Florence was founded in the 1st century BCE as a Roman military outpost, although it came to prominence as a centre of commerce and the arts in the 14th to 16th centuries CE. The Florentine method of speech even became the Italian language.

Some of the city's most famous exports are Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo, and Niccolo Machiavelli, along with the Medici family. You can see the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli in the Basilica of Santa Croce.

But that's not all you can find in this Tuscan city.

From the mythological scenes to statues of Roman gods present in the Uffizi, Florence has a range of odd curiosities and folk traditions that are worth seeing. Let's explore some of the stranger side of Florence in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/florence-folklore/

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Tracey has written fiction for as long as she can remember, covering a variety of genres and subjects. Her first stage play WITCH, a historical drama based on original English witch trial transcripts, premiered in 2016 and has been performed more than 80 times to date. Tracey’s most recent publications were Dark Folklore (2021), co-written with her husband Mark, and Who Is Anna Stenberg? (2023), her first full-length novel. Her next book, also co-written with Mark, is Devon’s Forgotten Witches 1860-1910, which is published by The History Press and comes out in August 2025. She gives talks to a variety of groups on historical subjects such as witchcraft and early modern medicine. She, Mark and their daughter live near the edge of a forest in mid Devon, with a trio of insane chickens, and a feline trip hazard.

In this chat, we talk about witchcraft cases in Devon, some of which are surprisingly late into the 20th century, the beauty of using records of witch trials, and how theatre can help us to better understand the lived experience of those accused.

Preorder Devon’s Forgotten Witches 1860-1910: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/12992/9781803994215

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Dave Silk is a storyteller and historian from Newcastle upon Tyne and co-author of Tyne and Wear Folktales for Children. He collects and retells traditional tales and ancient stories from around these isles and further afield and enjoys rearing pet leeches and practicing the Dark Arts. In the daytime, he is usually found doing his ‘normal job’ of lurking in the dark towers of Newcastle Castle, where he is the Learning Manager.

In this chat, we talk about the Newcastle Witch Trials, other witch cases from the region, and two of Newcastle's most famous cunning men.

Follow Dave on the socials at @davetaleteller or check out Newcastle Castle @newcastlecastle or www.newcastlecastle.co.uk

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

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In this third episode of our Witches, Cunning Folk & Magic theme, I'm talking to Deborah Hyde, an author, presenter and producer who has written for periodicals such as The Guardian and The Fortean Times, and who specialises in the subject of weird belief. For ten years, Deborah was Editor-in-Chief of The Skeptic and is a fellow of The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

She makes frequent TV appearances, being a regular contributor to 'Strange Evidence' and 'Mysteries at the Museum', and has presented insights in some of BBC iPlayer’s most successful recent podcasts such as 'Uncanny', 'The Battersea Poltergeist' and 'Lady Swindlers'.

In this chat, we talk about Margery Jourdemayne as an example of a cunning woman caught up in royal politics, Widow Coman, one of the Coggeshall Witches who was targeted relatively late in 1699, and how witchcraft accusations changed to suit the times.

Find Deborah online: DeborahHyde.com

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

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In this second episode of our Witches, Cunning Folk & Magic theme, I'm talking to Willow Winsham, an author and historian specialising in folklore, and the history of the English witch trials. Her books include the highly popular Treasury of Folklore series from Batsford Books, and Accused: British Witches Throughout History from Pen and Sword Books. Her passion for uncovering fascinating topics and dedication to impeccable research guarantees an accessible and engaging read, whatever the subject.

Willow is also co-founder of #FolkloreThursday, the popular website and social media phenomenon dedicated to sharing folklore, fairytales and traditions from across the globe.

When not writing, Willow spends her time crocheting, delving into family history research, and indulging an ever-growing board game habit. She lives in Derbyshire with her three children and two British Shorthair cats.

In this chat, we talk about how witches appear in history, why there is such an ongoing fascination with the witch, and Helen Duncan, the last woman tried under the 1735 Witchcraft Act!

Order The Story of Witches: Folklore, History and Superstition: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/12992/9781849949064

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In this first episode of our Witches, Cunning Folk & Magic theme, I'm talking to Dr Tabitha Stanmore!

She's a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Exeter on the Leverhulme-funded Seven County Witch Hunt Project, investigating the people affected by the 1640s witch trials in eastern England. Her doctoral research was funded by the South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (part of the AHRC), and published as Love Spells and Lost Treasure: Service magic in England from the later Middle Ages to the early modern era by Cambridge University Press.

She has appeared on Radio 3’s Free Thinking and BBC Radio London discussing magic in the early modern period, written for The Conversation, and TIME Magazine and BBC History Magazine, among others. Her debut non-fiction book CUNNING FOLK was published by The Bodley Head (UK) and Bloomsbury (US) in 2024, and the paperback came out on 28 May!

In this chat, we talk about what cunning folk are and how they differ from witches, how members of different classes approached magic and what they used it for, and why Magic Studies is such a valuable approach to history!

Get your copy of Cunning Folk: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/12992/9781529931563

Find Tabitha online: https://www.tabithastanmore.co.uk/

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Much is often made of London's lost rivers, like the Tyburn, Fleet, and Walbrook. Yet Newcastle upon Tyne also has rivers we cannot see. Ours are not lost, rather they're simply buried. The Skinnerburn, Erick Burn, Pandon Burn, Lam Burn, and Lort Burn all continue to flow beneath the city, down to the mighty Tyne.

The Lort Burn is perhaps the most well-known of the buried rivers. Originally called the Dene Burn, it gained its new name of Lort Burn in the later 14th century. Some sources say 'Lort' comes from an Old Norse word meaning 'filth' or 'excrement'.

The Story of the Tyne: And the Hidden Rivers of Newcastle gives the rough route of the Lort Burn. I've followed it as best I can given the current street layout, picking up the ghost stories and legends that lie along its route.

Let's go and explore them in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/lort-burn-route/

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The Broads National Park, often known as the Norfolk Broads, is one of the UK's 15 National Parks. Seven rivers and over sixty waterways called Broads comprise the park.

In the medieval era, locals dug peat from the land for fuel. By the 14th century, these channels flooded and created the Broads. They'd become a popular boating destination by the 19th century. Here in the 21st century, the park is Britain's largest protected wetland.

Unsurprisingly, the Park is also home to spectres, Otherworldly beings, and bogey beasts. Perhaps Norfolk's most famous resident is Black Shuck. Yet there are also ghostly monks, phantom drummers, and the malicious Lantern Men.

Let's go and meet them in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/norfolk-broads/

Seances and the Female Medium in British Cinema talk: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/seances-and-the-female-medium-in-british-cinema-with-icy-sedgwick-zoom-tickets-1249421837349

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