The Three Ravens Podcast
Three Ravens is an English myth and folklore podcast hosted by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux. Each weekly episode explores a historic county in England, delving into its history, folklore, and traditions, including ghosts, mermaids, mythical monsters, and half-forgotten heroes. The podcast also features bonus episodes on folk remedies, cryptids, folk songs, and famous witches and wizards, as well as an interview series called Local Legends.
Episodes
New Hampshire | Series 8 Episode 3
Time to break off your search for the Great Carbuncle and adventure through New Hampshire, the "Granite State!"We start with the story of Oceanborn Mary and then discuss New Hampshire's rugged terrain and the centuries-long struggles to define its borders. From the "Presidential Range" and the now collapsed iconic 'Great Stone Face' to the state's 18-mile sea coast and northern forests, it's a pre
Jeff Belanger | Local Legends #76
Eleanor chats with the Emmy-nominated paranormal researcher, bestselling author, and legendary explorer Jeff Belanger to uncover the spooks, scares, and deep folklore of Massachusetts! Jeff joins us around the campfire to share his incredible career tracing the things that go bump in the night. As the host, writer, and producer of the New England Legends series on PBS and Amazon Prime, and th
The Ghosts of Dogtown | A Massachusetts Tale
For this week's story, we're exploring one of Massachusetts' most atmospheric abandoned places...Written by Eleanor, the tale follows a young police detective searching for a missing person in the mysterious and disorientating woodlands of Dogtown Common, as something wants to lead her further and further away from the trailpath.Drawing on real legends and history of this fascinating place, it's a
Massachusetts | Series 8 Episode 2
It's already time for us to visit the second of the Thirteen Colonies - Massachusetts!We start by discussing the lives of the Wampanoag peoples who inhabited the North Eastern Woodlands prior to the arrival of European settlers, before returning to the small group of religious dissenters who arrived on the Mayflower to make a home in New England.Of course, the Salem Witch Trials cast a long shadow
Dr Jon Lohman | Local Legends #75
On this week's episode of Local Legends Martin chats Virginia, folklore, and cultural exchange with Dr Jon Lohman.For two decades Jon worked as the State Folklorist of Virginia, has a PhD in Folklore from the University of Pennsylvania, and has enjoyed a distinguished career bridging community activism, arts education, and public media.In addition to working for many years to document, sustain, an
The Phantom Lovers of Lake Drummond | A Virginia Tale
For this week’s story we have a ghostly legend inundated by real histories, “The Phantom Lovers of Lake Drummond.”Written by Martin, it’s a dark crater of surging eco-fiction engaging with one of Virginia's most famous folk tales, the early life of George Washington, Harriet Beecher Stowe's much maligned follow-up to Uncle Tom's Cabin, the poetry of Irish folk poet and bard Thomas Moore, the teena
Virginia | Series 8 Episode 1
Hold onto your preconceptions if you must as we, two English people, open a can of worms in our first full episode of Series 8 to discuss Virginia, the 'Mother of States!'We begin as colonial America did - in Jamestown - before digging into some of the key differences between life in Virginia in those early days and life in England at the same time, tracking points of comparison forward through in
Dr Gabrielle Tayac | Local Legends #74
On this week's episode of Local Legends Eleanor chats with historian, curator, author and activist Dr Gabrielle Tayac.We were thrilled Gabrielle spoke to us at the beginning of Series 8, after this week's background episodes on the history of North America. As Associate Professor of Public History at George Mason University and the inaugural curator of the Smithsonian National Museum of the Americ
How The Devil Came To America | An Immigrant Story
For this week’s story we have the tale of a particularly unwelcome immigrant called “How The Devil Came to America.”Written by Eleanor, it’s a piece of arcane folk horror that explores the failure of the infamous Roanoke colony, positing a new theory as to why things went wrong for the residents of ‘The City of Raleigh’ in a tale which travels from the private offices of Queen Elizabeth I’s chief
Let The Gourd Times Roll! | September 2026 Update
In this month's update episode we're chatting through Autumn Equinox folklore, the end of harvest, and the Devil doing unspeakable things to blackberries...Including discussions Britain's traditional Quarter Days and the folklore of Michaelmas, from 'Stubble Goose' divination to Medieval beliefs in "Dragon Days" along with autumnal spider folklore and a slice of apple magic, we also include some o
A Brief History of America | Series 8 Episode 0
Before we begin our adventures exploring the history and folklore of the Thirteen Colonies of America, we present our first episode of Series 8: A Brief History of America!We explore the history of North America from the earliest human migration across the Beringia land bridge, now the Bering Strait.Looking at the distinct archaeological stages of American pre-history, we talk through the Lithic,
Marion Gibson | Local Legends #73
On this week's episode of Local Legends Martin chats with Sunday Times bestselling author Marion Gibson!Regular listeners will recall that Marion last came on Three Ravens during October 2025 to chat about her wonderful book Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials, at which time we spoke about Marion’s childhood and career, so we this time we skip all that and jump straight into the 17th century
The Callow Inn | A Herefordshire Ghost Story
Our story for "Death Week" is a retelling by Martin of a ghost story, The Callow Inn.In rural Herefordshire, for over a hundred years people have reported two strange night-time phenomena connected to The Callow Inn, which was demolished at the end of the 19th century. First there are the ghostly shapes of two people carrying bodies out into Haywood Forest.Then there's the spectral windows, shinin
The Folklore of Death
The inevitable has occurred, dear listener, so pay up your Eye Money as Death Week has arrived on Three Ravens, riding a pale horse...The final part of our month-long celebration of the Cycles of Life, on this episode we're chatting through the history and folklore of that undiscovered country where all dreams may come - and from which the ancestors might return if we're not careful!We start at th
Sarah Clegg | Local Legends #72
On this week's episode of Local Legends Eleanor chats with Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah Clegg.We first met Sarah last year, when she was one of the guests at our Three Ravens Christmas Feast. Sarah had just published her book The Dead of Winter, all about the origins and changing lore of the dark side of Christmas.Sarah has a PhD in ancient history from the University of Cambridge, a
Alderman and Alphin | A Tale of Old Yorkshire
Our story for "Marriage Week" is a retelling by Eleanor of a giant legend, Alderman and Alphin.Set in Saddleworth, which was once a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire but is found in Lancashire today, not far from Oldham and Manchester, it's the tale attached to two particular landscape features, Alderman's Hill and Alphin Pike, two hills overlooking the entrance to the Upper Tame Valley. E
The Folklore of Marriage
This week we have our second installment of our month long mini series about cycles of life, all about the history and folklore of marriage!We explore the early beginnings of marriage contracts, legal regulation by the Church and state, and how utterly unromantic most weddings were for much of history!Discussing superstitions and preparations leading up to the big day, from arrangements between fa
Sue Bentley | Local Legends #71
On this week's episode of Local Legends Martin chats with best-selling author of over 80 books, Sue Bentley! As Sue explains, her decision to 'become a writer' didn't happen particularly early in her life, though she was ever a reader, inspired by books like Denys Watkins-Pitchford's The Little Grey Men, Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows, and C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.On
The Brigstock Fox | A Northamptonshire Folk Tale
Our story for "Birth Week" is a retelling from Martin of recently rediscovered Northamptonshire legend The Brigstock Fox.A tale of Medieval changelings, magic, princes and parenthood, it begins as the folktale does, with a strange, seemingly uncatchable creature stalking the forests around Fotheringhay Castle.Richard of York, away in Ireland, offers a bag of gold to whoever can catch the beast and
The Folklore of Birth
This week on Three Ravens, as part of our month long exploration of cycles of life, we're talking all about Birth Folklore! From Ancient Mesopotamian "birth bricks" and fires lit to smoke babies out of the womb to 20th century beliefs in hairy babies prompting their mothers to experience heartburn, human societies have cleaved to a whole load of fairly wild concepts related to reproduction.Yet, as
Matthew Bannister | Local Legends #70
On this week's episode of Local Legends Martin chats with veteran British broadcaster and host of Folk on Foot Matthew Bannister. In a conversation that folds in some of Matthew's other wonderful projects including The Song Detectorists and Last Word, while Martin and Matthew don't quite go on a wander together, our main focus is Matthew's multi-award winning podcast Folk on Foot, which combines f
The Corn Maiden
For this week's story, sticking with our theme of Harvest, we present a slice of US-set folk horror for you to enjoy!The tale begins with Robin, a recently widowed wheat farmer whose crops have failed due to drought. At his farmhouse Mother rules, although a new feminine energy has arrived in the shape of Amelia, who believes Robin's loss might open space in his heart for her.Though out on Robin's
Lughnasa, Lammas and Harvest Folklore
It's the first time we've done a Seasonal Special in a while, but this week we're celebrating the harvest and exploring the history and folklore of Lughnasa and Lammastide.We begin by discussing the Festival of First Fruits and the Eleusinian Mysteries of the Classical World, before getting into the nitty gritty of Lughnasa, or 'The Aseembly of Lugh.' From Irish festivals of games, hand-fasting ri
Sickles At The Ready! | August 2026 Update
In this month's update episode we're welcoming in the harvest and exploring some of August's lesser-known traditional festivals!We're talking about Marymas, which seems like it would have been pretty witchy, and Bartlemas, which was quite violent and packed with "back swording" - though that's not all, as, in addition to sharing some of our own news, we're chatting about Christopher Nolan's cinema
Richard Dawson | Local Legends #69
On this week's episode of Local Legends Martin chats with award winning singer-songwriter and progressive artist Richard Dawson. Hailing from England's northernmost city, Newcastle upon Tyne, Richard doesn't much like being pigeon-holed or for his music to be put into a genre, but across this chat he just about surrenders to Martin's insistence that he's a folk musician, and proudly avant garde.St
Who Were The Langs? | The Lang Fairy Tales
We round out our recent completion of the Red Fairy Book by taking a deeper look at Leonora and Andrew Lang. Who were they, what were their lives like, and where did they fit into society and culture at the end of the 19th century?Looking at what we know so far about the Langs' own story, we talk about the boom in print culture after the advent of steam, and the rise of the wide variety of periodi
Gerald Gardner | Magus #13
For our final episode of the series, we're casting a circle and exploring the life of the last great name in British magic, Gerald Gardner!We begin with Gardner's youth overseas where, accompanied by his nurse, nanny, and personal tutor, he explored Europe and parts of North Africa and the Middle East, developing an interest in folklore, paganism, and ethnography.After a career working on tea and
Sacha Coward | Local Legends #68
On this week's episode of Local Legends Martin chats with British author, LGBTQ+ historian, museum researcher and escape room artist Sacha Coward.Sacha's first book, Queer As Folklore, explores how LGBTQ+ communities have historically found safety and representation in the shadows of mythology, bridging centuries of storytelling, and it won Best Non-Fiction Book at the British Fantasty Society Awa
The Marvellous Musician and The Story Of Sigurd | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
It's been a strange, charming, and sometimes baffling journey, but we've reached the end of the Red Fairy Book!Two very different stories finish the collection off. The Marvellous Musician is a German tale, collected by the Grimms. It's a curious tale with an extremely questionable hero, leaving a rather unpleasant taste behind. Is our musician marvellous, monstrous, or perhaps even the Devil hims
Death and Afterlife Songs | Forgotten Melodies #13
In this final episode of our 13-part exploration of folk music history we are concluding with Death and Afterlife Songs!We welcome our musical collaborators for the series Ben and Katie to join us for this bumper-length episode, which includes a conversation at the end in which we reflect on the journey we have been on together over the last 15 months.As for the songs, we begin with Death and the
Karen Kay | Local Legends #67
On this week's episode of Local Legends Eleanor is chatting with the Fairy Whisperer, Karen Kay.Fairies are notoriously tricksy beings, but if there’s anybody out there with exactly the right advice for inviting fairy energies in and adding a dash of magic to your day, it’s Karen Kay. Karen’s work is all about sharing and building a kind, positive community, which reflects in her many project
Snowdrop and The Golden Goose and The Seven Foals | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
For our penultimate episode of the Red Fairy Book, we have a triple bill of rather different stories.First, we have one of the best known fairy tales out there - Snowdrop, otherwise known as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It's got some excellent moments, though things get a little out of hand closer to the end!We follow that up with another Grimm tale, The Golden Goose, an example of the 'All St
Fairies | Three Ravens Bestiary #26
For the final episode in our 26 part A-Z of mythical creatures we're slipping into some liminal spaces to talk about Fairies!Starting with the question of what even is "a fairy" and how did that word come to be?Should we think of them as handsome and seductive, like in the Romantasy genre, or as nature spirits that need feeding with human blood, via your sourdough starter?Do we still identify with
Christina Oakley Harrington | Local Legends #66
On this week's episode of Local Legends Martin is chatting with recovering Medievalist, occult bookshop owner, and esoteric researcher Christina Oakley Harrington!Growing up for a large part overseas, then crash-landing into the north American education system, Christina was perhaps always destined to be an outsider. Yet through her dedication to academic rigour, her life in Wicca, and her passion
Minnikin | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
This Norwegian tale from the Red Fairy Book features a plucky, diminutive hero so unscrupulous, he might just be worse than Dapplegrim!With trolls with increasing numbers of heads (returning favourites), princesses with suspicious motives, mysteriously intelligent babies and flying ships, Minnikin really does have it all.Also known as Lillekort in Norwegian, and Shortshanks in translation, it's ce
Palmistry and Phrenology | Magic and Medicines #26
For the last episode in the second series of Magic and Medicines, we're talking about Palmistry and Phrenology!We start by looking at uses of palmistry across the world, from Vedic astrology with Hindu Jyotish over to the divination practices of the Chinese Ming dynasty.We discuss whether or not it's true that Aristotle discovered an ancient palmistry text and got Alexander the Great into the art,
Frankie Archer | Local Legends #65
On this very special episode of Local Legends Martin is chatting with the brilliant British folk singer-songwriter Frankie Archer!To mark the release of her debut album, The Dance of Death, Frankie made time to come on the podcast to discuss how she has ended up making the music she has, which fuses centuries-old traditional melodies with modern electronic production, synthesizers, and manipulated
Bushy Bride and Mother Holle | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
For today's episode of the Lang Fairy Tales, we're proceeding on apace through the Red Fairy Book, and we've got another double bill of stories.First up is the excellently named Bushy Bride, a Norwegian story which exploits the fairy tale obsession with very, very long noses - and has some very curious features. There is a charming dog called Little Snow, though!We follow that on with Mother Holle
Well Dressing & Rush Bearing | July 2026 Update
In this month's update episode we're chatting all about the folkiness of summertime - including Well Dressing and Rush Bearing!Though that's not all, as, in addition to sharing some of our own news, we're working through the story of Swithin, the English weather saint who once had a very holy hole, Swan Upping, the origins of cricket, Canada Day and America's birthday, too.Then we share the openin
Cornelius Agrippa | Magus #12
This month on Magus, for our penultimate episode of the series, we're exploring the life and work of the father of Western esotericism, Cornelius Agrippa!Born into a Europe wracked by wars, he attends university in Cologne at thirteen, earns his MA by sixteen, and then he abandons the Holy Roman Empire for France.There, under the noses of the House of Valois, he begins to establish a hidden brothe
LIVE @ Great Dunmow BookFest
For this episode, we go where no podcast has gone before - welcome to Three Ravens Live @ Great Dunmow BookFest!During a one day festival where an entire Essex town famous for giving out sides of bacon to married couples turned itself into a bookshop, we were warmly welcomed to Jack's 1952, an outdoor goods shop who gave us a space in their basement and several dozen camping chairs to record a fre
Rapunzel, The Nettle Spinner, and Farmer Weatherbeard | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
On this week's Lang Fairy Tales episode we have another triple-bill - though these ones are all slightly wonky...We begin with Rapunzel, a tale with its roots in ancient Persian mythology, although what the Langs do with it leaves a little to be desired!Next up it's The Nettle Spinner, another Charles Deulin legend out of Flanders which seems to speak to the power of the Protestant work ethic in t
Nature Songs | Forgotten Melodies #12
Get ready to escape to the lake isle of Innisfree, because for the penultimate episode of Forgotten Melodies we're talking all about Nature Songs!We explore the English trees and plants which have inspired folk musicians, poets and all true Romantics, and the songs which use them as motifs.First, we look at stone cold classic A North Country Maid, and its oak, ash and bonny ivy.More oak and ash ab
LIVE @ Leominster Festival
Recorded on steamy summer's evening in the John Abel Room of Grange Court, welcome to Three Ravens Live @ Leominster Festival!While Hereford might try to steal all the glory - literally in some cases - "Lemster" was just as grand a place in the Medieval era, famed most of all as a market town rich in wool.This recording, made on Thursday 11th, explores that historic rivalry, along with the tale of
The Enchanted Canary | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
On this week's Lang Fairy Tales episode we're encountering a tale by folklorist Charles Deulin, The Enchanted Canary.Positioned as a legend out of Flanders, it sees a prince head out to find a wife whose skin is not white or pink...Perhaps wisely, he goes south, following his dream of an orange grove, waylaid by witches, bricklayers, and his own inability to follow advice.A surprisingly rounded st
Ogres | Three Ravens Bestiary #25
Let's strip away the meat of mythology and render down the fat of folklore to cook up a delicious chat all about Ogres!The word itself was coined by Chrétien de Troyes during the 12th century, and was used to talk about the brutish Britons on the other side of the channel - but from the Ancient Egyptian "Cannibal Hymn" of Pharaoh Unas to the Greeks and Romans with Polyphemus and Orcus, the name of
Dapplegrim and The Twelve Brothers | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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, a
The Golden Branch | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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 discu
Familiars and Animal Magic | Magic and Medicines #25
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-Su
LIVE @ Chiltern Open Air Museum
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
The Ratcatcher, The True History Of Little Golden Hood, and The Three Dwarfs | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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 promi
Merlin | Magus #11
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 wo
Midsummer Madness | June 2026 Update
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
Kari Woodengown | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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
The Voice of Death, The Six Sillies and Drakestail | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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 foll
Soldiers and Sailors | Forgotten Melodies #11
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 class
LIVE @ Ditchling Bookshop - May 2026
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 oi
Graciosa and Percinet | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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
Imps | Three Ravens Bestiary #24
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?W
A Very English Chat with David Crowther
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 connect
The Little Good Mouse and The Three Princesses Of Whiteland | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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
Wicca | Magic and Medicines #24
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 hi
Dr Simon Young | Local Legends #64
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 re
The Wonderful Birch and Jack And The Beanstalk | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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 s
Dion Fortune | Magus #10
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 Mast
LIVE @ Treadwell's Books - May 2026
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, sto
Beltane and Need Fires | May 2026 Update
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 in
The Enchanted Pig and The Norka | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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 goo
Protest Songs | Forgotten Melodies #10
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
Philip Carr-Gomm | Local Legends #63
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
Princess Rosette | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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
Giants | Three Ravens Bestiary #23
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 an
LIVE @ Farnham Literary Festival 2026!
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, Vik
The Master Thief | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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
Exorcism | Magic and Medicines #23
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 s
The Black Thief And Knight of the Glen and Brother And Sister | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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 co
Soria Moria Castle and The Death Of Koschei The Deathless | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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 eleme
Sir Isaac Newton | Magus #9
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 thi
The Twelve Dancing Princesses | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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 desir
The Princess Mayblossom | The Lang Fairy Tales: The Red Fairy Book (1890)
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 en
