Join the Loremen (James Shakeshaft and Alasdair Beckett-King) as they "investigate" local legends and forgotten folklore.
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Loremen Podcasts
Fabulous Folklore will give you your weekly fix of fabulous folklore in fifteen minutes (or less)! Hosted by fantasy and Gothic horror writer, Icy Sedgwick, the podcast explores folklore, legends, superstitions, mythology, and all things weird, occult and unusual.
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Loremen S6Ep47 - Xmas Pig 2025 with Daisy Earl
52:14
52:14
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It's PIIIIIIIIGMAAAAAS! James and Alasdair are joined by multi-award-having comedian Daisy Earl. We make merry with the legend of a boozy Mancunian pig named Polly, and the Scottish fairy tale of Whuppity Stoorie. (The latter of which bears a strong resemblance to the more famous tale of old... you know... Rumple-whatshisname.) Follow Daisy! S…
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Festive Folklore & Christmas Carols with Loremen
46:03
46:03
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For this first episode in our Festive Folklore series for December 2025, I'm joined by my podcast pals, James Shakeshaft and Alasdair Beckett-King, better known as the Loremen. We discuss some obscure Christmas superstitions and omens, and a truly bizarre apocryphal Christmas carol. We also talk about Christmas films, our own Christmas traditions, …
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The Christmas Ghost Story Tradition with Dr Kate Cherrell
58:02
58:02
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Dr Kate Cherrell is a writer and broadcaster specialising in the long 19th century and paranormal history. Her academic interests include 19th-century Spiritualism, mourning traditions, the gothic, the monstrous feminine, and death history. She is the author of Begotten (2025), Memorials to the Dead (2026), and writes commercially on paranormal his…
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A Portmanteau Ghost Story for Christmas
1:05:19
1:05:19
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For this third episode in our Festive Folklore series for December 2025, I'm adding my own tale to the noble tradition of the Christmas ghost story! And it arrives right ahead of the winter solstice... With plenty of folklore Easter eggs for you to spot, I'm also ably supported with storytelling content by my podcast pals, Owen Staton from The Time…
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Loremen S6Ep46 - The Man-Faced Pigs of Brussels
34:27
34:27
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Who is that, judging me from afar? Why it's the Man-Faced Pigs of Brussels (Wisconsin), the pickiest swine the Loreboys have encountered to date! With a sprinkling of Christmas Pig magic, here is a festive little tale to warm you from your snout right down to your curly, curly tail. See Alasdair On Tour in 2026! Edited by Laurence H…
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Festive Folklore and Traditions with The Faerie Folk and Celtic Myths & Legends
47:22
47:22
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For this second episode in our Festive Folklore series for December 2025, I'm joined by my podcast pals, The Faerie Folk podcast and Sian Powell from Celtic Myths & Legends. We discuss some plant-based traditions from Herefordshire, the Mari Lwyd, and Cornwall's Montol Festival. We also talk about Christmas films, our own Christmas traditions, and …
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Long Hanborough? Home of the Oxford Bus Museum? Yes! THAT Long Hanborough. And once you've listened to this episode, you'll know it for more than being home to the Spice Girls' bus from Spice World (1997). You'll know it for containing a spooky cottage with a particularly busy poltergeist. See Alasdair On Tour in 2026! Join the LoreFolk at…
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Myths of the Stars and Planets with Suki Ferguson
41:49
41:49
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In this episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat to writer Suki Ferguson about some of the myths associated with the celestial bodies, how you approach myths when you don't just want to focus on the Greek and Roman ones, and what we can learn from looking at the night sky! Suki is the author of Young Oracle Tarot: An initiation into tarot's my…
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You know what they say: if you remember Finstock, you've been to West Oxfordshire. Here we discover a wealth of ghosts from James's old stomping ground. There's a 1990s spectre, an 1800s preacher and a 39000s (BCE) neanderthal. Plus, a truly chilling lady ghost whose beckoning hands can only be seen by children. Pop on your body warmers... now! …
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Legends of New York's Islands: Buried Treasure and Typhoid Mary
24:49
24:49
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New York City conjures up images of a neon-drenched Times Square, skyscrapers gleaming in the sun, and the labyrinthine subway system. Yet the city also boasts three main rivers; the Hudson to the west, the East River to the east (unsurprisingly), and the Harlem to the north. Where we find rivers, we can find islands. Where we find islands, we find…
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James dives back into the well of Cornish lore and surfaces with story of undying love - and a chilling counterpart to last week's tale. It's a case of Till Death Us Don't Part in the legend of Sarah Polgrain and Yorkshire Jack, whose marriage vows echoed beyond the grave. Plus, a lovely handful of teeth. See Alasdair On Tour in 2026! Edited b…
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Menorca Legends: Lost Cities, Giants, and the Cyclops
18:17
18:17
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Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Well-known for a huge collection of megaliths, Menorca has seen human activity since the prehistoric era. This period was the Talayotic period, which lasted until 123 BCE. The island fell under Roman occupation, Vandal conquest, the Byzantine Empire, and, centuries later, British occu…
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Sure, this starts with a derailment. But a derailment BY Alasdair? What crazy mixed up episode is this? Well, most of it is a classic ghost story from Cornwall. Featuring a fast-thinking blacksmith, a humble servant, a burst horse and a bit of magick. See Alasdair On Tour in 2026! Edited by Laurence Hisee Join the LoreFolk at …
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Anglesey Folklore: Witches, Ghosts, and Ancient Druids
24:23
24:23
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Perhaps most famous as the home of the druids, Ynys Môn, also known as Anglesey, occupies 275 square miles just off the north Wales coast. It is an ancient place. Archaeologists found Neolithic settlements at Llanfaethlu, making these some of the oldest villages in Wales. The Neolithic Castell Bryn Gwyn site remained in use until the Roman period. …
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Loremen S6Ep41 - The Disappearing Diplomat
48:06
48:06
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Prussia, 1809. An Englishman named Benjamin Bathurst vanishes without leaving a trace. Apart from his trousers. And his cloak. And possibly his skull. Who is behind this baffling disappearance? A local hoodlum, a French comte, or Napoleon Bonaparte himself? This cold case has remained unsolved for over two centuries. Until now! Because James has a …
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Legends of Drake's Island: Tunnels, Ghosts, and a White Lady
22:12
22:12
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Drake's Island sits in Plymouth Sound, around 500 m from the mainland. The island is just 6.5 acres, and around 250 yards wide at its broadest point. You can reach the island by boat in 10 minutes. Its name refers to Sir Francis Drake, a problematic figure often lauded for his circumnavigation efforts. He also has very little to do with Drake's Isl…
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The boys discover a peculiar cult boasting not one, but two Jesuses. Yowzah! Must be pretty awkward at Christmas. James whisks Alasdair off to the commune of the Agapemonites: a scandalous Victorian sect nestled in the sauciest region of Somerset. (Well, a few miles north of Taunton.) There's a little extra spice in the mix, because James has notic…
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Today marks All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day or the Feast of All Hallows. That's why Hallowe'en is called that - it's All Hallow's Eve. The day celebrates saints, but the far more interesting day for folklore is tomorrow - All Souls' Day. All Souls' Day marks remembrance of the dead, whether that's visiting graves, praying for the de…
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James and Alasdair do their absolute darndest to keep Austin at least a little bit odd with this selection of spooky tales from that Texan bastion of peculiarity. SPOILER ALERT: we get the fairy tale Goldilocks very wrong. But wait! Before you have your butler send us a strongly worded telegram, we do get it right in the end. Edited by Laurence His…
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How do we understand the reputation of the Amityville Horror House?
18:29
18:29
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If I ask you to think of a famous haunted house, will your mind wander to a white Dutch Colonial house, with quarter-round windows lit from within to look like red eyes? Yes? Then the reputation of 112 Ocean Avenue has done its work, aided and abetted by The Amityville Horror. Even if that wasn't the first house you thought of, Amityville's reputat…
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Queen Victoria, the second longest Queen of England (at the time of recording), escaped death on numerous occasions. But did she ever explore the spirit world? Alasdair recounts an series of (attempted) murder mysteries and relates the strange tale of a stolen timepiece. While James attempts to answer that age old question: who watches the watch, m…
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Just how bad were the prisons at the Doge's Palace?
20:36
20:36
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The Palazzo Ducale dominates the view as your vaporetto approaches the San Marco stop. The huge building is an example of Venetian Gothic architecture, all pointed arches and quatrefoils. It's hard to believe that two prisons lie within its bulk, with a third inside the pristine white building alongside it. Tourists might be the only people who vis…
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Loremen S6Ep37 - The Gold Hoard of the Great Ants
40:12
40:12
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Alasdair bedazzles James with tales of gold-digging ants. Did we mention these creatures were also massive? And deadly? Well, they were! Beginning with an Old English legend from Hana Videen's bestiary The Deorhord, the Loreboys travel into a world of dubious manuscripts and outlandish beasts. Lock up your camels! This episode was edited by …
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British Folklore from Past to Present with Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook
50:57
50:57
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In this episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I'm talking to two folklore heavyweights - Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook! Owen Davies is Professor of Social History at the University of Hertfordshire. He is the author of numerous books, most recently Art of Grimoire and Troubled by Faith: Insanity and the Supernatural in the Age of the Asylum (both…
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Newgate Prison: Novels, Escapees, and Dreadful Conditions
21:10
21:10
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If you've ever read any Charles Dickens novels, especially Great Expectations, then you'll have run into Newgate Prison. The hulking, notorious jail loomed large in London's history, before its demolition in 1902. While accurate execution statistics are difficult to find, there's a suggestion that over 1000 people faced capital punishment at the pr…
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Loremen S6Ep36 - The Little Man in the Red Cap
37:25
37:25
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Are the paths of Wiltshire stalked by a pagan deity in disguise? Usually on Loremen we recount tales that are seldom told, but this week is different. The legend of the Peaked Red One was, in fact, told by James and Alasdair at the Strange Days Festival of Forteana. But the sound quality was a bit bobbins, so we told our stories again, and here the…
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