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
- RT @williamnhutton: As Britain rolls out a successful NHS vaccination programme, lets thank the architect of a centralised, public NHS comm… 4 days ago
- RT @SannyR1985: Delighted to say that all 1⃣6⃣ episodes of my podcast series on the @IpsoNews Editors' Code of Practice are done! ▶️https:… 1 week ago
- RT @c_waudby: @shuclarke and I visited the Lorraine Motel in #Memphis in 2019 where Martin Luther King was shot. And the National Civil Rig… 1 week ago
- Pit-le green men: the UK's first #SETI telescope will listen out for sounds of alien miners @eaaro : thesun.co.uk/tech/13771673/… 1 week ago
- @Hayleystevens Excellent summary of the ABC conundrum Hayley. Have you read the chapter on big cats in Feral by George Monbiot? 1 week ago
Blog Stats
- 697,218 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: Star Wars
Why Britain’s MoD closed the UFO files: exclusive new evidence
Newly-released British intelligence files reveal the hidden agenda behind the MoD’s decision to close down their 50 year investigation of UFOs. The last three UFO files produced by the UK’s defence intelligence branch DI55 were originally with-held from the records earmarked … Continue reading →
Close Encounters of the Playground Kind
My latest book UFO Drawings from The National Archives is published by Four Corners books on 18 September. It contains 40 colour and black and white images selected from the Ministry of Defence files at the archives in Kew. From … Continue reading →
UFOs Conquer The World
My new book How UFOs Conquered the World was published on 14 May and is reviewed by The Sunday Times here. In his review James McConnachie says UFO believers will not like this book, ‘it is not a classic debunking. … Continue reading →