Dr Icy Sedgwick
@icysedgwick.bsky.social
Host of the Fabulous Folklore podcast/blog. Researcher & writer for hire. Gothic author. Crafter. PhD in haunted house films.
It's Bonfire Night here in the UK. G. C. Moore Smith, related a popular Bonfire Night rhyme in Birmingham in 1919.
'Bonfire night!
The moon shines bright.
Forty little angels dressed in white.
Can you eat a biscuit?
Can you smoke a pipe?
Can you go a-courting
At ten o'clock at night?'
'Bonfire night!
The moon shines bright.
Forty little angels dressed in white.
Can you eat a biscuit?
Can you smoke a pipe?
Can you go a-courting
At ten o'clock at night?'
November 5, 2025 at 1:16 PM
It's Bonfire Night here in the UK. G. C. Moore Smith, related a popular Bonfire Night rhyme in Birmingham in 1919.
'Bonfire night!
The moon shines bright.
Forty little angels dressed in white.
Can you eat a biscuit?
Can you smoke a pipe?
Can you go a-courting
At ten o'clock at night?'
'Bonfire night!
The moon shines bright.
Forty little angels dressed in white.
Can you eat a biscuit?
Can you smoke a pipe?
Can you go a-courting
At ten o'clock at night?'
If you see a group of crows flying low, it means illness is on the way. A crow that flies over a house and calls three times is letting you know there will be a death in the family. But if a crow calls in the morning before any other bird sings, it means rain is on the way.
November 4, 2025 at 8:21 PM
If you see a group of crows flying low, it means illness is on the way. A crow that flies over a house and calls three times is letting you know there will be a death in the family. But if a crow calls in the morning before any other bird sings, it means rain is on the way.
Today is All Souls' Day, which marks remembrance of the dearly departed. Given it's a day dedicated to the dead, I thought it would be a great time to hear more unnerving and uncanny experiences from listeners of Fabulous Folklore...
pod.co/.../listener...
pod.co/.../listener...
November 2, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Today is All Souls' Day, which marks remembrance of the dearly departed. Given it's a day dedicated to the dead, I thought it would be a great time to hear more unnerving and uncanny experiences from listeners of Fabulous Folklore...
pod.co/.../listener...
pod.co/.../listener...
Jesmond Old Cemetery in Newcastle upon Tyne was founded in 1834. The north's most notable architect, John Dobson, designed the cemetery, and he was later buried here.
November 2, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Jesmond Old Cemetery in Newcastle upon Tyne was founded in 1834. The north's most notable architect, John Dobson, designed the cemetery, and he was later buried here.
Oh I've been crocheting for years! This is one of my more ambitious makes.
October 26, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Oh I've been crocheting for years! This is one of my more ambitious makes.
Re: @robinince.bsky.social's poem about crochet, I made the first of a pair of hand warmers yesterday at @qedcon.org
October 26, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Re: @robinince.bsky.social's poem about crochet, I made the first of a pair of hand warmers yesterday at @qedcon.org
Aw @robinince.bsky.social being awesome, as always, at the final QED Conference.
October 26, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Aw @robinince.bsky.social being awesome, as always, at the final QED Conference.
Fascinating talk about the law and the supernatural by Naomi Ryan at the QED Conference!
October 25, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Fascinating talk about the law and the supernatural by Naomi Ryan at the QED Conference!
This month on Fabulous Folklore Presents, I'm chatting to @odavies9.bsky.social
& @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social about their new book Folklore: A Journey through the Past and Present. There's even a mention of ice cream van folklore!
youtu.be/xuX87Hcp53U?...
& @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social about their new book Folklore: A Journey through the Past and Present. There's even a mention of ice cream van folklore!
youtu.be/xuX87Hcp53U?...
October 15, 2025 at 12:37 PM
This month on Fabulous Folklore Presents, I'm chatting to @odavies9.bsky.social
& @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social about their new book Folklore: A Journey through the Past and Present. There's even a mention of ice cream van folklore!
youtu.be/xuX87Hcp53U?...
& @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social about their new book Folklore: A Journey through the Past and Present. There's even a mention of ice cream van folklore!
youtu.be/xuX87Hcp53U?...
Newgate Prison loomed large in London's history, before its demolition in 1902. How did this prison gain such a fearsome reputation? How has it survived well beyond its early 20th-century demolition? Let’s find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!
pod.co/fabulous-fol...
pod.co/fabulous-fol...
October 12, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Newgate Prison loomed large in London's history, before its demolition in 1902. How did this prison gain such a fearsome reputation? How has it survived well beyond its early 20th-century demolition? Let’s find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!
pod.co/fabulous-fol...
pod.co/fabulous-fol...
Found the Lincoln Imp!
October 4, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Found the Lincoln Imp!
Buy ANY book from Bookshop.org today, September 24, and you could win a £250 digital gift card! Every sale supports independent bookshops and if you buy from the Fabulous Folklore Bookshop, you help support the Fabulous Folklore podcast too uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulou...
September 24, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Buy ANY book from Bookshop.org today, September 24, and you could win a £250 digital gift card! Every sale supports independent bookshops and if you buy from the Fabulous Folklore Bookshop, you help support the Fabulous Folklore podcast too uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulou...
This somewhat creepy carved face can be found on the Crag Wood Walk at Belsay Hall in Northumberland. No one knows who it depicts or how long it's been there, but I can't help thinking it looks a bit like the Hexham Heads!
August 31, 2025 at 8:31 AM
This somewhat creepy carved face can be found on the Crag Wood Walk at Belsay Hall in Northumberland. No one knows who it depicts or how long it's been there, but I can't help thinking it looks a bit like the Hexham Heads!
Plant pals, does anyone know what this is? Please and thank you 🌱
August 29, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Plant pals, does anyone know what this is? Please and thank you 🌱
I encountered this rose at the Dilston Physic Garden on Saturday and I wish I could describe how absolutely gorgeous it smelled! #RoseWednesday 🌱
August 27, 2025 at 10:21 AM
I encountered this rose at the Dilston Physic Garden on Saturday and I wish I could describe how absolutely gorgeous it smelled! #RoseWednesday 🌱
Spot of plant lore, anyone? Atropa belladonna is also known as deadly nightshade, banewort, deadly dwale, Devil’s cherries, or death’s herb. It was also the plant of the Devil in Bohemia, and he guarded it.
August 27, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Spot of plant lore, anyone? Atropa belladonna is also known as deadly nightshade, banewort, deadly dwale, Devil’s cherries, or death’s herb. It was also the plant of the Devil in Bohemia, and he guarded it.
Just posted an exclusive article for Patrons at all levels about the legends of Hadrian's Wall! That brings the number of Patreon-exclusive articles up to 48. You can join the fun for as little as £1 a month, with funds supporting the Fabulous Folklore Podcast.
www.patreon.com/c/IcySedgwick
www.patreon.com/c/IcySedgwick
August 27, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Just posted an exclusive article for Patrons at all levels about the legends of Hadrian's Wall! That brings the number of Patreon-exclusive articles up to 48. You can join the fun for as little as £1 a month, with funds supporting the Fabulous Folklore Podcast.
www.patreon.com/c/IcySedgwick
www.patreon.com/c/IcySedgwick
The ancient Greeks linked poppies with a range of deities, including Demeter, Hypnos, Thanatos, Morpheus, and Nyx. You can often spot these deities in art if you see them holding poppies or wearing poppy crowns.
August 13, 2025 at 12:12 PM
The ancient Greeks linked poppies with a range of deities, including Demeter, Hypnos, Thanatos, Morpheus, and Nyx. You can often spot these deities in art if you see them holding poppies or wearing poppy crowns.
According to legend, Whitby has no snakes because St Hilda drove them off the cliffs. The story helped to explain the presence of 'snakestones', or ammonites, in the cliffs. People carved snake heads onto ammonites as souvenirs for tourists. This one is on display in the Whitby Museum.
August 6, 2025 at 2:31 PM
According to legend, Whitby has no snakes because St Hilda drove them off the cliffs. The story helped to explain the presence of 'snakestones', or ammonites, in the cliffs. People carved snake heads onto ammonites as souvenirs for tourists. This one is on display in the Whitby Museum.
Sea aster, or Tripolium pannonicum. They favour salt marshes, cliffs, and estuaries. I found these ones at the mouth of the River Aln in Northumberland. You could grow sea aster it in your garden to invite love into your life or ward off evil spirits!
July 30, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Sea aster, or Tripolium pannonicum. They favour salt marshes, cliffs, and estuaries. I found these ones at the mouth of the River Aln in Northumberland. You could grow sea aster it in your garden to invite love into your life or ward off evil spirits!
Off on a ghost hunt at Sunderland's Royalty Theatre with @howhauntedpod.bsky.social - let's see what happens...
July 26, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Off on a ghost hunt at Sunderland's Royalty Theatre with @howhauntedpod.bsky.social - let's see what happens...
Wonder how spirituality, folklore, heritage & conservation can work together, especially with access to historic sites? Come to the next online talk at @folkloretodmorden.bsky.social to find out! 7pm on 6 August, presented by @mossgoblingrrl.bsky.social 👉🏻 www.folkloremythmagic.com/event-detail...
July 21, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Wonder how spirituality, folklore, heritage & conservation can work together, especially with access to historic sites? Come to the next online talk at @folkloretodmorden.bsky.social to find out! 7pm on 6 August, presented by @mossgoblingrrl.bsky.social 👉🏻 www.folkloremythmagic.com/event-detail...
If you see this, quote with a time travel movie that's not Back to the Future.
July 16, 2025 at 7:25 AM
If you see this, quote with a time travel movie that's not Back to the Future.
Peering through the railings into St Andrew's Churchyard in Newcastle upon Tyne. One legend sees a woman in blue, known as Poor Charlotte, haunt the graveyard.
July 15, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Peering through the railings into St Andrew's Churchyard in Newcastle upon Tyne. One legend sees a woman in blue, known as Poor Charlotte, haunt the graveyard.
Fascinated by spiritualism? I'm doing a talk about it at
@folkloretodmorden.bsky.social on Saturday! We look at where it started, the difference in popularity in Newcastle upon Tyne & Manchester, and the tools of the trade! Tickets 👉 www.folkloremythmagic.com/event-detail...
@folkloretodmorden.bsky.social on Saturday! We look at where it started, the difference in popularity in Newcastle upon Tyne & Manchester, and the tools of the trade! Tickets 👉 www.folkloremythmagic.com/event-detail...
July 14, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Fascinated by spiritualism? I'm doing a talk about it at
@folkloretodmorden.bsky.social on Saturday! We look at where it started, the difference in popularity in Newcastle upon Tyne & Manchester, and the tools of the trade! Tickets 👉 www.folkloremythmagic.com/event-detail...
@folkloretodmorden.bsky.social on Saturday! We look at where it started, the difference in popularity in Newcastle upon Tyne & Manchester, and the tools of the trade! Tickets 👉 www.folkloremythmagic.com/event-detail...