Dr Paul Cowdell’s online talk, Tuesday 11 October, 18:00 BST, examines why ghosts are commonly shown in sheets, though this is unrepresentative of most experiences or beliefs. All historical discussions of ghosts feature some comment on what they are wearing. Some of the most frequently mentioned imagery – like ghosts in white sheets, or images...
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...
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...
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,...
Doc Rowe’s film of the lecture can be watched on YouTube The Katharine Briggs Lecture on Tuesday 8 November at 18:30 at The Brockway Room, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL. This year’s speaker is Katherine Langrish, author of historical fantasies and essays on folklore and fairy tales, ‘Fenrir’s Fetter and the Power...
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...
Pregnancy and Childbirth in Late Medieval England: Medicine, Magic, and Miracles Online talk by Claire Collins (University of Reading) Tuesday 24 May 2022, 18:00-19:30 Claire Collins discusses some of the treatments, practices, and attitudes surrounding pregnancy and childbirth in late medieval England In late medieval England, treatments for complications of childbirth, and protections against them,...
“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 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...
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...