Helsinki has a lengthy history, dating back to at least the Bronze Age. Parts of the city even stand on old cemeteries.  It's bound to have a few ghost stories and folklore, surely? Indeed it does! We're talking haunted theatres, headless ghosts, ghosts with habits, and Finnish epics. Let's find out more in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/helsinki-legends/ Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/ Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Fami ..read more

Robin Hood is perhaps the most recognisable figure in English folklore, darting through legend in Sherwood Forest.  Yet discussions in the past tried to claim Robin as an ancient god, recast as a literary outlaw, or as one of the Good Folk, whether a local sprite or Robin Goodfellow himself. How did these writers draw the conclusion that Robin Hood was anything other than a leading character in a series of medieval ballads?  Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/robin-hood-myths/ Get yo ..read more

The Queen of the Fairies is sometimes named Queen Mab, depending on the source material. She's also known as the Queen of Elfland, the Queen of Elphame, and Titania.  So who is Mab? Does she come from English folklore, or is Mab the name given by playwrights and poets to the Queen in folklore?  Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/queen-mab/ Fairy Queens: Meeting the Queens of the Otherworld by Morgan Daimler: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/12992/9781785358333 Get your free guide to home pr ..read more

For this month's episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I'm thrilled to bring you a chat with Rose Aurora! Rose is a fairy seer & sorceress, specializing in Faery, Elf, and Troll-related issues & spiritual needs. She is honoured to be part of a spiritual lineage of Celtic origin, but she is also trained in other spiritual traditions including Trolldom, of which she is a certified apprentice of Johannes Gårdbäck. Rose is a professional spiritual worker, conducting readings, spellwork, scrying coaching, and ongoing mentorship in the magical arts. She has also presented at the 2024 Salem ..read more

Few figures loom as large in British legend as King Arthur. Noble king, fair-minded monarch, mighty warrior - Arthur ends up taking on all of these roles at various points, and often a few more besides. How did ordinary people relate to him? How does he appear in folklore and the popular imagination outside of the world of the Arthurian stories? Let's find out how Arthur appears in folk traditions in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore. Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/king-arthur-folklore/ What Is The King In The Mountain Folklore Trope? https ..read more

The hill figures of southern England are enigmatic artworks, standing out with their stark white lines against the green grass of their home slopes. They're mostly found on chalk hills, where the chalk provides the white outlines.  Countless figures have been lost. Yet four in particular remain famous even now, while a fifth is famous precisely since it no longer exists. Folklore naturally accrues to these figures as people seek to explain their presence in the landscape. Let's find out what kind of folklore is attached to these hill figures in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore. Fi ..read more

Whether we're looking at barrows, cromlechs, or dolmens, ancient burial sites hold a certain fascination. They're linked with all manner of supernatural beings, from giants to fairies, gods and ghosts, and naturally, the Devil. Let's find out what kind of folklore is attached to these prehistoric grave sites in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore. Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/folklore-of-barrows/ Get tickets for my April Fool's Day: The Folklore of Pranks, Games and Japes talk: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/april-fools-day-the-folklore-of-p ..read more

Mention stone circles to many people, and they'll think of people gathering at Stonehenge to watch the sunrise. Or hulking megaliths looming out of the mist on a lonely moor, the sheep being careful to only graze outside the circle. They're certainly evocative, if nothing else. As with the standing stones that we covered last week, we know very little about them. We don't know why our ancestors built them or how they used them. Naturally, legend rushes in to fill that vacuum. Or does it? Let's take a look at the folklore of stone circles in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore. Find the im ..read more

There's something awesome yet eerie about encountering a standing stone in the landscape. Why is it there? Who put it there? And how did they put it there? The fact we can't often answer these questions helps add to their mystery. That absence of knowledge creates a vacuum that folklore is only too happy to fill. Speculation runs rife with these stones. Let's take a look at the folklore of some of these standing stones in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore. Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/folklore-of-standing-stones/ Get your free guide to hom ..read more

Archaeological evidence reveals a close relationship between people and the spiritual world back to the Bronze Age, often enacted through water. Springs often reveal ritual deposits, such as those found at the head of the Seine. It’s unsurprising that humans would continue this water-based relationship via wells. For some scholars, wells had either a patron deity or a guardian spirit, which was later replaced by a saint or angel. For example, there is a suggestion that the Celtic water goddess Alauna became St Helen. But wells took on multiple functions, used to heal, curse, make wishes, and e ..read more