Tag: folklore

Soon come, pre-order here. Woods play an important and recurring role in horror, fantasy, the gothic & the weird. They are places in which strange things happen, where you often can’t see where you are or what is around you. Supernatural creatures thrive in the thickets. Trees reach into underworlds of earth, myth & magic. Forests are full of ghosts. In this new collection, immerse yourself in the whispering voices between the branches in Wistman’s Wood on Dartmoor, witness an inexplicable death in Yorkshire’s Strid Wood & prepare yourself for an encounter with malignant pagan powers in the dark of the New Forest.

This edition also includes notes on the real locations and folklore which inspired these deliciously sinister stories.  New release available … More

Naturalist Stephen Moss digs beneath the surface of some of our most popular Christmas carols in an ornithological celebration of the Festive Season. Using the structure of the carol as a jumping off point, he explores the place of twelve fascinating British birds in our history, culture and landscape. Some of the birds are obvious, there’s the swan and of course the partridge.

Other chapters are loose interpretations of a verse: for drummers drumming he delves into the woodpecker’s distinctive drumming tap. Woodpeckers, … More

Drawing on myth and fairy tales found across Europe – from Croatia to Sweden, Ireland to Russia – Sharon Blackie brings to life women’s remarkable ability to transform themselves in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances. These stories are about coming to terms with our animal natures, exploring the ways in which we might renegotiate our fractured relationship with the natural world, and uncovering the wildness – and wilderness – within. Beautifully illustrated by Helen Nicholson, Foxfire, Wolfskin and Other Stories of Shapeshifting Women is Blackie’s first collection of short stories.

New release available in store and online.

The stories in this collection have slipped on a sunbeam, skidded on the dew and sprinted fast as a fox to be here with you. Of course, they’re true, puffed on to the page with a hint of lavender and a gust of sage. They tell of Sussex: its sparkling seas; chalk giants; wise witches and crossdressing smugglers.

Once you’ve heard them, you’ll know that when leaves skitter, it’s Puck, the sprite of Sussex, fighting with his sister … More

The oak is the wooden tie between heaven and earth. It is the lynch pin of the British landscape. The oak is our most beloved and most common tree. It has roots that stretch back to all the old European cultures but Britain has more ancient oaks than all the other European countries put together.

More than half the ancient oaks in the world are in Britain. Many of our ancestors – the Angles, the … More