Welcome
I am a folklore researcher, author and broadcaster. I began my career as a journalist at the Sheffield Star and spent four years working as a Press Officer. But my passion was always for folklore and in 1999 I completed a PhD in Folklore at the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition, University of Sheffield. I moved to Sheffield Hallam University in 2005 where for two decades I taught journalism and media law before I was promoted to Associate Professor. Working with colleagues who shared my interest in folklore, I co-founded the Centre for Contemporary Legend research group at SHU in 2018. I was Project Lead the AHRC-funded National Folklore Survey for England until I left the university in 2026 to return to full-time writing and broadcasting. My books include The Angel of Mons, How UFOs Conquered the World and Space Age Folklore that will be published by Reaktion in 2027. Contact me by email at furnival.news at googlemail.com
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Katharine Briggs award shortlist
My book How UFOs Conquered the World: the history of a modern myth was shortlisted by The Folklore Society for the Katharine Briggs book award for folklore scholarship in 2015. The judges described the book as ‘a lucid account based on 30+ years of … Continue reading
On the Side of the Angels
Sheffield Hallam University journalism lecturer David Clarke will present his research on the origins of some of the First World War’s best known legends at a public event in Leicester on 11 November. New Perspectives of the First World War … Continue reading
The Bowmen of Mons and Mars
Originally published in Fortean Times 319 (October 2014) this blogpost ponders the origins of the phantom bowmen imagined by two fantasy authors at the outbreak of the First World War. ‘They were like men who drew the bow, and with another shout, … Continue reading
The Visit: an alien encounter
My personal highlight from the 2015 Sheffield’s International Documentary Film Festival is an experimental film that poses a fundamental human question – if aliens were to land on Earth, what would happen? What plans do governments and other agencies have in place to … Continue reading
UFO New Religious Movements and the Millennium
‘It might sound more like a plot for The X-Files than a case for the real-life detectives of Scotland Yard but secret Special Branch files have revealed the Met regarded Mulder and Scully, not to mention Captain Kirk and his … Continue reading