Dr Juliette Wood (University of Cardiff) explores the origins of the Sandman in this online talk on Tuesday 27 September 2022, 18:00-19:30 BST The Sandman has recently emerged as a popular modern fantasy character. This eerie figure who brings dreams to good children can also be a threatening bogeyman. It has become a romantic and horror...
Folklore for All One-day online Conference. Saturday 17 September 2022, 09:00-17:00 Following the great success of our ‘Open Voices’ online conference in May, we are holding a follow-up one-day conference online looking at other traditions and folk practices, including: Wellington’s cones; elf-shots, magical darts in the Amazon, fairy tales, fairy seers in Romania, re-enactment groups,...
“In the Beginning all Wisdom was with the Animals”– Exploring Native American Myths Online talk by Rosalind Kerven, author and independent researcher Tuesday 13 September 2022, 19:30-21:00 Native American and Canadian First Nations mythology includes some of the world’s most interesting and memorable narratives. They offer a totally refreshing–sometimes startling–perspective of the natural world and...
The Sixteenth Legendary Weekend of The Folklore Society Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th September 2022 at St John’s Church Hall, Vicarage Lane, Knaresborough When the tree withers in my mother’s garden, know that the end is nigh and seven signs before Doomsday will darken the obsidian mirror. The third age of the spirit watches in...
Dr Helen Frisby (University of the West of England) explores the historical custom of sin-eating, together with its afterlife in film, TV and literature. “The Sin-eater: lives and afterlives”: online talk, Tuesday 12 July 2022, 18:00-19:30 (rescheduled from 22 February 2022) A sin-eater was a ‘long, leane, ugly, lamentable poor raskal’ (Aubrey, 1687) who, by...
The 2022 Folklore Society Presidential Address Prof. Owen Davies (University of Hertfordshire), Tuesday 28 June 2022, 17:30-18:30 ‘The Witch of Endor: A Study in History and Folklore’ Click here for the Audio recording of the lecture The Old Testament account, in 1 Samuel 28, of how the “Witch of Endor” apparently raised the spirit of...
AGM Tuesday 28 June 2022: The 2022 Folklore Society Annual General Meeting will be held from 18:30 to 19:30 on Tuesday 28 June at 50 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 5BT, immediately after this year’s Presidential Address from 17:30-18:30. Attend in person: Folklore Society members attending the AGM in person: contact thefolkloresociety @ gmail.com to book...
Folklorist and historian Ronald L. ‘Ron’ James looks at how industrialisation, emigration, and modernisation and media affected Cornish folklore in the mines, on land, and in the sea. Online talk, Tuesday 21 June 2022, 18:00-19:30 The folklore of Cornwall has a unique character, shaped by its remote environment and by talented droll tellers, artists who...