Can anyone recommend a good book about English folklore? I'm particularly thinking about stories connected to roads and to northern England and the Midlands, preferably post-Medieval.
I was going to recommend "Trackway to the Past: Post-Medieval Northern English Folk-tales about Roads" by I. Dontexist, but it doesn't cover the Midlands too, so probably useless.
The historian Ronald Hutton writes about folklore, so it might be worth looking at a couple of his books -- The Rise and Fall of Merry England: The Ritual Year 1400-1700 and The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. I've not read either, though, so I don't know if they cover what you want. (I'm going by an interesting talk he gave last year for The Weald and Downland Museum on folklore, in which I'm sure it was said he's currently writing/about to publish a revised version of one of these.)
This book brings together thirteen essays, by both established and emerging scholars, which examine the most influential meanings of roads in early modern liter...
I think what I'm looking for is a sort of folklore bestiary circa 1750 or so, so that if I make something up it'll seem convincing. At the moment, I'm looking at various sorts of ghost, black dog, pixie/goblin/elf and so on, but it would be nice to have a bit more detail.
Buy Curious England: A Guide: Volume One by Bulstrode, H.E. (ISBN: 9798541824377) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk
Might be the sort of thing you are looking for.
Fortean times has had a recent series 'Lincolnshire casebook' which documents quite a few encounters on that places lonely roads, but it's mostly modern stuff. In fact, no doubt, there will be something in my 300-odd pile of Fortean Times, that suits you perfectly - either articles or books that they've reviewed, but trying to find anything by hand will be tough!
Albion - a guide to legendary Britain by Jennifer Beatrice Westwood. It has sections about the various legends (including the black dogs) linked to their respective geography.
Buy Albion: Guide to Legendary Britain First Edition by Westwood, Jennifer Beatrice (ISBN: 9780246117892) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
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