Folklore: A Journey Through the Past and Present

'This book draws a cultural map of who we are, where we've come from and how we think and feel about our surroundings. Meticulously researched, imaginative in scope and rich in strange stories and rewarding insights. Fascinating reading.'
Malcolm Gaskill, author of The Ruin of All Witches

A gripping guide to the weird yet everyday world of British folklore.

In this ground-breaking book, two leading experts provide the definitive guide to British folklore past and present.

Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook explore folklore in all its remarkable variations, from village rituals and fairy tales to UFO legends and internet fanfiction. Travelling through a landscape of witches, wizards and wicker men, they reveal how folklore has been researched and written about in the past and show how it continues to be lived in the present. At the same time, they provide the reader with a valuable toolkit for understanding how to interpret the diverse examples given.

The book's key message is that folklore is much more than the fossilised remains of a distant, rural past. Folklore is and always has been ubiquitous, dynamic and political. It is a living tradition that draws from many sources, including migrant communities, and is forever being renewed and updated.

'Folklore is a hidden superpower in every part of our land and our culture. The stories we tell let us know who, where and what we are, and here they can be found in their richness and complexity. I learned from every page.'
Diane Purkiss, author of English Food: A Social History of England Told through the Food on Its Tables

Owen Davies is Professor of Social History at the University of Hertfordshire. He is the author of numerous books, most recently Art of Grimoire and Troubled by Faith: Insanity and the Supernatural in the Age of the Asylum (both 2023). He has been described as Britain's foremost academic expert on the history of magic.

Ceri Houlbrook is Senior Lecturer in Folklore and History at the University of Hertfordshire. Her books include The Magic of Coin-Trees (2018), Unlocking the Love-Lock (2021) and Ritual 'Litter' Redressed (2022). In addition to her scholarly work, she writes folklore-inspired fiction.