13% of people living in England today believe that a swift (or swallow or house martin) nesting in your house is lucky. And now research tells us that swifts return to the same place to nest! That’s a lot of luck 🍀 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

How did you spend your solstice? One in four people in England today report the solstice as being spiritually significant. A quarter of people have also visited a stone circle, with 5% of those people timing a visit with solstices or equinoxes.

It was so lovely to welcome Anna Milon and Christopher Ohge from @storymachine-ht.bsky.social to the studio for a fascinating discussion for Folklore Matters. Series two is nearly in the bag!

This month (a week early, on the fourth Monday!) we have the team from Sheffield Hallam's @nfsengland.bsky.social for England talking about their findings. 22nd March, 7:30pm, The Museum, all welcome! www.nationalfolkloresurvey.co.uk

We've been podcast-tastic this week for FOLKLORE MATTERS @nfsengland.bsky.social recording more episodes with @kwasbeb.bsky.social Swedish urban legend expert Jack Werner and Mike Hankin of thefolkunion.com - more recording to go but series 2 is coming SOON!

Look at this beauty! In the latest issue of Songlines (June, 218), Sophie shares the findings of the survey relating to figures of English legend, accompanied by Jonny Ford’s gorgeous illustrations of Robin Hood and King Arthur. Enjoy! ☺️

Sophie spoke to journalism student Antonia Vlad about the current high profile of folklore in the UK and the National Folklore Survey. She’s put together a brilliant piece of visual storytelling. Check it out here: swlondoner.shorthandstories.com/the-witching...

In the latest special issue from @forteantimes.bsky.social, our @davidwclarke.bsky.social casts his eye across boggarts, fire festivals, folk horror and more. It’s a great read, looking into the archives and, crucially, looking forward. Enjoy!

Kicking off series two of Folklore Matters with Dave Brewis, maker of @gatherings.tv, a series we all really enjoyed. A discussion that covered customs, national identity, politics, and approaches to filmmaking - so lots to go at! Stay tuned to hear more about when series two goes live.

Our very own @dianearodgers.bsky.social and our Survey is quoted in a BBC news story about a haunted house in Pontefract. Read more here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Are you a ghost story enthusiast? Could you be in Sheffield on Sunday 24 May? Two of our postgrad students are holding a focus group and are looking for participants. Message us and we’ll put you in touch!

When you think of England’s legendary figures, who comes to mind? We asked how familiar people living in England were with a range of legendary characters and Robin Hood - perhaps unsurprisingly - came out on top, with almost 90% of Survey respondents saying they knew of him.

And finally, we have NINE reviews of books, films and even a map to conclude our contemporary legend themed issue of Revenant. From MEN and Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched through to Canadian UFOs and post-Franco gothic fiction of Spain, find something new and/or different to pique your interest

The final creative response in our contemporary legend themed issue of Revenant journal is from poet Carolyn Waudby. Head over to the website to read and download four poems that take a local and a global approach to the theme.

In another creative response to our contemporary legend theme, writer and researcher Sophie Parkes presents ‘Mary Three Times’, a short story about the thrill of enduring teenage folklore.

‘I went to Palmyra three times.’ Professor of English at @pennstateberks.bsky.social Sandy Feinstein revisits the poems she wrote in the 1990s when studying in Syria.

The Pendle witches have long captured our imagination, but how do their stories play out in the landscape of rural Lancashire? Hannah Singleton investigates, in our Contemporary Legend themed issue of Revenant.

We’re busy planning series two of our podcast, Folklore Matters, but @dianearodgers.bsky.social and Sophie found some time to do a quick ‘best bits’ of series one. You can listen here: folklore-matters.captivate.fm/episode/seri...

BURN IT! BURN IT!

Our Andrew Robinson recently got his paws on this: the crying boy image that started it all off. New to the crying boy phenomenon? Have a read of @davidwclarke.bsky.social’s piece in our contemporary legend themed issue of Revenant.

Some bank holiday reading for you: Great Lakes contemporary legends and their monsters, courtesy of Dan Compora. All articles, creative and book reviews in our contemporary legend themed special issue of Revenant are free to read and download.

Hopefully you’ve seen the gorgeous illustrations that bring our survey results to life. They’re courtesy of Jonny Ford who has kindly answered a few questions about his work - and his fascination for folklore - over on the website. Thanks a million, Jonny!

This year the Easter bonnet has gone psychedelic (not an April Fools!) Anyone else got a bonnet they’d like to share?

Goblin sightings in caves - Jeanmarie Rouhier-Willoughby from the @universityofky.bsky.social takes us through the YouTube series, Hellier, to show us how these seemingly disparate legends are actually connected and part of a longstanding coherent narrative.

Have you ever been to a lovers’ leap? Or heard stories of lovers falling to their deaths in the landscape? Our very own Andrew Robinson explores the Buxton phenomenon in our special issue of Revenant. You can read and download for free here: www.revenantjournal.com/contents/a-p...

Have you checked out our Contemporary Legend-themed issue of Revenant yet? One of our research articles is a fascinating examination of Taiwanese folk belief in the HBO series, The Teenage Psychic, by Chia Cheng Hsu.

Thanks to everyone who made it along to the Invasion of the Saucermen talk on Thursday. We had to move rooms as there was so many of you! The exhibition is on until Thursday, so get there if you can - and tell us what you think! 👽👾🛸

Thoroughly enjoyed the visual folklore of UAPs exhibition curated by Andrew Robinson & @davidwclarke.bsky.social for the @nfsengland.bsky.social. A wonderful representation of my cultural history! ✨👽✨

Have you seen something in the sky you can’t explain? You’re not alone! Tonight @davidwclarke.bsky.social and Andrew Robinson are giving a free talk about UFOs and their visual legacy. Join them in the Post Hall Gallery, Fitzalan Square, Sheffield and be sure to take in the accompanying exhibition 🛸

Something a little different on the blog today… our @dianearodgers.bsky.social introduces a piece about the Green Man written by her late father, Andy Rodgers. Have a look here: www.nationalfolkloresurvey.co.uk/news/the-gre...

Watching this talk and loving the mention of @hookland.bsky.social 😎

Enjoying presentation online from @nfsengland.bsky.social for @folkloresociety.bsky.social this evening, drawing attention to wonderful revitalization of interest in folklore in England across arts and media. Long overdue, but we love to see all these TV shows, podcasts, artists… and researchers!

🚨TONIGHT! 🚨 The NFS team will be presenting the results of the Survey so far, courtesy of @folkloresociety.bsky.social You can expect ghosts and traditions, UFOs and love-locks, lucky objects and Christmas. See you there!

In the first article of our contemporary legend themed special issue of Revenant, John Quinn from @uniwestscotland.bsky.social examines Netflix’s Crime Scene: the Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel (2021) through the lens of CL scholarship.

For the past few years, the team at the Centre for Contemporary Legend has been working on a Contemporary Legend-themed special issue of Revenant journal. If you’ve not come across Revenant before, it’s a good one: academic research and creative works are presented alongside reviews…

If you can't get to Sheffied but you would like to see an online talk based on this exhibition, the head to bit.ly/flaevents and book for Invasion of the Saucermen. Proceeds will support the charity @folklorelibrary.bsky.social

Join us tomorrow evening (Wed 11 March) for the opening night of Invasion of the Saucermen, a new exhibition exploring the visual legacy of UFOlogy. 5-7pm, The Old Head Post Office, Fitzalan Square, Sheffield

Our Andrew Robinson has been hard at work installing the new exhibition, Invasion of the Saucermen, at the Old Post Hall in Sheffield. Here’s a sneak preview… join us for the opening on Wednesday 11 March, 5-7pm.

It was such an honour to record this conversation with one of my favourite scholars, and to be part of this brilliant podcast series. Looking forward to Season Two already

So here it is: the final episode of the first series of Folklore Matters! This time, @dianearodgers.bsky.social interviewed @helenwheatley.bsky.social about folk horror, the gothic and screen screen screen. It’s a great episode to end on - but don’t worry, we’ll be back for series two!

Probably not statistically significant, but I'm GOING to believe this from now on.

Series one of Folklore Matters comes to an end tomorrow - and we want to hear your thoughts. What did you like? What could be improved? Who should we be speaking to for series two?

Our research shows that 13% of people in England - that’s roughly 5 million people - believe that it is lucky if swallows, swifts and/or house martins build a nest in the eaves of your home.

This was such a strong and important show. And delightful too! Your soundtrack provided the perfect backdrop- slightly unsettling, defiant and rousing!

❤️‍🔥 SHE IS SO GREAT! ❤️‍🔥 We worked with Lucy to make the soundtrack for her 'Oss Girls project at the amazing @field-system.bsky.social gallery. Check out the video at the bottom of this page on Lucy's website... www.lucywright.art/works/oss-gi...

Today on Folklore Matters, you can hear us discussing folklore and art, and consciously creating custom with the one and only Lucy Wright. She articulates things so beautifully so join us to connect all those folkloric dots you have floating around!

Invasion of the Saucermen is a new exhibition at the Old Head Post Office at @sheffieldhallamuni.bsky.social, opening next month. We caught up with Andrew Robinson to hear about its conception - and how the Survey feeds into the display: www.nationalfolkloresurvey.co.uk/news/invasio...

On the website today, meet photographer Joe Barnes. His fascination with the customs and traditions of Britain has led to a body of work that he’s hoping to exhibit. He’s kindly supplied us some gorgeous images to accompany his piece. Read it here: www.nationalfolkloresurvey.co.uk/news/joe-bar...

Episode four of Folklore Matters has landed and it’s a special one: a recording of @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social and @odavies9.bsky.social at Off The Shelf in October discussing their latest book, Folklore: a journey through past and present. It’s a corker if we do say so ourselves!

Our @dianearodgers.bsky.social has made a short video to explain what the National Folklore Survey for England is all about.