British Folklore

From the dark centuries of British prehistory to the ninth century AD, comes tales of giants and fairy-folk of druids and saints. From King Lear and King Arthur, to Fingal, Beowulf, Gwendolen, and Guinevere legendary characters have shaped the making of the nation. But who were they? In Mythology of the British Isles, Geoffrey Ashe explores how each of these stories are inter-connected, and how they have taken on fresh significance and meaning as historical and archaeological research has uncovered the truth behind each legend.

Dive into the enchanting world of Irish folklore in this captivating compendium of fairy tales, songs, and poems compiled and co-written by Nobel Prize-winning Irish wordsmith W. B. Yeats.

For decades, scattered references in local archives have hinted at a little‑known subterranean population living beneath the remote moorlands of Cornwall. Most historians have dismissed these accounts as remnants of mining folklore or misinterpreted rural superstition. Yet among the papers of Professor Adaline H. Snaith, a meticulous but largely forgotten field researcher active in the 1930s, lies a body of material that suggests a far more complex reality. Drawing on Snaith’s original notes, sketches, and artefact studies, this volume presents the first structured ethnological account ...

This omnibus brings together seven of H.E. Bulstrode’s ghost stories originally published between 2016 and 2018. These are: The Ghost of Scarside Beck A newly-wed Cumbrian vicar and his wife experience a night like none they could ever have foreseen. He may have answered his calling, but who, or what, is calling her? Old Crotchet The year is 1920, and it's Twelfth Night by the old reckoning. Festivities are about to commence at Hinton St Cuthbert Manor when something sinister stirs from its protracted dormancy, awakened, it would seem, by the arrival of two young guests. The old ways, ...

Discover the world's greatest myths and legends - from Greek mythology to Norse mythology - in this comprehensive guide. What did Japanese mythology say about the beginning of the Universe? How did Oedipus become the classic tragic hero in Greek mythology? Who brought about the origin of death...

From the ancient tales of the Tuatha Dé Danann, to the iconic events of the Easter Rising, this book takes you on a journey through the ages. Learn about the major events in Ireland's history, including the Viking invasions, the Tudor conquests, and the Great Famine. You'll gain a deep understanding of the events that have shaped this unique and vibrant country.

This fascinating audiobook is the first volume in a projected cultural history of the United States, from the earliest English settlements to our own time. It is a history of American folkways as they have changed through time, and it argues a thesis about the importance for the United States of having been British in its cultural origins. While most people in the United States today have no British ancestors, they have assimilated regional cultures which were created by British colonists, even while preserving ethnic identities at the same time.

Something ancient stirs beneath the soil... and it's hungry. Step beyond the veil of time with Dead Men Still Walk, a chilling collection of ten folk horror short stories rooted in forgotten rites, cursed bloodlines, and the dark mythologies of the Old World. These tales are where superstition meets survival, where twisted rural legends still breathe, and where the dead don’t rest — they wait. From moss-covered graveyards to fog-bound villages, from cursed forests to crumbling stone circles, this anthology will drag you deep into a world of haunting folklore, ancient pacts, and unspoken...

When a folklore PhD student begins researching Britain's ancient stone circles, she doesn't expect them to research her in return. Twenty-eight-year-old researcher arrives at Stonehenge before dawn, camera ready, academic theories prepared. What she isn't prepared for are the handprints that appear on her chest when she touches the stones, or the way time begins to slip, or the realisation that she's been marked for this moment since childhood. The stones are counting, and she's being added to their tally. Across twenty-three days, she visits twelve ancient monuments—from Stonehenge to ...

"Narrator JD Jackson addresses his listener as "bro" in this decidedly contemporary retelling of the classic saga...His brilliant performance captures all the artistry, wit, and immediacy of this fresh translation, and breathes new life into what for most has been a literary fossil." --...

Beneath the familiar streets of the United Kingdom lies another world—one rarely seen, quietly feared, and never explained. Urban Legends: Short Stories from Mysterious UK Cities is a chilling collection of atmospheric tales drawn from Britain’s oldest cities and darkest corners. From fog-drenched alleys and abandoned underground tunnels to forgotten buildings that should not exist, each story explores what lingers after midnight—when history refuses to stay buried. These short stories blend folklore, modern urban myth, and psychological unease, capturing the eerie mood of cities like...

Great Britain is an ancient land steeped in history and tradition. Its rolling countryside is dotted with prehistoric burial mounds and stone circles. Brooding castles hold tales of bloodshed and honor. Medieval churches have elaborate stained glass windows and gruesome carvings, reflecting a mixture of hope and darkness.

Morris dancing, maypoles and…murder As the picturesque village of Upper Outwell buzzes with anticipation for its May Day festivities—complete with Morris dancers, flower garlands, and enough Victoria sponge cakes to require emergency reinforcement of the trestle tables—a shadow falls over the celebrations. A man is discovered dead in the vicarage library, his identity as enigmatic as the circumstances of his murder. Who was he? Why was he killed? Kit and Mary Aston, a sharp-witted husband-and-wife duo with an uncanny talent for uncovering trouble, investigate. Alongside them is ...

The Supernatural World of the Anglo-Saxons covers all aspects of Anglo-Saxon Paganism and folklore, including the Anglo-Saxon calendar. It is written with great knowledge and passion, exploring the Pagan Roots of Christmas and Halloween, of Wōden, the Wild Hunt and all the ancient Yule traditions. The Anglo-Saxons gave their name to England. Learn who they were, what they believed, who their Gods and Goddesses were. Discover the mythological beings found in Bēowulf and all across England's ancient landscape, and learn about the Pagan roots of Morris Dancing, along with other dances and ...

Midnight Pavements gathers urban legends from the UK and Ireland as they are still passed on—at bus stops, in pubs, on late walks home, and along roads people mention by name. Entries are brief and clear, drawn from oral tellings and printed sources where they exist. Where possible, the book notes early mentions, common variants, and places linked to a tale; where details are uncertain, that uncertainty is stated directly. Stark black-and-white ink drawings hold the atmosphere. This first volume follows the folklore of ordinary routes after dark: the stretch of road, the house with a ...

Jaimie can’t breathe. Jaimie can’t speak. Other patients are sick. Other patients can’t help him. On his chest struts a raven who says ‘the devil is coming’. Doctors say he is delusional after weeks spent lying in the Intensive Care Unit of his local hospital, having survived Covid-19. Next night he sees the bird’s prophecy come true: someone dressed in full PPE and crow-mask attacks a young woman called Ivona in the bed opposite… When Detective Sergeant Alison Ellis arrives to search the wards, she finds no violent intruder. Surely Jaimie’s superstitious talk of crime and ...

He came to the Somerset moors seeking a quiet parish. The dead are demanding a war.Reverend Paul Atherton is a man of uncompromising logic. Following a tragic failure in his previous urban ministry, the sixty-three-year-old vicar retreats to the isolated Somerset village of St. Jude’s. His plan is simple: deliver quiet sermons, rely on clinical psychology, and leave the "supernatural" where it belongs—in the dark ages.But his twelfth-century Norman church is built over a convergence of ancient subterranean ley lines, and in the dead of night, the overgrown graveyard begins to whisper ...

Step back into a land of plague, prophecy, and whispers that burn. In Ashes of the Sick, acclaimed horror writer Silas Toombs brings you ten terrifying folk horror short stories from the darkest corners of Old England—where disease isn’t always the deadliest curse. Meet plague doctors who walk with shadows, scarecrows who remember too much, spectral bellmen, witchfinders, and ancient spirits that dwell beneath stagnant waters. From fog-choked moors to crumbling cottages, each tale drips with historical dread, blending superstition and survival in an era ruled by faith, fear, and ...

Brought to you by Penguin. Following his acclaimed Sunday Times bestseller, Lancelot, Giles Kristian's new novel returns us to the realms of Arthurian legend . . . Britain is a land riven by anarchy, slaughter, famine, filth and darkness. Its armies are destroyed, its heroes dead, or missing...

A short look at mythology and folklore connected with Stonehenge, the world's most famous stone circle, and with other megalithic monuments. Who is the sinister 'Bowed One' and what relationship do the bones of a silver-handed saint have to an Irish deity of healing, mist and dogs? Did a Man in the Moon stare down at Stonehenge, and a female sun ride across the skies in a chariot with spoked wheels...or was it the reverse? Howling blue hags with single eyes bleary as the setting Midwinter Solstice sun; dancing stones drinking at the river; petrified women, wedding guests and hurlers; ...