloric twists.
• Forgotten Melodies - Eleanor’s 13-episode foray into the history of folk music and song types featuring original recordings and new arrangements by us and our musical collaborators.
• Magus - Martin’s 13-part series about the magical lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history and their legacies in the magic of the modern day.

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!

🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop

👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon

📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales

👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027

📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In their final Advent 2023 mini-episode, Martin and Eleanor come up against a problem: partridges don't have much of a place in folklore!

We make a valiant effort, discussing how Perdix was transformed into a partridge in Ancient Greek mythology, and recount a literally apocryphal tale of John The Evangelist stroking his partridge - and they chat about pears, too, and their associations with Hera/Juno, but it's slim pickings.

So, to make up for it, they revert to the alternate lyrics and tell not just 'part of a juniper tree' but the whole folktale The Juniper Tree, in all its strange glory!

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…

About our Bonus Series 🌙

From 2023-2026 we released six different Bonus Series covering the following themes:

• Magic and Medicine - Eleanor’s 26-part exploration of the history of magical belief and folk practice.
• Three Ravens Bestiary - Martin’s A-Z of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
• Dying Arts - Eleanor’s 13-episode series about endangered and heritage crafts from their earliest origins to their fates since mechanisation.
• Something Wicked - Martin’s 13-part exploration of historic True Crime stories with folkloric twists.
• Forgotten Melodies - Eleanor’s 13-episode foray into the history of folk music and song types featuring original recordings and new arrangements by us and our musical collaborators.
• Magus - Martin’s 13-part series about the magical lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history and their legacies in the magic of the modern day.

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!

🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop

👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon

📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales

👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027

📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In their penultimate Advent 2023 mini-episode, Eleanor and Martin talk Two Turtle Doves - which aren't white! Who knew?!

In addition to chewing over the slightly unnerving roles doves traditionally played in Candlemas and Imbolc celebrations, we dig into some dovey deities, including the Ancient Mesopotamian goddess Inanna and the Celtic god Aengus, and retell some dove-related folktales including The Ant and the Dove, The Dove, and For the Love of a Dove, coming away with some intriguing reflections about what doves are meant to symbolize...

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…

About our Bonus Series 🌙

From 2023-2026 we released six different Bonus Series covering the following themes:

• Magic and Medicine - Eleanor’s 26-part exploration of the history of magical belief and folk practice.
• Three Ravens Bestiary - Martin’s A-Z of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
• Dying Arts - Eleanor’s 13-episode series about endangered and heritage crafts from their earliest origins to their fates since mechanisation.
• Something Wicked - Martin’s 13-part exploration of historic True Crime stories with folkloric twists.
• Forgotten Melodies - Eleanor’s 13-episode foray into the history of folk music and song types featuring original recordings and new arrangements by us and our musical collaborators.
• Magus - Martin’s 13-part series about the magical lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history and their legacies in the magic of the modern day.

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!

🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop

👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon

📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales

👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027

📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Bonus Episode, Eleanor and Martin discuss traditional Christmas crafts.

Part of the "Dying Arts" series, we start of chatting about Midwinter, Yule Logs, and the Ashen Faggot, then discuss the history of the Christingle, old recipes for Christmas pudding, the tradition of the 'Kissing Ball' and 'Kissing Bough' as well as Christmas Trees, Advent Calendars, and Walnut Gilding.

As you might expect, there are digressions along the way, but still, scissors, ribbons, and glitter at the ready. Let's get crafting!

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…

About our Bonus Series 🌙

From 2023-2026 we released six different Bonus Series covering the following themes:

• Magic and Medicine - Eleanor’s 26-part exploration of the history of magical belief and folk practice.
• Three Ravens Bestiary - Martin’s A-Z of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
• Dying Arts - Eleanor’s 13-episode series about endangered and heritage crafts from their earliest origins to their fates since mechanisation.
• Something Wicked - Martin’s 13-part exploration of historic True Crime stories with folkloric twists.
• Forgotten Melodies - Eleanor’s 13-episode foray into the history of folk music and song types featuring original recordings and new arrangements by us and our musical collaborators.
• Magus - Martin’s 13-part series about the magical lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history and their legacies in the magic of the modern day.

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!

🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop

👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon

📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales

👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027

📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In their tenth Advent 2023 mini-episode, Martin and Eleanor discuss French Hens, which are a genuine, actual thing!

Aside from Eleanor performing the St Crispian Day speech from Henry V (yes, the whole thing) they also chat about Bresse Gauloise chickens, Brythonic history, and England's slightly tetchy relationship with the French, along with discussing poultry-based folktales including Henny Penny and talking through Alectromancy, the Celtic goddess Brigid, and the way chickens help to ward off unwanted visitors including the Devil...

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…

About our Bonus Series 🌙

From 2023-2026 we released six different Bonus Series covering the following themes:

• Magic and Medicine - Eleanor’s 26-part exploration of the history of magical belief and folk practice.
• Three Ravens Bestiary - Martin’s A-Z of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
• Dying Arts - Eleanor’s 13-episode series about endangered and heritage crafts from their earliest origins to their fates since mechanisation.
• Something Wicked - Martin’s 13-part exploration of historic True Crime stories with folkloric twists.
• Forgotten Melodies - Eleanor’s 13-episode foray into the history of folk music and song types featuring original recordings and new arrangements by us and our musical collaborators.
• Magus - Martin’s 13-part series about the magical lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history and their legacies in the magic of the modern day.

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!

🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop

👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon

📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales

👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027

📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In their ninth Advent 2023 mini-episode, Eleanor and Martin are talking Four Colley Birds, and not 'Calling Birds' at all!

From 'Sing a Song of Sixpence,' which dates back to the Renaissance, to Celtic myths like The Tale of Branwen and The Three Birds of Rhiannon, they discuss how the blackbird occupies a very strange position in folklore.

Not least in two really strange tales, one of which sees the Patron Saint of Europe stripping naked and jumping into a bed of stinging nettles, and another which culminates in a magical fox begging to be executed!

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…

About our Bonus Series 🌙

From 2023-2026 we released six different Bonus Series covering the following themes:

• Magic and Medicine - Eleanor’s 26-part exploration of the history of magical belief and folk practice.
• Three Ravens Bestiary - Martin’s A-Z of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
• Dying Arts - Eleanor’s 13-episode series about endangered and heritage crafts from their earliest origins to their fates since mechanisation.
• Something Wicked - Martin’s 13-part exploration of historic True Crime stories with folkloric twists.
• Forgotten Melodies - Eleanor’s 13-episode foray into the history of folk music and song types featuring original recordings and new arrangements by us and our musical collaborators.
• Magus - Martin’s 13-part series about the magical lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history and their legacies in the magic of the modern day.

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!

🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop

👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon

📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales

👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027

📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.