The inevitable has occurred, dear listener, so pay up your Eye Money as Death Week has arrived on Three Ravens, riding a pale horse...
The final part of our month-long celebration of the Cycles of Life, on this episode we're chatting through the history and folklore of that undiscovered country where all dreams may come - and from which the ancestors might return if we're not careful!
We start at the end of the last Ice Age, with humankind surviving in cave systems, engaging in ritual cannibalism and secondary burial rites, then move forward chronologically through the Stone Ages to explore how pre-literate societies embraced sky burials, megalithic portals and community bone hordes to create rituals which linked the end of life with the natural world and the safe functioning of the cosmos.
Then, from Ancient Mesopotamian Dying Chairs and the Egyptian Book of the Dead via Ancient Greek and Roman funerary rites, including Defixio tablets to pass messages to the Underworld, we proceed through to the dawn of Anglo Saxon pagan magic and pre-Christian concepts of the hereafter.
From radical Medieval shifts towards nakedness in death and circuitous Lych Ways to post-Reformation practices like Telling The Bees and Sin Eating, we hope you find it a reassuring and inspiring listen which places passing on in context.
Because it isn't an end - it's the start of something new, like an Ouroboros biting its own tail - with Three Ravens Series 8 launching a week today.
Though with several historical spells to help guide us through the dark, and protect us from pesky ghosts, let us journey together into the Twilight Realm feet first, as there's no going back, which is no bad thing!
About Three Ravens ๐ฎ
Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.
Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community โThe Conspiracy of Ravens.โ
We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.
Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.
Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if youโre interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen inโฆ
Join the Conspiracy of Ravens โจ
๐ Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!
๐ค Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!
๐ Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop
๐ Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon
๐ Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales
๐ป Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027
๐ฑ Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
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