History Extra Podcast

Episode: New Year's Eve, Newts and Nessie: A History of British Folklore
Date: December 31, 2025
Host: Matt Elton (for Immediate Media)
Guests: Dr. Kerry Holbrook & Professor Owen Davies
Topic: Exploring the rich tapestry of British folklore—its past and living present—from New Year's traditions to witches, newts, Nessie, and beyond.

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the evolving and multifaceted history of British folklore, using New Year's Eve as a timely entry point. Host Matt Elton is joined by Dr. Kerry Holbrook and Professor Owen Davies, co-authors of a new book on British folklore. Together, they explore how folklore is woven throughout daily British life, how traditions change over time, and how misconceptions about folklore’s rural, static nature persist. The conversation brings in everything from supernatural beliefs and folk medicine to the significance of urban folklore and the impact of modern rituals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. New Year’s Eve Folklore: Regional Variations and Change

[03:15]–[05:14]

• First Footing Tradition:

  • The first person to enter a household after midnight on New Year's brings luck (or not), with regional variations on the ideal candidate (often a dark-haired man).
  • "One of my favorite New Year's Eve customs...is first footing. So the idea that the first person through the door after midnight will bring either good luck or bad luck, depending on who it is." – Kerry Holbrook [03:27]
  • Adaptations include inviting taxi drivers to be the first through the door or using fake coal, reflecting the custom’s evolution amid changing lifestyles.

• Social Seriousness:

  • There are historic court cases involving disputes over first footing, illustrating its seriousness within communities.
  • “We do know it was taken seriously because we actually have court cases where...fights and anger can ensue.” – Owen Davies [05:14]

2. Defining and Reframing Folklore

[05:27]–[08:03]

• Origins of the Term:

  • “Folklore” coined in 1848 by William John Thoms (as Ambrose Merton), replacing pejorative phrases like "popular antiquities."
  • Shift towards collecting and respecting the customs, stories, and beliefs of ordinary people.

• Folklore as an Umbrella Term:

  • “How we define folklore in its kind of simplest sense is: the customs we practice, the stories we tell and the beliefs that we hold.” – Kerry Holbrook [07:14]
  • Includes everything from legends, fairy tales, religious practices, to supernatural experiences—demonstrating its scope and ambiguity.

3. Folkloric Calendars and Cultural Flux

[08:30]–[12:29]

• Complexity Beyond the Calendar:

  • Folkloric practices tied to religious calendars, market days, monarchy (e.g., Guy Fawkes), and evolving social events.
  • The book avoids a simple "calendar of customs," categorizing instead by influences—Christian, medieval fairs, monarchy, etc.

• Cultural Dynamism:

  • Holidays and festivals continually adapt, as seen with Christmas trees (from German immigrants), Diwali, Lunar New Year, and others now celebrated more broadly in the UK.

• No Pure or Unchanging Custom:

  • “There is no such thing as custom that is, you know, the pure original custom...they’ve always adapted, they’ve always merged with other things.” – Kerry Holbrook [12:22]

4. Nostalgia, Rurality, and National Identity

[12:29]–[19:26]

• Rural Myth:

  • The static, rural image of folklore comes from 19th-century “survivals theory”—beliefs/customs as fossils of pre-Christian times, especially among peasants.
  • This fueled problematic colonial and racial thinking, positing a “primitive” continuity from rural Britain to colonized peoples.

• National Traditions Construction:

  • Wales and Scotland used folklore to forge national identity as a reaction to English dominance (e.g., Eisteddfodau, Highland Games), while England's search for identity has been more recent and uncertain.

• Broadcasting & Consumer Influence:

  • Institutions like the BBC and supermarkets play an outsize role in shaping which customs become “national,” e.g., Hogmanay revived through radio; supermarket haggis signals Burns Night.
  • “Broadcasting and supermarkets have underestimated role in how we view calendar customs today.” – Kerry Holbrook [19:18]

5. Folk Medicine: Beliefs and Practices

[19:33]–[23:36]

• Folk Explanations for Illness:

  • Persistent beliefs in animals like newts or lizards growing inside people and causing ailments, well into the 20th century.
  • Cures involved rituals (e.g., milk for snakes); explanations included undiagnosable symptoms being blamed on supernatural causes.

• Witchcraft and Healing:

  • Witch bottles unearthed under homes not just for protection but as cures for bewitchment—a blend of magical and medical thinking.
  • “A lot of ailments were also blamed...on witchcraft.” – Kerry Holbrook [22:31]

6. Witches, Magicians, and Folkloric Characters

[25:56]–[28:59]

• Types of Witches:

  • “Conflict witches” (real people involved in disputes) vs. “folkloric witches” (stereotypical solitary wise women), with popular culture evolving these images over time.

• Magicians / Cunning Folk:

  • Not deeply explored in this episode, but referenced as community figures who provided magical remedies and advice.

• Cultural Evolution:

  • “Popular culture does a huge amount for our folkloric beliefs...it'd be very interesting to see what the witch will look like in 50 years...” – Kerry Holbrook [28:45]

7. Folklore as Social Expression and Control

[29:18]–[33:00]

• Rituals for Social Authority:

  • Customs like “rough music” and “skimmingtons” used to ostracize or shame community wrongdoers, even without formal authority involvement.

• Child Agency:

  • Children’s customs (e.g., “barring out” teachers to demand holidays) as a means of expressing power—precursor to modern forms of collective protest.

• Parallels to Social Media:

  • “Cancel culture” online mirrors public shaming rituals, updating historic forms of communal discipline for the digital age.
  • “Rather than place, and has obviously parallels with social media today and cancel culture.” – Kerry Holbrook [31:56]

8. Urban Folklore: Past Neglect and Present Recognition

[33:00]–[34:54]

• Historical Neglect:

  • Early folklorists ignored urban folklore, assuming it didn’t exist; exceptions like Edward Lovett documented city beliefs and practices.

• Modern Perspective:

  • Today’s folklorists are increasingly attentive to urban customs, though practitioners may not think of them as “folklore” due to persistent rural associations.
  • Notting Hill Carnival as folklore: “...in a folklorist's mind, they're exactly the same thing.” – Kerry Holbrook [34:37]

9. Children’s Folklore, Material Culture, and Overlooked Traditions

[35:06]–[36:44]

• The Folk Life of Children:

  • Child-specific rituals and creative uses for everyday items (like sticks) are a vibrant but often overlooked sphere of folklore.

• Material Evidence:

  • Artifacts and games offer historical and contemporary insight into children’s untold cultural worlds.

10. Contemporary Folklore: Ghost Tours, Conspiracy Theories, and Rituals

[36:44]–[40:35]

• Legend Tripping:

  • Visiting legendary or haunted sites to enact or “participate in belief,” e.g., ghost tours, Loch Ness, UFO hotspots.

• Modern Rituals:

  • COVID-19: National “clap for carers,” window teddy bears, and community stone snakes as examples of new rituals forming during crises.

• Digital Transmission:

  • Internet and social media accelerate spread and mutation of folklore, from viral rumors to global conspiracy theories (e.g., QAnon as a repackaging of old witchcraft fears).

11. Folklore in the 21st Century and Beyond

[40:42]–[41:34]

• Universal Relevance:

  • Folklore is not the property of others—it is the living everyday culture of everyone, always adapting.

• Ambivalence:

  • It should be celebrated for its diversity, but people should be wary of its potential misuse for nationalism or propaganda.
  • “Celebrate folklore, celebrate the breadth and depth of folklore, but all the same time, be wary of how folklore can be used for propagandistic and nationalistic purposes.” – Owen Davies [41:22]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There is no such thing as custom that is...the pure original custom. That just doesn’t exist. They’ve always adapted, they’ve always merged with other things.” – Kerry Holbrook [12:22]
• “Folklore is something that has always changed, has been dynamic, has been political, has adapted as societies progressed, and it will continue to change.” – Kerry Holbrook [40:47]
• “Supermarkets have underestimated role in how we view calendar customs today.” – Kerry Holbrook [18:54]
• On folklore and social media: “Rather than place...has obviously parallels with social media today and kind of cancel culture.” – Kerry Holbrook [31:56]
• “You can be witch-like without ever being accused of witchcraft.” – Owen Davies [27:45]
• "If you think about witches in popular culture today, they're often...the opposite of that folkloric witch. They've kind of flipped it on the head: it's the good witch, it's the young beautiful witch." – Kerry Holbrook [28:45]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:15] New Year’s Eve traditions and regional adaptations
• [05:27] The origins and evolving definition of “folklore”
• [08:30] The complexity and influence behind folkloric calendars
• [12:29] The rural and nostalgic myth of folklore
• [19:33] Folk medicine: newts in bellies, witch bottles, magical cures
• [25:56] Witches—conflict vs. folkloric, and their evolution
• [29:18] Folklore as ritualized authority (rough music, barring out)
• [33:00] Urban folklore—historic neglect, modern recognition
• [35:06] Children's folklore and overlooked material culture
• [36:44] Modern legend tripping, ghost tours, conspiracy theories
• [38:27] Rituals during the COVID-19 pandemic
• [40:42] Folklore’s future—adaptation, politicization, and celebration

Tone and Style

Throughout, the discussion is lively and deeply enthusiastic, inviting listeners (and readers) to see folklore not as a static or distant curiosity, but as something dynamic, tactile, and ubiquitous—woven through both public celebrations and private rituals, from sticks and spirits to Nessie and New Year’s Eve first footers.

Conclusion

This episode offers a corrective to nostalgic or rural stereotypes of British folklore, showing it as a living, flexible, and democratically accessible phenomenon—one that spans all social groups, adapts to new circumstances like pandemics or digital culture, and both shapes and is shaped by identity, power, and memory in Britain. The take-home message: folklore is for everyone, ever-changing, and never just the stuff of the past.