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
Tag Archives: Bloomsbury
Cat’s out of the bag?
The Beast of Bodmin Moor was really just a large domestic cat according to a study commissioned by the British government. Two tabloids, The Sun and the Daily Mail, revealed the results of the 1995 investigation, based upon information taken from … Continue reading
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Tagged ADAS, alien big cats, Beast of Bodmin Moor, Bloomsbury, Britain's X-traordinary Files, Cornwall, Department for the Environment, Elliot Morley MP, Essex lion, Feral, Fisheries and Food, George Monbiot, Ministry of Agriculture, Paris tiger, the Pembrokeshire Panther
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The UFO Files Rebooted
The second edition of The UFO files was published by Bloomsbury on 13 September 2012. You can order the book from Amazon here or via the publisher’s website here. The National Archives press release on the book can be found … Continue reading