How did people use arum/lords-and-ladies/cuckoo pint for both mundane and magical purposes? Let’s find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! youtu.be/A8a36msVj-g?...

On Fabulous Folklore this week, I'm joined by Dr A. D. Manns to explore the life and work of Roma Lister, a collaborator of Charles Godfrey Leland. We chat about 19th-century Florence, Roma's work collecting folklore from Italian witches, and how she may have influenced Aradia. youtu.be/MYZREZe_X0A

In this episode of Fabulous Folklore, I chat to @witchesetc.bsky.social about Helena Scheuberin's witchcraft trial in 1485 in Innsbruck, how her clash with Inquisitor Heinrich Kramer led to the Malleus Maleficarum, and how the book contributed to later witch trials... www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM8o...

In this month's episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I talk to Dr Andrea Wright about the fairy tale film as a concept, Jim Henson's career in film and television, the influence of the Muppets on fairy tales on screen, and what Jareth would have made of Miss Piggy! www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwvN...

Captured (and safely released) this moth earlier. My Goth heart loves the fact it's a Dark Arches.

According to Miss Carruthers, the rose first appeared on England's great seal during the reign of Edward IV, and it first appeared on coins during the reign of Henry VI.

Yarrow! According to Richard Folkard, you could make a nosegay of coloured flowers, rue, and yarrow taken from a grave to dream of your destiny. Sprinkle the plants with oil of amber using your left hand, bind them around your head under your clean linen nightcap, and see what you dream about!

In Dorset, people called Red valerian kiss-me-quick. In Cornwall, its name was Padstow Pride, while in north Wales, it went by the name ‘cherry noses’. It was also called Devil’s Beard, Jupiter’s Beard, and Fox’s Brush. It deterred witches, attracted love, and acted as an aphrodisiac.

I'm joined for our first Witches episode in July by @aboutwitchhunts.bsky.social to talk about the Salem Witch Trials! We discuss the context of the trials, possible causes, the aftermath of the trials for the accused, and ongoing witch hunts around the world. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g20...

Roses weren't always romantic symbols. People once placed plaster roses on ceilings to remind those beneath that the conversations in the room were confidential - hence 'sub rosa'. But if you do give someone roses, remove the thorns to show that you're removing 'thorns' from your life together.

Lavender is apparently so soothing that it can make both lions and tigers docile.

We're looking at Maud Grieve today on Fabulous Folklore, the herbalist who wrote A Modern Herbal and did her bit for the war effort during the First World War! youtu.be/STra1cZwbbM

A blindfolded young woman should pick a rose on Midsummer Day at midday while the clock struck twelve. She should fold the rose in white paper and put it away until Christmas Day. If she did it right, the rose would still be fresh. She should put it on her bosom & her intended would snatch it away.

According to Richard Folkard, you could heal all open wounds by rubbing a piece of oak on your body before sunrise on Midsummer's Day. You just needed to do it in silence!

Ferns are heavily associated with Midsummer and there was an old belief that ferns only bloomed once a year, on Midsummer's Eve. This was the time when you could gather fern seeds, which could apparently turn you invisible or help you find treasure. (Ferns produce spores, not seeds!)

We're going to meet Nicholas Culpeper in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore, who took on the medical establishment in the 17th century, and did so using a herbal. youtu.be/zwLl05nVF-E

Tonight's talk venue! Telling some of Northumberland's magical legends at the Black Gate...

It's always good catching a bird in flight on my trail camera, and this shot captured a male blackbird coming in to land. At one stage, people believed blackbirds wove myrtle into their nests to ward off witchcraft!

According to Margaret Baker, if the kniphofia, also known as both the red hot poker and Devil's poker, bloomed in autumn, it foretold a death in the family...

We're meeting Northumberland's own William Turner, often called the father of British botany, on Fabulous Folklore this week. Find out why this religious firebrand and revolutionary thinker created A New Herball! www.icysedgwick.com/william-turn...

This week on Fabulous Folklore, we're looking at the bizarre story behind the creation of A Curious Herbal in the 1730s by artist, businesswoman, and all-round marketing supremo Elizabeth Blackwell! youtu.be/Eg6bvyQX4zI?...

In this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore, I'm looking at the storytelling revival of the 1980s, and what it means for folklore! This week's episode also features contributions from eight storytellers about how they discovered storytelling and why they think it's important! pod.co/fabulous-fol...

Went to see Ad Gefrin in North Northumberland, once the home of King Edwin's royal palace. Pity there's so little to see but it's still an important site at the foot of Yeavering Bell!

This month's exclusive Patreon episode of Fabulous Folklore explores the barguest and gytrash. Are they black dogs? Spectral omens? Fairy tricksters? Or all three? www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-...

One old country belief saw hedgehogs apparently able to steal fruit if it got stuck to their prickles. B. at The Irish Penny Journal tried to see if he could make it work himself. He could not #FolkloreThursday (My image)

The Chillingham Cattle are a wild herd in the grounds of Chillingham Castle. According to one legend, they descend from the cattle that roamed across Britain when the Saxons arrived. In another, the Vikings brought them when they arrived (Img: Thomas Bewick, Public Domain) #FolkloreThursday

In this episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I'm chatting to Dr Steph Lay about her Revenants on the Redway project, the beauty of collecting supernatural experiences, why places don't need to be old to be haunted, and the attraction of parapsychology. youtu.be/RBdb9WaLCjY

This week, I'm looking at four films by legendary French filmmaker Georges Méliès, including The Trip to the Moon, to see how he depicted figures from folklore and myth. Can we see the strange world inside the moon as a version of Fairyland? youtu.be/sxCi3nokBh8

There's a wonderful origin myth for the harp that ascribes its invention to the wife of an Irish chieftain! And yes, I'm covering the folklore of stringed instruments this week over on Fabulous Folklore... pod.co/fabulous-fol...

I had three art-related episode requests, so May will be Folklore and the Arts Month. We’ll explore a supposedly cursed painting, an apparently haunted portrait, and a painting at the heart of a weird urban legend in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! youtu.be/gtuBZ4vVoyk