So a whole lot of my talented Humanities colleagues are now unemployed as of today. A lot of understandable concern over Exeter. But for over two decades my Hums colleagues were in the top quartile for their research contribution to society. History top 10. Now gone with only a national whisper.

Every community has its legend – but not many have a legend about a pigman. Author and historian @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social says: "These kind of stories are macabre, they are thrilling, they are frightening." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 'Folklore' is out in paperback in September. #booksky

How a mythical pigman became a Cannock Chase legend

The myth tells of a half-man, half-pig hybrid created during World War Two in Staffordshire.

bbc.co.uk

Of all the things I expected to find in the basement of a cafe in Conwy, it was not a haunted dollhouse, crying boy paintings, and a mermaid

Folklore!! If that got your attention then you might be interested in pre-ordering mine and @odavies9.bsky.social book in its beautiful paperback design through @waterstones.bsky.social - 25% off if you pre-order before end of day tomorrow

This week only, @waterstones.bsky.social are offering 25% OFF RRP on pre-orders, including several MUP titles. If you've been looking forward to any of these new titles or new in paperbacks, now's the time to order! Use the code SUMMER26 at checkout online only, valid 'til the 24th July. #booksky

If you want to know who Pigman is according to Staffordshire folklore, then take a listen here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Hidden Black Country - The Hunt for the Pigman of Cannock Chase - BBC Sounds

Did a secret experiment in World War II create a creature that lurks in Staffordshire?

bbc.co.uk

Back to this magical landscape today. Still no sign that those slumbering knights have woken up yet though

Just leaving this here

I loved exploring the folklore of Hertfordshire - from bored devils and diabolical deals to graveyard lore - on 'Weird Britain', which aired on Blaze last night

50% off hardback of mine and @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social "Folklore: A Journey Through the Past and Present"! Only until 9 July. The paperback edition is out in September. Your choice!

Coming up this Saturday at @bradfordlitfest.bsky.social! @johnrobbofficial.bsky.social on his new memoir and protest music, @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social on fairy tales, and much more. Information & tickets on our Events page here: manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/events/ #booksky #Bradford

I'm really looking forward to speaking #folklore on the 'Once Upon a Time: Reimagining Fairy Tales' panel at Bradford Literature Festival Saturday 4th July. Interested in joining? Get your tickets here #bradfordlitfest @bradfordlitfest.bsky.social www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk/artist/ceri-...

Ceri Houlbrook | Bradford Literature Festival

bradfordlitfest.co.uk

Nature's AC

I loved talking folklore with @sachacoward.bsky.social @trumanbooks.bsky.social as part of their Weird Midsummer festival - what better way to celebrate the longest day than chatting about our ever changing ritual year, along with queer mermaids and (unrelated) udder suckers?

Ice cream vans! Ever wondered about the folklore of ice cream vans - the music, the products, & the vans? Well, a reminder that you can read my free article on the subject here.... Bore family & friends with the details! Over an ice cream. www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.... image c. simpson

A brilliant time was had at the Midsummer Weird Folklore Funfair @trumanbooks.bsky.social today - as well as some fascinating talks by some fascinating people, a particular favourite of mine was the hook-a-hagstone 🤣

Ernie the Bartmann headed to Cardiff today for my keynote on witch-bottles at the fantastic Supernatural Event @cardiffuni.bsky.social - thank you for the loan @odavies9.bsky.social!

“Bugs are lucky” . “People leaving houses condemned under a Huddersfield slum clearance scheme are reported to have taken a few bugs with them, boxed up, for release in their new homes.” UK government intelligence report on public health, 1943.

See, a proper book, (little book, but a proper one) with an ISBN number and everything. Cover reveal and ordering details coming soon-ish. And yes, there is an-anti piracy, anti LLM curse embedded in the text. It is Hookland – you'd expect nothing less.

How proud I am of seeing one of the brilliant MA Folklore Studies @herts.ac.uk postgraduates delivering such a fascinating, insightful, and important paper on Black British music as folk at the @folkloresociety.bsky.social conference

Have loved today's @folkloresociety.bsky.social conference, not least co-presenting on how/why so many British letters to Santa made their way to Norway with the wonderful @idatolgensbakk.bsky.social. And now, being the exciting person that I am, it's PJs and junk food in the hotel room for me 😁

Last session I was at today was our own! Great fun, and I felt incredibly privileged to present with the wonderful @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social

A fantastic talk, testing the boundaries (pun intended) between fictional, imagined, and physical place, "Santa Claus, c/o Oslo" from @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social and @idatolgensbakk.bsky.social.

Fascinating panel on death rituals this morning @folkloresociety.bsky.social conference - thank you @stuartdunn.bsky.social, Helen Frisby & Eira Betthell for some really thought-provoking talks

Finally made it to Aberdeen for the @folkloresociety.bsky.social conference and am pleased to have encountered plenty of folklore already, just on the walk from the station

Making the most of a 40-min stopover in my former home city en-route to Aberdeen, where I'll be presenting at the Folklore Society conference - looking forward to catching up with many folklore friends

This year's #BradfordLitFest programme is here! Don't miss our authors @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social, Vince Cable, Mike Pickering and @johnrobbofficial.bsky.social at this year's festival. Browse the programme at the link below 👇 #booksky

Bradford Literature Festival@bradfordlitfest.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Bradford Literature Festival 2026 programme is now live! Click the link below to see what you can discover at this year's festival👇 https://www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk/ #BradfordLitFest #LiteratureFestival #BookTok #BookSky #Bookstagram

Today I'd been invited to view the Ice Age art, which @odavies9.bsky.social & I describe as potential early storytelling in our 'Folklore' book - and more recent, equally fascinating, carvings in the caves of beautiful Creswell Crags. A very happy work day!

Off to today's "office" 😄

This looks fantastic - I've just booked. Thurs 18 June, Tower Hamlets Local Studies Library. www.eventbrite.com/e/londons-lo...

London's Lost Black Pubs & Taverns

Join author S.I. Martin for an introduction to the forgotten world of London's Black pubs in the 1700s and 1800s.

eventbrite.com