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
What is Folklore?
Once upon a time… ‘Folklore’ meant ancient ballads or fairy tales or the peculiar superstitions and customs of ‘primitive’ peoples. Today folklore is a tool for studying custom and belief, urban legends, modern myth and even rumours spread via the internet. Much folklore can be found online and buried in the narrative content of media and social networking - from legends and reports of ghosts, UFOs and 'big cats' to language, customs and traditions. The study of folklore is centrally and crucially important 'in our attempts to understand our own behaviour and that of our fellow human beings' according to one scholarly definition. Folklore is a vital and ongoing area of study and one of the few academic disciplines that engage, in a fundamental way, with everyday life.
Tag Archives: IRA
Yorkshire UFO crash mystery solved – after 60 years
THE wreckage of a miniature UFO that ‘crash landed’ on the North York Moors sixty years ago has been found – hidden in the archives of a London museum. The story has been claimed by some as Britain’s answer to … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Air Ministry, Anthony Parker, archives, Britain's Roswell, Broxa Forest, Cold War, Frank Dickenson, hieroglyphics, IRA, Jenny Randles, Lord Dowding, Manchester University, Ministry of Defence, North York Moors, North Yorkshire, Philip Longbottom, Roswell, Scarborough, Scarborough Evening News, Sheffield Hallam University, Silpho Moor, Silpho Moor Object, Silpho Saucer, Sputnik, The National Archives, The Natural History Museum, The Science Museum, The X-Files, UFO crash, UFOs, Ullo, Yorkshire Post
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On the trail of the phantom copter
The Daily Mirror has published the results of my Freedom of Information research on the phantom helicopter mystery that plagued British police forty years ago. The full story was published in Britain’s X-traordinary Files and a summary can be found … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Britain's X-traordinary Files, Daily Mirror, Dr David Clarke, Fifth Column, Freedom of Information Act, Harrier jump jet, IRA, James Bond, Mail Online, MI5, Ministry of Defence, Peak District, phantom helicopters, Scotland Yard, Special Branch, Superintendent George Oldfield
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