I've just posted up a delectable line of sapphic Gothic/horror talks for July. Check them out and get your free tickets. (The image at the top is the Cover Art for Dowry of Blood by Martina Fačková)

From Jack-in-the-Green to Hypertext conferences, the project team have been busy. Check out the project's May newsletter on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pulse/storym...

2014 REF: 2026: closing UG History

Well, there we go...

There's potential for ethically trained AI to be used for broadening fields of expertise, challenging biases, introducing unexpected concepts for storytelling. But why is it always sold as doing all the rewarding fun bits for the human. =.=

#Archive30 #WhyArchives Without #archives the #BritishMuseum would have little idea of its history, or who has worked there over the years. Judith Stanley was 1 of the 1st female employees & in 1756 our accounts show her employment & the wages book shows she accepted her salary with a X.

If you can't hold your own rituals. store-bought is fine? It is surreal & somewhat disheartening, that everything I love that used to be sub- or countercultural now costs money. £££ larp 'experiences', occultism used as a marketing strategy... am I getting old & crotchety?

Survival of UK folklore archives often feels like folklore itself. In 1947, A. Irving Hallowell wrote: 'these archival collections, once published, often moulder on our shelves waiting for... a dim and uncertain future.' Is that dim uncertain future now? Eager to hear your thoughts below.

We have a folklore exhibition review up on @storymachine-ht.bsky.social blog. Check it out here: storymachine.iisys.de/2026/04/22/u...

If the recent book haul is anything to go by, by the end of the decade, I will build myself a house out of fantasy novels that include the Wild Hunt #Herne'sHunt

Listeners who can’t be there in person … Zakia is happy for this to be recorded so you’ll get to hear the interview on a future episode 🙂

They call the church 'the witch's hat'. Even in their holy places they cannot help but think of us. Fear of our witchery, the appeal of our witchery, long ago seized their imagination. We live in their stories and desires, but they can never possess us. – #EmilyCBanting, 1982 #WitchSky

Currently at the 'please let me start again' stage of manuscript revisions. What happened to spending a decade on a meandering monograph?!

Cat in the Summer Meadow, Bruno Liljefors (1860-1939).

A spectacularly detailed piece of research. And the illustrations are gorgeous. I'm chuffed both ways that this book beat mine to the printing press. #Herne #HornedGod

We've had a restful Spring break, & it is full steam ahead into conference season. Catch @hexnhart.bsky.social & Sabine Slowik presenting digitally at @contemporarylegend.bsky.social Perspectives on Contemporary Legends in June: contemporarylegend.org/meetings/per... More confs to be announced!

Who's your favourite for the role of Pan's literary successor. The Sunday talk will delve into detail on this topic and on why all rebels need antlered hats. Submit your bets!

Found a truly cursed book about the Green Man with genAI illustrations, including this one. It's not my phone, the boy's face is pixelated on the page. It is surreal to me that a book ostensibly about a nature spirit guiding people to appreciate the land can draw on genAI. An artefact of our time

Festival of Magical History online weekend 11-12 April. I’ll be talking about the research for my new book Witchland! Tickets via QR code in photo 1. Please also enjoy random photo of my little dog, Friday, who might interrupt… #history #witches #folklore

Spotted in Devon: a cat on parade, a parking ram and some assumptions about a wizard's music tastes

We have so many brilliant YA fantasy and science fiction authors' stories that deserve adaptations: Tracy Deonn, Sabaa Tahir, Holly Black, Sarah J. Maas, the list goes on. Don't get me started on adult SFF! Very long list. There are 1000 books I'd like to see on TV/film. Hollywood, stop rebooting!

In English folklore, some prehistoric sites were associated with dragons, including Drakestone at Stinchcombe in Gloucestershire, a natural stone by an ancient earthwork; Dragonhoard and Brokenbarrow, at Garsington, Oxfordshire; and Drake Howe at Bilsdale and Midcable, Yorkshire. #FolkloreThursday

How indeed? Come to my online talk at @folkloretodmorden.bsky.social on April 1st to find out: www.folkloremythmagic.com/event-detail...

Online Festival of Magical History! Talks on witches, ghosts, cursing, folklore and myth! Tickets via the QR code on the poster 🧙‍♀️ @magic @history @witchcraft

Trialing some two block ‘Great God Pan’ linocut prints on green paper. I’m not sure they work…

This is the recently conserved 1753 foundation deed of the British Museum, where Hans Sloane’s executors vest his collection into the hands of the Trustees. It’s now safe to be viewed & exhibited after being permanently folded since the 1750s. Harwell have done a great job! #britishmuseum #archives

I'm delighted to announce that I've just been appointed by @cambridgeup.bsky.social to edit a brand new and exciting Elements series, 'Elements in Folklore' (with Dr Tabitha Stanmore), which will aim to publish the latest research in folklore that's 20-30k words long! #folklore 📚

At StoryMachine, we think a lot about connections. Among others, connections between place and story. This is Scorhill Stone Circle on Dartmoor, a perennial feature of the landscape that still attracts tales, speculations, and imaginings. What story would you tell about it?

Have you seen the new blog posts from @storymachine-ht.bsky.social? Check out Sabine Slowik & Marie Veihelmann's conference presentation, and my intro to the project via the Wild Hunt. Follow link for more: storymachine.iisys.de/blog/

If you think now is the moment for pissing on someone’s chips, for trying to pull down something that gives a little sustaining wonder - you’re a wanker. If you think now is the time for pedantic theorising or backseat lecturing of others on the frontline - sit down and think about your numptytism.

A photo from @hexnhart.bsky.social's recent archive trip. A romantic set-up, but not the easiest to search. StoryMachine aims to make information retrieval fast & fluid, while leaving room for the serendipity of chancing upon just the right thing while browsing the shelves #archive #academia

At @salisburymuseum.bsky.social on a mission for @storymachine-ht.bsky.social, did not expect to run into an old friend - Herne the Hunter as featured in the GWR folklore guide

The Dartmoor Tors Festival is back again this year, celebrating art, place, and life on Dartmoor. Visit their website for the full schedule: dartmoortorsfestival.co.uk

If you can read French and are interested in the megalithic monuments at Carnac and elsewhere, ‘Les Vaisseaux de Pierres’ is an excellent new resource exploring how prehistoric sites in France have been portrayed in art and popular culture. #StandingStoneSunday

One step closer to the mystery of the antlered goddess in the British Museum! Come to my talk at @treadwells-books.bsky.social on March 26th to hear about Cernunnos' elusive contemporary. Tickets here: www.treadwells-london.com/events-1/hor...

they do move in herds

Absolute Units is back tomorrow! We delve into the world of Old Crockern, the mythical spirit of Dartmoor, with activists @lisaschneidau.bsky.social and Ruth Webb. Learn about Old Crockern's tale, and why he returns today. Listen to past episodes: merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...

Next week: join us for our next online talk: George Monger, 'Folklore in the Computer Age'. Tuesday 24 February, 19:00-20:30 GMT on Zoom. Tickets £6.00 (£4 for members with promo code) www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/folklore-i...

Folk legends in postcards. Latest. Whittington Stone, London, c. 1904. The legendary spot where Dick Whittington (without cat), was going to leave London but was called back by the Bow Bells. I've pieced together the complex history of this stone in forthcoming book "Legend and Landscape".

But place is just as important for its rootedness and specificity. When we tie a story to THIS street and THIS tree, we ensoul the world around us and reveal its magical dimension. Forestry England are on the right track there, populating their woodlands with beloved storybook characters. 3/3

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

Divination. I see my visual history of divination is now up on the Yale website. Forthcoming this year, Oct 2026. Enjoyed the challenge, once again, of exploring global traditions. Complex and rich. yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...

Project StoryMachine aims to preserve, explore and provide greater access to folklore traditions in Germany and the UK, through the development of a digital infrastructure called StoryMachine storymachine.iisys.de

You know all about The Wicker Man… now hear from one of the Children of The Wicker Man. On Folklore Matters today, we talk to Dominic Hardy, son of Robin, to hear all about the film’s legacy and its impact on his family. Source it wherever you get your podcasts…

found at an antiques shop in the home counties. comments welcome

Do folklore and digital tech seem like odd bedfellows? 'Father of the supercomputer' Seymour Cray attributed some of his success to advice he received from elves while digging a tunnel (if you don't stumble across an entrance to a subterranean otherworld, home-made is fine). 1/3