Derbyshire Folklore, Myth and Magic

Derbyshire’s customs, lore, tales and mythology

Derbyshire boasts a rich tradition of folklore, mythology, supernatural stories and weird history, coloured by its landscape of hills and dales, ancient towns, and ancient but living traditions and superstitions. The county benefits from long years of research into the local folklore, allowing many magical stories and customs to survive the general amnesia of time. There are many 250-year-old accounts of customs and folklore that remain part of everyday Derbyshire life.

The county has a rich store of saint-lore, ghost-lore, weather-lore, and tales of mythological beasts as giants, dragons, goblins and mermaids. Some of its magical stories are relatively recent, with sightings of ghostly World War II aeroplanes, giant black cats, and mysterious entities haunting 21st-century buildings.

This book reveals that Derbyshire’s weird history is very much an ongoing story, telling tales that often have their ancient and modern aspects side by side.