While there are many famous names associated with the ghost story, some are less commonly linked, and even fewer are women. In the episode of the podcast we focus on one of those in particular, Edith Nesbit.Best known as a children's writer under the name E. Nesbit, Edith wrote some effective spooky tales for adults. Many of these have not seen much light of day.A new one-woman theatre show - HAUNTED SHADOWS - performed by Claire Louise Amias and directed by Jonathan Rigby shines a light on Edith and her gothic stories. I meet Claire to discuss Edith Nesbit's work, and of course her new show.Haunted Shadows is a production of A Monkey With Cymbals theatre company. Find out more on their website at https://www.amonkeywithcymbals.co.uk/haunted-shadowsFollow them on social media:Instagram: @AMonkeyWithCymbalsFacebook: @AMonkeyWithCymbalsX: @MonkeywithcymbBluesky: @ClaireLouiseAmias.bsky.socialTo support the work of The Folklore Podcast in creating free folklore content for everyone, please join our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast - you can also join the free member community there too.
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Episode 179 - WITCHCRAFT: A HISTORY IN 13 TRIALS
Returning guest to the podcast, witchcraft historian Professor Marion Gibson, discusses her book 'Witchcraft: A History in 13 Trials'. The book, and this interview, explores the history of witchcraft accusation and persecution through a number of key trials at different points in history - some well known and some more obscure.You can visit Marion's website at https://mariongibson.co.uk/Support the work of The Folklore Podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can get extra content both as a free member or on a paid tier.
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Episode 178 - HETTIE NETTLE'S HANDBOOK FOR HEDGEWITCHES
Folklore Podcast creator Mark Norman once again meets up with children's author Claire Barker, this time to discuss the final version of her new book 'Hettie Nettle's Handbook for Hedgewitches'.Described in the episode as a groundbreaking book, and not without good reason, Hettie Nettle introduces children to the subjects of solitary witchcraft, seasonal workings, our relationship with nature and much more in a safe and meticulously researched way.In this episode, we chat about the ethos of the book, the ways in which it deals with folklore and how it fuses real-world practice with fiction.Support the work of The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and get extra rewards, either as a free member or from just £1 a month for bonus content. Visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast for more details.
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Episode 177 - LORE OF THE LAND: BRITISH ACADEMY
In May of 2025, I was honoured to be asked by the British Academy to chair the final panel in their 'Folklore Reimagined' series, 'Lore of the Land'. This panel was titled 'Stories of wetlands, woods and weather'.How have landscapes been represented and perceived throughout time? What do the stories we tell about our environments reveal about ourselves? And how can our historical relationship with the land help us reconsider our connection to the natural world today? The panelists for this discussion were Professor Melanie Giles FBA, British archaeologist specialising in Iron Age Britain; Fiona Stafford FBA, Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford; and Marilina Cesario, Professor in the School of Arts, English and Languages at Queen’s University Belfast.You can watch the original filmed panel on the British Academy's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej60YO1_qrIThe Folklore Podcast has been committed to producing high quality free folklore content for almost a decade, bringing you access to the world's experts in the subject. To help us to keep doing what we do, please consider supporting us with a small monthly subscription on our Patreon page, where you can find more subscriber-only content. Please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast and help to fund the podcast for the future.
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Episode 176 - THE WHITE WITCH OF EXETER
In this episode of the podcast, host Mark Norman takes an in-depth look at the White Witch of Exeter. Most times, when we speak of 'white witches' we are talking about a particular person, but in the case of the Devon city of Exeter, the White Witch was something a little different.Mark discusses the history of this character from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, and looks and some of their practices and cures.The content of this episode is drawn from the book DEVON'S FORGOTTEN WITCHES, 1860-1910 written by Tracey and Mark Norman and published by The History Press. Order a copy from the Folklore Podcast website or wherever books are sold.To support the Folklore Podcast please join the Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast for free or on a paid support tier and get extra content.
Folklore: Beliefs, traditions & culture of the people. Traditional folklore themes from around the world. An accessible podcast ranked in the top 0.5% of shows globally, bringing free access to many of the world's experts in folklore, authors, broadcasters and more.
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