On this week's episode of Local Legends, Martin chats all things Worcestershire and the surrounds with folklorist and author Hugh Williams. Born in Worcester at the heart of the English Midlands, Hugh has gone about things the old fashioned way. Which is to say, he has spent almost his whole life physically exploring, discovering and researching the stranger places of England’s middle counties, and is deeply passionate about telling their stories. Part of this he does through his blog, which...

The Ancient Greeks believed they existed before the dawn of time, yet they're a mystery to most, so, for this week's Bonus Episode we're exploring the long and complex history of Nymphs! Part of the "Three Ravens Bestiary" series, we start off discussing the roles Nymphs played in the Greco-Roman pantheon, including how they were classified and eventually used, in Imperial projects, to present local and regional gods of pagan cultures, such as the Celts and Britons, as less powerful than the...

On this week's episode Martin is whisking us up to Worcestershire in England's West Midlands and telling us his take on the legend of "The Malvern Ogre." We start off chatting about what Martin calls 'a proper saint' - his namesake, St Martin - including his life as a goose-bothering wandering necromancer and the strange part-bloody, part-weather related traditions associated with today's festival of Martinmas. After that we set off for Worcestershire, a sometimes overlooked county with...

On this week's episode of Local Legends, Martin is chatting about Cambridgeshire, paganism and much, much more with one of the nation’s most prominent and celebrated folklorists, author and historian Dr Francis Young. In case you’re unfamiliar with his work, such as his frequent appearances on BBC radio, as well as his writing for magazines including History Today and BBC History Magazine, Francis specialises in the history of religion and belief. He is the author, editor, or co-author of...

For the final episode in this first 13-part series of Magic and Medicines, Eleanor explains the origins and subsequent interpretations of Ogham, the ancient Irish language of cuts. We start by exploring how we define what Ogham is, and its origins in the 4th century A.D. From there we dive into how the system works, our earliest sources (including The Auraicept na n-Eces, The Ogham Tract, and The Book of Ballymote) some associated mythology, and points of crossover with other runic languages...

With Haunting Season 2024 now over, we're back to our regular business, and this week Eleanor is punting us along misty waterways as we explore the history and folklore of Cambridgeshire! We start off chatting about Guy Fawkes, St Cleer and "Ringing Night," after which we cavort into Cambridgeshire, a soggy county whose landscape today is nothing like it once was. Aside from chatting about the draining of the fens, the county's success in the lucrative field of fossilized poop mining, and the...

For this week's Haunting Season-themed Local Legends episode, the final of the four, Martin gathers round the Three Ravens campfire with folklorist Brice Stratford to chat all about his new book Halloween Folklore and Ghost Stories. This new collection is Brice’s third book, following his first collection, Anglo Saxon Folklore: The Struggle for the Saxon Kingdoms, and New Forest Myths and Folklore, both of which were published in 2022. A storyteller, historian, actor and theatre director,...

For the Three Ravens 2024 Halloween Special we've pulled out all the stops and are talking about the most infamous serial killer in history, Jack The Ripper! Part of the "Something Wicked" series about true crimes with folkloric twists, we start by chatting through what London was like in 1888, including the boom in crime fiction that had culminated in the creation of Sherlock Holmes, the city's 58 daily newspapers, and the horrendous wealth divide between the Victorian rich and poor. Then...

What lives in the dark? For each of us, the sun, waning as it is through days of autumn rain, weakening, becoming paler, more obscure – the sun is a lifeline. Yet, each night, that lifeline vanishes. The hours of darkness grow longer, the cold dominion of night stretching out, growing larger, growing stronger. And each of us has an opposite. A dark-craving beast of shade. We know they’re there, though don’t care to acknowledge them. As the veil between this world grows thin enough to...

For this week's Haunting Season-themed Local Legends episode, Martin gathers round the Three Ravens campfire with writer, paranormal psychologist, and all-round super-cool spooky person Evelyn Hollow. It's likely you will have already heard of Evelyn, who is probably most famous for her work on Uncanny and various Danny Robins-hosted series such as The Battersea Poltergeist and The Witch Farm. You might have also seen her on the Warner Bros TV shows Spooked Scotland and Spooked Ireland which...

Despite some admitted squeamishness, for this week's Haunting Season-themed bonus episode, we're exploring the uncanny history and craft of Taxidermy. Part of the "Dying Arts" series, we begin by chatting through distinctions between Ancient Egyptian mummification and the modern practice of taxidermy - a term which only came into usage in the 19th century, despite Renaissance-era apothecaries having stuffed crocodiles hanging from their ceilings. Let alone 18th century exotic trophy hunting...

The last traces of blue have given way to a black, black sky, and a chill wind whistles down the narrow alleyway you’ve taken as a shortcut and are starting to wish you hadn’t. Was that the dry rustle of dead leaves under your feet, or something else? It’s pitch black, no moon, no stars, but you can just make out marks on the walls either side of you - marks which look like words, or furious scratches. A sound behind you makes you turn, and for just a moment you see the shape of something...

On this week's Haunting Season-themed Local Legends episode, the second of four, Martin gathers round the Three Ravens campfire with the acclaimed actor, art historian, and expert in classic ghost stories Robert Lloyd Parry. In case you've not heard of him, since 2005 Rob has been engaged in "The M.R. James Project," a set of performances where Rob, dressed and in character as 'The Father of the Modern Ghost Story,' performs James’ terrifying tales to much acclaim, including from the likes of...

Sharpen your stakes and have your garlic handy, as for this week's Haunting Season-themed bonus episode we're opening up some deliciously rich veins of history to explore the history and folklore of Vampires! Part of the "Three Ravens Bestiary" series, we start by discussing how the creation of the vampire as a figure in popular culture has its roots in the 19th century, all before digging back into the past to unearth the origins of vampire legend. This includes the story of how European...

The nights are drawing in, and the veil is lifting. In the chill, spiders cling to windowpanes, seeking the warmth within.  Bats roost in chimney pots, foxes, rats and badgers settle down for their winter’s rest, while jackdaws pick at barren earth, pining for spring. When the wind blows, it bites, and on the breeze you think you hear the whispering of a song. Was that a voice you ask, or just a memory? And was that melody singing to you? You know what this all means: Three Ravens Haunting...

On this week's Haunting Season-themed Local Legends episode, the first of four, Martin gathers round the Three Ravens campfire with the author, voice actor, and co-creator of hit podcasts The Magnus Archives and The Magnus Protocol Jonathan Sims. It's a conversation which ranges from Magnus' origins as prompted by long nights working night shifts to Jonny's school-age discovery of M.R. James and H.P. Lovecraft, to favourite haunted places, some recommended reading, what to take from writing...

In this special Haunting Season episode of Magic and Medicines, Eleanor dusts off her old grimoires and fetches up a severed head to guide us through the history of the arcane art of Necromancy! We start by discussing the modern conception of Necromancy, not least in video games, including summoning skeleton armies or raising the dead, and then jump back in time to explore how what was once considered a serious, sacred, and deeply helpful form of spiritual practice developed the macabre...

There’s a pinch of frost in the morning air, and the colours of the leaves are beginning to change from emerald to rust. The bracken is browning, and the mist which hovers above the ground smells of woodsmoke and apples. Just at the edge of your vision, a lonely figure in white hovers with an outstretched hand – but when you turn to look properly they’ve vanished. This can all mean just one thing: Three Ravens Haunting Season is back, and we're ready to get spooky! In this first installment...

On this week's very special Local Legends episode, Martin gathers round the Three Ravens campfire with England's first-ever Storytelling Laureate, the folklorist and author Taffy Thomas. In his younger years Taffy was a drama teacher and entertainer, founding the highly influential theatre company Magic Lantern. Then a debilitating stroke at the age of 36 changed Taffy’s life, and he turned to storytelling as self-imposed speech therapy. In the years that followed he became England's leading...

On this week's bonus episode, Martin takes us back to colonial South America for a tale of mass murder, witchcraft, sex, torture, and Jesus's ghost peering disappointedly down upon the sinful... Part of the "Something Wicked" series, we start by chatting through the ancient history of the western coast of South America, from the Nazca, Inca and Mapuche through to the arrival of Spanish conquistadors and their subjugation of indigenous populations. Out of this heady patch of history, we then...

Because this is our last "County Episode" for a while, what with next Monday seeing the start of our month-long Haunting Season of spooky content, for this week's episode we've pulled out all the stops, going a bit bonkers for the half-forgotten history and folklore of Westmoreland! We start off chatting about various Harvest Fair traditions, including beliefs about Michaelmas, "Lawless Hours" and the delightfully anarchic Kidderminster Fray - after which we wend our way to...

This week's Local Legends episode sees Martin gather round the Three Ravens campfire with the rather extraordinary Dr Kevan Manwaring, a multi-talented son of Northamptonshire who is also a true champion of the underdog. Kevan has written in the region of 30 books, including his collections of Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire Folk Tales, and his tremendous collection Ballad Tales - and that's not to mention his academic writing on the Bardic tradition, or his poetry and novels! These days he...

For this week's bonus episode, Eleanor trims her baleen into lengths, finds our natural waists, and loosens the laces of underwear history to explain the rich heritage of Corsetry and Stay Making! Part of the "Dying Arts" series, we start by discussing the basics of what corsets and stays even are before we whisk back to Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt to explore how ladies' underwear used to work, and how it has then changed and developed across the centuries. From the Middle Ages into the...

On this week's episode we've traveled to the heart of England to rifle through the rich history and folklore of Northamptonshire! We start off trying to revive interest in St Tecla's Day, including Tecla's penchant for getting into trouble with naughty old St Paul, her ability to avoid electrocution, and her lucky escape from killer seals - after which we navigate to "The Rose of the Shires!" After chatting about some of the county's history, including its legacy in shoemaking, Great Fire,...