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The Folklore Podcast
@folklorepod.bsky.social
Official account of The Folklore Podcast. 2 million downloads worldwide. Created by folklorist and author Mark Norman. Find us online at http://www.thefolklorepodcast.com

Film/TV rep: Past Preservers Author for various publishers
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The first Folklore Podcast of the year is live!

THE FOLKLORE OF PROVERBS
written and presented by me, with music from Amy Hopwood.

Watch the visually enhanced version on YouTube at youtu.be/Rn6R_FnqV-Y

Normal audio version on your podcast app, or at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/episode-185....
Please appreciate this dragon from @folkloristan.bsky.social for NATIONAL APPRECIATE A DRAGON DAY
Today is NATIONAL APPRECIATE A DRAGON DAY so we invite you to appreciate this dragon from our collections.

The AZDAHA is a mythological Iranian dragon, described in Persian sources as an enormous winged serpent.

This example is from the Gothic Map in our Folkloristan collection, item F_24_GM_06
January 16, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by The Folklore Podcast
Reposted by The Folklore Podcast
Last chance to grab tickets for #CuraotrRob 's online talk tonight about the excavations of and ongoing research at Fishbourne Roman Palace!

There will be thrills. 🤩
There will be spills. 😮
There will be at least one weevil. 🤔

Book here: bit.ly/flaevents (8pm UK time)
January 15, 2026 at 1:10 PM
LAST CALL FOR TICKETS!

I'll be hosting this live talk at 8pm UK time, online via Zoom, on behalf of @folklorelibrary.bsky.social

Learn all about the important archaeology of @romanpalace.bsky.social - who have some nice folklorey mosaics - with Dr Rob Symmonds.

Tickets from bit.ly/flaevents
TONIGHT! At 8pm UK time, you can enter the mysteries of the fascinating @romanpalace.bsky.social courtesy of #CuratorRob, who will be joining us to talk about the palace and what it tells us of #Roman life.

Tickets: bit.ly/flaevents

Don't miss out - it's going to be great 😃

#Skystorians #History
January 15, 2026 at 12:51 PM
The Folklore Library and Archive is open for public browsing and research tomorrow
We are open to the public for browsing and research tomorrow and every Wednesday from 10am until 4pm at our home at Tanners Yard, 100 High Street, Crediton.

Come and visit us, look at our resources and meet the team behind the charity. Tea and coffee is ready for you!
January 13, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Reposted by The Folklore Podcast
The first Folklore Podcast of the year is live!

THE FOLKLORE OF PROVERBS
written and presented by me, with music from Amy Hopwood.

Watch the visually enhanced version on YouTube at youtu.be/Rn6R_FnqV-Y

Normal audio version on your podcast app, or at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/episode-185....
January 13, 2026 at 11:42 AM
Reposted by The Folklore Podcast
Spooky season will be going into overtime in 2026, with the UK GHOST STORY FESTIVAL ONLINE running from the weekend of 6th-8th February! Let us bring the hauntings to you for the weekend... www.ticketsource.co.uk/ukghoststory... #ghosts #ghoststory #ghoststories #hauntings #gothic #gothicfiction
January 12, 2026 at 7:30 PM
CHAPBOOK TUESDAY returns for 2026!

This innocuous looking chapbook also provides a commentary on incest from the get go.

The Crafty Princess, or The Golden Bull is essentially a Cinderella tale at its heart.

You can read the whole pamph on Wikisource here:

en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Cra...
January 13, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Like myths and legends?

Like a bit of water?

Then please take a look at @sabrinariverfolk.bsky.social and follow their BlueSky account. They've been shouting into the void a little since moving to this platform, and we all know folklore is better to talk about than most of the other things here!
January 13, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Book NOW for the next online talk supporting @folklorelibrary.bsky.social

How could you not want to spend some time in the company of this studious and serious individual?

#CuratorRob discusses all things @romanpalace.bsky.social on Thursday at 8pm

Tickets from bit.ly/flaevents
Just a reminder that this idiot will be talking (online) about latest goings-on at the Palace THIS THURSDAY 15th Jan, at 8pm.
#CuratorRob

We've upped his medication, so with a bit of luck he might be reasonably coherent. 🙄😬

For £5+booking fee, you can reserve your place here: bit.ly/flaevents
January 13, 2026 at 1:01 PM
The first Folklore Podcast of the year is live!

THE FOLKLORE OF PROVERBS
written and presented by me, with music from Amy Hopwood.

Watch the visually enhanced version on YouTube at youtu.be/Rn6R_FnqV-Y

Normal audio version on your podcast app, or at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/episode-185....
January 13, 2026 at 11:42 AM
I'm not sure how this had passed me by, but please give some support to @icaruswritingcollective.com by following their BlueSky account. They are rebuilding after moving from another platform.

Magazines to read for free or to buy - mythic stories to enjoy.
🌊 The tide is coming in, which means the fourth issue of The Icarus Writing Collective is finally here! 🩵

Read it for free on our website or consider purchasing a copy to support the magazine 🔱

www.icaruswritingcollective.com/currents ⬅️
January 13, 2026 at 10:02 AM
A wonderful hour spent this morning in the company of the brilliant Dr Eleanor Janega -
@goingmedieval.bsky.social
- discussing ghosts in the medieval and their development to the present day.

Expect this interview to drop towards the end of the month. And check out her work while you wait.
a woman in an old fashioned dress making a face
ALT: a woman in an old fashioned dress making a face
media.tenor.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:13 PM
A small selection of images from my trip out to Sandford Wassail this evening.

I’ll cut a video of the whole event when I have a little more time
January 10, 2026 at 8:33 PM
COMING SOON...

In the first episode of 2026's Season 11 of The Folklore Podcast, I'll be giving a brief introduction to the subject of proverbs in folklore.

Watch your feeds in the next couple of days.

Image: The Blind Leading the Blind by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
January 10, 2026 at 9:19 AM
This Thursday evening at 8pm UK, I will be hosting the splendiforous #CuratorRob (Dr Rob Symmonds) from Fishbourne @romanpalace.bsky.social for an evening of hirsute archaeological fun.

A once-only event ... be there live or miss out forever.

bit.ly/flaevents to book
MOSAICS! ... HYPOCAUST CONTROVERSY!! ... BEARDS!!!

Don't forget that this Thursday evening at 8pm, online via Zoom, there is a once-only opportunity to learn all about those things and more as we host the fabulous #CuratorRob from @romanpalace.bsky.social

Tickets £5 + fee from bit.ly/flaevents
The Folklore Library & Archive
The Folklore Library and Archive is a registered charity number 1203418 with a remit to preserve folklore materials in all formats and make them freely available for future research and education. Ou...
bit.ly
January 10, 2026 at 9:07 AM
I'll be hosting the legend that is #CuratorRob for this talk. Book now or be disappointed!

bit.ly/flaevents
We may regret it, but we're allowing #CuratorRob out in public. We've hosed him down and locked his cider shed, so it'll be fine, right?🙏😬

For ONE NIGHT ONLY (15 Jan, 8pm) he's giving an online talk about the recent discoveries at Palace. Huxley may feature.

£5 plus booking fee. bit.ly/flaevents
January 6, 2026 at 9:32 AM
A little before Christmas, we were interviewed by Miranda Melcher for @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about DEVON'S FORGOTTEN WITCHES.

The interview is live on the network now, and you can listen here

newbooksnetwork.com/devons-forgo...
Tracey Norman and Mark Norman, "Devon's Forgotten Witches: 1860–1910" (The History Press, 2025) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
January 5, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Reposted by The Folklore Podcast
‘Give us but a tree or twain
For a Maypole, and again,
Ere another #year run out,
We’ll make thee laugh and all this rout”

Two Nobke Kinsmen 3.5.144

#shakespearesunday

@hollowcrownfans.bsky.social
@efdss.bsky.social
@folklorepod.bsky.social
@themerl.bsky.social
January 4, 2026 at 8:09 AM
I'll be hosting this online talk on Thursday 15th January, with the lovely @romanpalace.bsky.social

Booking details below. Proceeds support the Folklore Library and Archive. Come and join us.
For our first online talk of 2026 we are hosting Dr Rob Symmons from @romanpalace.bsky.social who will be discussing the incredible archaeological finds and history of the site, including folklore-filled mosaics!

Thursday 15 Jan, 8pm via Zoom

Tickets £5 + booking fee from

bit.ly/flaevents
January 3, 2026 at 1:58 PM
A new series for 2026, which is posting over on my Facebook page:

365 days of folklore creatures

starts today with the Namahage, a demon Yokai from Japanese folklore which is now part of new Year customs

You can read the full post on my Facebook page at

www.facebook.com/TheFolkloreP...
January 1, 2026 at 7:15 PM
As 2025 runs out, here is a final CHAPBOOK TUESDAY post for you

THE WARNING CLOCK or "The Voice of the New Year" was published in 1833 and is an American chapbook written by 'Mrs Cameron' who penned a number of such pamphlets

Expect the normal warnings against laziness and benefits of good choices
December 30, 2025 at 4:13 PM
BOOK REVIEW

Mere

By Danielle Giles
Published by @panmacmillan.bsky.social Mantle

"A haunting, potent novel"

Read the full review by Dr Tim Rideout on the Folklore Podcast website at

www.thefolklorepodcast.com/mere.html
December 30, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Next up from my pile of books to work on is this one.

Having just finished a rewatch of the classic BOX OF DELIGHTS this is a book full of promise, from probably the leading expert on John Masefield, and with an inciteful foreword by @pierstorday.bsky.social

Episode planning to follow, I suspect!
December 29, 2025 at 10:19 PM
BOOK REVIEW

A Season of Madness, by Al Ridenour
Published by @feralhouse.bsky.social

"High quality printing, high quality presentation and high quality research"

Read my full review at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/season-of-ma...
December 29, 2025 at 10:10 PM