The Three Ravens Podcast

Three Ravens

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 ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’ 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 you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…  About our Bonus Series 🌙 From 2023-2026 we released six different Bonus Series covering the following themes: Magic and Medicine - Eleanor’s 26-part exploration of the history of magical belief and folk practice.Three Ravens Bestiary - Martin’s A-Z of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and things that go bump in the night.Dying Arts - Eleanor’s 13-episode series about endangered and heritage crafts from their earliest origins to their fates since mechanisation.Something Wicked - Martin’s 13-part exploration of historic True Crime stories with folkloric twists.Forgotten Melodies - Eleanor’s 13-episode foray into the history of folk music and song types featuring original recordings and new arrangements by us and our musical collaborators.Magus - Martin’s 13-part series about the magical lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history and their legacies in the magic of the modern day. The Lang Fairy Tale Project 🧚 Launched in 2025 to help us bridge gaps between main series, we began by sharing readings from us of the iconic stories found in the Blue Fairy Book compiled by Andrew Lang. From the Red Fairy Book onwards, we have also spent time digging into the stories, their histories and relationships to tale types, and are engaged in an ongoing mission to celebrate the woman truly behind the 12 coloured fairy books – Andrew’s wife Leonora, whose impact on children’s literature and fantasy fiction cannot be understated. Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨ 🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog! 🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows! 🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop 👑 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 📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales 👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 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 📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 12h ago

    The Callow Inn | A Herefordshire Ghost Story

    Our story for "Death Week" is a retelling by Martin of a ghost story, The Callow Inn. In rural Herefordshire, for over a hundred years people have reported two strange night-time phenomena connected to The Callow Inn, which was demolished at the end of the 19th century. First there are the ghostly shapes of two people carrying bodies out into Haywood Forest. Then there's the spectral windows, shining light out into the darkness... Martin's take on the story is set in the modern day and explores ideas of broken families, loss, supernatural obsession, and Midwinter symbolism.  Details in the story were inspired by Kathleen Lawrence-Smith's book Tales of Old Herefordshire. About Three Ravens 🔮 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 ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’ 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 you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…   Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨ 🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog! 🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows! 🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop 👑 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 📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales 👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 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 📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    The Callow Inn | A Herefordshire Ghost Story
  2. 3d ago

    The Folklore of Death

    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 🔮 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 ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’ 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 you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…   Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨ 🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog! 🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows! 🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop 👑 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 📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales 👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 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 📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    The Folklore of Death
  3. 5d ago

    Sarah Clegg | Local Legends #72

    On this week's episode of Local Legends Eleanor chats with Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah Clegg. We first met Sarah last year, when she was one of the guests at our Three Ravens Christmas Feast. Sarah had just published her book The Dead of Winter, all about the origins and changing lore of the dark side of Christmas. Sarah has a PhD in ancient history from the University of Cambridge, and you'd struggle to find another person with such an encyclopaedic knowledge and clear passion for Medieval Romances.  In addition to The Dead of Winter, she’s the author of Women’s Lore: 400 Years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi. We’re speaking just ahead of the publication of her latest book Perilous Enchantment: The True History of Faeries. Perilous Enchantment is a meticulously researched history and travelogue which takes us from elf fires in Iceland to a stream in Cottingley and even a fairy ball in Los Angeles.  We talk about the book and her research and the shift in fairy narratives, from dangerous and seductive to childish and whimsical, to explore why stories of the fae continue to fascinate us today. It's a conversation which spans medieval chivalric romances, spicy romantasy, nostalgia and some of the world’s most magical places. Learn more about Sarah at https://www.sarahclegg.com, and you can keep up with all her adventures on Instagram @readingartefacts. About Three Ravens 🔮 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 ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’ 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 you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…   Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨ 🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog! 🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows! 🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop 👑 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 📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales 👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 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 📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Sarah Clegg | Local Legends #72
  4. Aug 20

    Alderman and Alphin | A Tale of Old Yorkshire

    Our story for "Marriage Week" is a retelling by Eleanor of a giant legend, Alderman and Alphin. Set in Saddleworth, which was once a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire but is found in Lancashire today, not far from Oldham and Manchester, it's the tale attached to two particular landscape features, Alderman's Hill and Alphin Pike, two hills overlooking the entrance to the Upper Tame Valley.  Eleanor's telling of the tale and its frame narrative, set in the early 19th century before the advent of the power loom, certainly takes inspiration from Thomas Hardy and Elizabeth Gaskell.  Details in the story were inspired by Ammon Wrigley's 1909 book "Saddleworth Superstitions and Folk Customs." About Three Ravens 🔮 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 ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’ 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 you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…   Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨ 🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog! 🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows! 🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop 👑 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 📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales 👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 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 📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Alderman and Alphin | A Tale of Old Yorkshire
  5. Aug 17

    The Folklore of Marriage

    This week we have our second installment of our month long mini series about cycles of life, all about the history and folklore of marriage! We explore the early beginnings of marriage contracts, legal regulation by the Church and state, and how utterly unromantic most weddings were for much of history! Discussing superstitions and preparations leading up to the big day, from arrangements between families through to big dramatic gestures of love, we work our way towards walking down the aisle - with all the strange bells and whistles tradition dictates! With something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue to guide us - not forgetting the sixpence in the shoe, of course - we navigate cultural and familial expectations, evil spirits hovering to get a slice of wedding cake, and exactly which aspects of weddings are ancient, and which are surprisingly modern... About Three Ravens 🔮 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 ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’ 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 you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…   Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨ 🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog! 🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows! 🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop 👑 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 📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales 👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 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 📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    The Folklore of Marriage
  6. Aug 15

    Local Legends #71: Sue Bentley

    On this week's episode of Local Legends Martin chats with best-selling author of over 80 books, Sue Bentley! As Sue explains, her decision to 'become a writer' didn't happen particularly early in her life, though she was ever a reader, inspired by books like Denys Watkins-Pitchford's The Little Grey Men, Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows, and C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Only when she was a Mum with children off at school did she decide to put pen to paper, and after ten years of work found herself in print - as an erotic novelist, working under the first of what soon became many pen names! From children's fairy stories to ghost written celebrity books to the dark Gothic fantasy she most enjoys writing today, she has had a fascinating career, rooted in a fascinating place! We dig into Northamptonshire's folklore and heritage, including Sue's love of the Romantic poet John Clare, and, because it's 'Birth Week' on Three Ravens we chat birth folklore as well, including fairy 'stocks', changelings, and 'Chime Children'. We of course get into Sue's most recent novels as well, including We Other, Second Skin, and her upcoming book Flesh Endures - and along the way dig into condescending ideas of 'Women's Fiction' and Romantasy, the significance of the Lang Fairy Tales, and a whole bunch more! Learn more about Sue and her wonderful books at https://www.suebentley.co.uk - though Sue's brand new website goes live on 28th August - which is also the day of the cover reveal for Flesh Endures, so mark your diaries! And as for where to find Sue on social media, she is on Instagram @therealsuebentley, Facebook @suebentleyauthor and on TikTok @suebentley09 About Three Ravens 🔮 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 ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’ 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 you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…   Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨ 🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog! 🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows! 🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop 👑 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 📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales 👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 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 📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  7. Aug 13

    The Brigstock Fox | A Northamptonshire Folk Tale

    Our story for "Birth Week" is a retelling from Martin of recently rediscovered Northamptonshire legend The Brigstock Fox. A tale of Medieval changelings, magic, princes and parenthood, it begins as the folktale does, with a strange, seemingly uncatchable creature stalking the forests around Fotheringhay Castle. Richard of York, away in Ireland, offers a bag of gold to whoever can catch the beast and prevent the savaging of the ducks, geese, hogs and lambs that belong to his vassals. Only when hunting dogs catch not a monstrous fox but a man in their snapping jaws, and he claims to know 'Proud Cis' - Richard's wife - events are set in motion that reveal hidden secrets, true characters, and prophecies that will shape British life for generations to come... Plus, because we thought it would be fun, we have also recorded a version of the classic folk song "The Fox" and given it some special Three Ravens, Brigstock-specific twists... Martin's telling is inspired by the research of folklorist and Northamptonshire Heritage Forum regular Steve Dimmer as part of his project Tales & Legends of Northamptonshire, through which Steve has also uncovered obscure, largely forgotten stories including The Witch of Benfield, The Daughter of the Earl of Corby, The Ringstead Round, and more. We really hope you enjoy the telling, song, and chat that follows, and you can find Icy Sedgwick's episode of Fabulous Folklore that we mention, "Foxes in Folk Tales: From Aesop to Reynard" and the associated blog post here. About Three Ravens 🔮 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 ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’ 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 you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…   Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨ 🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog! 🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows! 🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop 👑 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 📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales 👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 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 📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    The Brigstock Fox | A Northamptonshire Folk Tale
  8. Aug 10

    The Folklore of Birth

    This week on Three Ravens, as part of our month long exploration of cycles of life, we're talking all about Birth Folklore! From Ancient Mesopotamian "birth bricks" and fires lit to smoke babies out of the womb to 20th century beliefs in hairy babies prompting their mothers to experience heartburn, human societies have cleaved to a whole load of fairly wild concepts related to reproduction. Yet, as we explore in this conversation, it's surprising how universal many motifs to do with birth and pregnancy are, from forms of sympathetic magic like the danger of mothers tying knots, weaving, or even crossing their legs for fear they will risk the lives of their unborn children to ideas of phases of the moon influencing whether births will be easy or whether children grow up to be harmonious darlings or challenging little devils. Working roughly chronologically, we open up a whole range of discussions, including of how prehistoric peoples treated the remains of children who died before joining society to particular demons and supernatural forces believed dangerous to pregnant women and methods for defending against them. From the changing roles of fathers in relation to birth superstitions and lots of highly spurious methods for determining a child's gender while in utero to enduring customs like the baking of Groaning Cakes and the passing of mothers or babies through hollow spaces in rocks or wheels of cheese, we've done our best to account for how everyday people viewed and navigated conception, pregnancy, and birth itself across millennia. As ever, we really hope you enjoy the episode, and hope you will join us again on Thursday for this week's story - Martin's retelling of a Northamptonshire legend of changelings, cunning, and tricky parental dynamics, The Brigstock Fox, all before Saturday's birth-themed conversation with bestselling 'Northants' author of over 80 books, including some pretty spicy magical romances, Sue Bentley. 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? RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    The Folklore of Birth

Trailer

4.9
out of 5
92 Ratings

About

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 ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’ 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 you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…  About our Bonus Series 🌙 From 2023-2026 we released six different Bonus Series covering the following themes: Magic and Medicine - Eleanor’s 26-part exploration of the history of magical belief and folk practice.Three Ravens Bestiary - Martin’s A-Z of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and things that go bump in the night.Dying Arts - Eleanor’s 13-episode series about endangered and heritage crafts from their earliest origins to their fates since mechanisation.Something Wicked - Martin’s 13-part exploration of historic True Crime stories with folkloric twists.Forgotten Melodies - Eleanor’s 13-episode foray into the history of folk music and song types featuring original recordings and new arrangements by us and our musical collaborators.Magus - Martin’s 13-part series about the magical lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history and their legacies in the magic of the modern day. The Lang Fairy Tale Project 🧚 Launched in 2025 to help us bridge gaps between main series, we began by sharing readings from us of the iconic stories found in the Blue Fairy Book compiled by Andrew Lang. From the Red Fairy Book onwards, we have also spent time digging into the stories, their histories and relationships to tale types, and are engaged in an ongoing mission to celebrate the woman truly behind the 12 coloured fairy books – Andrew’s wife Leonora, whose impact on children’s literature and fantasy fiction cannot be understated. Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨ 🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog! 🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows! 🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop 👑 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 📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales 👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 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 📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.