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: UAPs
‘Fraught with Perils’: Jimmy Carter and NASA’s last strange trip into UFO territory
A number of US Presidents have expressed an interest in UFOs and extraterrestrials but only one has ever reported a sighting: Jimmy Carter. The 39th President held office from 1977 until 1981 during a period of intense public interest in … Continue reading
The Calvine UFO photograph – revealed
Read the full story of how I found the most famous UFO photo in the world in my exclusive story published by The Daily Mail here. And follow the breaking story over on UAPMedia UK. After thirty years immersed in … Continue reading
The UFO that Never Was?: the Calvine photographs
Is this blurry image really the ‘most compelling evidence’ for UFOs visiting the UK? Does it show a secret US ‘black project’ operating over Scotland? Or are the Calvine photographs an aerial version of the Loch Ness Monster? After a … Continue reading
How UFOs Conquered the World – without firing a shot
BBC History Magazine/History Extra published my article that explains how the idea of visitors in mysterious flying objects grew from its origins in the Cold War into the most enduring modern myth. You can read the main feature here (password … Continue reading
DRONES AND UFOs: new data reveals rise in close encounters with aircraft in UK airspace
Aircrew have a reported an increase in the numbers of close encounters between ‘unknown objects’ and passenger aircraft since a drone caused chaos at Gatwick Airport. A pattern of disturbing incidents has emerged from data obtained by a team of … Continue reading
Black Projects, UFOs and the mysterious MO D-Notice
Has the Ministry of Defence ever suppressed media stories about Black Project aircraft operating secretly over the British Isles? For many years conspiracy-minded aviation writers and UFOlogists have claimed the government has, on occasions, used its contacts in the Press … Continue reading
The UFO Files: Our Man in Sheffield
I spent two decades on the trail of the UK Ministry of Defence’s cache of secret UFO papers. But little did I know that my FOI campaign triggered off a mole-hunt among the spooks – and a probe to discover … Continue reading
Finding Needles in the MoD Haystack – guest blog
I am pleased to welcome veteran British UFOlogist Jenny Randles for this guest blog reflecting on the release of the Ministry of Defence UFO files: After the furore over the release of the final MoD files the UFO debate may … Continue reading
Seeing Sprites
Six years ago I used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the release of a secret Ministry of Defence report on ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena’ (UAP). The study, codenamed ‘Project Condign‘, concluded that UAPs – as the MoD’s Defence Intelligence … Continue reading