Fabulous Folklore with Icy: Recent Episodes
Icy Sedgwick
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.
The gallows loom large in the historical imagination. Indeed, it’s quite the staple in many Hammer horror films, emerging from the mist as a crow caws off-screen. But how does it appear in the popular imagination of medicinal cures and folk magic? Let’s explore the folklore of the English gallows in this week’s episode of […]
In this seventh episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat with Helen Nde, Cameroonian-born researcher, writer and artist and curator of the Mythological Africans platform! In this interview, we chat about African folklore, the importance of mythology and storytelling, and Helen’s new Kickstarter! Find Mythological Africans on Twitter here: https://www.twitter.com/MythicAfricans Support the Kickstarter for The […]
Death superstitions provide a common theme throughout folklore. It’s hardly surprising. Before the advent of modern medicine and health and safety, communities may have felt more at the mercy of life’s whims. Following superstitions gives an element of control. Indeed, many of them also have mundane roots. Hanging a dish cloth over a door knob […]
Skeletons are a common costume choice at Halloween. But they’re the ultimate symbol of death. Let’s be honest, if I see a skeleton, then I know I’m looking at a dead body. So let’s explore the folklore of skeletons, and how they appear in art, in this week’s episode of Fabulous Folklore! CW: Discussion of […]
Seaside plants have to be tough to survive in their salty, windy conditions. Learn the tales associated with a collection of coastal plants in this week’s episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/seaside-plants-folklore/ Learn Kitchen Herbalism with Rowan + Sage: https://school.rowanandsage.com/courses/kitchenherbcraft?affcode=437598_3qokpyep Get your free guide to home protection […]
Lighthouse legends cling to these odd buildings around the British Isles. And lighthouses ARE odd places. Learn the tales associated with lighthouses in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in this week’s episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/lighthouse-legends/ Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way […]
Grace Darling helped save 9 people from a shipwreck in the North Sea in 1838. She went on to become a Victorian hero. And naturally, that meant a few myths sprang up about her! Let’s dig into the story of Grace Darling in this week’s episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the images and references on […]
Shells evoke days at the beach and the wonders of nature. But they are the remains of living creatures—so you can see why some people think it’s bad luck to bring them indoors! They’re also associated with St James…and some think the ‘she sells sea shells’ tongue twister has an interesting origin! Let’s dig into […]
In this sixth episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat with Edward Karshner, Associate Professor of English at Robert Morris University! In this interview, we chat about the folklore of Appalachia, including its ghosts, witches, and the strange sense of fatalism! Find Ed on Twitter here: https://www.twitter.com/EdKarshner The links we mentioned! Seven Sisters of the […]
Paper is a wonderful material. It’s portable and light, and as an everyday material, charms made from paper can be easily overlooked. We can reshape it, recycle it, and completely destroy it…or we can use it to preserve ideas! All of these qualities help explore why it can be a material of choice in some […]
Like beer, wine has enjoyed a long and prosperous history. It’s been enjoyed by the ancients, used as a safe alternative to water, prescribed as medicine, and offered in ritual. And like beer, wine also has patron deities from a range of cultures. But how does it appear across mythology and folklore? What are its […]
Like beer, wine has enjoyed a long and prosperous history. It’s been enjoyed by the ancients, used as a safe alternative to water, prescribed as medicine, and offered in ritual. And like beer, wine also has patron deities from a range of cultures. But how does it appear across mythology and folklore? What are its […]
The folklore of tea is woven through the history of this fascinating plant. Well-known for its use in fortune-telling, through reading tea leaves, it also has a range of magickal uses and appears in mundane folk remedies. Let’s explore the appearance of tea in folklore, its medicinal and magickal uses, and even its relationship to […]
The folklore of tea is woven through the history of this fascinating plant. Well-known for its use in fortune-telling, through reading tea leaves, it also has a range of magickal uses and appears in mundane folk remedies. Let’s explore the appearance of tea in folklore, its medicinal and magickal uses, and even its relationship to […]
Beer is a popular drink in many parts of the world. In the US, it’s the most popular alcoholic beverage. Throughout the centuries, beer becomes the drink of choice in eras and places where drinking water is unsafe for consumption. Yet its continued popularity over such a long timespan leaves it ripe for a whole […]
Beer is a popular drink in many parts of the world. In the US, it’s the most popular alcoholic beverage. Throughout the centuries, beer becomes the drink of choice in eras and places where drinking water is unsafe for consumption. Yet its continued popularity over such a long timespan leaves it ripe for a whole […]
There are few flowers quite as recognisable as the lily. Yet despite its beauty, the lily is a toxic plant. In some ways, this goes to show the contradictory nature of the flower, used in both bridal bouquets and funeral wreaths. Yet in other ways, its contradictory uses make sense since they often come from […]
There are few flowers quite as recognisable as the lily. Yet despite its beauty, the lily is a toxic plant. In some ways, this goes to show the contradictory nature of the flower, used in both bridal bouquets and funeral wreaths. Yet in other ways, its contradictory uses make sense since they often come from […]
From cleaning wounds to repelling plague, lavender has had a myriad of uses throughout the centuries. It’s come to represent devotion, purity, luck, cleanliness, compassion, constancy, faith, humility, and love. Yet in the Victorian language of flowers, it also meant distrust. Let’s explore the appearance of lavender in ancient folklore, medicinal uses, and even its […]
From cleaning wounds to repelling plague, lavender has had a myriad of uses throughout the centuries. It’s come to represent devotion, purity, luck, cleanliness, compassion, constancy, faith, humility, and love. Yet in the Victorian language of flowers, it also meant distrust. Let’s explore the appearance of lavender in ancient folklore, medicinal uses, and even its […]