The Folklore Society

16/06/2026

'Green' myths, legends and folk tales

In a world increasingly beset by ‘climate anxiety’ and ‘eco-distress’, can traditional narratives play any role in offering a more optimistic outlook? Do such myths, legends and folk tales relate only to Western countries – or reflect universal concerns across the globe? And can they offer any useful lessons to help us make Planet Earth a better place?

These were some of the questions Rosalind Kerven had in mind when she started researching and writing her new book, 'Myths, Legends and Tales for a Greener World'. Her intellectual journey lasted over a year, taking in ancient books and clay tablets, 19th century collections and academic journals, modern research articles, tourist websites and beyond.

In this online talk, Kerven will describe a Cherokee myth that exactly reflects global warming, a Chinese folk tale about man-made climate disaster, a South American rainforest warning about litter, a Nigerian story about extinction, a Japanese story about leaving resources for the future and much more. You will meet a whole array of fantastical characters including an Indian Tiger Demon, Sioux thunderbirds, the Irish Hungry Man and the Caribbean ‘Mother of the Water. She will also share myths promising that Planet Earth can always recover from disaster. The talk will share the challenges and rewards of her research, and introduce some of the most unforgettable stories and nuggets of global wisdom from many different cultures. The accompanying slide show will include some of the stunning specially commissioned artwork in the book.

7pm, Tuesday 23 June, £6 non-members, £4 FLS members (with promo code)

Link in bio

[pic: book cover, Batsford, 2026]

11/06/2026

Our Folklore on the Move conference hit the news in Romania :-)
Thanks Adina

România s-a remarcat printr-un proiect inovator de digitalizare a patrimoniului etnologic, prezentat în cadrul unei conferințe internaționale de elită dedicate folclorului.

10/06/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our annual conference last weekend.

Regaled by the Polish-Scottish Song Group at the opening reception (pic 2), delegates went on to enjoy a wide-ranging programme of events on the theme of 'folklore on the move' - including panel discussions (pic 4 - Melissa La Rose, Josiah Eames and Gemma Joliffe taking questions), a walking tour exploring the ghosts and 'dark history' of Old Aberdeen led by Fiona-Jane Brown (pic 3), and plenty of informal lively conversation (pic 1 - Molly Bambrough, Gemma Joliffe and Molly Hughes).

Thank you to the at the for helping make it all happen!

See you next year!

[pics: Jeremy Harte]

17/05/2026

We are all very sad to hear of the death of Prof. Ian Russell, our former Folklore Society Council member, and send our condolences to his family

12/05/2026

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Search for Grindylow

The 19th-century ‘nursery bogey’ Grindylow lurked in deep and dangerous ponds in Manchester and seized children who ventured too close.

In March 2025, Royal Mail issued a set of eight colourful stamps celebrating Britain’s ‘Myths and Legends’. Among them, representing ‘Northeast England’, is a figure resembling the ‘nursery bogey’ Jenny Greenteeth, a name used by parents to frighten children away from deep and dangerous ponds – but labelled ‘Grindylow’. Royal Mail seem to have adopted this unusual name because of its borrowing by J K Rowling and application to a species of malignant water-demons that infest the Black Lake at Hogwarts Castle.

However, Grindylow has an individuality and a folklore of her own – and in this online talk folklorist and former curator of medieval collections at the Museum of London John Clark follows the paper trail of references from Hogwarts back, not to ‘Northeast England’ but to the vicinity of Manchester in the 1850s, and the works of local historian and pioneer folklorist John Higson. He also discovers that Rowling was not the first author to misappropriate the name!

Clark considers Grindylow’s status and relationship to the better-known Jenny Greenteeth – and speculates about the origins of both names, and the nature of such water sprites. He also discusses the marl-pits of Lancashire, and why they should particularly have acquired demon guardians.

7pm, Tuesday 19 May, £6 non-members, £4 FLS members (with promo code)

Link in bio

[pic: The Water Sprite (Nøkken) by Theodor Kittelsen, 1904; Wikimedia Commons; public domain]

28/04/2026

Lily-of-the-valley Customs: A Window on France

Any popular practice may open windows onto broader local or national concerns, as lily-of-the-valley customs certainly do in France - as Cozette Griffin-Kremer (Associate Researcher, Centre de recherche bretonne et celtique, Brest, France) explains in our next online talk.

There is a wealth of customs associated with the lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis L.) in France and this can only be a sampling that runs from the iconic plant’s botanical being, on to how it is associated with bringing good luck, and hence, with some of the famous people who have used the muguet to construct their own legends. This can go far beyond a kind of brand-marking to active construction of a sense of place and identity. Practices are practiced, after all, and doing so may at times be fraught with difficulties, some of them quite amusing, others less so. Among the examples: will there be lily-of-the-valley for May Day in 2050?

7pm, Tuesday 5 May, £6 non-members, £4 FLS members (with promo code)

Link in bio

[pic: Torsburgen liljekonvalj by Tulipasylvestris; Wikimedia Commons; Public Domain]

27/04/2026

UCL Special Collections Open Morning: Magic and Western Esotericism

Join our friends at UCL Bloomsbury for a fascinating showcase of items related to the history of magic and western esotericism - some on loan from the Folklore Society’s Library and Archive.

Taking place at UCL's Object Based Learning Lab on Friday 15 May, this is a chance to meet the Special Collections team and see a selection of rare books, archives and manuscripts related to astrology, tarot, spirit summoning and folk traditions.

This is a great opportunity to learn about what special collections are and to meet people working as archivists, rare books librarians and educators, in digitisation and in conservation, at a fun, free event!

The showcase is a pop-in event in a small room, so there are two time slots available for visits: 10am and 11am.

To reserve a spot, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ucl-special-collections-open-morning-magic-and-western-esotericism-tickets-1986427018686?aff=oddtdtcreator

24/04/2026

The Folklore Society’s Annual Conference 2026 - in collaboration with the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen - runs from Fri 5 June to Sun 7 June (and online on Wed 10 June).

It's themed FOLKLORE ON THE MOVE, and PROGRAMME DETAILS ARE NOW OUT. We're excited!

There'll be talks on Santa Claus, the Pied Piper, Morris dancing and motorcycles, co**se paths, phantom hitchhikers, football folklore, teenager conspiracies, Ukrainian folk dress, the Iberian witch, transgender memorialization, the English cuppa, ghosts, music, song...and so much more it would take too long to tell you...

SO VISIT OUR WEBSITE NOW AND BOOK YOUR TICKET! https://www.folklore-society.com/event/folklore-on-the-move-the-folklore-societys-annual-conference-2026/

13/04/2026

Picturing The Dead: Spirit Photography c.1860-1940.

Mortality, religion, folklore, art and technology collide in this history of spirit photography...

In this online talk, Dr Helen Frisby, Hon. Secretary of The Folklore Society, explores the curious history of spirit photography; whereby, in a distinctly Victorian technological twist upon much older ghost beliefs, deceased ‘extras’ mysteriously returned to haunt photographs of their loved ones.

The craze for spirit photography peaked in Britain after the 1914-18 Great War, but had been conclusively debunked by 1940. Or had it...?

On one level the story of spirit photography is one of fraud, profiteering, and exploitation; however it also highlights the human capacity for ritual creativity in the face of grief and loss.

Please note that this presentation will include examples of spirit and postmortem photographs.

7pm, Tuesday 21 April, £6 non-members, £4 FLS members (with promo code)

Link in bio

[pic: British Library (Cup.407.a.1)]

31/03/2026

Macbeth: the Fairy Tale?

Macbeth is a play about fairies, not a play about witches.
 
This online talk replaces the notion that Macbeth is in the genre of 'tragedy' (which meant something very different to early moderns than it does to us) with the idea that it is a 'fairy tale' - which is how its earliest review suggests it was understood by its original audience.

In the talk, Tom Barnes, English teacher and Shakespeare scholar, looks at how Shakespeare used fairy narratives to construct his play, examines how the English of around 1600 would have seen fairies, and shows how the Weird Sisters would have been closer to their ideas of fairies than of witches.

While exploring Macbeth in detail, this talk is not aimed at the Shakespeare specialist. It is for anyone interested in how early modern Londoners understood the fairy world.

7pm, Tuesday 7 April, £6 non-members, £4 FLS members (with promo code)

Link in bio

[pic: 'Macbeth, Banquo and the Witches', by Henry Fuseli (1741-1825); public domain; Wikimedia Commons]