'In her new book...Alison Bashford unpacks the strange history of palmistry and biometrics, from occult physicians to the foundations of modern science and medicine. In this talk, she explores the central place of UCL-associated research in this unexpected strand of medical history'. Free to attend.

One from the actual Shire. A demonic elon musk about to be burned in effigy. #Lewes #Bonfire #Sussex 🔥

Join @odavies9.bsky.social & @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social as they discuss their gripping new guide to the weird yet everyday world of British folklore at @blackwells.bsky.social #Edinburgh. Thurs 13 Nov, 7pm Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/owen-davie... @edincityoflit.bsky.social #FolkloreThursday

The ritual detritus of 6th November

Really pleased to announce the launch of the all-new, all-dancing, London Lives website - www.londonlives.org It has been thoroughly re-engineered to facilitate more types of search, and redesigned for phones and tablets. The team very much hopes peope like it. 1/

Gibbet postcards... fun choice. On the back of it "I have arrived here safe, & am enjoying myself tophole"

I wrote a fun short thing about GHOSTBUSTERS for The Conversation as part of their 'Scary Stories for Kids' series, just published online here: theconversation.com/scary-storie... #ghosts #folklore #whoyagonnacall

Have you ever experienced that strange feeling that you’ve encountered this moment or event before?

Household Lore is being published next Tuesday, so get your pre-order in quick! Here's the link: watkinspublishinglinks.com/householdlore 🎉 #Folklore #Booksky #WritersLife #FairytaleTuesday #WyrdWednesday #BookChatWeekly #BookologyThursday #FolkloreThursday #BooksBooksBooks

It's November so I'm allowed to quietly whisper the word #Christmas, right? Sneaking in between my #Folklore promos I also wanted to point towards a book based on archival research but cosily fictionalised as magical realism - I wrote the book I'd always wanted to read

We had a feeling the press would love the first findings from our survey - and we’ve been getting some wonderful coverage! Take a look at the press page on our website to see how it’s been reported so far.

From tomorrow I’ll be knitting every day for a month in aid of Dementia UK. I will try to post a picture of my progress each day. This is my starting point, just over half way through the central section of a shawl with three borders. If you can, please donate: www.facebook.com/donate/83589...

Julliberrie's Grave: A programme of events celebrating Julliberrie's Grave long barrow near Canterbury. Running through to December mostly on Sunday evenings, details in the comment on our page. Neolithic (and Roman) Long Barrow which comprises a 44m long 15m wide, 2.

Excellent piece of journalism here. Puts the mainstream media to shame. The findings are what you might expect, and here's the proof. www.birminghamdispatch.co.uk/the-men-who-...

The Black British Folk Takeover at @efdss.bsky.social was curated by @angelcakepie2.bsky.social. It sounded right up our street so we asked her to tell us a little more. You can read all about it here: www.nationalfolkloresurvey.co.uk/news/the-bla...

Did you know that just over a quarter of people in England carve pumpkins at Halloween? 🎃 (Source: our survey!) We want to see yours - send us photos!

We're back briefly to share this with everyone! We hope you enjoy. #hextag #skystorians

Last chance to apply for a £500 Dance Mini Grant We are seeking proposals from individuals and groups / organisations who need support to embark on a new folk dance project or develop something new. Deadline: Monday 10 November 2025, 5pm. Apply now bit.ly/42jsCu6

Interested in the history of Seven Dials or London or the 1920s and 1930s? I'm doing some walking tours of the Dials with @stanfordstravel.bsky.social on Sat 15 Nov. There's loads to see, but Seven Dials is so small you don't need to walk far. manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/events/songs...

From making witch-bottles to sitting in historic ruins listening to spooky stories, 9th November is a date for your diary if you're in Herts - @herts.ac.uk & @beinghumanfest.bsky.social have teamed up to create a full programme of fun #Folklore family events. Come and join us!

MARI LWYD CHARITY AUCTION UPDATE We have had some wonderful arrivals from the brilliant cartoonist @jambookshopuk.bsky.social and wonderfully authors @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social @odavies9.bsky.social who donated a signed Folklore book to the auction Visit here: skullsandsheetsauction.wordpress.com

This includes a manuscript book on astrology owned by the Essex cunning-man James Murrell, kindly donated to the @folkloresociety.bsky.social along with his tobacco jar.

Coming soon to British Online Archives — Witchcraft and Magic in England, c. 1400–1920. Featuring rare records from The National Archives, British Library, UCL, and The Folklore Society. Register your interest: buff.ly/YBeFCF1

Witch persecution. And, oh, how I wish schools would teach just a bit on the continued persecution of supposed "witches" in the centuries after the witch trials. It would help a generation better understand our current Western persecutorial society.

Pre-ordering my new book Household Lore will not only get you a signed book plate (while stocks last) but an exclusive bonus short story by yours truly! If you've ever wondered about the monster under your bed, this one's for you...🧌 #HouseholdLore #Booksky watkinspublishinglinks.com/householdlore

Memorial love-locks alongside pebbles at this beautiful tiny chapel on the Llŷn Peninsula. Anyone who thinks these are just litter clearly haven't read the messages

Studying witchcraft. Every year I get emails from High School students from different countries asking me to answer a set of standard questions on the witch trials for their assignments. I send them some journal articles that address the issues. I do hope they read them...

Our first tranche of results are getting out there! We’ve just hosted our first press conference, at The Folklore Society and Royal Anthropological Institute in London, letting the world know about our Halloween and spooky-related findings

Nothing to see here? Well, this is a slow moving 🧵 for #skystorians and others about #eyeglasses of the past, about how to read in the past, where to buy eyeglasses, and how to do with them in general. The hashtag is #HowToDoWithGlassesInThePast Let's roll.

I talked with @neilmackay.bsky.social, writer at large for @heraldscotland.bsky.social, about HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY. Neil also spoke with @odavies9.bsky.social & @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social about their new book, FOLKLORE: A Journey Through The Past And Present. Essay below! #monsters #folklore

Thanks to @reaktionbooks.bsky.social for making my history of protest in England's public spaces into a beautiful, well produced book with a fab cover. Buy it here reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/contest...

A neat tool I just came across: Viabundus, a digital road map of northern Europe 1350-1650, that lets you calculate contemporary travel routes/times. In 1500, going Amiens → Köln by horse took almost 7 days and 13 toll payments. #medievalsky www.landesgeschichte.uni-goettingen.de/handelsstras...

I signed this open letter from archaeologists, conservation experts, museum curators and other heritage professionals against cultural destruction in Gaza and the West Bank initiated by the incredibly important NGO @emekshavehheb.bsky.social. Please follow and support: emekshaveh.org/en/open-lett...

I wrote about the stupid white paper. In summary, with these people in the driver's seat and apparently unbothered by consequences, we're so cooked.

Folk explanations of place name derivations. Just finished revising a short study of them. Some were serious & others humorous. A favourite: The Shropshire village of Selattyn on the Welsh border was thought to derive from a local schoolmaster who advertised "I sell Latin".

After submitting a FOIA request UKRI, I obtained success rates by three grant call scheme and I can only say that I am disheartened by the results: - AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2% - ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1% - ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%

Do you want to read about the weird and wonderful history of hands? Check out @victorianhand.bsky.social and our #handoftheweek series, starting today!! Please share widely.

Really enjoyed talking witches, mermaids, crooked coins, and hidden shoes, exploring the #Folklore that shaped Shakespeare’s England with @odavies9.bsky.social @thatshakespeare.bsky.social 🎭 🎧 Listen now: cassidycash.com/ep392

Babylas was the target of a nasty #curse nearly 2,000 years ago. Written on a lead tablet found in Antioch, one of the largest cities in the #Roman empire, the curse calls on the gods to tie up the hapless greengrocer, then “drown and chill” his #soul. #EpigraphyTuesday #History

Nationwide covered the three-day week, the drought, the Silver Jubilee and so on through the decade. It also covered the rise of both consumerism and environmentalism. And it had a fondness for supernatural stories like this one, which also gives you a picture of Sheffield people in 1970.

"Ritual, Personhood and the New Animism: Essays in Honour of Graham Harvey" is a new collection honoring a major scholar of animism. A must-buy. equinoxpub.com/projects/rit...

Thanks to everyone who came along to our @otsfestival.bsky.social gig last night, where David Clarke found out a little more about Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook’s excellent new book, Folklore: a journey through the past and present. If you didn’t make it, you can get a copy in your local bookshop!

‘The exceptionally limited edition book.’ (My cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com books)

Fish and chips as British. For goodness sake. There are two expert books by excellent historians on this. Read books not internet scrapings.

A bold and balanced re-appraisal of Tony Blair's years in power, pre-order 'New Labour, New Britain?' by historian @gsoh31.bsky.social with 25% OFF on the Waterstones website and app until Friday. Enter discount code OCTOBER25 at checkout: www.waterstones.com/book/new-lab... #booksky

I've just written a piece about the 1986 Public Order Act. A large section of it dealt with "football hooliganism" and the Far Right intertwined. There are boxes and boxes in The National Archives of correspondence from police to the Home Office about the violence.

❤️ Mary Anning, aka “the princess of paleontology” I have drawn here before in my book Women In Science and so happy I got to draw her again as a spot illustration in my new book DINOSAURS 📚🦕 buy my new book: a.co/d/iYiJ3Be #paleontology #fossiladdict #sciart

From ghosts to gytrash, I had a great time discussing the folklore of the Brontës on the moors for this brilliant episode of HistoryHit TV, 'Death at the Parsonage' - watch it here: access.historyhit.com/videos/death...