Welcome to my website
David Clarke is Associate Professor in the Department of Media Arts and Communication at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. He teaches media law and his research specialism is contemporary legend. Previously he worked as a journalist for The Sheffield Star and Yorkshire Post and spent four years working as a Press Officer in local government. His PhD in Folklore and was completed at the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition, University of Sheffield, in 1999. From 2008-13 he acted as consultant and curator of the MoD UFO files project with The National Archives. His books include The Angel of Mons (2004) and How UFOs Conquered the World: the history of a modern myth (2015). In 2018 he co-founded the Centre for Contemporary Legend at Sheffield Hallam University. This blog covers his twin research interests in journalism and folklore. The views expressed in the contents are entirely his own.
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.My Tweets
- Space Ship photographed floating in the clouds off the Cornish coast: cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-… 10 hours ago
- @FolkloreSociety @PenguinUKBooks Possibly the best compendium of English folklore in publication! 10 hours ago
- RT @FolkloreSociety: #WorldBookDay2021 #folklore book 1: The Lore of the Land by Jennifer Westwood & Jacqueline Simpson published by @Pengu… 10 hours ago
- @streetfoodchef welcome back - you have been sorely missed! 1 day ago
- RT @Bob_Fischer: This is true. And no magazine other than @forteantimes would have 'Stalin's Kebab Shop' on its cover and a story about Jon… 1 day ago
Blog Stats
- 701,837 hits
Snopes.com – Rumour has it…
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Magonia Blog
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Mark Pilkington & John Lundberg – Folklore & Deception in the UFO Age
- Mirage Men in The Guardian August 18, 2014
- Mirage Men Double Disc DVD June 16, 2014
- UFOs and F-14s over Iran May 2, 2014
- We have lift off! March 27, 2014
- Mirage Men revealed by Greenwald? February 25, 2014
Bob Sheaffer’s Bad UFOs
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The Skeptic magazine
- Ooops! TWO errors in previous message! October 1, 2015
- October Spookiness! October 1, 2015
- Empirical Sex Talk on Dacryphilia, tonight October 1, 2015
- Little Atoms 393 – Timothy Snyder & Black Earth September 30, 2015
- Ash Pryce on "How to talk to the dead" @ Greenwich SitP, 7:30 pm, 7/10/15 September 30, 2015
Charles Fort Institute Blog
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Curt Collins on saucers in pop culture
- 40 years and the Cash-Landrum UFO Case December 11, 2020
- Flying Saucer Swindlers: Four Convictions November 6, 2020
- UAP Task Force: The Pentagon Responds to Questions September 2, 2020
- UFO Documents: Provenance and Credibility by Barry Greenwood June 28, 2020
- Pentagon Answers on Navy UAP Investigations May 18, 2020
Andrew May’s Forteana blog
- Pseudoscience and Science Fiction October 9, 2016
- Astronomical debunking October 2, 2016
- Contradiction - the All-Video Murder Mystery September 25, 2016
- Sacred Porn September 18, 2016
- Astronomical computers (old ones) September 11, 2016
Paul Kimball’s The Other Side of Truth: Don’t believe, don’t disbelieve. Think
- Synchronicity, Irish Style September 9, 2019
- Project Blue Book - A Review January 28, 2019
- Stan Friedman Retires March 13, 2018
- Halifax gets Haunted! September 29, 2017
- Haunted Extra, Vol. 1.01 - Queen's County Museum Revisited August 17, 2017
Tag Archives: RAF Woodbridge
Rendlesham UFOs 40th anniversary: The Man from the Ministry speaks for the first time
This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of Britain’s best known UFO legend, when unidentified Christmas lights haunted the sky above Suffolk’s Rendlesham forest. Books, TV dramas and films have portrayed the sightings reported by groups of US air force personnel … Continue reading
Codename Rendlesham
The Rendlesham Forest incident challenges Roswell as the most influential UFO legend in popular culture. Next Christmas marks the 40th anniversary of the story that began on Boxing Day morning, 26 December 1980. This marked the beginning of three nights … Continue reading
Who Dares Wins?: Britain’s Roswell meets the SAS
‘If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise…’ (Anne Murray) Christmas 2018 marks the 38th anniversary of the mysterious events in the Rendlesham forest near RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk that became Britain’s best known … Continue reading
Common Sense About UFOs – The Unopened File
Britain’s Ministry of Defence is often accused of hiding ‘top secret’ files on UFOs or not being entirely honest about what it knows about the subject. Conspiracy-minded UFO truthers got excited last year when the ministry announced it had found … Continue reading
If you go down to the woods (again)
The Rendlesham forest UFO mystery is back in the headlines, after the Sunday Telegraph published a summary of my exclusive interview with the former Bentwaters Base Commander, Ted Conrad. Col Conrad, now retired to his native Texas, has broken a quarter … Continue reading