The Three Ravens Podcast

We present a double bill of tales from the Red Fairy Book today!First up, we've got the Norwegian tale of the cleverest (and possibly the most ruthless) horse out there, Dapplegrim, and the lucky human he teams up with.We follow it up with The Twelve Brothers, collected by the Brothers Grimm - and spoiler alert, this one contains ravens!They make a great contrasting pair, with plenty to discuss, analyse and compare.We really hope you enjoy the stories, and we will speak to you again on Monday for a brand new episode of the Three Ravens Bestiary, all about Ogres!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's Lang Fairy Tale is another Madame d'Aulnoy spectacular, The Golden Branch!So spectacular is this tale, in fact, that it was adapted for the stage as part of James Robinson Planche's 19th century 'fairy extravaganzas', lavishly costumed musical displays of whimsy which must truly have been a joy to behold. But will this be the decider for Martin for or against Madame d'Aulnoy? We discuss the tale, compare it to the other French literary fairy tales we've encountered as part of this project, and explore its subtext.We hope you enjoy the story and the episode, and we will be back on Saturday with another double bill of tales: Dapplegrim, and The Twelve Brothers!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're growling, purring and hissing our way into this month's Magic and Medicines episode to talk all about Familiars and Animal Magic!We start by talking about animistic beliefs in early societies, along with associations of animals with particular deities, before diving into Medieval and Renaissance ideas about witches' familiars documented in witch trial materials.With Vinegar Tom, Sacke-and-Sugar and Pecke-in-the-Crowne frolicking about our feet, we explore beliefs about how familiars might be summoned - and whether or not they are really something far more sinister than a magical companion. There's a bit of Jungian psychology, of course, and an eclectic selection of beliefs from around the world - but are appearances of animals within spiritual practices really just symbols to assist us with self-development?Moving into the 21st century, we discuss neo-shamanism, power animals, and how domestic pets can be spiritually comforting to practitioners of magic and spirituality today, before rounding out the conversation by looking to the future with digital familiars and AI companions!We really hope you enjoy the episode, and we will speak to you again on Thursday with The Golden Branch, a longer Lang tale!Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a warm summer's evening in a Medieval barn, complete with twilight birdsong, for Three Ravens Live @ Chiltern Open Air Museum!Set across 45 acres of the Chiltern Hills, "COAM" rescues endangered historic buildings and reconstructs them at its picturesque site - one where a working historic farm and traditional craftspeople continue Buckinghamshire's old folk occupations and ensure they live on in the modern day. Learn more here.This recording, made last Saturday evening, is a celebration of not just COAM and the Chiltern Hills but the entire county of 'Bucks' - a place once ruled over by the pagan king Cymbeline, through which Woden dug a very big ditch, and where Little Witches might hypnotize your sheep before hippy-hopping away over the nearest hedgerow...From the county's ancient gold and silver mints at Aylesbury to the furniture makers of High Wycombe - at least two of whom stuck around after death - local delicacies including the Buckinghamshire Bacon Badger to Augustinian monks catching devils in their shoes, Bucks might not have a particular reputation for being folky, but that's only because the county's people have been keeping quiet about it! Including performances of traditional folk songs Green Bushes and The Barley Mow by Ben and Eleanor, and Eleanor's haunting live performance of local folktale A Promise Kept with dramatic live underscoring, it's an evening to remember, interrupted by a pigeon and topped off with a Q&A session with our lovely live audience!We really hope you enjoy it, and will speak to you again on Monday for the penultimate episode of our Bonus Series Magic and Medicines, all about Familiars and Animal Magic!P.S. We recorded a whole second episode after the audience went home, during which we explored the museum's historic buildings and searched for ghosts between midnight and 2am. We still have work to do to edit it all together, but that decidedly spooky recording will be coming out on the Three Ravens Patreon during July!Three Ravens is an English myth and folklore podcast hosted by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England or Wales' 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of a traditional story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county - and Live Shows come out on Saturdays.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, for our 50th Lang Fairy Tales episode, it's time for another triple - and this trio of stories are ones most people might already know.The Ratcatcher is a fairly straight take on the Pied Piper of Hamelin, albeit with a Transylvanian Twist.The True History of Little Golden Hood marks the Lang's second attempt at Red Riding Hood - and it's pretty great!The Three Dwarfs meanwhile starts promisingly, though then becomes Toads and Diamonds, and for no good reason...We dig into each after the fact and discuss their strengths, weaknesses, and seeming subtexts. And hooray for grandmas who are also witches and not evil!We really hope you enjoy the stories and our chat about them, and will speak to you again on Saturday for our Buckinghamshire-themed Three Ravens Live Show, recorded last weekend at Chiltern Open Air Museum!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month on Magus we're discussing maybe the most influential wizard of all time, and a true original - it's only flippin' Merlin!We track his development through prehistory via the archetype of the "Lord of Ecstasy" - a deific entity who appears in mythologies from all over the world.In addition to exploring his British precedents in the form of the Northern and Scots Lowland wild man of the woods Lailoken and the Welsh version of that same character in the form of Myrddin Wyllt, we also marinade ourselves in the swell of "Arthurian" stories that rose and sloshed about across the Medieval era.After he's given the name 'Merlinus' by Geoffrey of Monmouth though, Merlin becomes central to not just tales of Camelot but the propaganda of a slew of European kings.We track how, across the British Isles, his identity continues to twist and mutate - befitting the Latin title of his forebears, homo silvaticus. Though at the same time, across the English Channel, the French and central European courts thought of Merlin as one of the great masters of 'Natural Magic.' Born of a demon and a virgin princess, to alchemists and occultists from Cornelius Agrippa to the Brotherhood of the Golden Dawn he was the first building block of an extensive and rigorous magical system which offered proponents God-like powers to shape reality.From Thomas Malory to Alfred Lord Tennyson, J.R.R. Tolkien to the Disney corporation, he is a cultural emblem whose meaning has only continued to shapeshift.Which is only appropriate really, when you think about it...Speak with you again on Thursday for another triple-bill of fairy tales and chats about them with The Ratcatcher and The True History of Little Golden Hood and The Three Dwarfs!Thumbnail cover art for this episode features "Volkhv" by Andrey Shishkin.Three Ravens is an English myth and folklore podcast hosted by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month's update episode we're chatting all about Midsummer - which is not the same thing as the Summer Solstice...After chewing through some key ideas to do with "Litha" from across different cultures, including the significance of St John's Eve and Day and the hunting of the mythical Fern Flower at the solar maximum, we share a bunch of our news and the opening chunks of May's two Patreon Exclusive episodes.First comes the opening 25 minutes of our special episode about The History and Folklore of Cosmetics, which is followed by the first part of our Film Club episode all about Ben Wheatley's 2013 Civil War-set psychotropic drama A Field in England.We really hope you enjoy this tasting menu and selection of Three Ravens bits and pieces, and lo, your cup floweth over, as today has ended up being a Double Release Day - Magus #11 about the magical life of the wizard Merlin is also out right now, so hope to speak to you on that one, too!Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcastREGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After our triple bonanza on Thursday, we've got just one fairy tale today: a Norwegian Cinderella fable called Kari Woodengown!With questionable fashion choices, an unappealing prince and the very best animal friend a girl could wish for, we very nearly gave Kari Woodengown three out of three ravens...but not quite.Still, it's an enjoyable adventure - though we should warn you that there's a brief mention of entrails, if you're squeamish!If you need us, we'll be in Bathland...We really hope you enjoy the story and our discussion about it, and we will speak to you again on Monday for a brand new episode of Magus all about the wizard Merlin!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's our first triple bill of stories from the Langs' Red Fairy Book today, and boy do we have a smorgasbord of fun little tales for you!Our first selection is The Voice of Death, a Romanian tale collected by Petre Ispirescu. It's a strange little tale which defies classification, even with the entire ATU Index at our backs. A little more philosophical than the usual, but one we both liked.We follow that one up with The Six Sillies, a story which has its origin in Belgium, and possibly one of Eleanor's favourite lines in a fairy tale ever.For the finale, we've got Drakestail, the legend of a brave little duck who roots out corruption with the aid of some odd but loyal friends!We hope you enjoy all three stories and our discussion about them, and we will speak to you again on Saturday with a longer story - the tale of Kari Woodengown!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keep watch for that Captain trying to slip you the King's Shilling, as on this month's episode of Forgotten Melodies we're talking all about Soldiers and Sailors!We're discussing two different kinds of broadside at once today - both ballads and rows of cannon, with explorations of the contexts of three old folk songs we've recorded.The first, William Taylor, sees us folding together two folk classics to have another bite at a familiar enough theme.The second, Stand By Your Guns, gives Eleanor cover to tell us all about canon management during the Napoleonic era.The third, The Soldier's Prayer, then skewers the grand irony of many songs sung by soldiers and sailors - they're often about peace!We - Ben, Eleanor and Martin - dig into each, and, around moistening our cannon holes and trying not to get shot, very much hope you enjoy the episode.Speak to you again on Thursday for our Lang Fairy Tale triple-bill featuring The Voice of the Devil, The Six Sillies, and Drakestail!The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A lovely, intimate Three Ravens Live event at Ditchling Bookshop.Opened by Amanda Smith on Valentine's Day in 2026, Ditchling Bookshop is an magical independent haven - and it has its own fairy museum!We discussed Sussex history and folklore, with particular reference to Ditchling, Westmeston and Plumpton. Our conversation ranges from the skyborne wisht hounds to cart-stopping witches and snake oil peddling cunning men, and there's a whole lot of puddings.Then, Eleanor reads her story 'Cuthman of Steyning and the Devil'...with the Devil voiced by Martin!We really hope you enjoy it, and we'll speak to you again on Monday, when we've got a new episode of Forgotten Melodies coming out, all about the songs of Soldiers and Sailors!Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcastREGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back at the mercy of Madam d'Aulnoy again today with a story of witch-foiled love between a naive princess and a fairy prince, Graciosa and Percinet.Rooted in 17th century French theatricality, this one has been made into pantomimes, plays, works of art from across the centuries, and it's also slightly tamer in the Lang version than the original.Ultimately though, does it all just boil down to being sooo pretty that men even come out of the past to solve all your problems for you?And isn't it true that being ugly just inherently makes you the worst?!? We really hope that you enjoy the story and our discussion round it, and we will speak to you again on Saturday with our show from last weekend recorded Live @ Ditchling Bookshop all about the folklore of East Sussex!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time to uncork the bottle of mythology and folklore to talk about a true English original - Imps!Beginning their lives as horticultural metaphors, the Anglo Saxon 'ympe' appears in all sorts of moralizing, overtly Christian texts, including those written by Alfred the Great - only by the 17th century if you had an imp of your own you could be hanged for the crime.How did this all come about?Well, it's a combination of several factors, including Bronze Age beliefs about Middle Eastern supernatural entities that haunted toilets, bed chambers, and windowsills, the stinking bogs and fens of Ireland and the British Isles, and Medieval explanations for the hierarchies of demons following Lucifer's rebellion against God.We track the imp's evolution from House Spirits made of dough, fed with milk and flour, through to the Witch Hunts of the English Republic, and the 19th century 'Imp Revival' as prompted by Romantic and Gothic literature, fairy stories, and Victorian satire.With a disgraceful number of puns (even more than last month!) and some really weird beliefs, as well as Eleanor reading some Old English, they may be tiny but we've gone in on Imps in a big way. Just don't tell the Witch Hunter General, who for some reason thinks we're keeping our mischievous familiars stashed in our armpits...We also hope you increasingly pleased by our new Bestiary episode art, as drawn by our good friend Tom Peteuil of Creature Castle - check out brand new Imp, Mermaid and Leprechaun merch here and visit the Creature Castle shop for prints and other wonderful things here.Speak to you again on Thursday for this week's Lang Fairy Tale, Graciosa and Percinet, and some no doubt spirited chat about it, before Saturday's Three Ravens Live episode, packed with Sussex folklore, as recorded at Ditchling Bookshop on 16th May!Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, we take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For today's episode we have something very special for you - a collaboration between Three Ravens and The History of England Podcast about 15 English Objects.Since St George's Day 2026 A Very English Chat has been encouraging respectful conversations to overcome growing hatred and division around our national identity.The brief is simple: what five objects - anecdotes, artefacts, emotional connections, films, food, landmarks, language, literature, music, nature, places, or people would you include within your own ‘Story of England'?Guests including Billy Bragg and Caroline Lucas have offered their selections of five English objects, and, from a Three Ravens perspective, when our friend and own of our major inspirations David Crowther of the History of England suggested we collaborate to offer our own two pence, we leapt at the opportunity!A Very English Chat is working to tackle England's fraying social fabric and growing polarisation by offering simple responses to potentially difficult and divisive questions about ‘What it means to be English in 2026.'The campaign asks people to identify five objects that signify what Englishness means to them today, using this idea as a starting point to make it easier to have respectful conversations around the subject.As such, we - Eleanor, David and Martin - each came ready to discuss, in less than 45 minutes, our own five favourite examples of 'English Things' - all without comparing notes.Before long, as you will hear, common themes start to emerge about sweetness, curiosity, enterprise, rebellion, and endurance.But of the 15 objects we've chosen, which is the best?And, are we as a trio all destined to get diabetes?!?We really hope you enjoy the episode, and will speak to you again on Monday with a new episode of the Three Ravens Bestiary all about the history and folklore of Imps!Learn more about and listen to The History of England.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two more tales from the Langs' Red Fairy Book in this episode: The Little Good Mouse and The Three Princesses of Whiteland.The Little Good Mouse is a Madame d'Aulnoy literary fairy tale with questionable morals, dreadful kings and...turkeys? The Three Princesses of Whiteland, on the other hand, is a Norwegian story collected by Asbjornsen and Moe. Its themes are quite familiar from previous tales like Soria Moria Castle and of course East of the Sun and West of the Moon, but it has some pretty original elements too.Afterwards, we discuss and rate the stories, question curious plot twists and inexplicable happenings, and generally appreciate two lesser known entries in the fairy tale canon. We really hope that you enjoy them, and we will speak to you again on Saturday for A Very British Chat with the wonderful David Crowther!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This new episode of Magic and Medicines has perhaps been a long time coming - we're finally talking all about Wicca!We trace earlier ideas which informed the path scholars call a 'magico-religion' back to the early 19th century, when historians first hypothesised about the existing of an ancient, secret witch cult.Through texts like Charles Leland's Aradia, via Frazer's The Golden Bough, to the highly influential (if historically dubious) work of Margaret Murray, we arrive in the melting pot of secret societies and orders which emerged from Western esotericism in the first part of the 20th century.Although such theories left most members of the Folklore Society cold, they thoroughly inspired Gerald Gardner, and the development of what would become Wicca began.It's a twisty, turny journey, with witch traditions of dubious ancient origin, Cones of Power, and many, many breakaway branches, all the way through to sparkling Geocities sites, teen witches, and the rich, eclectic patchwork that is international Wicca today. We really hope you enjoy the episode, and we will speak to you again on Thursday with another double bill of Lang Tales!Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Local Legends Martin is chatting with author, historian and globally-renowned fairy expert Dr Simon Young.After training as a Medieval Historian, Simon gradually became a 'Supernaturalist' - someone who spends a lot of time collecting and comparing data, often from historical sources, detailing interactions between human beings and the supernatural. From boggarts to fairies, Simon's research and several wonderful books have identified a number of changes in beliefs over time - not least the point at which fairies suddenly grew wings.Fairytales meanwhile are a whole other thing, and not something Simon has spent much time with since his own childhood. So, what does the fairy expert recognise and respond to in the stories of the Red Fairy Book of Nora and Andrew Lang? Which are his favourite stories from the set, and why? Moreover, what else might these 'tales' be doing, as distinct from 'legends' about similar subjects?We very much hope that you enjoy the conversation, and will speak to you again on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday this coming week - as per usual!Read Simon's British Mythology Substack: https://britishmythology.substack.com/Complete the Fairy Census: https://www.fairyist.com/survey/The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's Lang Fairy Tale episode features another pair from the Red Fairy Book: The Wonderful Birch and Jack and the Beanstalk.The Wonderful Birch is a lesser known Cinderella story with some truly bizarre details, a messy timeline, and some fairly eyebrow-raising logic. It's a Russian tale which may not score very highly in our brand new fairy tale ratings...Still, if The Wonderful Birch left us slightly bewildered, we're surely on safer ground with Jack and the Beanstalk? Although it's an English classic fairy tale, the version the Langs chose to include in this collection features a moralising justification for castle-robbing Jack's actions...We discuss the stories and their history and tale types too - and listen out for Martin's Giantess voice, because you might just hear Eleanor dying of laughter in the background!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this month's episode of Magus we're raising up the Divine Feminine and discussing the life and works of Dion Fortune!Both Violet Mary Firth in Llandudno in Welsh Caernarfonshire, she claimed always to be from Yorkshire - just like the claimed she could astral project, psychically communicate with the living and the dead, and seek advice within the Otherworld from the Illuminati of 'Hidden Masters.' After entering womanhood during the Great War, serving as a Land Girl, and training as a pioneering psychotherapist, Dion Fortune, as an alter-ego, emerged both in fiction and 'non-fiction' to explode patriarchal traditions within occult circles.Her cult, which grew to tens of thousands in the 1930s, then claimed to have raised the soul of King Arthur who, working alongside Winston Churchill and the Virgin Mary, helped Dion to topple Fascism.Did she believe some out-there stuff? Absolutely. Was she a fraud? Well, that's harder to say, but from psychic duels with hypnotist headmistresses to ropes of ectoplasm, battles with vampires to creative approaches to inter-personal relationships, this is her magical life, and we hope you find it inspiring! Speak with you again on Thursday for a double-bill of fairy tales and chats about them with "The Wonderful Birch" and "Jack and the Bean Stalk."Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Maytide mischief continues with today's release - a live conversation with Dr Christina Oakley-Harrington, founder of Treadwell's Books.Treadwell's is an esoteric bookshop in London specializing in occult and spiritual topics like magic, witchcraft, and world religions.We were thrilled to return to one of our favourite places in London for a light-hearted discussion about May Day folklore, stories and traditions. We really hope you enjoy the conversation, which travels from rural Ireland to ancient Mesopotamia, and has the very best tips for getting (and keeping) all the butter in your village, along with a live audience Q & A.We'll speak to you again on Monday, when we've got a new episode of Magus coming out, all about Dion Fortune! Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcastREGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month's update episode we're chatting all about Beltane - which is happening right now - as well as "Need Fires" and why they're so special.After recapping the key traditions associated with Beltane, and discussing the wider traditions of using 'Virgin Flames' to purify livestock and people, we share a bunch of our news, two awesome pieces of music sent in by listeners, and we have also included the opening chunks of March's two Patreon Exclusive episodes.First comes the opening 25 minutes of Nine Sacred Trees #1: Birch, which is followed by the first part of our Film Club episode all about Val Guest's 1955 British-American sci-fi movie The Quatermass Xperiment.We really hope you enjoy the fun mix and blend, and will speak to you tomorrow on our Three Ravens Live Show all about Maytide Folklore recorded at Treadwells Books in London!Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcastREGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Lang Fairy Tale episode for today is a double bill, The Enchanted Pig and The Norka.The Enchanted Pig is a very well known Romanian folk tale, which appears in many different forms, and it's a whole lot of fun! The story compares to East of the Sun and West of the Moon - and possibly wins out against it? Collected by the father of Romanian folklore Petre Ispirescu, we think it's one of the good ones.We follow that on with The Norka, which the Langs took from one of Alexander Afanasyev's many collections of Ukrainian and Russian tales. If you're wondering what a 'norka' is, you might not leave the story any the wiser, though it's an excellent adventure with palaces hidden in eggs, helpful birds, and quite possibly a polyamorous wedding at the end.As ever, we talk about the stories, their history and their tale types - and try out a few more silly voices for our collection!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rise up comrade, and rage against the machine, as on this month's episode of Forgotten Melodies we're talking about Protest Songs!With Eleanor still recovering from her operation, we brought back-up this time, in the shape of Katie Sommers, Eleanor's long-time partner in puppet theatre company Rust & Stardust. If you're a regular listener than you will hear Katie's singing voice regularly, but on this episode she speaks!What about? Well, three different songs exploring three different historical causes of protests in England!The first, Goose and the Common, is all about land rights and enclosure.The second, Rigs of the Times, is about profiteering - originally following the French Revolution.The third, The Blackleg Miner, is about strike breaking.Along the way, we - Katie, Ben, Eleanor and Martin - all discuss various aspects of these protest songs, things we feel like protesting, and protest movements in general - and we very much hope you enjoy the episode!Speak to you again on Thursday for our Lang Fairy Tale double-bill featuring The Enchanted Pig and Norka before Friday's May Update Episode and Saturday's Three Ravens Live recording from our appearance last month at Treadwells Books!The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this week's very special, seasonally appropriate Local Legends episode we have something really special for you - a good long chat with Philip Carr-Gomm!Philip lives locally to us here in Sussex in Southern England, and is a psychologist, psychotherapist, and author who served as the Chosen Chief of The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) for 32 years. He is widely recognized for his work in blending modern psychology with Druidry and nature-based spirituality, and if only for The Book of English Magic he deserves everyone's thanks and praise.With May Day/Beltane coming up fast, this chat sees Martin and Philip reflecting on some big topics, including how Philip's childhood and teenage training in Druidry opened his eyes up to wider spiritual worlds, the legacy of Iolo Morganwg, the Push-Pull nature of Gurus and Ashrams, the afterlife of Philip's mentor Ross Nichols, UFOs, astral projection, and much more besides.We truly hope that you enjoy it, and will speak to you again on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday this coming week - it's gonna be a big one!Visit Philip's website: https://philipcarr-gomm.comThe Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Lang Fairy Tale for today is another Madame d'Aulnoy story, Princess Rosette. Also known in some places as The King of the Peacocks or The Black and the White Bride, it's packed full of whimsy, but what is it actually about?We get lists of fun foods and wonderful creatures, sojourn with side characters with nothing to do, and end up with a kind of take on The Goose Girl.Considering d'Aulnoy is most known for writing fairy tales for adults, and coined the term 'Fairy Tale' in the first place, perhaps she knew better what ought to go into one.Then again, should you lock your children up in towers for all their lives? Or impulsively decide to marry a ruler of birds?Also, what the heck is a cockchafer?!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's that coming over the hill with fists full of sheep and improbably large trousers on? It's a new episode of Three Ravens Bestiary of course, all about the mythology and folklore of Giants!We begin with a brief chat about Gigantism, the rare medical condition which makes people grow larger than normal - and other examples of very large human ancestors, from extremely tall Egyptian pharaohs and Roman Centurions to the Gravettian Hunters - the 'Giants of the Ice Age.'Soon though we're digging into appropriately enormous questions, such as, how tall are Giants actually meant to be? What do we know about the first Giant mentioned in writing, and how did we get from concepts of the snake-tailed Ancient Greek 'Gigantes' of classical mythology to the 19th century concept of Giants as blundering nitwits easily bested by things as simple as holes in the ground?Surprise surprise, there's something about the whole idea related to how 'modern people' view the past, and the foreign, whether that be in the case of David slaying Goliath, Heracles helping Zeus and his siblings to quell rebellions, or Norse deities using the corpse of a giant to build the world around us...Featuring one or two puns, and a whole host of other stuff - such as apotropaic giant magic, a gender-swapping relationship counsellor, and plenty of linguistic nerdery from all over the world, it's a big topic, but like many warriors before us we've brought it down to our level!We also hope you are thoroughly pleased by our new episode art, as drawn by our good friend Tom Peteuil of Creature Castle - check out brand new 'G is for Giants' merch from us here and visit the Creature Castle shop for prints and other wonderful things here.Speak to you again on Thursday for this week's Lang Fairy Tale, Princess Rosette, before Saturday's Local Legends interview with the man who was head of the largest Druid order in the world for 35 years, Philip Carr-Gomm!Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, we take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our first Three Ravens Live Show release of 2026 we have a recording from Farnham Literary Festival in March, all about the history and folklore of Surrey! Recorded at Farnham Town Hall, a stone's throw from the town's Norman castle, we begin by offering a whistle-stop tour of the ways in which the historic county of Surrey has been shaped by conflicts, including Bronze Age tribal clashes, Viking invasions, and the seemingly unstoppable growth of neighbouring Greater London.Despite the county having traditionally been overlooked in terms of its folklore and folktales, this episode is packed to the gunnels, from the legacy of local witch Mother Ludlam to the dragon converted to Christianity by St Martha, the eerily haunted natural spring known as 'The Silent Hill' to persistent horse demons, eccentrics buried upside-down, the Devil's various doings in the county, and much more besides!For our story, Eleanor transports us to Chertsey during the Wars of the Roses for a romance that stopped time - The Legend of Blanche Heriot - underscored by Martin doing his best with bells, cymbals and coconuts, after which we discuss the story's provenance and open the floor for a Q&A pleasingly enlivened by contributions from The Farnham Folklore Society.Thank you so much to everyone who came along, Farnham Town Council for hosting the event, and if you would like to come and see us recording Three Ravens Live at one of our upcoming events then do please take a look at our Events Calendar and book yourself some tickets!We really hope you enjoy the episode, and will speak to you again on Monday for a new episode of the Three Ravens Bestiary all about the history and mythology of Giants!Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For today's Lang Fairy Tales episode we have a tale with its very own ATU number - The Master Thief! First recorded, to our knowledge, by Herodotus in the 5th century B.C. the story became popular in Europe due to a single writer in the Italian Renaissance who popularised the "Rise Tale" - the story of someone from a more modest background outwitting the rich to become rich themselves.In this case, with the Langs taking their version from Asbjørnsen and Moe, we have a youngest son who is a trickster, cross-dresser, huntsman, passable fake corpse, and torturer of priests.Is he a hero? Perhaps not - but is that perhaps the point, with European society being so unfairly organised that only the deceitful can succeed within it?Naturally we have a chat about all that, and about the story's clear roots in commedia dell'arte, at the end.If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back in the saddle after Eleanor's operation and talking all about the history of Exorcism! One of those complex kinds of topic we so enjoy discussing on Magic and Medicines, belief in Exorcism is rather predicated on personal faith, including in Demons or other supernatural entities. It's also a tradition impossible to separate from the seminal movie The Exorcist of 1973 due to that film's staggering cultural impact. Thing is, Exorcism is a practice which seems to predate the written word. Almost every world religion has a version of it, with several forms of modern Paganism also embracing concepts of spirit manipulation and cleansing.So, how should we think of Exorcism as distinct from what's contained in The Exorcist?Why is it quite so popular with Catholics, and was it always?Can anybody become an Exorcist, and what protects vulnerable people from being taken advantage of by hucksters and worse? Also, should we not be thinking about Jesus and his Twelve Disciples as Exorcists, considering Exorcism is one of the things they are most celebrated for in the Gospels?Does this, in turn, mean many heroes of mystic Jewish tradition were actually the first Ghostbusters?As ever, we really hope you enjoy the episode and we will speak to you again on Thursday with our new Lang Fairy Tales episode before Saturday's release of Three Ravens Live @ Farnham Literary Festival!Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And we finish our week of releases with another double bill - including one story that's pretty great, and another that loses its way a bit... The more successful of the two is the first Irish legend to feature in the Lang collections, The Black Thief and Knight of the Glen, performed by Martin, which is a shaggy dog story featuring thrilling flights of fancy and a surprisingly clever plot.Then comes Brother and Sister, read by Eleanor, which is a tale of two dipstick siblings who opt not to become tigers.It has a ghost, as well - albeit the payoff to that whole section feels pretty lame, so thank goodness the story is at least mercifully short!We of course get into this, along with the whole issue the Langs seemed to have with stepmothers.Why?!Answers on a postcard, please!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's episode of the Lang Fairy Tale Project we have a double bill! First comes Soria Moria Castle, performed by Eleanor, which feels like a story built out of parts of other possibly better tales. Does it have original things to offer, besides a witch with a nose so long she can stir soup with it?Then it's time for The Death of Koschei The Deathless, read by Martin, which features many elements listeners might recognise from Eleanor's telling of Vasilisa The Brave over Christmas.Yet in this original translation, despite some awesome writing, seems to miss out key elements of this very famous story. We chat about all this at the end of the episode, and wonder if Baba Yaga could ever really be so easily dispatched...If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our April 2026 episode of Magus we're plunging elbow-deep into the Enlightenment to talk about the magical life of Sir Isaac Newton!Arriving on this planet during the first few months of the English Civil War, Newton was abandoned by his mother, raised by his dead father's parents, and was a vengeful, mischievous child.After a fist-fight in a churchyard during his early teens Newton turned things around, becoming the top student at his local Grammar School, earning a scholarship to Trinity College Cambridge. The standard view of Newton's life was then that, while refusing to complete his training to become a priest, he also made some of the most important discoveries in all of physics. What people speak less of is his occult life, which remained hidden until the 1930s.For Newton laboured for 27 years seeking the Philosopher's Stone, translating the works of Hermes Trismegistus, reading myths and legends and alchemical formulae, and doing terrible things to his own health.A tale of secretive obsessions, heretical beliefs, and monk-like solitude, as Keynes said of him, "He was not the first of the Age of Reason by the Last of the Magicians."We really hope you enjoy! Speak with you again on Thursday for a double-bill of fairy tales and chats about them with "Soria Moria Castle" and "The Death of Koschei the Deathless."Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Lang Fairy Tale Project continues with a well-known classic, The Twelve Dancing Princesses.Should stargazers be allowed to turn invisible and hang out in young ladies' bedrooms? This is a question rather ducked by The Brother's Grimm, and it remains unanswered in Nora and Andrew Lang's "Red Fairy Book."Martin performs the story today, after which we dig into it. For example, should it be desirable to have 'velvet eyes'? Surely that would be horrifying for everyone?!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Lang Fairy Tale Project is BACK - although we're mixing things up with a new format for The Red Fairy Book.Rather than just reading the stories then saving our thoughts about them all for a big chat at the end we're now reading the stories to one another and discussing them episode by episode.We begin by setting some context - especially around Andrew Lang only contributing one tale to this entire collection, with the rest of the work undertaken by his wife, Nora, and a small army of female translators.Eleanor then reads "The Princess Mayblossom" which is a story translated from a French original by Madame d'Aulnoy from 1697.In her classic style, it's an example of an Animal Bride tale.Yet said bride never turns into an animal.Which makes no sense.To untangle things a bit, we then have a conversation about the story and the things which stood out to us about it, including the high points, the low points, and explore what we think this story might be trying to tell us about human nature...If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this month's update episode we're chatting all about April Fool's Day - which is happening right now!After recapping the key traditions associated with Spring pranking from Scotland to Iran, we share a bunch of our news, including about our new FREE digital magazine, Quarters!The first edition, The Fool, is 72-pages long and includes interviews with Ben Edge, Rory Waterman, and tonnes of cool seasonal stuff we really hope will inspire you to feel creative and hopeful across the weeks ahead. We also share updates about our next book Three Ravens Ghost Tales, the cover for which we will reveal TOMORROW, share word of our upcoming Live Shows in April, May and June, and we have of course included the opening chunks of our two Patreon Exclusive episodes from across March.These teasers are the first 25 minutes of our chunky discussion about the history and the contents of The Mabinogion, the foundational text of Welsh mythology and culture, which is followed by the opening part of our March Film Club episode about Ridley Scott's 1985 fantasy adventure film Legend.We really hope you enjoy this smorgasbord of audio delights, and speak to you tomorrow on the first episode of our new series of The Lang Fairy Tales on which we will be retelling and discussing the stories collected in The Red Fairy Book assembled by Victorian linguists Nora and Andrew Lang.Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We may have missed releasing the episode on St Patrick's Day, but it's always happy hour somewhere!On this month's episode of Forgotten Melodies we're priming the pubs and pouring out several rounds of refreshing chat about Drinking Songs - while also discussing the history of alehouses in Britain!The new arrangements of classic Drinking Songs in this episode include Bring Us In Good Ale, All For Me Grog and The Barley Mow, with Ben finally cutting loose with the spoons he received as a gift for Christmas!From the first recorded taverns in these islands, built and frequented by the Romans, through to stage coaches and the era of Inns, the 18th century Gin Craze through to the pubs we know and love today, it might get a bit woozy, but don't worry - we'll make sure you get home safe.Plus, Ben has included a quiz this time, all about pub terminology!We really hope you enjoy it and will speak to you again on Wednesday for our April Update episode!The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The final of the three very special interviews Martin conducted with some of the biggest names in Welsh folklore and ghostlore, in this episode it's this inspirational Peter Stevenson!As we chat about from the outset, Peter is, as far as anyone we know of can tell, the greatest living authority on Welsh folk tales. Author of books including Welsh Folk Tales, Welsh Folk Tales for Young and Old, Welsh Folk Tales of Land and Sea, and Moon-Eyed People, about the Welsh diaspora in America, Peter has been working in folk art, music and storytelling for his entire career.He is perhaps best known in some quarters as an illustrator. Some know him as a fine artist. Others perhaps know him as a filmmaker. Either way, his preoccupations with three themes unite his work - landscape, people, and story.In this ranging chat, Peter discusses his life and career, his perspective on the country he calls home, and the very nature of 'Otherness.' From ghost stories to ladies who decide to live in the No Man's Land between sea and cliff, the Mari Lwyd to the important of music to Welsh folk culture, we hope you enjoy the chat and feel inspired by Peter's favourite Welsh folk tales of all.Afterwards, Eleanor and Martin take a moment to unpack some final reflections we've come to across Series 7, try to pronounce the longest place name in all of Wales, and sign off with a big thank you to our entire community of listeners and all the people who have helped us learn all we have along the way.We really hope you our series about Wales has been as fun for you as it has been for us, and will speak to you again on Monday for this month's Forgotten Melodies Bonus Episode all about Drinking Songs, including new versions of Bring Us In Good Ale, All For Me Grog, and The Barley Mow, arranged and performed by us!Visit Peter's website: https://www.peterstevensonarts.co.uk/The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second of three very special interviews with some of the biggest names in Welsh folklore and ghostlore, in this episode it's author, folklorist and collector of antique Welsh texts, Dr Delyth Badder!As we discuss at the outset, we learned of Delyth's work through her book The Folklore of Wales: Ghosts, which came out the year Three Ravens launched. Her co-author, Mark Norman of The Folklore Podcast, spoke of it way back in Series 5 when he was our Local Legends guest for the English county of Devon. Finally, Martin had a good excuse to invite Delyth for a chat, and in this interview she shares her own story - including that of the haunted home she grew up in - along with her journey from medicine and pathology into folklore studies.She shares her favourite examples of Welsh folklore, unpacks what she thinks separate and unite the English and the Welsh, and unpacks the Afanc for us finally, making sense of that bizarre crocodile/beaver hybrid who, it turns out, is not at all a crocodile or a beaver...Also including Delyth's top recommendations for books and podcasts covering Welsh folklore, places to visit and ideas to bear in mind, we then finish with an extra little bit at the end where Eleanor and Martin discuss the challenges of understanding Welsh maps pre-Henry VIII. We really hope you enjoy the episode, and speak to you again on Saturday for the concluding part of the trilogy - a chat with multi-award winning author, storyteller and illustrator Peter Stevenson!Visit Delyth's website: https://folklorewales.com/The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first of three very special interviews with some of the biggest names in Welsh folklore and ghostlore, in this episode it's author, journalist, cultural historian and self-proclaimed punk, Mark Rees!We begin with some merry badinage, discussing who Mark is and unpacking some of the important lessons we've learned from him and others across Series 7 - though the main event is a lovely chat that starts in Mark's home town of Port Talbot, via Mark's 'Lost Years' as a punk, through to the blossoming of his astonishing career as a D.I.Y. journalist, broadcaster, researcher, and author of wonderful books on the cultural history and legends of Wales.At the same time, inspired by an early love of Ghostbusters, Mark has been chasing down spooks for a while now - and not just in newspaper archives. He has uncovered things, including new details in the Rhonda Street Poltergeist case, the Cursed Wall of Margam, which is now top secret and thoroughly locked away, and a real life Scooby Doo case about a Welsh dog that genuinely caught a ghost.We're talking about what Mark thinks unites the Welsh and the English, and about those things that separate us. About the places in Wales he thinks people should go to and why, and about the people who inspired him, from Dylan Thomas and the 'Graveyard Poet' Thomas Gray to Peter Underwood.With an extra little bit at the end where Eleanor and Martin both share regrets about things they got wrong across Series 7, and a big announcement about our third book, we really hope you enjoy the episode. Speak to you again on Thursday for the second part of the trilogy - a chat with author, folklorist and expert pathologist Dr Delyth Badder!Visit Mark's website: https://markreesonline.com/about/ The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this week's Local Legends interview, Eleanor is chatting with author Francesca Simon MBE.We were pretty amazed when Francesca agreed to join us - she's very well known, the author of over 60 books, including the award-winning Horrid Henry series.Henry and his horrid exploits are hardly the only string to Francesca's bow, though. She's written a lot of other fiction too, often inspired by mythology, like The Sleeping Army and The Lost Gods. One of her books, The Monstrous Child, based on Norse mythology, was adapted into an opera which premiered at the Royal Opera House.What a lovely coincidence, then, that Francesca's most recent book, Salka, is a gorgeous retelling of Carmarthenshire's most famous legend, the tale of the faerie woman of Llyn y Fan Fach.A tragic romance dealing with the bitter consequences of not being truly understood, Salka is Francesca's version of a tale which has been told and retold many times, and always in slightly different ways. Unusually, Francesca first adapted the story as a cantata, 2022's The Faerie Bride, which premiered at the Aldeburgh Music Festival for two voices, choir and symphony, but the story still had a hold on her - and so Salka was born.Francesca and I had an excellent chat about writing, opera, and the magic of the place which inspired Francesca, drawing out the presence of the ocean in her work, which has captivated her since her childhood spent on the beaches of California, to Carmarthenshire's enchanting fairy lake.So gather round the Three Ravens fire and listen in, for a chat about a tale with a very long shadow, and the life and career of a true Local Legend: Francesca Simon.We really hope you enjoy this episode, and will speak to you again on Monday for a special interview with Mark Rees of the Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast!The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this month's episode of the Three Ravens Bestiary we're talking all about Leprechauns, hot on the heels of St Patrick's Day!We begin by setting some context, particularly around the cultural changes that took place across the 19th century in Ireland, from the sensational success of Thomas Moore's Irish Melodies in 1808 via the "Great Hunger" of the mid-century up to the birth of the Gaelic League.During this Celtic Revival, and spurred on by the success of Sir Walter Scott, this period in Irish life saw the Leprechaun reborn - though not as the cutesy, bright green gnome we're familiar with today, but as a "solitary fairy" famous for mending shoes and being, at best, amoral.Yet, is this new conception of the Leprechaun really all that Irish? Might they have more in common with the Scottish Redcap or the Welsh and Cornish 'Coblyn' and 'Knocker' fairies than the Lucky Charms marshmallow-hoarding cereal mascot?To find out, we leap back to the very start of the Leprechaun's story, from the water sprites known as "little people" in 8th century legends via a raft of Medieval sagas which give Leprechauns an all-new origin story.Could they in fact really be the withered remnants of Celtic gods, also written of in Wales and Gaul and Roman Britain, reshaped by the shame of defeat?As usual, expect deep dives into obscure places, monsters so terrible they fix your face into a mask of terror, and a bunch of linguistics as well. So if you can't hear one tapping away, mending shoes in your nearest hedgerow, we're offering the next best thing.Without the risk of your wishes crumbling to leaves or dust right before your eyes...Speak to you again on Saturday for Eleanor's Local Legends interview about Carmarthenshire with author Francesca Simon MBE!Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcastREGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our final County Episode of Series 7 we're chatting about the heritage and folklore of the largest Welsh historic county, Carmarthenshire! A county that still exists, it's home to one of the truly ancient settlements of Britain, Carmarthen, which continues to thrive today having been consistently occupied since the Bronze Age.Elsewhere on this bumper-sized season finale we're talking about the county's highs and its lows, its many ghost stories, terrifying river monsters, contributions to Welsh identity - including the codification of Welsh national dress - and much more besides.We're stopping by ancient tombs, Merlin's birthplace, paying our respects to the bones of Dylan Thomas, discussing the erased marginalia of Wales' oldest book, bat demons that hatch out of rocks at New Year, and perhaps the most famous legend in all of Wales - one that recurs in all 13 Welsh historic counties though firmly rooted in CarmarthenshireIt's this tale that inspired our Local Legends guest for this week, Francesca Simon MBE, to write her new novel inspired by this same story.Some call it "The Lady in the Lake of Llyn y Fan Fach." Some called it "The Three Blows." For her version, Eleanor has called it "Farewell to the Lake" and it's a cracking conclusion to our new tellings of the folk tales of Wales.We sincerely hope that you enjoy the episode, and will speak to you again on Thursday for our brand new, seasonally-appropriate episode of the Three Ravens Bestiary all about Leprechauns!Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, we take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode of Local Legends Martin is chatting with award-winning broadcaster, anthropologist and author Will Millard. Will has presented major BBC Two anthropology series, including Hunters of the South Seas and the BAFTA-Cymru award-winning My Year With The Tribe, where he lived with the Korowai people of West Papua. His work for BBC Wales focuses on British heritage, including series on rivers, urban exploration, and history.He is also an international best-selling author. His debut, The Old Man and the Sand Eel chronicles a journey across Britain to reconnect Will with his fishing roots, and The Way of the Hermit has become a viral success on both sides of the Atlantic. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and has received awards from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for his remote field research.As you can imagine, Will is a busy person – learn more here – though the reason I especially wanted to speak with him is the series Hidden Wales he made, with the BBC, along with Hidden Cardiff as well.This week we have been talking about Merionethshire – not a famous historic Welsh county, and not one where a whole tonne of folk tale scholarship has been done for over 50 years. So Will was very brave coming onto Local Legends for this conversation, but as you will here, the things he has to say about the area are fascinating – you are in for a real treat!As such, gather in close around the Three Ravens campfire and let's listen in to a chat about a county that no longer exists – Merionethshire – including its monuments, incredibly deep mines and quarries, its flooded places, and much more besides...We really hope you enjoy this episode, and will speak to you again on Monday for our final County Episode of our folkloric tour of Wales, all about the historic county of Carmarthenshire!The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get ready for some vigorous shaking of bottles, because in today's episode of Magic and Medicine we're talking all about Homeopathy and Herbal Medicine!Although herbal medicine has very deep roots, stretching back to Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China, theories about disease and its transmission have been pretty varied over time.From foul, stinking miasmas to the adorably named 'animalcules', mysterious lichen and even the humble cup of coffee, ideas about the causes of disease have certainly evolved.In the 19th century, a time of cholera epidemics, bloodletting, leeches and other sticky things, a doctor named Samuel Hahnemann began experimenting with the system he would develop into homeopathic medicine.Almost from its beginnings, homeopathy has attracted a storm of criticism - quite the backlash, in fact, for a manner of treatment which is gentle, holistic, and plant-based!Our discussion covers the history and politics of homeopathy, the memory of water, the effect of modern austerity measures on the alternative medicine community, and the many people who have sought to prove that it really is all just nonsense!Unlike Hahnemann's remedies, though, we promise this one isn't diluted...We really hope you enjoy the episode and we will speak to you again on Saturday with our new Local Legends interview with the wonderful Will Millard!Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On our penultimate County Episode of Three Ravens Series 7 we're off to the heartland of Welsh language-speaking in Merionethshire! Abolished in 1974, its flag, showing three goats rampant above the dawning sun, still flies in the area, which is filled with monuments like Harlech Castle, Tomen y Mur, some of the deepest slate mines in Wales, and a town guarded by demonic flaming cartwheels. Taking its name from the founder of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, its most famous saint founded a monastery on an island now filled with the bones of 20,000 saints. On its most famous mountain Idris the giant once watched the stars and threw loads of stones about. In its deepest lake lives Teggie, the Welsh version of the Loch Ness monster - and there's indications she actually exists!Including excerpts from this Saturday's Local Legends guest writer and broadcaster Will Millard, host of BBC's Hidden Wales, we'll talk you through it - from the strangeness of Port Merion to the shimmering wonder of the Dolgellau Gold Belt and beyond.Then we come to Martin's story for this week, "The Werewolf of Gellilydan" which is a one of a kind Victorian legend that might just unsettle you...We hope that you enjoy the episode, and will speak to you again on Thursday with our brand new episode of Magic and Medicines all about Holistic and Herbal Healing!Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, we take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode of Local Legends Eleanor is chatting with anthropologist and author of The Folklore of The Tanat Valley, Dr Jack Hunter, all about Montgomeryshire.In addition to being an academic, teacher and very prolific writer, Jack has a fascinating variety of research interests. He's explored spirit possession and shamanism, he's a research fellow for the Parapsychology Foundation, and he's involved in the Fairy Investigation Society too. Jack takes an immersive approach to research, fully involving himself in experiences in order to study them. That includes, in the course of his PhD at the University of Bristol, an ethnographic study of contemporary trance and physical mediumship.We talked about Spiritualism, and seances - and yes, a fair bit of ectoplasm too!Jack is currently a tutor with the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, and on the University of Wales MAs in Ecology and Spirituality and Cultural Astronomy and Astrology. As if all that wasn't enough to keep him busy, he also tutors on Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology at the Alef Trust.We had a great chat about the history and stories about an often overlooked part of Wales. Find out more about Jack at jack-hunter.yourwebsitespace.com. We really hope you enjoy this episode, and we will speak to you again on Monday as well for our next County Episode, all about the historic county of Merionethshire!The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcastREGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this month's episode of Magus we're going Medieval and talking about the one and only Sibyl of the Rhine, Hildegard of Bingen!Born at the tail end of the 11th century, during the religious fervor following the First Crusade, Hildegard was given to an order of Benedictine monks through a pretty strange quirk in the Holy Roman Empire's tax code. Even in infancy however she reported visions of the "Living Light" - a supernatural spiritual phenomenon that revealed to her occult truths about the real ways the Universe functioned.Maintaining the secret of her revelations until the age of 42, she then spent the next four decades writing trance-inducing musical compositions, books of trailblazing philosophy, and the earliest surviving mystery play, as well as overseeing the construction of two convents, arguing with Frederick Barbarossa, becoming the first named female artist in history, and so much more.A pioneering herbologist, crystal healer, and 'White Witch' who sought to heal the cosmos through 'balancing' the individual, did she really commune with the Living Light to enable her discoveries, or was she simply a migraine suffering bookworm who pulled the wool over people's eyes?If so, where did all of her knowledge actually come from, and how much of it has proven to still be scientifically valuable over 800 years after her death?Also, after her music and created language, Lingua Ignota, were rediscovered during the 19th century occult revival, could it be that society is only now catching up with the implications of her work? Loosen your hair, pin on a white silk veil, and lets sing divine arias until we lose consciousness.Either that or just kick back and listen into to the Music of the Spheres, as this is one of those episodes that may just offer you a route to commune with the divine... We really hope you enjoy it, and Eleanor will speak with you again on Saturday for this week's Local Legends episode all about Montgomeryshire with author, anthropologist and pursuer of the paranormal Dr Jack Hunter!Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcastREGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode we're winning like Gwenwynwyn and exploring the historic Welsh county of Montgomeryshire!We talk medieval drama in the early days of the kingdom of Powys Wenwynwyn, up to the creation of Montgomeryshire and the crowning of Owain Glyndwr as Prince of all Wales.Digging up some shiny trinkets along our way, we gaze at the highest waterfall in the UK, Pistyll Rhaeaedr, and row our boat down the once glorious Montgomery Canal.Better be on the lookout for danger though, because the fearsome Red Bandits are on the loose, along with some suspicious blue goblins, a flying viper, not to mention a saint who might just be a giant!Then we delve into The Mabinogi for the inspiration for Eleanor's story, "A Strange Arrangement", based on the legend of Blodeuwedd.We hope that you enjoy the episode, and we will speak to you again on Thursday with our brand new episode of Magus all about Hildegard of Bingen!Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, we take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcastREGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month's update episode we're chatting all about St David's Day - which is happening right now!After recapping the key traditions associated with St David's Day, and Ostara, the pagan sabbat which takes place at the Vernal Equinox, and a bunch of our news, we have included the opening chunks of February's Patreon Exclusive episodes.Before which we ended up talking about the new Wuthering Heights movie for about ten minutes... we're easily sidetracked!These teasers include the first bit of conclusion to Eleanor's long gestated Spenser & Associates mystery "The Shadow of the Hell Bitch" and part of our witch-tastic Film Club episode all about Ken Russell's 1971 historical-horror-drama The Devils.We really hope you enjoy this smorgasbord of audio delights, and speak to you tomorrow on our next County Episode all about the heritage and folklore of the historic Welsh county of Montgomeryshire!Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcastREGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode of Local Legends Martin is chatting with the author of The A-Z of Curious Flintshire, local historian David Rowe. Born and raised in Tyneside, David's love affair with Flintshire started fairly innocuously at first, as he explains in this conversation, but before long it had become clear he was addicted.While having a wife and family, and working for long periods overseas, including in Scandinavia and the Middle East, David set to studying, and researching, and became such a fixture of Flintshire's Local Historical that some people think he actually knows everything there is to know about the place.He has written three books, has completed so many acts of service, and his work is genuinely inspiring. When it came to this county there was nobody else we wanted to speak to. Thank goodness that, at almost 80 years old, David was willing to carve out some time - and what an interview!We really hope you enjoy this episode, do check back tomorrow for our March Update Episode, and we will speak to you again on Monday as well for our next County Episode, all about the historic county of Montgomeryshire!The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcastREGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's your favourite Love Song?On this month's episode of Forgotten Melodies, to cap off February, we're chatting about our own, and digging into and performing three iconic folk songs about love. These new arrangements are of Cupid the Pretty Plough Boy, Green Bushes and No John No, including our friend Katie Sommers singing soprano parts, plus Martin, Ben and Eleanor chatting about the history and context of each tune.From the roots of the Love Ballad in the Middle East and north Africa via Renaissance poetry and the blooming of comic opera, the Love Songs of today have been on a long journey of evolution.And yet, has the nature of love really changed so much across the centuries?Have we lost things in the mission to make some of these songs 'Drawing Room Safe?'And can Ben ever explain the Dorian Mode in a way Martin will understand?!We hope you enjoy listening to us chewing over these questions and much more beside - and this clutch of brighter songs as the weather brightens into spring.Speak to you again on Saturday, with this week's Local Legends interview with David Rowe, and again on Sunday for our March Update episode!The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcastREGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.