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: unidentified flying objects
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 →
Jet in ‘airmiss’ with UFO near Heathrow
News of the latest in a series of cases where aircrew have seen unidentified objects on collision course with passenger jets has emerged in The Sunday Telegraph. In 2011 I published the result of Freedom of Information Act request that … Continue reading →
The End of the UFO Files
The tenth and final collection of British UFO files have been released by The National Archives. From 2008 more than four million visitors from 160 countries have visited the project website to download files that would normally have been hidden … Continue reading →
Air Traffic Control, UFOs and the FOIA
Each month Air Traffic controllers receive reports of flying objects ‘that don’t conform to normal flight patterns’ the head of Britain’s National Air Traffic Control Services admitted on BBC Radio 4. Towards the end of a general interview on the … Continue reading →