Theatre Superstitions: Whistling, the Ghost Light, and Macbeth

William Turner: Meet the Father of British Botany

Herbalism has seen a boom of interest in recent years as people seek to find closer relationships with nature and create ways to supplement their wellbeing. The practice has a long history all over the world, with many cultures offering their own uses for the plants and trees that grew in their region. Having such a plethora of plant material available called for the introduction of the herbal; a book collecting plants and their uses into one place. Yet books require one simple thing - the ability to read. India, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China all kept records about the use of plants. In Europe, many early herbals were written in Latin, putting them beyond the reach of ordinary people. Until William Turner came along and changed the game by writing one in English. Let’s go to meet him in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the blog post with all the images and references here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/william-turner/ [https://www.icysedgwick.com/william-turner/] Buy Vitalist Herbcraft here: https://school.rowanandsage.com/courses/vitalistherbcraft?affcode=437598_3qokpyep [https://school.rowanandsage.com/courses/vitalistherbcraft?affcode=437598_3qokpyep] Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/ [https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/] Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595 [https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595] Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/ [https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/] Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick [https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick] Find the Fabulous Folklore Bookshop, Icy's social media links, and other useful bits at: http://icysedgwick.com/start-here [http://icysedgwick.com/start-here]

Elizabeth Blackwell: Pioneering Herbalist and Botanical Illustrator

If you’re interested in herbalism or plant lore, chances are that you’ve perused a herbal or two in your time. Culpeper's Complete Herbal: A Compendium of Herbs and Their Uses, Annotated for Modern Herbalists, Healers, and Witches is a particularly well-known title, even if the contents have been surpassed with scientific advancements. Yet did you know that one of the most well-regarded herbals of the 18th century was created, and marketed, by a woman? And that she even got endorsements from the Royal College of Physicians for the book, used by apothecaries for decades? Let’s go and meet Elizabeth Blackwell in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the blog post with all the images and references here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/elizabeth-blackwell/ [https://www.icysedgwick.com/elizabeth-blackwell/] Join Herbaria here: https://school.rowanandsage.com/courses/herbaria?affcode=437598_3qokpyep [https://school.rowanandsage.com/courses/herbaria?affcode=437598_3qokpyep] From St Cuthbert to the Wizard of the North: The Magical Legends of the North East talk: https://www.newcastlecastle.co.uk/events-activities [https://www.newcastlecastle.co.uk/events-activities] Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/ [https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/] Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595 [https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595] Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/ [https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/] Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick [https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick] Find the Fabulous Folklore Bookshop, Icy's social media links, and other useful bits at: http://icysedgwick.com/start-here [http://icysedgwick.com/start-here]

Folklore and Storytelling: A Narrative Match Made in Heaven

Storytelling is something we all do on a daily basis, whether we’re aware of it or not. Maybe we’re telling a funny anecdote about something that happened on the way to work. Perhaps we’re recounting how we first met the bride during a wedding speech. Or how about retelling our favourite folk tale to help soothe a child to sleep? Storytelling and folklore are not synonyms. Folklore is a body of knowledge created primarily by the people for transmission between themselves. Folk tales are the stories told by these same people, though the definition of a folk tale varies. Yet storytelling can be the bridge between the two, enabling the ongoing transmission of folklore from a teller to a group of avid listeners. The English and Welsh storytelling revival began in the early 1980s, and we can thank its success for the plethora of storytelling events, books, and podcasts now available. So let’s look at how storytelling links with folklore in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! See the episode contributors here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/episode-contributors/ [https://www.icysedgwick.com/episode-contributors/] Find the blog post with all the images and references here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/folklore-and-storytelling/ [https://www.icysedgwick.com/folklore-and-storytelling/] Check out Dawn Nelson's Little History of Storytelling: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/12992/9781803996745 [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/12992/9781803996745] Amanda's talk at the Folklore Centre: https://www.folkloremythmagic.com/product-page/amanda-edmiston-traveller-tales-and-healing-herbs-talk [https://www.folkloremythmagic.com/product-page/amanda-edmiston-traveller-tales-and-healing-herbs-talk] Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/ [https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/] Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595 [https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595] Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/ [https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/] Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick [https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick] Find the Fabulous Folklore Bookshop, Icy's social media links, and other useful bits at: http://icysedgwick.com/start-here [http://icysedgwick.com/start-here]

Revenants on the Redway with Dr Steph Lay

Dr Steph Lay is a folk horror writer, psychologist and researcher, gathering and sharing local stories of the unexplained for a project investigating whether the new city of Milton Keynes might be more haunted than anyone realises. Behind the scenes, she works with Peter Laws on the popular YouTube channel Into the Fog, curating the true experiences sent in by viewers and creating atmospheric artwork to bring the stories to life. Overall, her work brings together stories, psychology and the paranormal, exploring not only why strange experiences unsettle us, but why they matter. In this chat, we talk about Steph's Revenants on the Redway project, the beauty of collecting supernatural experiences, why places don't need to be old to be haunted, and the attraction of parapsychology. Find Steph's blog: https://cityofsecrets.blog/ [https://cityofsecrets.blog/] Check out Dr Ciarán O'Keeffe's parapsychology school: https://theschoolofparapsychology.company.site/ [https://theschoolofparapsychology.company.site/] Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/ [https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/] Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595 [https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595] Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick [https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick] Find the Fabulous Folklore Bookshop, Icy's social media links, and other useful bits at: http://icysedgwick.com/start-here [http://icysedgwick.com/start-here]

Folklore and Cinema: The Trick Films of Georges Méliès

Visionary film director and stage magician Georges Méliès is perhaps the earliest filmmaker who saw the visual potential of folklore. Among others, mermaids, sirens, ghosts, devils, and sorcerers are plentiful in his films. True, many of these figures become important for their centrality to the ‘tricks’ his films became famous for. Meanwhile, his films became important for the fantasy genres that would include later depictions of such folkloric beings! So how did Méliès include elements from folklore in his trick films? Let’s find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the blog post with all the images and references here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/georges-melies/ [https://www.icysedgwick.com/georges-melies/] Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/ [https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/] Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595 [https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595] Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/ [https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/] Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick [https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick] Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore [https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore] Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop [https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop] Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 [https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7] Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick [https://instagram.com/icysedgwick] Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social] 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/ [https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/]