According to Margaret Baker, daffodils were originally white, and a favoured flower of Persephone. When Hades caught her, his touch turned the blooms yellow, and his link with graves explains why people planted daffodils on them. Some consider the daffodil to be the flower of the underworld.

Walnut trees are less familiar than oak trees, but it turns out they appear in plenty of superstitions, legends, and folk remedies. Let's get to know the walnut tree in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! pod.co/fabulous-fol...

Primroses! According to Margaret Baker, you could affect the colour by the planting conditions. Feeding a primrose with bull’s blood guaranteed red flowers. Planting them upside down on Good Friday gave a pink, red, or red with a yellow centre flower.

#PhantomsFriday #WorldTheatreDay The true history of pepper’s ghost, 1890, Professor Pepper (John Henry) The True History of the Ghost; and All About Metempsychosis. London, Paris, New York & Melbourne: Cassell & Company, Limited, 1890 www.sothebys.com/en/buy/aucti... #TheVictorianBookoftheDead

The mighty Durham Cathedral. According to the Paranormal Database, a secret passage apparently connects the cathedral with Finchale Abbey, some 3.5 miles away. The reason no one has seemingly documented it is because no one can survive the journey as it's so terrifying. Allegedly.

The Horned God of the Witches: A History in Images How did the Horned God come to be horned/antlered, sitting, furry legs crossed, with a ram-headed serpent or an owl? Join Dr Anna Milon to explore the influences which brought us this iconic deity Tickets: www.folkloremythmagic.com/event-detail...

Fascinating how you can be queuing at a train door letting people off first, and other people will just walk around you to try to get on.

We're getting to know the black and white poplar tree in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! How did people use the tree in their remedies, and what superstitions surround the poplar? Let's find out! pod.co/fabulous-fol...

Northern Lights forecast to reappear across UK on Saturday 🤩 www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti... #aurora #nightsky #uk

Did you know romancing the Gothic is running a free online talk tonight of the history of the Gay Gothic romance? Back before Gaywyck there was (among other things!) Gay Nights at Maldelangue! Come find out more at 4pm or 9pm GMT (link for 9 below) www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1715525245...

Just spotted a sparrowhawk outside my house.

According to Ireland's Own, one Irish superstition follows that bumblebees buzzing at the window herald a visitor coming to your home. Red-tailed bumblebees indicate a male visitor, while white-tailed bumblebees indicate a female visitor!

Look at the vicious spike that gives the blackthorn its name!! According to Niall Mac Coitir, in Wales, people made blackthorn thorns into pins and threw them into wells. If they sank, their love was being insincere. (If you like love folklore, check out my book, Bring Me Love!)

The almost checkerboard patterned flower of a snakehead fritillary, fritillaria meleagris 🌱 #flowersonfriday #bloomscrolling

Thrilled to announce I'm chatting to @polishfolkwitch.bsky.social this month for Fabulous Folklore Presents about her new book, Polish Folk Magic! youtu.be/lb5LNZWL1qo

We're returning to the folklore of the common yew (Taxus baccata) this week on Fabulous Folklore with Icy. Let's explore their dendrology, their uses to humans, and yes, their links with death, before we meet some more famous yews! pod.co/fabulous-fol...

Spotted 7 magpies in the tree outside my house. That'll be a secret never to be told, then.

Culture war latest: the Bank of England has announced that after a public consultation, to which it received 44,000 responses, the next new banknotes will feature native wildlife. Tories: "It is deeply depressing that under Lab our national heroes are considered too 'divisive' to be on bank notes."

I really hate that whole thing of "please spend ages putting together a proposal but we won't bother explaining why we rejected it because we're far too busy".

Ah, there's a new icky marketing tactic - emailing you claiming to be a subscriber and asking for a favour, when they're not actually a subscriber at all. Also, know your audience, people - why would a folklore podcaster want to test your fintech product?!

We're off to meet the London Plane tree in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore - a tree uniquely able to cope with city environments! And yes, we particularly focus on the tale of the Cheapside Plane! pod.co/fabulous-fol...

Greek myths attribute the iris to Hera, along with the pomegranate, poppy, dittany, and white lily. In 1879, Miss Carruthers noted that all these flowers were later transferred to the Virgin Mary. In Mrs Burke's 1867 Illustrated Language of Flowers dictionary, the iris meant 'message'!

Our next online talk for @folkloretodmorden.bsky.social is at 7 pm GMT on 4 March, and it's all about merfolk legends from around the world, and how they show representation of different LGBTQIA+ identities! Buy tickets here: www.folkloremythmagic.com/event-detail...

I've been looking at children’s folklore on Fabulous Folklore in February, and for our final episode, we're going to focus on games. So what did my listeners play as children, both in the schoolyard and at home? pod.co/fabulous-fol...

In this episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I got to talk to the absolutely brilliant Najah Lightfoot about her new book, The Spiritual Magic of Dolls, haunted dolls, how to know if you're a 'doll person', and how to start collecting dolls! youtu.be/8WmlZc4Lk2o

This week on Fabulous Folklore, we're exploring the 'Beliefs' category of children’s folklore. See if you recognise the beliefs people heard and spread in their childhood, including supernatural beings like witches, love divination, and superstitions! pod.co/fabulous-fol...

I'm doing a talk about love magic at Newcastle Castle on 20 February at 6 pm! We'll explore how people used plants to see visions of future partners, worked magic with ordinary household items, and the work of two Newcastle-based cunning men! Https://www.newcastlecastle.co.uk/events-activities

I hope the people who signed up to get emails from me after reading my Necromancer's Apprentice books are pleased to hear that this month's story marks a return to the Underground City AND it has a grey lady ghost in it.

*Announcement* I have been invited to speak at an online meeting of Cartoonists Northwest (USA) on the 21st February 2026 at 8pm GMT! You are welcome to join and hear me speak about my art and how I flog dead horses Sign up here! www.eventbrite.com/e/cartoonist...

The North Sea crashing against the cliffs at Seaton Sluice, in Northumberland. The name 'Seaton' essentially means 'settlement by the sea', and comes from Old English. It gained the name 'Seaton Sluice' after Sir Ralph Delaval had a pier and sluice gates added to the harbour in the 17th century.

You know M.R. James would have had a field day with this.

I'm doing a talk about love magic at Newcastle Castle on 20 February at 6 pm! We'll explore how people used plants to see visions of future partners, worked magic with ordinary household items, and the work of two Newcastle-based cunning men! Https://www.newcastlecastle.co.uk/events-activities

Just a reminder I'm doing a talk about love magic at Newcastle Castle on Friday 20 February at 6 pm! Using plants, household magic, and even the work of cunning men! www.newcastlecastle.co.uk/events-activ...

Did you catch this weekend's fab writing workshop with Dr Icy Sedgwick? If not, you can catch it here. Great folklore explorations and great story prompts. Don't miss it! youtu.be/YaAbyQFdvpE

I've just posted the February paid episode of Fabulous Folklore, exploring the Roman festival of Parentalia, offering devotion to the family dead! It's on Substack and Patreon... open.substack.com/pub/fabulous...

To win a copy of Bring Me Love by our pal @icysedgwick.bsky.social as heard on today's Valentine Magic special, follow us both then comment on this post with your favourite romantic gesture from across history, mythology or folklore! 🖤 #valentinesday #folklore #bringmelove #lovemagic #competition

Urban legends spread quickly, especially among children. Explore some examples reported by listeners of Fabulous Folklore, including talk of Bloody Mary! pod.co/fabulous-fol...

Happy Valentine's Day! As a gift, we have TWO new eps for you to enjoy! 🖤 First we're chatting with Russ Williams about the historic Welsh county of #Caernarvonshire! Then Eleanor has interviewed @icysedgwick.bsky.social for our Valentine's Magic episode, including about her book Bring Me Love!

Not a single thing we were told about #COVID turned out to be correct. A long thread 🧵

New episode via link in bio! Author & podcaster @icysedgwick.bsky.social joins me to talk about her new book Bring Me Love — all about love magic, divination, & the rituals people used to find (or keep) love. We journey from rosemary‑in‑your‑shoes to egg‑white fortune telling #Folklore #LoveMagic

Keen to try expanding the landscapes you write in your fiction? Why not try creating your own folklore for the features in those landscapes? My pre-recorded workshop will show you how - and it's only £6.50! ko-fi.com/s/65ab6f1b40

Here's a thread which follows my last book - Historic Building Mythbusting. Its a look at the stories we tell about ancient buildings, a debunking of some of those tales, and what we can learn about ourselves through folklore... the stories behind the stories 1/12🧵

We're exploring the story of troll dolls - and tales of trolls in folklore - over on Fabulous Folklore this week! pod.co/fabulous-fol...

Gorse blossoms throughout the year, which led to an old saying, "When kissing’s out of fashion Gorse is out of bloom." Bear in mind that, according to Margaret Baker, in Somerset and Dorset, carrying gorse into the house was a bad omen and meant that people would soon carry out a coffin!

If they can remove Andrew's titles they can remove Mandleson's.

Can't say I'm impressed with the users on Substack who comment on articles with links to their own stuff rather than engaging with the content of the article. Especially when their stuff is often wildly unrelated to whatever they're commenting on.

Coming tomorrow... Join @icysedgwick.bsky.social and me on a ghost hunt in the Scottish Borders. What would we experience on a winter's night in the darkness of Jedburgh Castle Jail. Find out in a very special FOUR-HOUR-LONG episode where you'll hear audio from that night 👻

Still feeling icky talking about self-promotion and upcoming books. But here I am: queenofswordspress.com/authors/joyc...

I'm still collecting children's folklore for my next podcast theme, and I'm getting some amazing responses - monsters, urban legends, games, even a Tin God! Still time to add yours to this Google Form: forms.gle/D8mLW7q2um5Z...