Dr Icy Sedgwick
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icysedgwick.bsky.social
Dr Icy Sedgwick
@icysedgwick.bsky.social
7K followers 2.1K following 1.7K posts
Host of the Fabulous Folklore podcast/blog. Researcher & writer for hire. Gothic author. Crafter. PhD in haunted house films.
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icysedgwick.bsky.social
Dr Icy Sedgwick @icysedgwick.bsky.social · Nov 9
For the new followers, I'm a Geordie folklorist with a love for ghosts, cemeteries, and plant lore, host of the Fabulous Folklore podcast, avid crafter, former ghost hunter, lecturer in film and design, and holder of a PhD in haunted house films. Apparently I also hate free time.
icysedgwick.bsky.social
A fascinating foray into Scots (via Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott) by @colingorrie.bsky.social www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/scots-engl...
Scots, English, and the linguistic uncanny valley
English’s fascination with its closest cousin
www.deadlanguagesociety.com
January 23, 2026 at 5:14 PM
icysedgwick.bsky.social
We might associate February with 'love' thanks to St Valentine's Day, but love magic appears throughout the year in folklore. In my next talk at Newcastle Castle on 20 February at 6 pm, we'll explore love magic & divination involving plants & household items!

www.newcastlecastle.co.uk/whats-on
January 23, 2026 at 4:31 PM
icysedgwick.bsky.social
January 20 is the Eve of St Agnes, a traditional time to dream of future partners. To induce such a dream, girls might put thyme in one shoe, and rosemary in the other, putting each shoe on either side of the bed, saying:

“St Agnes, that’s to lovers kind,
Come, ease the trouble of my mind”.
Rosemary, covered in tiny blue flowers.
January 20, 2026 at 9:01 PM
icysedgwick.bsky.social
My new book, Bring Me Love, is out today! It explores how love magic and love divination appear in mostly European folklore, including a few things you can try for yourself!

uk.bookshop.org/p/books/brin...
A pink hardback book with 'Bring Me Love' on the cover, surrounded by dice, playing cards, tarot cards, pink candles, and a red crochet heart.
January 20, 2026 at 11:42 AM
Reposted by Dr Icy Sedgwick
pikesley.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy
Frodo: I wish so much unbelievably stupid shit had not happened in my time Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. This is all exceptionally stupid, though
January 19, 2026 at 8:04 PM
icysedgwick.bsky.social
It might be Blue Monday, so here is one of my favourite blue flowers - the Agapanthus.

They're native to Southern Africa and are sometimes known as the African lily in the UK. Except they are not lilies; they're in the Amaryllidaceae family!

They were believed to help overcome a fear of storms!
A bumblebee on a blue trumpet shaped flower.
January 19, 2026 at 9:25 PM
icysedgwick.bsky.social
Just had one of those obviously-written-by-AI emails, asking if I want an Amazon visibility report for a book that is traditionally published so I have no input into its appearance on Amazon. The writer claimed to be the CEO of Kobo Writing Life - yet was using a Gmail address 🤦🏻
January 18, 2026 at 9:22 AM
Reposted by Dr Icy Sedgwick
g0blinegg.bsky.social
I am incredibly excited to be doing an online talk all about my Research into Ann Morgan, The Wenlock Witch!

We will be exploring the complex place the witch has in Shropshire and their cultural importance as well as exploring Ann Morgan's story in detail.

www.folkloremythmagic.com/event-detail...
January 17, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Dr Icy Sedgwick
thecraggus.com
I assume they’re all narrated by Brian Blessed.
A sign reading “Large Print Audio Books” above a set of shelves filled with books.
January 17, 2026 at 9:21 PM
icysedgwick.bsky.social
I'm collecting children's folklore for a forthcoming podcast theme - what do you remember believing as a kid, or what games did you play? And what do YOUR kids do for rites, games, and stories they pass on? Let me know! forms.gle/D8mLW7q2um5Z...
A paper fortune teller sits beside two dice and a hand of cards, made up of the 3 of Diamonds, 8 of Spades, Ace of Spades, 9 of Clubs, 5 of Hearts, 4 of Clubs, and 6 of Hearts.
January 17, 2026 at 8:39 PM
Reposted by Dr Icy Sedgwick
cazmumin.bsky.social
Look what the postie just delivered, the newest book by folklore legend (and rumoured cryptid in her downtime), the amazing @icysedgwick.bsky.social 🎉💘🔮
January 17, 2026 at 12:39 PM
icysedgwick.bsky.social
Few people have heard of Tyneside bard, Joe Wilson, though he was once famous for his music hall songs that told stories of ordinary life in the region. So who was he, and why is he important if we’re looking at a city through a folklore lens?

pod.co/fabulous-fol...
January 17, 2026 at 3:15 PM
icysedgwick.bsky.social
So I've been talking about doing Fabulous Folklore merchandise for a while, but question is... Would anyone actually want any?
January 14, 2026 at 5:21 PM
icysedgwick.bsky.social
Happy birthday to Fabulous Folklore, which turns SEVEN today! Not bad for a podcast I started by accident!
A photo of a slice of chocolate cake and a scoop of vanilla ice cream with chocolate drizzled across both. The text reads 'Happy Birthday Fabulous Folklore' while a mock badge in the corner reads '7 today'.
January 12, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Reposted by Dr Icy Sedgwick
pjrobichaud.bsky.social
Blue skies over Stanton Drew Stone Circles, Somerset, July 2023. In folklore, the stones were believed to drink at night from the river Chew. #StandingStoneSunday
A circle of standing stones in a field.
January 11, 2026 at 11:15 AM
icysedgwick.bsky.social
So, ArtSky - I'm looking for a good digital art app on Android for drawing or painting. Any suggestions or recommendations? (Do not suggest Procreate, I don't use Apple)
January 11, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Reposted by Dr Icy Sedgwick
softgritspoonie.bsky.social
Not all chronic illnesses are life-threatening — but many are life-altering. The impact isn’t always visible, and people deserve understanding and support without having to “prove” how hard it is.
At least it's not life-threatening. Maybe not, but it's life changing not every chronic illness is fatal. But that doesn't mean it's not devastating. We lose energy, jobs, relationships, dreams. We rebuild routines around symptoms and survival. Just because we're alive doesn't mean we're living the way we want to. And we deserve support without having to be at death's door. In my shoes being told to be grateful your not dying while barely managing to live.
January 6, 2026 at 11:22 PM
icysedgwick.bsky.social
This week's episode is about the Tyneside sporting anthem, 'The Blaydon Races'. We'll explore what the races were, and why they ended up being the subject of a music-hall song in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

pod.co/fabulous-fol...
January 10, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by Dr Icy Sedgwick
braegrosz.com
March 7th — I'm giving a free online talk for #RomancingTheGothic on Mary Roberts Rinehart, "the American Agatha Christie," with special focus on her supernatural mysteries and the inspirations behind them

Tickets: www.tickettailor.com/events/roman... or www.tickettailor.com/events/roman...
Portrait of Mary Roberts Rinehart c. 1921 wearing pearls and a flowy, elegant dress and surrounded by plants Black and white illustration of a woman sitting with her eyes closed and her arms stretched out on the table in front of her from the serial story "Sight Unseen" in Everybody's Magazine, June 1916. Author, Mary Roberts Rinehart; illustrator, Frederic Dorr Steele. [Caption: MISS JEREMY CAME OUT OF HER TRANCE WEAK AND LOOKING EXTREMELY ILL.] Cover of the Penzler edition of the novel The Red Lamp by Mary Roberts Rinehart, showing an illustration of a red oil lamp and a hand reaching toward it Article Clipping featuring a photograph of Mary Roberts Rinehart in pearls and an evening gown and the title "Mary Roberts Rinehart's PSYCHIC ADVENTURES"
January 7, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Dr Icy Sedgwick
annaandthedead.bsky.social
Help please! I'm putting together a big research proposal that will involve investigating C19th-early C20th burials in Liverpool, Dublin and NYC. If anyone knows of anyone in Dublin & NY who would be helpful for me to talk to/work with, or specific locations of interest, pls drop them here?! 🪦
January 7, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Reposted by Dr Icy Sedgwick
dib.ie
#NollaignamBan
The first woman admitted to the all-male Royal Astronomical Society, Agnes Mary Clerke's analyses were so reliable, thoughtful & wide reaching that she became a revered authority. The Clerke lunar crater was named to commemorate her. www.dib.ie/biography/cl... #DIBLives
January 7, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Reposted by Dr Icy Sedgwick
carlquintanilla.bsky.social
DELL EXEC: Consumers are “not buying based on AI. In fact I think AI probably confuses them more than it helps them understand a specific outcome."

@pcgamer.com #CES
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/del...
Dell seems to be the first to realise we don't actually care about AI PCs
"What we've learned over the course of this year, from a consumer perspective, is they're not buying based on AI."
www.pcgamer.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:26 PM
icysedgwick.bsky.social
This week on Fabulous Folklore, I'm starting a month-long focus on finding folklore via urban local history. We're looking at three of Newcastle upon Tyne's disasters, how they appear in city legends and what they can tell us about the city here in the 2020s!

youtu.be/_vPPgYi1ItU?...
Newcastle Disasters: Fire, Flood, and Plague
YouTube video by Icy Sedgwick
youtu.be
January 5, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Dr Icy Sedgwick
gbbranstetter.bsky.social
Love this from Guillermo del Toro
“Be kind, be involved, believe in your art,” he said. “At a time when people tell you art is not important, that is always the prelude to fascism. When they tell you it doesn’t matter, when they tell you a fucking app can do art you say, if it’s that important, why the fuck do they want it so bad? The answer is because they think they can debase everything that makes us a little better, a little more human. And that, in my book, and in my life, includes monsters.”
January 5, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Reposted by Dr Icy Sedgwick
weirdinthewade.bsky.social
For a twelfth night treat there's a new episode of Weird in the Wade available! The Prestonville Horror. What could be haunting late Victorian and Edwardian Brighton? Listen wherever you get your pods.Postcard from private collection of Wolfgang Sauber (Xenophon), Public domain, via WikiCommons
A poscard from the Edwardian times of Brighton aquarium and Marine Parade. Hotels curve around on the left and many people walk and cycle there is a horse drawn carriage too in the foreground. IN the middle and to the right is a clock tower and flag and then the beach.
January 5, 2026 at 1:16 PM