Norfolk Folklore Society

Today we have a chat about Monica English, The Witch of Winch Road. Definitely one of our more challenging podcasts, but things are no fun if they are always easy right?! Also, a biscuit review. Important stuff.

They say better late than never right?! Well, last year we led an evening walk around Sweet Briar Marsh, hosted by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.We shared marsh folklore from the region. It was beautiful and spooky. But the editing was very intimidating and I kept putting it off. Anyway, here we are and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Prepare yourself for tales of Lantern Men, Hikey Sprites, Glowing Owls and Shrieking Women. Special thanks to Ian and Hayley who held the mic and our lanterns when we realised we needed more hands.

In this episode we settle down for a picnic in a church graveyard and chat about the many, many, many ghosts which haunt RAF Feltwell. We'd just finished a tour of No. 94 Maintenance Unit at Barnham which was a cold war nuclear bomb storage facility. It was so interesting, and we'd highly recommend a visit. But no ghosts so we picked a spooky alternative.

We are a bit late this month, sorry!! We also have a very chaotic guest so prepare yourself for weird noises, and slightly distracted conversations. But enough excuses! In this episode, we're talking all about Norfolk's saints. We explore the lives of some homegrown saints, those who visited the county, we chat about our favourite saints, and imagine what we might each be the patron saint of. And of course we go off on plenty of saintly tangents.

In this episode we head back to South Norfolk for an unusual story. One that was collected by a local author and we think it has only ever shared in print once. Prepare yourself for some wild speculation on who, or what, might be following lone travellers along The Lowes.

In this episode, we dive into murky waters to compare Norfolk and Suffolk folklore with one of Universal Studios’ most iconic monsters: the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Stacia kicks things off with a synopsis of the 1954 classic, and from there we rummage through our archives to come up with some, admittedly tenuous, parallels between the Black Lagoon’s mysterious creature and East Anglia’s own creatures of the deep. We also take a little look at the South American folklore said to have inspired the Creature. There are surprisingly a lot of similarities between those original tales and our East Anglian folklore creatures. Side note: if you hear knocking, your house isn’t haunted… one of us kept tapping the table.

In this episode on our theme of Hollywood Monsters, we’re unwrapping Mummies. Norfolk is linked to the most famous mummy of them all, but we've chatted about that before in episode 88. Today we discover a new-to-us local mummy story, a Norfolk Mummy which never came to Norfolk and we ask the important question: who exactly is Portland Bill? *Bit of a naughty swear right at the very end, but it made me laugh a lot - Siofra

In this episode we have a chat about werewolves and look for examples of werewolves popping up in Norfolk. We actually find quite a few stories! Also, sorry for the f-word. Siofra got over excited.

In this episode we discuss vampires of Norfolk. It may seem like an unlikely combo, but Norfolk has some surprising links to the classic monsters. It looks like this might be the start of a series...werewolves next!

It's the end of the year so we have a classic review of the year episode for your listening pleasure. Thank you all for sticking with for another year. We promise to get back to sharing podcasts every month. We've even got the January 2026 episode in the bag!

Finally, our live recording at the Bungay Black Shuck Festival 2025! We share an intriguing photo taken recently in Norfolk and we welcome special guests Anne and Tom. They share their absolutely amazing encounter with Black Shuck. Their storytelling and scene setting is just wonderful and it was an honour to have them on the podcast.

Recorded in the basement of The Holloway in Norwich, hidden beneath St Benedict’s Street, this episode was captured before a live audience, though we can’t promise it was only the living who joined us. We explore the rich history of the area and share eerie tales from the neighbouring street, including paranormal encounter on Exchange Street and Pottergate.

In this episode we explore the history and haunting of St Stephen's church in central Norwich. Expect dramatic music, Siofra saying "like" a lot (sorry about that) and what appears to be a pretty rare type of haunting.

Good morning from the Norfolk Folklore Society! This month, we’re handing the microphone over to you—our lovely loyal followers! That’s right, our latest podcast is dedicated entirely to your questions, and you had so many that we’ve had to split them into two – or maybe even three! - episodes. Your curiosity knows no bounds, and we love you for it. In this first part, we tackle some truly excellent queries, including: What is the spookiest place we’ve ever been, and was it too spooky to return? Who would win in a fight—the Gildencroft Bogey or the Hikey Sprite? (A grudge match for the ages.) Have we ever visited somewhere, heard a strange story about it, and then felt the place change when we returned? What are our top recommendations for books about folklore, fiction and non-fiction? What’s your favourite fictional supernatural tale, and why would it have been better if it was set in Norfolk? And much, much more. If you don’t hear your question this time, fear not—it’s coming up in next month’s episode!…

Today’s podcast stars FAN OF THE PODCAST author Rob Parker, who has written an astonishing 25 books and has just released the first in a new series of crime novels set right here in Shuck’s Own County. If you buy The Troubled Deep, we suggest you head to the very end of the book, not to solve the mystery, but to read the effusive credit to the Norfolk Folklore Society. Rob contacted us several years ago to ask if we minded him taking the concept of our podcast, changing it and creating brand new podcasters based on what we do (loosely based, we are far less thorough and thankfully no longer work at a local newspaper!) and we were agreeable, potentially for the first time in our lives. The Troubled Deep is perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Peter James, and Elly Griffiths (who also credited us in her books, JUST SAYING) - a propulsive crime thriller and a love letter to Norfolk. It follows Cam Killick, an ex-SBS diver whose PTSD finds solace underwater. When he discovers a submerged car tied to a 30-year-old…

This month we have a good old chat about Twelfth Night and the Whittlesey Straw Bear. Mainly because they are both nice events coming up which we think you might like to go to. Stacia manages to make Siofra laugh at a joke and Siofra says "interesting" a lot.

Good morning from the Norfolk Folklore Society! Today we are (b)ringing you a feast of folklore all about BELLS. From the ghostly chime of drowned bells beneath the sea to the eerie toll of phantom bells in Norfolk bogs, we’ve jingled and jangled through history to unearth the most enchanting bell lore (basically, Siofra bought a book on bells and they appear to be folklore MAGNETS). It’s an ap-peal-ing episode. Sorry. Bells have long been a part of Norfolk’s cultural landscape, from church towers to folklore. Whether marking joyous celebrations or mysterious warnings, they are a timeless connection to history, superstition and sound. And then there’s that Christmas song by The Darkness to contend with. So grab a cup of tea, settle into your cosiest chair, and let the Norfolk Folklore Society take you on a magical journey through the echoes of bell lore. Here’s what’s tolling in today’s episode: Drowned Bells Beneath the Sea: Discover the eerie echoes of Norfolk’s lost village of Shipden, where legend says…

Today we are talking about a particularly sinister apparition that stalks the Norfolk countryside, namely the Old Man of Hopton, who haunts a section of road close to the coast. In the Winter edition of Lantern (the wonderful publication from the brilliant Lowestoft- based Borderline Science Investigation Group) in 1980, the tale of a Lowestoft man on the new A12 Hopton Bypass was reported.

In this episode we collect more accounts of Black Shuck encounters in Norfolk and Suffolk. The episode was recorded as part of Charlie Cooper's Myth Country, so welcome if you came across us from the Black Shuck episode. We hope you all enjoy this behind the scenes recording. We wanted to add a special thank you to everyone who shared their stories with us. We loved having you on the show.

Today’s podcast is the NFS’s own version of the General Election and, as such, we get to the heart of a very pressing issue: whether a dog-headed monk or a monk-headed dog would be more terrifying to meet down a dark alley? For many years, the dog-headed monk/monk-headed dog conundrum has been our very own personal litmus test…but for the first time ever, our conviction that we knew the correct answer has been rocked. So, this episode is all about putting this issue to bed for once and all. Let it be said that we are in our monk/dog era.

In the atmospheric setting of England’s largest and most elaborate provincial medieval city hall, wonderful tales were woven about Norwich’s dark past. We joined forces with performer Laura Cannell to create a magical night filled with tales of ghosts and witchcraft, secret tunnels and dreadful murders linked to this distinctive building in the heart of Norwich. We had a lot of fun that night and we hope you enjoy listening to the show!

In this episode Siofra and Stacia explore the tale of Melvena Spinks, and alleged witch from East Dereham.

Join the Norfolk Folklore Society as we introduce author, illustrator and folklorist Helen JR Bruce who will be diving into the rich folklore and mythology surrounding Black Dogs. Cover illustration - Shuck Zine / Matt Willis

This month we have a chat about a very haunted house in Thorpe Marriott. Inspired by the new BBC documentary about the Amityville Horror house, we searched our archives and dug out one of our creepiest stories to discuss.

We were absolutely delighted to welcome Lucy Spirit and Rachel Duffield as our January speakers the Norfolk Heritage Centre at the Norwich Millennium Library. Rachel, who is an artist and costume marker, a historical reenactor and an incredible painter who spent years working for Norfolk Museums Service will be presenting the talk written by Lucy, a researcher, writer, open-minded sceptic and spooky expert. Those attending will discover a brief history of Raynham Hall and the life of its infamous ‘Brown Lady’ ghost and how she became a worldwide phenomenon, the history of spirit photography, its controversial reputation and the photographer and sceptic who battled in court over its authenticity and the legacy of spirit photography. The talk will be the third in a series of Norfolk Folklore Society events for The British Library’s Living Knowledge Network’s Fantasy: Realms of Imagination exhibition which has been funded by Anguish’s Educational Foundation and Arts Council England.

Today’s podcast is about the Magical Sword of Winfarthing, the Excalibur of Norfolk which helped women rid themselves of terrible husbands (and find their lost horses) from the safety of their village church. We have plenty of sword play with a range of topics which see us discuss witchcraft, famous magical swords and why we can’t pronounce most of them, why the sword is associated with supernatural and magical powers and why making swords was so revered. (Something I forgot to mention in the podcast is what some of those secrets were, such as “the virtues of certain liquids for quenching the hot iron, varying from the water of certain rivers to the urine of a red-haired boy or the juice of radishes mixed with earthworms.” Bear this in mind the next time you make a sword). Find out why folk magic in a church might not have been the no-no it later became, why women felt the need to ask a sword for help if their husband was a wrong ‘un, a real example of a sword in a stone and how to use a sword for toothache…

Our December 2023 talk was given by the wonderful Val Thomas. Val, a good friend of the Norfolk Folklore Society (she was the first ever speaker the NFS had at our monthly talks!), shared some recommendations for a magical Yule or Christmas dinner with our guests. About Val: Val Thomas is a witch, a craftsperson, herbalist and a teacher. For more than a quarter of a century she has lived in Norwich, working with the magic of the land – its plants and creatures, its gods and its spirits – and exploring the ways of Norfolk’s Nameless Tradition of witchcraft and magic. During this time, Val has played a prominent role in the magical and Pagan community in Norfolk, helping to run public events, workshops and rituals and guiding many seekers upon the winding paths of the Quest. Val wrote her first book, A Witch’s Kitchen, in 2001. Since then, she has written articles for The Cauldron, has a regular column about Norfolk magic in Quest, and another about magical herbalism in Pagan Dawn. Her most recent books are Of…

We were delighted to welcome the wonderful Laura Cannell to our November at The Louis Marchesi in the pub’s 15th century undercroft. Laura spoke about her new project, MARSHLORE, which has so far seen the publication of two zines, each of which include a miscellany of stories, original artwork, folklore and more, inspired by the East Anglian marshes, ancient folklore and living traditions. She calls it: “A mix of thoroughly researched folklore and thoroughly made-up stories.”

This month’s podcast is all about ghosts – or rather, the ghosts we’d all draw if anyone asked us to mock up a quick doodle. You know the one: looks like a floating bedsheet with eyes. Round on top, wiggly on the bottom, with a couple of eyes holes – it’s the image that always pops to mind when thinking of ghosts: but why? This very specific image of ghosts as white sheets has been engrained in our culture for centuries and, until fairly recently, was considered genuinely terrifying. We look into the history of the bedsheet ghost, find our own example in Norfolk and recent examples further afield in 2020: the bedsheet ghost, it seems, is still alive and well (dead and well?) even today.

On October 24 Christian Hudson from Norfolk Ghost Hunters came to speak to us at the Norfolk Folklore Society’s monthly meeting. Christian works within a team of five, each of whom specialise in different fields, and is a paranormal investigator and demonologist. He works in tandem with the Church of England and the Catholic church and he and his team have been involved with hundreds of paranormal investigations at venues across the UK, from big venues to private houses. Christian will be shared some of his most interesting and intriguing cases.

Today’s podcast was recorded on Gressenhall Farm and workhouse’s Apple Day, which we were delighted to be part of, representing Norfolk Folklore Society in the farmhouse kitchen. From the kitchen table we offered people a host of apple folklore and it was lovely to welcome so many people and to hear their own folklore and ghost stories.

Simply because they are not expected, ghosts that appear in modern surroundings and with no warning often feel like the most terrifying of all. Today’s ghost is absolutely terrifying. Our witness tells us: “It was like a damp sheet of very black space wrapping itself around me…” And where was this horrific patch of dark matter? In the very middle of Norwich city centre, in buildings which have part of an old church incorporated into their walls and which stand close to where one of the city’s most notoriously cruel workhouses once housed the local poor.

This episode takes us back to the Black Shuck Festival on August 5. Thank you to everyone who attended and to the festival for having us: we had such a magical time and hope to be involved with next year’s Shuck shenanigans. We hope you enjoy Shuck Storytime!

We were delighted to welcome the wonderful Alice Crick as our next speaker on July 26 at Arboretum on St Benedict’s Street. Alice’s talk was called Faunus: Landscape, Memory, and Folk Practice. Here, she explains what she spoke about: “The great god Faunus has haunted the wildwoods of Norfolk for aeons, leaping across heathlands and fens into other counties whilst also keeping his fluid limbs ready to change names and forms. This will be an exploration of his titles, found in the great Thetford Hoard, as well as musing upon his associations with Silvanus, Bacchus and beyond into the realms of Bigfoot - that ever present and elusive spirit of the wood. For those who would like inspiration and magic, a glimmer of folk practise will be revealed…”

We’ve got a very special podcast for you today: we travelled across the border to Bungay to speak to two eye witnesses who have seen – or heard – everyone’s favourite cryptid canine, Black Shuck. Another eye witness account from Bacton is also shared. This episode's cover image is by the very talented Matt Willis and taken from Shuck Zine. TheFolkLoreBox - Etsy UK

We were honoured to interview the legendary Black Shuck at our June 2023 at Arboretum and what an evening it was! Black Shuck was absoultly charming, James Mayhew performed and illustrated a wonderful poem and Stephanie Timberlake shared detail of what we have to look forward to at the festival in August. Just a little warning that this is a live recording so has some background noise. Also, it probably isn't safe for listening to at work or around young ears. Black Shuck is a demon dog from hell, so doesn't hold anything back! Festival website - blackshuckfestival.com Black Shuck Cabaret tickets - The Fisher Theatre | WhatsOn

Today’s podcast is all about the slightly unusual story of time travelling…in an abandoned Norwich underground toilet which has now been demolished. So this isn’t one you can try at home… This curious tale is courtesy of Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe.

Last week Stacia and I shared some of our favourite stones in Norfolk with the Norfolk Folklore Society. We told tales of stones said to increase fertility, stones with curses attached to them, stones where offerings are left, stones that induce orgies, haunted stones and even a mysterious Druid’s stone in the centre of Norwich. Thanks as always to Arboretum for being such lovely hosts.

Today’s podcast is a classic bit of Norfolk folklore that takes us along the country roads near Cantley, past dykes and low-lying marshland, fields and hedgerows, ancient villages and hidden treasure. We are talking about Callow Pit, a tree-shrouded pond at a crossroads said to have been a hiding place for outlaws, smugglers…and the Devil.

In April we looked outside of our magical county to virtually visit the ancient ritualistic landscape of the South Dorset Ridgeway with Alex aka Stone Wizard.

Today’s podcast is a brand-new story (for us!) about a well-documented haunting close to Fakenham in the 1970s in two flats built on the site of a village lost to time many centuries earlier. Ghosts seen included a figure wearing white, a teenage girl and a man: residents reported feeling “a terrible sense of evil” and dreadful things have happened to these buildings over the decades.

We had the privilege of welcoming Chris Spalton to our March 2023 Norfolk Folklore Society talk at Arboretum in Norwich. Chris shared tales from his childhood in the Fens as well as some of his favourite folklore stories from his book. This is an unedited recording of the talk, so there is a little bit of swearing.

This week we tell the tale of a mummy's curse on a school and graveyard in Great Yarmouth.

In this episode Stacia and Siofra have a second go at recording this episode about a terrifying haunted house in on one of Yarmouth's rows.

We are back! After a long break, which is explained in the episode, we discuss the tale of the rising dead in the village of Corpusty. Just a warning, this episode does get a little gory so you may not want to listen while you are eating...

On this episode we discuss the gruesome tale of the Happisburgh Torso. We actually thought that we'd lost this recording so please excuse the references to Christmas!

In this episode Stacia and Siofra discuss No Man's Friend. A field which was said to be cursed and is now lost to the sea.

On this episode Stacia and Siofra go adventuring in north Norfolk to visit the shrieking pit in Northrepps. It gets a bit windy out there!

On this episode we discuss the stories behind the name of Cutthroat lane in the little village of Yaxham.

On this episode we share the festive tale of mistletoe bride and we look at its possible connection to Norfolk. Merry Christmas everyone!