Folklore and Storytelling: A Narrative Match Made in Heaven
Storytelling is something we all do on a daily basis, whether we’re aware of it or not. Maybe we’re telling a funny anecdote about something that happened on the...
Revenants on the Redway with Dr Steph Lay
Dr Steph Lay is a folk horror writer, psychologist and researcher, gathering and sharing local stories of the unexplained for a project investigating whether the new city of Milton...
Folklore and Cinema: The Trick Films of Georges Méliès
Visionary film director and stage magician Georges Méliès is perhaps the earliest filmmaker who saw the visual potential of folklore. Among others, mermaids, sirens, ghosts, devils, and sorcerers are...
The Folklore of Stringed Musical Instruments: The Viola, Irish Harp, Violin, and Guitar
Musical instruments appear scattered throughout various folktales. A drum lies at the centre of the Tedworth Drummer story. Pipers and drummers try to follow underground tunnels, only to mysteriously...
Theatre Superstitions: Whistling, the Ghost Light, and Macbeth
Going to the theatre can often feel like a magical experience. You sit in the dark, watching a story unfold in front of you, with your imagination filling in...
Cursed Artworks: Three Haunted Paintings and their Superstitions
Folklore and the arts are almost natural bedfellows. As we saw with the work of Newcastle-based painter Ralph Hedley, artists can capture local traditions for posterity. The Pre-Raphaelites created...
Divination Using Clouds, Flames, Ashes, and Dreams
Studying the shapes of things is a popular means of divination, relying on human pattern recognition abilities. Look at reading tea leaves and coffee grounds, or tasseography, which rely...
Random Chance Divination: Casting Lots and Throwing Dice
Divination is a beautifully varied practice, with a plethora of tools and practices designed to give insight into situations. Practices like reading tea leaves or tarot cards already appear...
Pendulum Dowsing: From the Sieve and Shears to Looking for Love
Last week, we looked at the use of dowsing to find treasure or criminals. Like water dowsing, this method requires the use of a rod that twitches in the...
The Scottish Fairy Courts with Morgan Daimler
Morgan Daimler is a witch who has been a polytheist since the early 1990s. Following a path inspired by the Irish Fairy Faith blended with neopagan witchcraft. Morgan teaches...
Dowsing for Treasure and Criminals: Extra Uses for Divining Rods
Dowsing is often used to find water, minerals, or even lost items. Where divination usually seeks to provide information, here the information is of a directly practical or tangible...
Walnut Trees in Folklore: Evil Shade and Helpful Remedies
When it comes to the walnut tree, we’re probably more familiar with their produce than the actual tree. Walnuts are easily recognisable, and present in everything from nut selections...
Poplar Trees: Folk Belief, Remedies, and the Arbor Tree
Poplar trees are perhaps one of the lesser-known trees that I’ve featured on this blog. Many people can recognise an oak tree on sight, but how many could recognise...
Polish Folk Magic with Joanna Tarnawska
Joanna Tarnawska is an animist, folkloric witch, and psychologist residing in the mountains of Lower Silesia, Poland. Her practice intertwines animism, bioregional traditions, and lore, drawing inspiration from the...
Yew Trees: Death, Churchyards, and Helpful Tools
Back in November 2020, I explored the folklore of the yew tree; specifically, the common yew, or English yew (Taxus baccata). Yes, it’s a poisonous tree. Yes, it’s linked...
The London Plane: A Tree Suited to City Life
Periodically, I choose a plant, tree or fungus to explore, only to find there is very little folklore about them. Invariably, there are two reasons for this. First, the...
Childhood Games: Classics, Crazes and the Occult in the Playground
In January, I asked people if they wanted to share any children’s folklore as part of my February theme. As a branch of study, this largely refers to folklore...
Dolls and Doll Magick with Najah Lightfoot
Najah Lightfoot is the multi award-winning author and regular contributor to the Llewellyn annuals. Najah’s magickal staff is on display and part of the permanent collection of the Buckland...
Children’s Beliefs: Superstitions, Luck, and the Brenin Lwyd
In January, I asked people if they wanted to share any children’s folklore as part of my February theme. As a branch of study, this largely refers to folklore...
Urban Legends among Children: Clowns, Insects, and Ice Shards
In January, I asked people if they wanted to share any children’s folklore as part of my February theme. As a branch of study, this largely refers to folklore...
Trolls as Toys and Figures from Folklore
Some toy trends make sense, like the fascination with Lego or even Barbie-mania, which naturally enjoyed the boost from the 2023 film. The fad for trolls, however, doesn’t immediately...
Ralph Hedley: Painter of North East Scenes and the Working Class
The arts remain one of the best ways to preserve culture in a way that people can interact with. Literature, folk music, and art, among others, allow us to...
Explore 3 strange legends of the Newcastle Castle
The Newcastle Castle occupies a strange position in the city centre. So strange that some people can’t believe we have a castle in town at all! Various buildings have...
Meet Joe Wilson: The 19th-Century Bard of Tyneside
Walk along Stowell Street in Newcastle upon Tyne and turn into St Andrew’s Street, and you might notice a plaque on the wall. It marks the site of the...
The Blaydon Races: The Story Behind the Tyneside Anthem and Sporting Event
Inhabitants of the Tyneside region are undoubtedly familiar with the 19th-century song, ‘The Blaydon Races’. It describes a journey from Newcastle’s city centre to Blaydon to see the races,...