Join the Norfolk Folklore Society as we introduce author, illustrator and folklorist Helen JR Bruce who will be diving into the rich folklore and mythology surrounding Black Dogs. Cover illustration - Shuck Zine / Matt Willis ..read more

We were absolutely delighted to welcome Lucy Spirit and Rachel Duffield as our January speakers the Norfolk Heritage Centre at the Norwich Millennium Library. Rachel, who is an artist and costume marker, a historical reenactor and an incredible painter who spent years working for Norfolk Museums Service will be presenting the talk written by Lucy, a researcher, writer, open-minded sceptic and spooky expert. Those attending will discover a brief history of Raynham Hall and the life of its infamous ‘Brown Lady’ ghost and how she became a worldwide phenomenon, the history of spirit photography ..read more

Today’s podcast is about the Magical Sword of Winfarthing, the Excalibur of Norfolk which helped women rid themselves of terrible husbands (and find their lost horses) from the safety of their village church. We have plenty of sword play with a range of topics which see us discuss witchcraft, famous magical swords and why we can’t pronounce most of them, why the sword is associated with supernatural and magical powers and why making swords was so revered. (Something I forgot to mention in the podcast is what some of those secrets were, such as “the virtues of certain liquids for quenching th ..read more

Our December 2023 talk was given by the wonderful Val Thomas. Val, a good friend of the Norfolk Folklore Society (she was the first ever speaker the NFS had at our monthly talks!), shared some recommendations for a magical Yule or Christmas dinner  with our guests. About Val: Val Thomas is a witch, a craftsperson, herbalist and a teacher. For more than a quarter of a century she has lived in Norwich, working with the magic of the land – its plants and creatures, its gods and its spirits – and exploring the ways of Norfolk’s Nameless Tradition of witchcraft and magic. During this time, Va ..read more

We were delighted to welcome the wonderful Laura Cannell to our November at The Louis Marchesi in the pub’s 15th century undercroft. Laura spoke about her new project, MARSHLORE, which has so far seen the publication of two zines, each of which include a miscellany of stories, original artwork, folklore and more, inspired by the East Anglian marshes, ancient folklore and living traditions. She calls it: “A mix of thoroughly researched folklore and thoroughly made-up stories ..read more

This month’s podcast is all about ghosts – or rather, the ghosts we’d all draw if anyone asked us to mock up a quick doodle. You know the one: looks like a floating bedsheet with eyes.  Round on top, wiggly on the bottom, with a couple of eyes holes – it’s the image that always pops to mind when thinking of ghosts: but why? This very specific image of ghosts as white sheets has been engrained in our culture for centuries and, until fairly recently, was considered genuinely terrifying. We look into the history of the bedsheet ghost, find our own example in Norfolk and recent examples fu ..read more

On October 24 Christian Hudson from Norfolk Ghost Hunters came to speak to us at the Norfolk Folklore Society’s monthly meeting.  Christian works within a team of five, each of whom specialise in different fields, and is a paranormal investigator and demonologist. He works in tandem with the Church of England and the Catholic church and he and his team have been involved with hundreds of paranormal investigations at venues across the UK, from big venues to private houses. Christian will be shared some of his most interesting and intriguing cases ..read more

Today’s podcast was recorded on Gressenhall Farm and workhouse’s Apple Day, which we were delighted to be part of, representing Norfolk Folklore Society in the farmhouse kitchen. From the kitchen table we offered people a host of apple folklore and it was lovely to welcome so many people and to hear their own folklore and ghost stories.  ..read more

Simply because they are not expected, ghosts that appear in modern surroundings and with no warning often feel like the most terrifying of all.  Today’s ghost is absolutely terrifying. Our witness tells us: “It was like a damp sheet of very black space wrapping itself around me…” And where was this horrific patch of dark matter? In the very middle of Norwich city centre, in buildings which have part of an old church incorporated into their walls and which stand close to where one of the city’s most notoriously cruel workhouses once housed the local poor ..read more

This episode takes us back to the Black Shuck Festival on August 5. Thank you to everyone who attended and to the festival for having us: we had such a magical time and hope to be involved with next year’s Shuck shenanigans. We hope you enjoy Shuck Storytime ..read more