elves

Everybody needs ‘good neighbours’: fairy folklore from time immemorial

21 February 2026 9:00 am

From ancient Greek dryads to Tolkien’s elves, fairies have had a fantastical past and seem destined for a fabulous future

A woman on a ducking-stool, accused of witchcraft. Drowning would have proved her innocence

The roots of witchcraft

19 August 2017 9:00 am

Until the mid-1960s many historians believed witchcraft was a pre-Christian pagan fertility ritual, witches worshipping the Horned God, whose consort…