Episode 34 - James Franklin - Manx Notes and Queries

In this episode I discuss the folklore of the Isle of Man with James Franklin. Born and raised on the island, James is the Online and Educational Resources Officer for Culture Vannin, an organisation created to support, protect and promote Manx Culture in inclusive, creative and engaging ways. As part of that he was recently involved in a project to re-print and publish a collection of Folklore compiled by Karl Roeder on the island at the beginning of the 20th Century, originally named Manx Notes and Queries and now splendidly titled Ghosts, Bugganes and Fairy Pigs. The book contains over two hundred and fifty notes, which include encounters with an impressively broad range of supernatural entities; ghost, faeries, witches, giants, and of course the legendary Buggane. There’s even an encounter with a UFO, described as a ‘big wheel of fire’. To find out more about Culture Vannin and the book, you can visit their website here. The song playing out this episode is a piece of traditional Manx folk music titled ‘Arrane ny Niee’, featuring Mona Douglas and David Kilgallon. It was a privilege to talk to James about the folklore of his homeland. Enjoy!   The Some Other Sphere theme is from Purple Planet Music. ‘Hubbub’ by Chris Martyn/Geoff Harvey