Fabulous Folklore with Icy
Episodes
New Year Folklore and Traditions with Eerie Essex
27 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're onto the final instalment in this series of Festive Folklore episodes, that are coming to you with the help of some of my Fabulous Folklore frie...
The Christmas Ghost Story Tradition with Dr Kate Cherrell
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Kate Cherrell is a writer and broadcaster specialising in the long 19th century and paranormal history. Her academic interests include 19th-century...
A Portmanteau Ghost Story for Christmas
20 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For this third episode in our Festive Folklore series for December 2025, I'm adding my own tale to the noble tradition of the Christmas ghost story! A...
Festive Folklore and Traditions with The Faerie Folk and Celtic Myths & Legends
13 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For this second episode in our Festive Folklore series for December 2025, I'm joined by my podcast pals, The Faerie Folk podcast and Sian Powell from ...
Myths of the Stars and Planets with Suki Ferguson
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat to writer Suki Ferguson about some of the myths associated with the celestial bodies, how you ap...
Festive Folklore & Christmas Carols with Loremen
06 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For this first episode in our Festive Folklore series for December 2025, I'm joined by my podcast pals, James Shakeshaft and Alasdair Beckett-King, be...
Legends of New York's Islands: Buried Treasure and Typhoid Mary
29 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
New York City conjures up images of a neon-drenched Times Square, skyscrapers gleaming in the sun, and the labyrinthine subway system. Yet the city...
Menorca Legends: Lost Cities, Giants, and the Cyclops
22 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Well-known for a huge collection of megaliths, Menorca has seen human activity since ...
Anglesey Folklore: Witches, Ghosts, and Ancient Druids
15 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps most famous as the home of the druids, Ynys Môn, also known as Anglesey, occupies 275 square miles just off the north Wales coast. It is an ...
Legends of Drake's Island: Tunnels, Ghosts, and a White Lady
08 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Drake's Island sits in Plymouth Sound, around 500 m from the mainland. The island is just 6.5 acres, and around 250 yards wide at its broadest point. ...
Listener Supernatural Experiences Part 4
01 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today marks All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day or the Feast of All Hallows. That's why Hallowe'en is called that - it's All Hallow's Eve....
How do we understand the reputation of the Amityville Horror House?
25 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If I ask you to think of a famous haunted house, will your mind wander to a white Dutch Colonial house, with quarter-round windows lit from within to ...
Just how bad were the prisons at the Doge's Palace?
18 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Palazzo Ducale dominates the view as your vaporetto approaches the San Marco stop. The huge building is an example of Venetian Gothic architecture...
British Folklore from Past to Present with Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I'm talking to two folklore heavyweights - Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook! Owen Davies is Professor ...
Newgate Prison: Novels, Escapees, and Dreadful Conditions
11 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you've ever read any Charles Dickens novels, especially Great Expectations, then you'll have run into Newgate Prison. The hulking, notorious jail l...
How did popular culture add to Bedlam's fearsome reputation?
04 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Bedlam, or Bethlem Royal Hospital to give it its full name, is actually the world's oldest psychiatric institution. It began life in 1247 in the Prior...
Foxes in Folk Tales: From Aesop to Reynard
27 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Foxes appear in literature and legend across the world. Look at Brer Fox in the American South. In Rebel Folklore, I discussed the Jiuwei Hu of China,...
Monsters and Strange Creatures with Natalie Lawrence
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Natalie Lawrence is an author and illustrator who explores our relationship with the natural world, looking through multiple lenses - from the biologi...
Hedgehogs in Folklore: Witches, Familiars, and Milk Thieves
20 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hedgehogs are one of the stranger mammals you might encounter. They're nocturnal, they hibernate, they're prone to rolling into a ball when frightened...
Moles in Folklore: Folk Remedies and Weather Omens
13 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moles are fascinating creatures. They're phenomenal diggers and while they weigh around 120g, they can shift 540 times their body weight of earth. Gi...
Otters in Folklore: Brave Helpers or Fearsome Monsters
06 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Otters are some of the most charming mammals you might encounter. Sometimes nicknamed the "water sausage" by the internet, otters are playful, intelli...
Creepy Listener Stories of Space and Place
30 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When we think about folklore, we often think about the characters involved: King Arthur, Queen Mab, Lady Godiva, and more. Yet folklore has an intrins...
The Screaming Skulls: Guardian Spirits or Poltergeists-in-Waiting?
23 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
English folklore is full of peculiarities. The legends of the so-called screaming skulls are definitely among them. These are skulls kept in mansions...
Storytelling and Making Folklore Accessible with Three Ravens
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I'm talking to Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux from the Three Ravens podcast about the difficulties in defining 'folklore', the importance of storytell...
How does 'Poltergeist' draw on actual poltergeist accounts?
16 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Poltergeist marked Hollywood's big-budget engagement with the ghost film in 1982. Produced by Stephen Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper, it took t...
The Power and Allure of Poisonous Plants with S.A. Lawless
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
S.A. Lawless is an herbalist, gardener, forager, mycophile, outdoor educator, and published author and illustrator, with a long-held fascination with ...
The Wesley Poltergeist and the Bishopwearmouth Poltergeist Go Head-to-Head
09 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we looked at some poltergeist definitions and whether such definitions are even helpful. Can something as truly bizarre as a 'knocking spir...
Poltergeists: Noisy Ghosts or Household Spirits?
02 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of Fabulous Folklore begins with a reading of the Poltergeist entry from my new book, Ghostlore, before we explore the problem with polte...
White Ladies, Ghost Nuns & Spectral Children in Haunted Madrid
26 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
People have lived in the Madrid area since prehistoric times. Occupied by Romans, Moors, and then the Spanish, it has quite the history. Over 6.8 mil...
Murder Ballads and Dark Folk Music with Katy Horan
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this chat, I'm talking to illustrator Katy Horan about murder ballads, discussing what they are, how they work within folk music, how contemporary ...
The Venetian Legend of the Carvings of Castello
19 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you head away from the hustle and bustle of the Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square), you’ll head into the stranger, more magical part of Venice...
Dublin Ghost Stories of Phantom Dogs and Mysterious Figures
12 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dublin is a beautiful city that straddles the River Liffey, famous as the home of Guinness and the National Leprechaun Museum. What you might not expe...
Folk Traditions and Strange Sights in Florence
05 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Florence was founded in the 1st century BCE as a Roman military outpost, although it came to prominence as a centre of commerce and the arts in the 14...
Witches in Devon and Witchcraft Trials in Theatre with Tracey Norman
28 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tracey has written fiction for as long as she can remember, covering a variety of genres and subjects. Her first stage play WITCH, a historical drama ...
The Newcastle Witch Trials and Northern Cunning Men with Dave Silk
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dave Silk is a storyteller and historian from Newcastle upon Tyne and co-author of Tyne and Wear Folktales for Children. He collects and retells tradi...
Margery Jourdemayne and the Coggeshall Witch with Deborah Hyde
21 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this third episode of our Witches, Cunning Folk & Magic theme, I'm talking to Deborah Hyde, an author, presenter and producer who has written f...
Witches in History and Superstition with Willow Winsham
14 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this second episode of our Witches, Cunning Folk & Magic theme, I'm talking to Willow Winsham, an author and historian specialising in folklore...
Cunning Folk and Practical Magic with Dr Tabitha Stanmore
07 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this first episode of our Witches, Cunning Folk & Magic theme, I'm talking to Dr Tabitha Stanmore! She's a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Uni...
Finding the Lort Burn, One of Newcastle's Buried Rivers
31 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Much is often made of London's lost rivers, like the Tyburn, Fleet, and Walbrook. Yet Newcastle upon Tyne also has rivers we cannot see. Ours are not ...
Ghosts, Lantern Men, and Treasure in the Norfolk Broads
24 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Broads National Park, often known as the Norfolk Broads, is one of the UK's 15 National Parks. Seven rivers and over sixty waterways called Broads...
Geomany & Practical Divination with Dr Alex Cummins
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Alexander Cummins is a contemporary cunning-man and historian of magic. His magical specialities are the dead (folk necromancy), divination (geoman...
Haunted Canals of England, Scotland & Wales
17 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Canals occupy a strange place in the cultural imagination. They're manmade, yet offer a connection to nature, and they offer a means of transport, but...
Healing Springs and Wells at Glastonbury, Carrawburgh and Lourdes
10 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've no doubt seen plenty of content online about water's power to be a great healer. We need to drink it (this is your reminder for today), while pe...
Following the route of the Walbrook, one of London's lost rivers
03 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A sense of mystery gathers around London's lost rivers, with their names whispered like forgotten deities from an ancient cult. Fleet, Tyburn, Walbroo...
Church Curiosities: Finding Folklore in Carvings and Statues
26 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Visiting churches might not sound like everyone's idea of a great time. Yet the buildings are stuffed with strange carvings, peculiar graffiti, intere...
Telling and Preserving Ghost Stories with W.J. Gilbert
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
W.J. Gilbert is a writer, storyteller, and creator of the YouTube channel Eerie Edinburgh. Based in Edinburgh, he’s the author of the best-selling H...
Holy Cross Church and the Witches of Wallsend
19 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Churches can be sites of divination, haunted locations, and important community hubs. Yet in Wallsend, Holy Cross Church is notorious for a tale of wi...
The Tale of Enon Chapel: London's Most Notorious Burial Site
12 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Here in the 21st century, death and burial often occur as part of a sanitised process. Death happens away from home, often in hospitals, and funerals ...
The Folklore of Lychgates and Popular Burial Monuments
05 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You would absolutely know a lychgate if you saw one. They make popular backdrops for wedding photos, and provide a quaint air of rustic charm to count...
Folklore and Church Names: Preserving Local History
29 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I started out with the intention of looking at unusual church names. The problem was, this offered the potential to accidentally poke fun at their con...
Origins of Sports Team Names: Preserving Folklore and History
22 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Looking at the origins of sports team names might seem antithetical to folklore. Yet sport forms part of the ritual calendar for many people, whether ...
Cader Idris Lore and Writing Folklore with Victoria Male
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Victoria Male is an internationally recognized screenwriter, earning accolades from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, film festivals,...
The Folklore of British Pub Names Linked to Local History
15 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There is no shortage of bizarre pub names in the UK. Some of them appear to be a combination of random objects, like the Frog and Nightgown. Others ha...
Strange Street Names: From The Philog to Dog Leap Stairs
08 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Unlike place names, which often give us information who once lived somewhere, street names can be a different case entirely. Sometimes they bear the n...
From Coven to Hot Coffee: The Folklore of Place Names Part 2
01 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Place names are important and pass on a lot of valuable information, even if we no longer understand how to interpret it. Within them, they tell us wh...
Goats in Folklore: From the Farmyard Doctor to the Devil
22 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When I decided to write about goats in folklore, I thought I would find plenty of content. After all, they appear in mythology. Look at Amalthea, the ...
Race and the European Fairy Tale with Prof Kimberly Lau
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Kimberly J. Lau is a professor of literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is the author of Erotic Infidelities: Love and Enchantme...
Pigs in Folklore: From Piggy Banks to Spectral Sows
15 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pigs appear in folklore in somewhat unusual ways. Sometimes, they choose the location where a church should be built. Or they appear as phantoms, haun...
Cows in Folklore: From Fairy Cattle to Spectral Calves
08 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Certain animals might spring to mind when it comes to folklore. Hares, horses, deer, cats - they all have an otherworldly quality to them. Would you c...
Sheep in Folklore: From Medical Remedies to Good Luck Charms
01 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Following on from 2024's theme of the Folklore of Animals, this month we'll examine the Folklore of Agricultural Animals. This week, we'll explore the...
Sámi Myths and Legends with Niina Niskanen
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Niina Niskanen is a Finnish artist, writer and a folklorist who specialises in Finnish, Baltic and Sámi Mythology. She is an online educator and host...
Mourning Folklore: From Giving Rings to Wearing Black
25 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you think of the phrase "to be in mourning", you'll probably imagine a Victorian scene. Perhaps a black-clad widow ushers similarly black-clad chil...
The Green Children of Woolpit: Fairies, Aliens, or Something Else?
18 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
According to legend, two green children wandered into a village in 12th-century Suffolk. No one knew who they were or where they came from. Their refu...
The Folklore of Dowsing, aka Water Witching
11 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dowsing is a fascinating form of divination since it is often used to find water, minerals, or even lost items. While other forms of divination like t...
The Geordie Dialect: Its History and Some Basic Phrases
04 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There can be a tendency to view folklore as antiquated customs, old legends, or outdated practices. Yet folklore is not disconnected from contemporary...
The Loch Ness Monster: Kelpie, Legend, or Giant Eel?
28 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Loch Ness Monster is perhaps one of the world's most enduring mysteries. Does a giant reptile really lurk in a Scottish loch? Has it somehow survi...
Legends of RMS Titanic: Mummy Curses and Ghost Captains
21 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Few maritime disasters have captured the public imagination like the RMS Titanic. Perhaps it's because of the relatively recent nature of its sinking,...
Welsh Legends and Folklore Tourism with Russ Williams
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this month's episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I'm talking to Russ Williams, the author of Where the Folk: A Welsh Folklore Road Trip. Russ gr...
Blue Men of the Minch: Scotland's Storm Kelpies
14 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When we look at types of folkloric creature, we often encounter the same types in different places, such as mermaids or fairies. But occasionally, y...
Legends of Submerged Villages: Divine Punishment and Drowned Churches
07 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If we think of submerged cities, lost beneath the waves, we're probably most likely to think of Atlantis, that thought-experiment that took on a life ...
The Mouse in Folklore: Medicine, Omens, and Collecting Teeth
30 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The humble mouse appears in a surprising amount of folklore. Both a harbinger of death if spotted in the house, and a medical remedy for a range of ai...
The Legends & Lore of the Dark Man with Darragh Mason
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome back to Fabulous Folklore Presents. This time, I'm delighted to be talking to Darragh Mason, a multi-award-winning photographer, author, and r...
Horses in Folklore: Black Bess, Hag Riding, and Spectral Steeds
23 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Humans first domesticated horses in around 3500 BC. Since then, they’ve pulled our chariots and carts, carried royalty and soldiers, worked on farms...
Dogs in Folklore: Loyal Companions and Witches' Familiars
16 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Britain is supposed to be a nation of animal lovers, especially when it comes to pet dogs. According to the PDSA, 29% of UK adults own a dog, which gi...
Deer Folklore: Omens, Cults, and White Stag Legends
09 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Human relationships with deer stretch back thousands of years. Archaeologists uncovered red deer skulls at Star Carr in Yorkshire which are 11,000 yea...
Listener Supernatural Experiences Part 3 of 3
02 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I’ve been sharing real-life supernatural experiences from Fabulous Folklore listeners for the past couple of weeks. It’s been brilliant to see how...
Scottish Folk Magic with Scott Richardson-Reed
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat to Scott Richardson-Read of Cailleach's Herbarium about Scottish cosmology, discuss the differen...
Listener Supernatural Experiences Part 2 of 3
26 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you listened the real-life supernatural experiences I shared last week, you would have noticed two things. First, not all experiences are terrifyin...
Listener Supernatural Experiences Part 1 of 3
19 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you believe the movies, supernatural experiences are big, brash and bold - or they’re just so bone-chillingly terrifying that you’re completely...
Tarot, Love Magic and Voodoo with Lilith Dorsey
13 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat to the legend that is Lilith Dorsey! We talk about tarot, some New Orleans lore, and why the cit...
The Tedworth Drummer: Haunting or Hoax?
12 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Certain cases loom large in the history of the supernatural, especially in relation to the investigation of the supernatural. The 20th century provide...
The Mysterious Haunting at Willington Mill, Wallsend
05 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We might think of ghost hunts or investigations as a predominantly 20th and 21st-century endeavour. Yet the legend of the ghosts at Willington Mill sh...
Lore of the Aran Islands: Saints, Ancient Forts, and Sweaters
28 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Aran Islands lie in Galway Bay off the west coast of Ireland. They're made up of Inis Mór, Inis Mearn, and Inis Oírr. People have likely lived o...
Invitation to listeners! Bring out your supernatural encounters
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hello, friends! Our October theme for the podcast is (unsurprisingly) the supernatural. So I wanted to dedicate at least one episode to people's supe...
Legends of Bardsey Island: Avalon or the Isle of 20,000 Saints?
21 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ynys Enlli in north Wales is also known as Bardsey Island, and it's been a pilgrimage destination since the 6th century. The island lies at the north...
Exploring Baba Yaga and Her Literary Legacy with Kris Spisak
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kris Spisak earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the College of William and Mary, her master of liberal arts from the University of Richmond...
Islay Folklore: Giants, Fairy Changelings, and the Water Bull
14 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Islay is an island to the west of Scotland, at the entrance to the Firth of Lorn. It's 25 miles north of Northern Ireland. Archaeological evidence sho...
Lindisfarne Legends: St Cuthbert, Ghostly Monks and the Petting Stone
07 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, lies some 11.5 miles to the south east of Berwick-upon-Tweed, just off the coast of Northumberland. Only accessible at lo...
Legends of Mythical Birds: From the Phoenix to the Firebird
31 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's easy for mythical birds to capture the imagination, whether it's the phoenix rising from the ashes, or Aethon eternally pecking Prometheus' liver...
Folklore of Ornamental Birds: From Holy Birds to Death Omens
30 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Humans have found a whole range of uses for birds over the centuries. Hunting with them, keeping them for their song, using them for food or divinatio...
Debunking Historic Building Myths with James Wright
22 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
James Wright (Triskele Heritage), is an award winning buildings archaeologist. He has two decades professional experience of ferreting around in peopl...
The Folklore of Garden Birds: Blackbirds, Sparrows, Wrens & Robins
17 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's often easy to overlook what we see every day, or at least regularly. Perhaps that's why we overlook our humble garden birds in favour of majestic...
The Folklore of Birds of Prey: Companions and Competition
10 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Birds of prey have an interesting relationship to humans, having been both competing predators and avian companions for leisure pursuits. They've prov...
Yokai and Japanese Folklore with Thersa Matsuura
08 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Thersa Matsuura, an American author living in Japan, explores lesser-known aspects of Japanese culture, folklore, superstitions, and myths. Fluent in ...
The Folklore of Aquatic Birds of Cliffs, Lakes and Rivers
03 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Few watery scenes are quite complete without birds in the picture. Ducks drifting across a country pond. Gulls wheeling in the sky above the beach, be...
Sunderland Ghost Stories: Grey Ladies, Serial Killers and Poltergeists
27 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sunderland began life as three separate settlements on the River Wear. A fishing village called 'Soender-land', or land that is cut asunder' existed b...
Witches and Witch Trials with Marion Gibson
25 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Marion Gibson writes accurate, engaging books about witches and magic in history. She’s been interested in witches for over thirty years, since she ...
Carlisle Legends: Ghosts, Secret Tunnels, and The Cursing Stone
20 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Carlisle began life as Luguvalium, a Roman settlement that grew out of the fort on the site. It was the capital of an ancient British kingdom. Both Vi...
Devils, Cats, Tiny Streets & Witches: York Folklore At Its Best
13 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While York is often considered one of England's most haunted cities, other strange and unusual tales lurk in its narrow snickleways. There are storie...
The Dark Side of Sheffield Folklore: Spectres and River Spirits
06 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There is much of the strange and haunting in Sheffield's folklore. Does that make it a haunted place? There are stories of water gods in the River Do...