The Three Ravens Podcast

Jaksot

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  Who Were The Langs? 30.07.2026 1t 1min

  We round out our recent completion of the Red Fairy Book by taking a deeper look at Leonora and Andrew Lang. Who were they, what were their lives like, and where did they fit into society and culture at the end of the 19th century?Looking at what we know so far about the Langs' own story, we talk about the boom in print culture after the advent of steam, and the rise of the wide variety of periodicals available to the Victorian reading public. Examining the twelve coloured fairy books through the lens of the Victorian collector mindset, we talk commercial publishing and its critics, and explore the extraordinary creative coterie the Langs cultivated in order to produce their immense catalogue of work, both personal and collaborative. We really hope you enjoy the episode! We're giving the Langs a rest for a while, though we certainly intend to return to the project in 2027. We will speak to you again on Saturday, when Martin is interviewing musician Richard Dawson.If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Magus #13: Gerald Gardner 27.07.2026 1t 29min

  This month on Magus, for our final episode of the series, we're casting a circle and exploring the life of the last great name in British magic, Gerald Gardner!Suffering with crippling asthma all his life, we begin with Gardner's youth and young manhood overseas where, accompanied by his nurse, nanny, and personal tutor, he explored Europe and parts of North Africa and the Middle East, developing an interest in folklore, paganism, and ethnography.After a career working on tea and rubber plantations, spending his free time digging into the mysteries of Malay cultures, he then became a colonial administrator, controlling the British opium monopoly during the interwar years. It is only on his return to England, alongside his wife Donna, that Gerald's magical life really begins. Through his membership of an obscure Rosicrucian order and then the New Forest Coven, he became certain that it was his task to revive an ancient British mystery cult close to extinction.How did he do this? Well, by cobbling together a lot of occult learning from yesteryear, often as presented by Aleister Crowley - an aspect of his new, duotheistic nature religion that did not sit comfortably with its High Priestesses...From his relationships with the likes of Cecil Williamson and Doreen Valiente to his boastful courting of the tabloid press, we then follow the downward trajectory of his life - as well as his legacy, as in part embodied in the hundreds of thousands of people who identify as Wiccan today. From his books to his anthropological studies, his preoccupations with flagellation and nudism to his fiction and non-fiction books, we're digging into it all. And at the end of it, bearing in mind what we've explored across the thirteen episodes of Magus, are we to believe he was really magical at all, or whether he himself believed in the things that have since become a full-blown religious faith...We really hope you enjoy the episode, and will speak with you again on Thursday for our special episode on the literary context into which the Lang's coloured fairy books were published, changing the worlds of children's fiction and folklore forever!Three Ravens is an English myth and folklore podcast hosted by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Local Legends #68: Sacha Coward 25.07.2026 1t

  On this week's episode of Local Legends Martin chats with British author, LGBTQ+ historian, museum researcher and escape room artist Sacha Coward.Sacha's first book, Queer As Folklore, explores how LGBTQ+ communities have historically found safety and representation in the shadows of mythology, bridging centuries of storytelling, and it won Best Non-Fiction Book at the British Fantasty Society Awards too!Sacha has had a diverse career, from giving tours of museums and archives to designing escape rooms, covering topics from Viking burials to Alan Turing's law, ancient Greek myths and RuPaul's Drag Race.So gather in close around the Three Ravens campfire for a chat about mermaids, videogames and the playfulness inherent in identity, with a true local legend, Sacha Coward.Find out more about Sacha via his channels @sachacoward.Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Marvellous Musician and The Story of Sigurd 23.07.2026 1t

  It's been a strange, charming, and sometimes baffling journey, but we've reached the end of the Red Fairy Book!Two very different stories finish the collection off. The Marvellous Musician is a German tale, collected by the Grimms. It's a curious tale with an extremely questionable hero, leaving a rather unpleasant taste behind. Is our musician marvellous, monstrous, or perhaps even the Devil himself?As for The Story of Sigurd - it's an epic Norse and Germanic legend, dramatised in poems, prose and a series of operas by Richard Wagner. All that ought to mean a wonderful, dramatic story - but will the Langs' version live up to the hype?After we've discussed and rated the stories, we look back at the stories in the Red Fairy Book and consider highlights, least favourites, and the collection as a whole.We really hope you enjoy the last instalment in the second Lang Fairy Book, and we will speak to you again on Saturday, when Martin is interviewing Local Legend and author of Queer As Folklore, Sacha Coward. If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Forgotten Melodies #13: Death and Afterlife Songs 20.07.2026 1t 57min

  In this final episode of our 13-part exploration of folk music history we are concluding with Death and Afterlife Songs!We welcome our musical collaborators for the series Ben and Katie to join us for this bumper-length episode, which includes a conversation at the end in which we reflect on the journey we have been on together over the last 15 months.As for the songs, we begin with Death and the Lady, a song that feels like it ought to have Medieval roots and which seems inspired by the Black Death, yet which is only recorded for the first time in the 18th century.Next, we sing and discuss one of the finest English songs of all, The Lyke Wake Dirge, with Martin deploying his shruti box and his snare drum to get the skeleton parade marching along...Lastly, we go out on a very Ben choice with Fiddler's Green, a song which is the 40th we've recorded together.We really hope you enjoy the songs, the conversations about death, the afterlife, reincarnation, and more, and remember, every new person who listens to this episode, or who joins our Patreon, enables us to be more ambitious with our projects and push Three Ravens into new and exciting places.So, thank you very much for listening, we hope to release mastered versions of some of the songs as an album (funds and time willing) and thank you for spreading the word about what we're doing so that this can be how we make our living.We really hope you enjoy the episode, and we will speak to you again on Thursday for our final stories from the Lang Red Fairy Book, featuring The Marvellous Musician and The Story of Sigurd!The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Local Legends #67: Karen Kay 17.07.2026 1t 7min

  On this week's episode of Local Legends Eleanor is chatting with the Fairy Whisperer, Karen Kay.Fairies are notoriously tricksy beings, but if there’s anybody out there with exactly the right advice for inviting fairy energies in and adding a dash of magic to your day, it’s Karen Kay. Karen’s work is all about sharing and building a kind, positive community, which reflects in her many projects - from starting Fae Magazine as a handmade zine back in 2007, to dreaming up and creating magical fairy events, from the Three Wishes Fairy Festival to the Glastonbury Faery Ball. So, gather in close around the Three Ravens cosmic campfire for a fascinating chat, in which we discuss experiences with the fae, the importance of listening to your heart - and of course, address the currently very popular theme on Instagram and TikTok - romantasy and ‘fairy smut’ with a true Local Legend, Karen Kay. Find out more about Karen at www.karenkay.co.uk.Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Snowdrop and The Golden Goose and The Seven Foals 15.07.2026 1t 11min

  For our penultimate episode of the Red Fairy Book, we have a triple bill of rather different stories.First, we have one of the best known fairy tales out there - Snowdrop, otherwise known as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It's got some excellent moments, though things get a little out of hand closer to the end!We follow that up with another Grimm tale, The Golden Goose, an example of the 'All Stick Together' tale type from the ATU Index. Follow an unlikely hero called Dullhead, his magical little grey friend, and a very sticky goose...The last in the trio is a Norwegian tale, The Seven Foals (but don't worry, they don't meet the same fate as those in Dapplegrim!) With a sadistic king, an enticing hairdressing hag and a surprisingly Christian message, it's a bit of an odd one!As ever, we discuss, compare and rate the stories afterwards! We hope that you enjoy the episode, and we will speak to you again on Saturday, when Eleanor is interviewing the Fairy Whisperer herself, Karen Kay!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Three Ravens Bestiary #26: Fairies 12.07.2026 1t 22min

  For the final episode in our 26 part A-Z of mythical creatures we're slipping into some liminal spaces to talk about Fairies!Starting with the question of what even is "a fairy" and how did that word come to be?Should we think of them as handsome and seductive, like in the Romantasy genre, or as nature spirits that need feeding with human blood, via your sourdough starter?Do we still identify with the pagan idea of fairies shaping human destiny as they fancy, or the post-Reformation concept of the fairy as a form of beautiful ghost seeking to lead us to damnation?For most people today they're icons of cuteness and childish whimsy, but why did the Victorians shrink them down and give them wings?Also, why does nobody explain the rules of Fairyland in any Fairy Tales, and what makes marriage so important in so many tales about these poor, fallen, yet somehow powerful creatures?With examples from Ancient Rome to Medieval chronicles, Witch Trial transcripts to the case of the Cottingley Fairies, join us to explore how 'The Fairy' ultimately reflects the shape of human consciousness era-to-era.So feed your green child her broad beans, don't get off your horse until your fairy dog does, and toss your wishes into the river, as it's a topic befitting the end of this series - massive, but also tiny, and constantly transforming to mirror the strange shape of life in the real world...We also hope you increasingly pleased by our new Bestiary episode art, as drawn by our good friend Tom Peteuil of Creature Castle - check out brand new Fairy merch here and visit the Creature Castle shop for prints and other wonderful things here.Speak to you again on Thursday for this week's Lang Fairy Tale triple bill all before Saturday's Local Legends interview with author and Fairy Whisperer Karen Kay!Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, we take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Local Legends #66: Christina Oakley Harrington 10.07.2026 1t 2min

  On this week's episode of Local Legends Martin is chatting with recovering Medievalist, occult bookshop owner, and esoteric researcher Christina Oakley Harrington!Growing up for a large part overseas, then crash-landing into the north American education system, Christina was perhaps always destined to be an outsider. Yet through her dedication to academic rigour, her life in Wicca, and her passion for bringing well-read, curious people together, she has built a remarkable community at her bookshop, Treadwell's.If you want to know more about Wicca in particular, you are in the right place - but as this conversation shows, Christina's life experiences have been diverse and inspiring, and speak to both the challenges and the privileges of living life as an outsider. So. gather in close around the Three Ravens campfire and listen in to a chat which explores topics as wide-ranging as ecstatic trance states, how the early Irish church gave women statuses not enjoyed elsewhere, the distinctions between English and North American Wicca, and so much more, with a true Local Legend, Christina Oakley Harrington!Visit the Treadwell's website here.Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Minnikin 08.07.2026 49min

  This Norwegian tale from the Red Fairy Book features a plucky, diminutive hero so unscrupulous, he might just be worse than Dapplegrim!With trolls with increasing numbers of heads (returning favourites), princesses with suspicious motives, mysteriously intelligent babies and flying ships, Minnikin really does have it all.Also known as Lillekort in Norwegian, and Shortshanks in translation, it's certainly a fairy tale which takes us on a journey - but will Minnikin get the full three out of three ravens in our discussion?We really hope that you enjoy the episode, and we will speak to you again on Saturday, when Martin is interviewing founder and director of Treadwell's Books, Dr Christina Oakley-Harrington!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Magic and Medicines #26: Palmistry and Phrenology 05.07.2026 1t 26min

  For the last episode in the second series of Magic and Medicines, we're talking about Palmistry and Phrenology!We start by looking at uses of palmistry across the world, from Vedic astrology with Hindu Jyotish over to the divination practices of the Chinese Ming dynasty.We discuss whether or not it's true that Aristotle discovered an ancient palmistry text and got Alexander the Great into the art, and explore the stereotypes associated with fortune telling in general, and some nasty xenophobic history.Then, we have a look at our own hands, and try and work out whether we've got 'fire hands' or 'air hands', and what the lines in our palms say about us.In the third part of the episode, we look at the concept of phrenology, from its roots as possible brain science through to its manipulation and abuse by proponents of eugenics, and its alarming similarity to the work done by some algorithms today...We really hope you enjoy the episode, and we will speak to you again on Thursday with a new tale from the Red Fairy Book, Minnikin!Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Local Legends #65: Frankie Archer 04.07.2026 1t 1min

  On this very special episode of Local Legends Martin is chatting with the brilliant British folk singer-songwriter Frankie Archer!To mark the release of her debut album, The Dance of Death, Frankie made time to come on the podcast to discuss how she has ended up making the music she has, which fuses centuries-old traditional melodies with modern electronic production, synthesizers, and manipulated samples.Hailing from the North East of England, Frankie loves folk songs and folk tales, making her a perfect guest. We are both massive fans, and, best of all, we have permission to include some of Frankie’s brilliant songs in this episode, which are:Death and the MaidenThe Dance of DeathIn Oxford CityThe Lover’s GhostThe Demon LoverIn Brunton TownWe won’t labour the point – she’s ace – so gather in close around the Three Ravens campfire and listen in to a chat which explores topics as wide-ranging as the icon of Death, the Lambton worm, Cushie Butterfield and the business of being a folk musician in this strange year of 2026, with a true Local Legend, Frankie Archer!Learn more about Frankie, buy her music, and find links to tickets for her upcoming tour at frankiearchermusic.com.Photo credit Rob Irish.Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Bushy Bride and Mother Holle 02.07.2026 44min

  For today's episode of the Lang Fairy Tales, we're proceeding on apace through the Red Fairy Book, and we've got another double bill of stories.First up is the excellently named Bushy Bride, a Norwegian story which exploits the fairy tale obsession with very, very long noses - and has some very curious features. There is a charming dog called Little Snow, though!We follow that on with Mother Holle, a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and included in their 1812 collection Kinder und Hausmarchen before the Langs got their hands on it. It includes legends about Mother Holda, or Frau Perchta, a winter spirit who lives in a well and has the power to make it snow - and teach powerful moral lessons too.They're a surprisingly good pairing to compare and contrast! As ever, we discuss and analyse the stories and apply our Raven Ratings to them.We hope you enjoy the episode, and we'll speak to you again on Saturday, when Martin is interviewing folk artist Frankie Archer all about her new album, The Dance of Death.If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  July Update: Well Dressing & Rush Bearing 01.07.2026 1t 22min

  In this month's update episode we're chatting all about the folkiness of summertime - including Well Dressing and Rush Bearing!Though that's not all, as, in addition to sharing some of our own news, we're working through the story of Swithin, the English weather saint who once had a very holy hole, Swan Upping, the origins of cricket, Canada Day and America's birthday, too. Then we share the opening chunks of June's two Three Ravens Patreon Exclusive episodes.First comes the opening 25 minutes of our special episode about The History and Folklore of Board Games, which is followed by the first part of our Film Club episode all about Powell & Pressburger's 1947 nun-stravaganza Black Narcissus.We really hope you enjoy this tasting menu and selection of Three Ravens bits and pieces, and we will be back again tomorrow with a new Lang Fairy Tales episode!Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcast REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Magus #12: Cornelius Agrippa 29.06.2026 1t 44min

  This month on Magus, for our penultimate episode of the series, we're exploring the life and work of the father of Western esotericism, Cornelius Agrippa!Born into a Europe wracked by wars, he attends university in Cologne at thirteen, earns his MA by sixteen, and then he abandons the Holy Roman Empire for France.There, under the noses of the House of Valois, he begins to establish a hidden brotherhood of occult learning stretching from England to Catalonia to Italy and Switzerland. Influenced by Erasmus and Martin Luther, and mentored by the court necromancer of Emperor Maximilian I, Agrippa then pioneers a new, coherent, rational model of the universe which bridges the gap between Medieval and Renaissance thinking, combining esoteric learning from the ancient world with cutting edge humanist philosophy.Was he really accompanied everywhere he went by a demonic magical hound that aided him in his research?Were his writings cursed such that if an unwitting person read from them alive they risked being strangled by demonic spirits?Also, how did Agrippa not realise that embarassing the Inquisition, and then insulting your patrons in print, might be hazardous to the health?We'll be answering these questions and many others - but fair warning going in: these are knotty concepts that Agrippa himself would argue should not really be known to common people like thee and we...Speak with you again on Wednesday for our monthly Update Episode all about the folkloric fun of July, if not our Patreon Exclusive Flim Club episode about Black Narcissus, all before a new double bill of Lang fairy tales and chats about them on Thursday!Three Ravens is an English myth and folklore podcast hosted by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  LIVE @ Great Dunmow BookFest 27.06.2026 44min

  For this episode, we go where no podcast has gone before - welcome to Three Ravens Live @ Great Dunmow BookFest!During a one day festival where an entire Essex town famous for giving out sides of bacon to married couples turned itself into a bookshop, we were warmly welcomed to Jack's 1952, an outdoor goods shop who gave us a space in their basement and several dozen camping chairs to record a free 45 minute show. Our audience ranged from newborn children gurgling away up to retirees, along with hardened Three Ravens fans, and plenty of people who had never heard of us before!With regular interruptions from the beeping sounds of the shop's door being opened upstairs, and customers popping by to purchase hiking boots, we carried on regardless, with Eleanor joined by our friend and regular collaborator Katie Sommers to sing a capella versions of Three Ravens, Sumer is icumen in, and We Gets Up In The Morn.Between these musical highlights we dig into some of our favourite bits of Essex's folklore, including the ghostly goings-on at Borley Rectory and the legend of Old King Cole, the county's six distinct dragon tales, the Canvey Island Monster, Boudica's rampage, and the sad fate of Anglo Saxon queen Edith Swan-neck. Also including Eleanor's telling of the tale of the weather witch Sarah Moore of Leigh on Sea in the form of Three Knots, it's a slightly mad show, and hopefully an interesting listen!We really hope you enjoy the episode, and will speak to you again on Monday for the penultimate episode of our Bonus Series Magus, all about the magical life of 16th century occultist, scholar, and theologian Cornelius Agrippa!Three Ravens is an English myth and folklore podcast hosted by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England or Wales' 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of a traditional story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county - and Live Shows come out on Saturdays.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Rapunzel, The Nettle Spinner, and Farmer Weatherbeard 25.06.2026 1t 5min

  On this week's Lang Fairy Tales episode we have another triple-bill - though these ones are all slightly wonky...We begin with Rapunzel, a tale with its roots in ancient Persian mythology, although what the Langs do with it leaves a little to be desired!Next up it's The Nettle Spinner, another Charles Deulin legend out of Flanders which seems to speak to the power of the Protestant work ethic in the face of villainy!Last then comes Farmer Weatherbeard, a story drawn from Norse mythology that gets completely muddled in translation, missing the point of the original and focusing not on the apprentice who undoes his master, but on the apprentice's father, who has very little to recommend him as a protagonist...Collectively, it makes for an episode of slightly broken stories - and, in turn, some really interesting chats about them which we hope you enjoy!Speak to you again on Saturday for our Essex-themed Three Ravens Live Show from Great Dunmow BookFest and, as soon as it's not too hot to sit and record it, our Patreon Exclusive episode for June all about The History and Folklore of Boardgames!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Forgotten Melodies #12: Nature Songs 22.06.2026 1t 22min

  Get ready to escape to the lake isle of Innisfree, because for the penultimate episode of Forgotten Melodies we're talking all about Nature Songs!We explore the English trees and plants which have inspired folk musicians, poets and all true Romantics, and the songs which use them as motifs.First, we look at stone cold classic A North Country Maid, and its oak, ash and bonny ivy.More oak and ash abound in our second selection, A Tree Song, written by Rudyard Kipling for the 1906 book Puck of Pook's Hill, and set to music by Peter Bellamy. The third song might just be the best known song we've covered in the series, a staple of pub folk sessions, ideal for the end of the night. We'll be gathering the Wild Mountain Thyme - or possibly just making an elaborate excuse to take our sweethearts up into the hills...Martin and Eleanor explore the history and context behind each song, and the surrounding folklore for the plants and trees which inspired them!We really hope you enjoy the episode, and we will speak to you again on Thursday for a new Lang Fairy Tale triple bill, featuring Rapunzel, The Nettle Spinner, and Farmer Weatherbeard!The Three Ravens is a Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on a historic county, exploring the heritage, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  LIVE @ Leominster Festival 20.06.2026 1t 26min

  Recorded on steamy summer's evening in the John Abel Room of Grange Court, welcome to Three Ravens Live @ Leominster Festival!While Hereford might try to steal all the glory - literally in some cases - "Lemster" was just as grand a place in the Medieval era, famed most of all as a market town rich in wool. This recording, made on Thursday 11th, explores that historic rivalry, along with the tale of Jenny Pipes, the last English woman sentenced to the ducking stool, demon dogs such as the Hound of Hergest, a diverse range of ghosts including a seven foot big boy, Herefordshire's history of helpful witches, and a very large Civil War siege engine called 'The Sow.' From the county's legacy in apple growing and cider making to the haunted doll kept not too far away from a church bell stolen by a mermaid, there's so much to talk about - and that's not mentioning Eleanor's performance of local legend The Dragon of Mordiford!A Q&A session with our live audience follows, in which we end up telling yet more stories, including one in which we ourselves were haunted, we hope you enjoy the episode, and heartily encourage everybody to visit Leominster!Speak to you again on Monday for the penultimate episode of our Bonus Series Forgotten Melodies, all about Nature Songs, featuring new versions of The North County Maid, Wild Mountain Thyme, and The Tree Song by us!Three Ravens is an English myth and folklore podcast hosted by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England or Wales' 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of a traditional story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county - and Live Shows come out on Saturdays.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Enchanted Canary 18.06.2026 49min

  On this week's Lang Fairy Tales episode we're encountering a tale by folklorist Charles Deulin, The Enchanted Canary.Positioned as a legend out of Flanders, it sees a prince head out to find a wife whose skin is not white or pink...Perhaps wisely, he goes south, following his dream of an orange grove, waylaid by witches, bricklayers, and his own inability to follow advice.A surprisingly rounded story, packed with gags and some genuine pearls of wisdom - “The danger which is most to be feared is never the danger we are most afraid of...” - it's an excitingly rich fairy tale, as we discuss in the analysis section at the end. Is it a retelling of the Solar Prince? Is it a tale about the integration of the Anima? Is it about how great immigration can be?Is it all three at once?!Let's get into it - and of course we really hope you enjoy the episode! Speak to you again on Saturday for our Herefordshire-themed Three Ravens Live Show, recorded last weekend at Leominster Festival!If you are unfamiliar with the Lang Fairy Tales, these seminal collections were assembled between 1889 and 1913 by a married couple, folklorists and translators Nora and Andrew Lang, with most of the work done to compile them completed by Nora, also known as Leonora Blanche Alleyne.Assembled and published in 12 colour-coded "Fairy Books," the corpus the Langs put together included 798 fairy tales from across cultures, many of which had never before been translated into English.They were amongst the most influential books of their time, changing the course of children's literature - although they're hardly just for children, and often deal with quite challenging concepts.Today, purchasing a complete set of the Lang Fairy Books in good condition costs over £4,000 ($5,000+).Thankfully, the collections are all out of copyright, meaning that we can now tell these stories, in podcast form, many for the first time, and share them with a global audience, for free.Our plan is to release the stories between main series of Three Ravens, performing them straight (though with plenty of silly voices) letting the tales speak for themselves in all their madcap, sharp-edged, often quite bizarre glory.The only edits we have made are to amend some culturally-insensitive epithets, which typically pertain to ethnicity, with any such edits made by Eleanor Conlon.Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.