Folk Horror Revival Presents Winter Ghosts 2021.

Saturday line up.

Solitaire International | Solitaire & Jewellery Magazine- GJEPC India

Sarah Caldwell Steele – Proprietor of The Ebor Jetworks, Gemologist, Jewellery Designer and expert in all things Jet from its chemistry, through its history to its folklore

The Doc Rowe interview: "I've gone to places and missed the ceremony by 19  years because they only do it every 20 years and I'd got the date wrong" -  Jon Wilks

Dr Rowe – Folk lore expert. Dr ‘Doc’ Rowe has been documenting British Cultural tradition for nearly sixty years using video, film and photography as well as audio. His unique collection of contemporary and historical material on the traditional culture of the British Isles and Ireland is now housed in Whitby. The strength of the collection lies in its ongoing ‘serial’ fieldwork and regular contact with communities where individual events flourish – hence the material is at once wide-ranging, first hand and constantly updated. A long-term council member of the Folklore Society and Oral History Society, he regularly broadcasts on aspects of folklore and tradition he has also written a number of books and his photographs are regularly published. A teacher, photographer, broadcaster and performer, one major inspiration stems from working with Charles Parker in Radio documentary from the early sixties and in later theatre productions. . As well as a number of one-man exhibitions, he joined artists Alan Kane and Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller in a British Council travelling exhibition ‘Folk Archive: Contemporary Popular Art from the UK’ [2005 and still touring internationally]; he contributed to ‘British Folk Art’ [Tate Britain, 2014] and, more recently, ‘Lore – the Living Archive’ is an Arts Council funded travelling exhibition that curated material from the archive alongside contemporary artists who drew creative inspiration from the archive itself. www.docrowe.org.uk

Shrouded Republic – A performance piece inspired by Rev. Robert Kirk of Aberfoyle author of “The Secret Commonwealth: A Study in Folklore and Psychical Research.” Project Lono is a collaborative collective of musicians and poets experimenting with audio scapes that blend verse, storytelling, song, music and live and recorded sound effects. The Shrouded Republic has been created by Bob Beagrie, Sara Dennis, Kev Howard, Peter Lagan, John Dunleavy and SJ Forth. https://projectlono.bandcamp.com/album/the-shrouded-republic-the-whole-trip

THE DRAGONS OF ALBION by Richard Freeman - The Archaeology and Metal  Detecting Magazine

Richard Freeman – Herpetologist, Cryptozoologist and leading expert all things Dragon.

Richard Freeman is a former zookeeper who has worked with over 400 species of animal and has a special interest in crocodiles. He is a full-time cryptozoologist and is the Zoological Director of The Centre for Fortean Zoology, the world’s only professional organization dedicated to searching for unknown species. He has searched for cryptids n five continents and has investigated creatures such as the yeti, the Tasmanian wolf, the orang-pendek, the giant anaconda, the Mongolian deathworm the almasty, the ninki-nanka, the gul and many others. He is currently planing a series of trips in search of giant,man-eating crocodiles. He has lectured widely on cryptozoology at venues such as The Natural History Museum and the Grant Museum of Zoology. He has written a number of books on cryptozoology and folklore as well as horror fiction. His interest in strange creatures stems from a love of classic Doctor Who.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Freeman_%28cryptozoologist%29

Adventures in Cryptozoology

Hazelsong Theatre – Talk on John McKinnell with attendant, vaguely tame Wyrm or two. Tales of Wyrms and Dragons have woven their way through the folklore of the North of England and of the borders for generations. Drawing upon a multitude of sources Andy Bates and Linda Richardson will explore these stories and their origins and will track them to their roots in Norse, Anglo Saxon and Celtic literature and iconography Andy and Linda will be accompanied in their presentation by an imposing and unpredictable Wyrm of significant sinuousness.Andy Bates is an archaeologist, a craftsman, a musician, a puppet maker, a writer and performer. He has walked the hills of Northumberland, its fields and its river valleys for decades. He has listened to the voices of wind and water telling their stories and those of folk long gone and those still vital. He has delved into its earth and has witnessed its cradling of the bones of the ancestors. He dug at the Bowl Hole. For Andy and for the troupe, rock cut spirals and waterfalls are songs waiting to be sung. https://bamburghbones.org/projects/hazelsong/

Chris Lambert of The Soulless Party.
A solo piece from the wordsmith and wanderer of The Black Meadow. A mystical place that lies within the wilds of Yorkshire. Author of the Wyrd Kalendar, Chris will fright and delight with his dramatic and immersive storytelling.
Chris is part of the soundscape collective The Soulless Party which also features Kev Oyston.

https://thesoullessparty.bandcamp.com/
https://wyrdkalendar.blogspot.com/

Stream Everyday Dust music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on  SoundCloud

Everyday Dust. Electronic musician using synthesizers and mosstronics to soundtrack strange stories. https://soundcloud.com/everyday-dust

Music | Nathalie Stern

Nathalie Stern. Of Swedish origin but now living in Newcastle, Nathalie served her apprenticeship in guitar-based bands such as Candysuck and Lake Me, before looking to traditional Swedish folk roots and more experimental sounds for her debut solo album ‘Firetales’ in 2010. https://nathaliesternmusic.bandcamp.com/music

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ATTRITION are pioneers in a darker electronica…Carving out a unique slice of the creative underground for over two decades, fueled by a succession of critically acclaimed albums…selling over 50,000 to date…the band has toured all Europe and North America, Mexico and Asia, appeared at major festivals and had their music included on a number of film soundtracks….
Formed in 1980 by Martin Bowes and Julia Waller in Coventry, England, influenced by a mix of punk ideology and experimental art aesthetics, they emerged as part of the early ’80’s UK Industrial scene alongside contemporaries Test Department, Coil, Legendary Pink dots, In The Nursery, Portion Control et al.
Their music is an undefinable marriage of dark and light…of futures and pasts…probing unexplored sonic landscapes with an eclectic marriage of experimental and traditional sound, of electronics and acoustics, of male and female….
https://attritionuk.bandcamp.com/

Art Exhibition at Flowergate Hall from 30 Oct, please note that all pieces exhibited will be for sale. More information about the art exhibition can be found in the following article. https://folkhorrorrevival.com/2021/10/15/in-search-of-wyrms-and-other-beasties/

Sunday – Ghost story readings at Flowergate Hall.

Tickets are £13.00 and can be bought from https://bit.ly/3rfnLXj

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In search of Wyrms and other Beasties Art Exhibition.

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This event is the opening night and meet and greet of the artists of Wyrms and Other Beasties Art Exhibiton of FHR Winter Ghosts 2021 Symposium. The date is SATURDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2021 FROM 19:00-23:45. It is being held at Flowergate Hall, Whitby, United Kingdom. The exhibition runs up until November 28th.

In search of Wyrms and other Beasties! This the opening night and meet and greet the artists of the selling art exhibition associated with our FHR Winter Ghosts 2021 Symposium We Have Wyrms! There also maybe the odd admin lurking about too!We would love to see you.

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Our very own Cobweb.

Please may I introduce Cobweb Mehers, artist and FHR admin. Cobweb lives in a little house at the edge of the world with his wife Kt and their cats Tiamat and Baal. He claims to have been sculpting and painting for as long as he can remember, but it’s been longer than that. For many years he concentrated on creating artifacts based around mythical and historical themes for @eolithdesigns. His sculptures inspired by prehistoric art were sold in conjunction with the British Museum’s Ice Age art exhibition in 2013 and included a recreation of The Swimming Reindeer especially created for the event. His work has also appeared in the Severin Films horror anthology, The Theatre Bizarre, and he continues to work with Finnish director Lauri Löytökoski. Cobweb’s involvement with the Folk Horror Revival movement over the past few years has taken his more recent work down a different path. He returned to painting and started work on a new collection called Beyond the fields we know, which is inspired by the history, folklore, and landscape of the North Pennines. In 2019 these 13 paintings made up his first solo exhibition. He likes to immerse himself in the strange and beautiful world on his doorstep, spending cold nights and sunny days wandering the North Pennines in the company of fairies, witches, and lost gods. Many of his pieces begin life using the technique of automatic drawing to bypass the rational and form a more instinctive relationship with the landscape. These initial raw responses to the places visited are then expanded upon with a mixture of traditional and digital painting. He hopes to capture and recreate those rare glimpses of the world at the edges of our vision and beyond the fields we know.

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Next we have our 3D artist, have you seen her Witch Hares? Jane Barnett was taught to embroider by her grandmother, and has been stitching and making art since she was a little girl. Her interest in mythology, magic and folklore led to her taking a degree in anthropology and art, and ever since she has combined all of these interests together. After a career working as an education officer in museums and galleries, Jane became a tattoo studio owner and artist. Ill health unfortunately meant she could not continue on this path, but gave her instead, the time and opportunity to concentrate on her own art practice. Jane has sold her work in galleries in Brittany and Wales (were she formally lived), and internationally, but is now back in her home territory of Yorkshire working under the title of Brigante Textile Arts. Jane hopes that textiles and fibre arts will eventually be recognized as a valid medium for artistic expression. She is also passionate about recycling, and tries to make art from second hand or found materials, including floorboards. For this reason, she can often be found hanging around charity shops, skips, beaches, in woods or abandoned buildings. Her favourite place to be however, is on the moors…..usually accompanied by her partner and dogs. Her favourite things include a good full moon, storms and the smell of wood smoke.

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Next we have for your delectation the scarily talented Laura Jeacock! Laura Jeacock is a trained scientist, but left academia in 2018 to focus her energies on creating art. Her work to date includes devotional paintings of Deity, as well as witchcraft and nature inspired pieces of artwork. She likes to work with pencil, pen and ink, watercolours and acrylics – from illustrative to realistic, and usually incorporates some magical, pagan or spiritual element. Nature is her muse! Her art has been published in academic journals dedicated to Goddess studies, as well as in Nature journal. She has previously exhibited her work at the Season’s of the Witch exhibition, alongside fellow witch artists, in Edinburgh and Alloa. She is one of the founding members of the art collective Oak and Ash and Thorn, who create art from a shared deep feeling for the themes of nature and magic, and are working towards their second online exhibition. She currently lives in Edinburgh, with her partner and menagerie of familiars. When she not creating she can be found out in the wilds of Scotland, practicing yoga, or buried in an esoteric book. You can find her lurking in various corners of the internet – here is a good place to start: https://linktr.ee/laura.jeacock

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We now would like to introduce you to the amazing Valerie Herron, who is contributing all the way from the USA!!! Valerie Herron is a Pacific Northwest-based illustrator of the mythological, the macabre, and the absurd. She received her BFA in Illustration at Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, OR. Valerie has created art for numerous publications, including The Steel Clan Saga by T. Thorn Coyle, Night Walk by Aeryn Rudel, as well as two Lovecraft anthologies – The Book of Starry Wisdom and The Book of the Three Gates – by Strix Publishing. Valerie has created art and content for multiple entertainment media enterprises such as RiffTrax, Faerieworlds, Privateer Press, and Pacific NorthWEIRD. Outside of her creative practice she spends her time listening to music and podcasts, being out in nature, playing with her animals, writing, reading, gaming, and exploring a myriad of sorcerous activities. Please go and give her art page some FHR love – The Art of Valerie Herron.

Skulls and Sheets (Kelda Sproston) is a teacher by day and hobby artist at night. She has been entranced by the Welsh festive mumming tradition of the Mari Lwyd. The mari lwyd (grey mare) is a symbol of transition and has a huge impact in her life. Through using inspirations from nature, artwork or patterns the mari lwyd is able to display a message of hope all year now. Kelda creates her pictures using either watercolours or digitally.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/skullsandsheets

(My apologies for missing Kelda in the first submission of this post- Paul.)

Lastly we have Debra Snow. In her own words. I am primarily a landscape oil painter based in Whitby, North Yorkshire, although I also produce drawings in metalpoint, charcoal and pen and ink. My paintings are usually intricate or decorative, are sensitive to mood and light, reflecting my feelings towards what I am painting.​I love nature and ecology and have a keen interest in preserving species and environment, this interest leads me to other areas; the science of the natural world, folklore, poetry and literature. I like the human element in these interests, the stories and knowledge that people share. I do not profess to be any kind of expert in these fields, more that they spark my interest and allow me to imagine stories and feelings surrounding the subject. I like my imagination to go off on its own, without worrying too much about specific details, I want my paintings to go on and tell their own story.

https://www.debrasnow.co.uk/shop

(Again, my apologies for missing Debra in the original post. – Paul.)

KT Mehers.

Podcast Spotlight: The Silt Verses.

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Those ghosts in the machine really wont leave my computer. It must be warm and inviting in there. On the positive side of things though it means I have had more time to sift through the tidal wave of podcasts to find something unsettling to recommend.

I would take a guess that most of us reading this know of a bizarre podcast called I Am In Eskew. If you havent then stop reading and go give it a listen. It is mental. The Silt Verses is created by the same people, Eskew Productions, who are John Ware and Muna Hussen. The show follows two characters, Carpenter and Faulkner, as they travel the length of a river in search of their deity and his lost followers. It is a world in which god’s are easily manifest and have flourished in the backwaters of America and have become intertwined into the everday life of the population and authority has had to step in to control the worship. The makers describe the show as a Folk Horror audio drama and so far I would not disagree. I am three episodes in and the themes of ritual and sacrifice is interwoven deeply into the fabric of each episode.

Unlike many other audio drama podcasts I have listened to the Silt Verses has episodes that clock in at anywhere between 40 to 60 minutes. The production value is really high quality and the voice acting is the same. Lots of effort has been put into these and it really shows as the episodes begin subtle world building that you will hardly even notice until the scene is over. You then question why you thought sacrificing a stranger on the river bank to appease its deity sounded like normal practice. It is high strangeness in a very familiar and comfortable place.

It has great reviews too, with even the BBC singing its praise, so when you have a moment find them on whatever platform you listen to podcasts on and give them a subscribe. Thanks.

https://www.thesiltverses.com/

Podcast Spotlight: Tales From Wyrd Scotland. 

By Paul Beech

Hi Everyone. Before we get into this week’s podcast I have to make an apology for my lack of presence recently. A spirit has possessed my laptop and I am at the mercy of its temperament. There are only so many times I can press a button and get no response before I transform into The Incredible Anxiety Hulk and start furiously tapping my feet on the floor and fingers against my forehead. Anyway…

 This week we head up one of my favourite places on earth: Scotland! Is it one of the most haunted places too? Possibly. Edinburgh certainly has a grizzly history of people being cooked alive in vaults as they tried to hide from fire. At least that was what the tour guide told me on a spooky summer night a decade ago. Either way it is a place full of folklore, traditions, mythology and legends and this podcast aims to share those stories with you. 

 I think most of us will be familiar with some of Scotland’s most famous tales like Sawny Bean and his cannibal family or the mystery of Eilean Mor Lighthouse, but they are only a couple of highlights of a huge road map of mysterious and unexplained events in Scotland’s history. Sure they are covered here (Eilean Mor has its own episode) but there is a lot more. Looking amongst the episode descriptions, and from what I have listened to myself, there are stories of hauntings, UFO sightings, tragic and violent events, spiritualism, infamous people, old traditions and even some fairies. There is a great two part episode where they cover an A to Z of Scottish Folklore and then another that covers the history of Scottish LGBT+. More of a historical account than anything weird or spooky but it was to mark LGBT+ History month and makes for an interesting listen all the same. 

 Up until episode 7 it is presented by Gordon Stewart who runs his own blog called The Borderlands, which kind of runs like an accompanying piece to the podcast and is totally worth a read. Episode 8 onwards Gordon is joined by Barbara Buchanan as a co-narrator. I actually can’t find any information on her so if any of you out there know her please pass on the information so I can amend this. Lastly, the episodes are produced by Nick Cole-Hamilton who is an audio designer and composer. And what a great job he does. The episodes have great spooky background music and effects and give off a great feeling that you are listening to them on a cold dark night in an old pub or by a fireplace in a cottage in the middle of nowhere. 

Tales From Wyrd Scotland | Episode 1 – The Haunting Of Buckholm Tower in Tales From Wyrd Scotland (soundcloud.com)

The Border Lands – Strange tales from the lands around the Border and between worlds. Scotland. (wordpress.com)

youbetterrun.media

PODCAST SPOTLIGHT: THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES.

 Good afternoon Grots and Goblins! A bit of a late to the party post here today but no worries. A good podcast is a good podcast right? 

 I was listening to what i thought would be the latest episode of Old Gods of Appalachia the other week and rather than an episode i was given an announcement that in respect of The Magnus Archives airing its very last episode they would be holding back the release date to let them have its final moment in the sun without any distractions. I had never heard of it before so i jumped over to find the first episode. 

 The Magnus Archives is/was a production of Rusty Quill. A London based production company that first began its life with the Rusty Quill Gaming Podcast. A show about role playing games so that wins points with me! The Magnus Archives was their second project that began production in 2016 and has been going strong since. It now has more than 160 episodes under its belt. Perfect for this endless grind known as a worldwide pandemic! 

 So what is The Magnus Archives about? The Magnus Institute has recently promoted staff member Jonathan Sims to the vacant spot of Head Archivist and we join him in the mammoth task of organizing the place after the chaos the previous person in his position left it in. Each episode is Jonathan finding a case in the archives and narrating it. The Institute itself researches paranormal, supernatural and unexplained phenomena so each account is an unlucky person’s account of their brush with something quite unpleasant and creepy. Ghosts, fish men, spooky trees, people vanishing in hospitals and possessed priests are a few of the subjects. Each episode is a stand alone story but from what i gather a bigger picture starts to reveal itself as the series progresses. I have not got that far myself yet but I am noticing things here and there that could possibly be relevant as I continue on. Every episode also has a moody score that accompanies the stories well. Sometimes i didn’t even notice there was any until it was too late and my anxiety had gone through the roof.     

 They may have finally called the show a wrap but it doesn’t matter. There is plenty of material to get through and from as far as i have got it seems well worth it. 

https://rustyquill.com/

https://rustyquill.com/the-magnus-archives/

Podcast Spotlight: Haunted.

 

 Hello fellow Revivalists and welcome to the Folk Horror Revival Spotlight. This week we kind of move in a different direction. Kind of. Depends… Anyway. Like many of us that follow the Folk Horror Revival we perhaps had our first taste of it through ghosts and tales of hauntings through books like The Usborne Book of Ghosts and if you were really unlucky, or lucky, that traumatizing show Ghostwatch. Things that go bump in the night. Ghostly apparitions that appear at the top of the stairs. Screaming skulls. Children talking like old men and animals that can speak. So with that in mind let me introduce you to Haunted.

 Haunted is a podcast that collects real life stories of the paranormal from all of us average everyday people that come from all walks of life and from all over the world. Danny Robbins is a comedian and has lots of tv and radio show writing credits under his belt. How he has found himself investigating the paranormal I don’t know. Maybe we could interview him and find out.    Each episode is an interview with the eye witness, or witnesses. As they recount the experience to Danny he explores the circumstances surrounding the event. He goes on site to where they happened, explores the social and political environments of the time (trust me, it’ll make sense when you listen) and speaks to skeptics, paranormal investigators, psychologists and other professionals about the rational explanations. There is part of me that wants to punch these people but  another part just wants to curl up in a ball and hide from the reality of how fragile our minds are. Another thing I happened to notice is the wide range of people interviewed. A South African wealthy businessman tells his story in one episode in a very serious manner.

 I actually listened to the whole series in a binge. I found every episode fascinating and just couldn’t stop. Actually I’m lying. I did stop. I was doing a sleepover at work and thought it best not to freak myself out when I was the only staff member in a residential unit. That’s exactly how these things start! They are all a must listen but the most recent two part episode ‘The Night Shift’ is really a stand out for that very reason! If you ever happen to have read the book Will Storr Vs The Supernatural I think you will enjoy this.   

 As an aside I should point out that Danny is currently recording a podcast for BBC Radio 4 called The Battersea Poltergeist. A case that he discovered while recording Haunted that was far too big and complex for just a couple of episodes. It is part investigation, dramatization (with Detectorist Toby Jones lending his voice)  and interview and will definitely be covered in a future post.    

http://dannyrobins.com/

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/haunted/id1299841207

PODCAST SPOTLIGHT: LOREMEN.

  Do you hear it? It’s on the wind. It is echoing across the empty valleys. The sound of screaming and despair. The Banshee has come for us all… Nope. I was wrong. That will be the sound of me and many many other parents screaming in frustration as we try to home school our kids. Pass me the whiskey… 

 Anyway! Welcome to the Folk Horror Revival Podcast Spotlight. Where I help ye get your fix of ghosts, pixies, goblins,strange customs and whatever else fellow Revivalists might find yourself into. The podcast world is a massive black hole so sit back and let us do the work for you. 

 This week we have Loremen. An odd podcast from two comedians Alasdair Beckett King and James Shakeshaft. The about me describes them both as two tall white men (You can get a picture of how this podcast is going to be already) and with their podcast they ‘investigate’ local legends and folklore along with other guest comedians. Looking through the subjects of episodes we find a wide range of topics such as sheep murders, dusty places, monsters, mass hysteria, prophets and lots of other less well covered phenomena. But if the obscure doesn’t appeal to you they also discuss the more well known like The Lambton Worm, Sawney Bean, The Mabinogian, Geff the talking Mongoose and lots of others. They have you covered basically.

 This is an extremely entertaining podcast. A nice break from the usual more academic discussions and serials that we have had so far. Each episode clocks in at just under an hour and they fit in quite a good bit saying that they have a tendency to go off on unrelated tangents for minutes at a time. The episode ‘Everything happens for the best and the pickled parson’ with guest Sindhu Vee is a great example of this as we are told all kinds of anecdotes and stories that may or not have anything to do with why everything happens for a reason. I don’t mind though as it is always funny.      

  So when you have no hair left to pull out from trying to solve your kids maths assignments take a break and tune in to this for a bit for a nice bit of stress relief.  

http://www.loremenpodcast.com

http://www.jamesshakeshaft.com/

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Podcast Spotlight: Bone and Sickle.

Good evening my fish god obsessed cultists and welcome back to the Folk Horror Revival podcast spotlight. Firstly, I must apologize for being away so long. Christmas gluttony, frontline worker levels of tiredness and a weird case of podcast rabbit holes has kept me away. I’m back now so let’s see what we have this week: Bone and Sickle.

I believe that this particular podcast will be quite familiar with a lot of us already but for those of you who don’t know here’s a little background. Presented by folklorist Al Ridenour with his co-host Sarah Chavez, Bone and Sickle tackles stories of folklore and horror that pulls information from a wide variety of sources to give you a unique look at topics from multiple perspectives. Al covers historical, mythological, cultural and contemporary angles as he explores subjects of ghosts, devils, fairies, possessed nuns and other phenomena. I listened to a few episodes but the once concerning Banshee’s is a great example as I also covered The Irish Folklore Podcasts episode about her as well. Whereas the Folklore podcast was a fantastic academic discussion of the Banshee with lots of discussion on its history and theories on its evolution we have something totally different here. Al discusses the mythology surrounding her and Sarah does some great readings of some interesting stories and legends involving her. The episode wraps up with The Banshee on film, which to be honest I’d never given much thought to but it was great to hear especially with the audio clips included. I must watch that old Disney film one day.

On a side note I must comment on how good the presentation of this show is! You can tell that a lot of work goes into each episode. Not only through all the research and audio clips but the sound and production quality is great.

https://www.boneandsickle.com

https://instagram.com/boneandsickle?igshid=jmd48trcybf3

Podcast Spotlight: Folklore.

 Happy Christmas all you Goblins and Wraiths out there in internet land. I hope you are all keeping well and not letting the Christmas cheer turn you into piles of ash. We have a special treat for you this week as we were given the opportunity to hear a new podcast that is due to be released soon. It’s name is Folklore and is from Tamsin Wheatley……Or is it? 

  I’ll be honest. Much like the structure of the podcast itself the way this has come about is just as mysterious. We get a message informing us of this new podcast and were offered a chance to hear it before it’s unleashed upon the public. Who is this Tamsin? Why does she want us to hear it? (If another review doesn’t get posted next week you’ll know it didn’t end well.) Anyway… Tamsin is a radio presenter and an avid fan of crisps. (Whether she is a harbinger of doom for blogger ups remains to be seen.) This is her first foray into the world of podcasts and by what I heard it’ll be a grand one too.

Or is she any of this at all? I honestly don’t know what’s real and what’s fictional about this. But you know what? That plays in its favour. Go on to Tamsin’s Twitter account and you’ll see requests for ghost stories and weird tales you have to be submitted and a countdown of excitement for it’s release. And then you sit down and listen to it….. 

 From the description on its website I was expecting to hear a discussion on local Wiltshire based folklore and hauntings but instead of that I was surprised to find I was listening to an audio drama about a mysterious set of tapes and the impending investigation that goes on around them. I don’t want to give the plot away too much but we follow the narrator retracing the footsteps of her old college professor and the locations of incidentshe documented on the tapes. If you are a fan of The Lovecraft Investigations, The Black Tapes and The White Vault you are going to like this and it easily holds up to the production levels of those as well. 

 Folklore is released on 26/12/2020 so keep your eyes and ears peeled and definitely give it a subscribe. 

https://mobile.twitter.com/TimTamWheatley

Podcast Spotlight: Ghosts and Folklore of Wales with Mark Rees.

Boglins and Boggarts! Fire breathing dogs and hairy hands in the fog! Welcome all to this week’s Folk Horror Revival podcast spotlight. This week we head into the mountains of Wales where Journalist and writer Mark Rees presents his very own podcast about its haunted landscape. 

Mark is a journalist that has been covering the Welsh arts for many years now. His work appears in many publications and he has even had his own work adapted to the stage in the form of a play called Phantoms that was based on his writing. He has also written a few books. A few of which should be of particular interest to us here and they are Ghosts of Wales: Accounts from the Victorian archives, The A-Z of Curious Wales and Paranormal Wales. His next book will be about Welsh folklore and is titled Illustrated Tales of Wales and will be available in 2021. As if that isn’t enough though he also hosts Ghosts of Wales- Live! An evening of all things paranormal and Welsh. Sounds good to me! 

 The podcast itself is a great lighthearted look at everything that goes bump in the night, or day, in Wales. I am only nine episodes in but so far we have two headed phantoms, ghostly dogs, a strange and possibly paranormal statue, abusive ghosts and an entertaining episode about hoaxes. There is lots of information packed into each episode as Mark clearly does a lot of research and has a lot of extra background information to expand on the subjects. He dedicated the whole of October to Welsh Halloween related tales and he looks to be doing the same for December. I saw an episode dedicated to the Folk Horror Revival’s favorite horse; the Mari Lwyd and another on the tradition that everyone could do with more of. The ghost story for Christmas Eve. 

Well there isn’t much more to add except for saying that I enjoyed it. I look forward to listening to more and I recommend giving it a listen.