The Three Ravens Podcast

Let's strip away the meat of mythology and render down the fat of folklore to cook up a delicious chat all about Ogres!The word itself was coined by Chrétien de Troyes during the 12th century, and was used to talk about the brutish Britons on the other side of the channel - but from the Ancient Egyptian "Cannibal Hymn" of Pharaoh Unas to the Greeks and Romans with Polyphemus and Orcus, the name of these things is less important than what they do.Personifications of wild, untameable nature and warnings about totalitarian power, what's at the root of this symbol of eating people?Did it mean the same things to the Etruscans as it did to the first Italian chroniclers of folk romances?What about when Charles Perrault re-adapted both 'The Ogre' and 'The Ogress' at the end of the 17th century, and started dressing them in fancy clothes?From cthonic Gods of Oaths to Japanese Oni, Baba Yaga to the Ogre's position in contemporary psychotherapy, we're chopping it up, blending it down, then simmering the Ogre gently until it's ready.Unless you're listening during the Reformation - in which case Ogres are just Catholics, and ought to be hunted down!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 Ogre 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, The Enchanted Fairy, before Saturday's Three Ravens Live Show, recorded on Thursday 11th June at Leominster Festival! 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?

We present a double bill of tales from the Red Fairy Book today!First up, we've got the Norwegian tale of the cleverest (and possibly the most ruthless) horse out there, Dapplegrim, and the lucky human he teams up with.We follow it up with The Twelve Brothers, collected by the Brothers Grimm - and spoiler alert, this one contains ravens!They make a great contrasting pair, with plenty to discuss, analyse and compare.We really hope you enjoy the stories, and we will speak to you again on Monday for a brand new episode of the Three Ravens Bestiary, all about Ogres!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?

We're growling, purring and hissing our way into this month's Magic and Medicines episode to talk all about Familiars and Animal Magic!We start by talking about animistic beliefs in early societies, along with associations of animals with particular deities, before diving into Medieval and Renaissance ideas about witches' familiars documented in witch trial materials.With Vinegar Tom, Sacke-and-Sugar and Pecke-in-the-Crowne frolicking about our feet, we explore beliefs about how familiars might be summoned - and whether or not they are really something far more sinister than a magical companion. There's a bit of Jungian psychology, of course, and an eclectic selection of beliefs from around the world - but are appearances of animals within spiritual practices really just symbols to assist us with self-development?Moving into the 21st century, we discuss neo-shamanism, power animals, and how domestic pets can be spiritually comforting to practitioners of magic and spirituality today, before rounding out the conversation by looking to the future with digital familiars and AI companions!We really hope you enjoy the episode, and we will speak to you again on Thursday with The Golden Branch, a longer Lang tale!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?

Welcome to a warm summer's evening in a Medieval barn, complete with twilight birdsong, for Three Ravens Live @ Chiltern Open Air Museum!Set across 45 acres of the Chiltern Hills, "COAM" rescues endangered historic buildings and reconstructs them at its picturesque site - one where a working historic farm and traditional craftspeople continue Buckinghamshire's old folk occupations and ensure they live on in the modern day. Learn more here.This recording, made last Saturday evening, is a celebration of not just COAM and the Chiltern Hills but the entire county of 'Bucks' - a place once ruled over by the pagan king Cymbeline, through which Woden dug a very big ditch, and where Little Witches might hypnotize your sheep before hippy-hopping away over the nearest hedgerow...From the county's ancient gold and silver mints at Aylesbury to the furniture makers of High Wycombe - at least two of whom stuck around after death - local delicacies including the Buckinghamshire Bacon Badger to Augustinian monks catching devils in their shoes, Bucks might not have a particular reputation for being folky, but that's only because the county's people have been keeping quiet about it! Including performances of traditional folk songs Green Bushes and The Barley Mow by Ben and Eleanor, and Eleanor's haunting live performance of local folktale A Promise Kept with dramatic live underscoring, it's an evening to remember, interrupted by a pigeon and topped off with a Q&A session with our lovely live audience!We really hope you enjoy it, and will speak to you again on Monday for the penultimate episode of our Bonus Series Magic and Medicines, all about Familiars and Animal Magic!P.S. We recorded a whole second episode after the audience went home, during which we explored the museum's historic buildings and searched for ghosts between midnight and 2am. We still have work to do to edit it all together, but that decidedly spooky recording will be coming out on the Three Ravens Patreon during July!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?

Today, for our 50th Lang Fairy Tales episode, it's time for another triple - and this trio of stories are ones most people might already know.The Ratcatcher is a fairly straight take on the Pied Piper of Hamelin, albeit with a Transylvanian Twist.The True History of Little Golden Hood marks the Lang's second attempt at Red Riding Hood - and it's pretty great!The Three Dwarfs meanwhile starts promisingly, though then becomes Toads and Diamonds, and for no good reason...We dig into each after the fact and discuss their strengths, weaknesses, and seeming subtexts. And hooray for grandmas who are also witches and not evil!We really hope you enjoy the stories and our chat about them, and will speak to you again on Saturday for our Buckinghamshire-themed Three Ravens Live Show, recorded last weekend at Chiltern Open Air Museum!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?

This month on Magus we're discussing maybe the most influential wizard of all time, and a true original - it's only flippin' Merlin!We track his development through prehistory via the archetype of the "Lord of Ecstasy" - a deific entity who appears in mythologies from all over the world.In addition to exploring his British precedents in the form of the Northern and Scots Lowland wild man of the woods Lailoken and the Welsh version of that same character in the form of Myrddin Wyllt, we also marinade ourselves in the swell of "Arthurian" stories that rose and sloshed about across the Medieval era.After he's given the name 'Merlinus' by Geoffrey of Monmouth though, Merlin becomes central to not just tales of Camelot but the propaganda of a slew of European kings.We track how, across the British Isles, his identity continues to twist and mutate - befitting the Latin title of his forebears, homo silvaticus. Though at the same time, across the English Channel, the French and central European courts thought of Merlin as one of the great masters of 'Natural Magic.' Born of a demon and a virgin princess, to alchemists and occultists from Cornelius Agrippa to the Brotherhood of the Golden Dawn he was the first building block of an extensive and rigorous magical system which offered proponents God-like powers to shape reality.From Thomas Malory to Alfred Lord Tennyson, J.R.R. Tolkien to the Disney corporation, he is a cultural emblem whose meaning has only continued to shapeshift.Which is only appropriate really, when you think about it...Speak with you again on Thursday for another triple-bill of fairy tales and chats about them with The Ratcatcher and The True History of Little Golden Hood and The Three Dwarfs!Thumbnail cover art for this episode features "Volkhv" by Andrey Shishkin.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?

In this month's update episode we're chatting all about Midsummer - which is not the same thing as the Summer Solstice...After chewing through some key ideas to do with "Litha" from across different cultures, including the significance of St John's Eve and Day and the hunting of the mythical Fern Flower at the solar maximum, we share a bunch of our news and the opening chunks of May's two Patreon Exclusive episodes.First comes the opening 25 minutes of our special episode about The History and Folklore of Cosmetics, which is followed by the first part of our Film Club episode all about Ben Wheatley's 2013 Civil War-set psychotropic drama A Field in England.We really hope you enjoy this tasting menu and selection of Three Ravens bits and pieces, and lo, your cup floweth over, as today has ended up being a Double Release Day - Magus #11 about the magical life of the wizard Merlin is also out right now, so hope to speak to you on that one, too!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

After our triple bonanza on Thursday, we've got just one fairy tale today: a Norwegian Cinderella fable called Kari Woodengown!With questionable fashion choices, an unappealing prince and the very best animal friend a girl could wish for, we very nearly gave Kari Woodengown three out of three ravens...but not quite.Still, it's an enjoyable adventure - though we should warn you that there's a brief mention of entrails, if you're squeamish!If you need us, we'll be in Bathland...We really hope you enjoy the story and our discussion about it, and we will speak to you again on Monday for a brand new episode of Magus all about the wizard Merlin!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?