FOLK HORROR FOLK TALES

It’s cold outside. Huddle close round the fire and mind the candle doesn’t blow out. That tapping at the window is only the branch of a tree, quivering in the winter wind.

It's time for a story.

For thousands of years, humans have gathered together to be entertained by the blood-chilling tales of the storytellers.

A shape-shifting serial murderer, a girl who gives birth to a cat, the four demons who have everything sewn up – Folk Horror Folk Tales is an illustrated collection of traditional yarns from the repertoire of master storyteller Bob Pegg.

Gathered largely from the British Isles and Europe, many are versions of ancient narratives that are found in cultures across the world. They reflect a universal appetite for the strange, the sinister – and occasionally the downright gruesome.

In a career lasting over half a century, storyteller, musician and songwriter BOB PEGG has performed in venues ranging from a Viking longhouse in the wilds of Iceland to the Royal Festival Hall in London. For sixteen years he was an arts worker in the Highlands of Scotland, organising the Tales at Martinmas festival and the Merry Dancers Storytelling Project. He has written a number of books on the themes of folklore and folk tales - three of them for The History Press - and the stories in his broad repertoire reflect the places he has visited and the cultures he has encountered.