Ridin’ The Hurdle: The Folklore of the Witches of England
The lore of the witches of England is heavily influenced by the common narrative as found in witch trial records, but after the period of the witch trials (17th – early 18th centuries) new folklore about witches began to come through and by the 19th and early 20th centuries, many different elements and motifs about witches and cunningwomen existed across the country. In this presentation, we explore the common motifs and narratives about witches found throughout England and their possible origins, from wearing red to ridin’ hurdles, to stopping carts in theiur tracks, to turning into hares and running around the countryside, this class is a primer on witch folklore.(Image: Manuscript witches riding brooms)
Speaker Bio:
Benjamin Stimpson is an award-winning Welsh based writer, independent researcher, podcaster, and public speaker on folk practice, occultism, medieval history, and British folklore. Benjamin holds a BA (Hons) minoring in Classical, Medieval and Religious Studies from the University of Waterloo as well as a Diploma in Spiritual Psychotherapy. His research focusses on medieval and early modern folk practice, the folklore and history of magic and witchcraft, and applied modern spiritual practice. He is the author of the award-winning Ancestral Whispers: A Guide to Developing Ancestral Veneration Practices (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2023), and his most recent: Of Toads and Hares: The Witches and Wisewomen of England (History Press, 2026), his work has been endorsed by such experts in the field as Professor Ronald Hutton, Dr Owen Davies, Dr Tabitha Stanmore, and Dr Christina Oakley Harrington. To find out more, please visit www.benstimpson.com
Hosted & Curated By:
Lena Schattenherz Heide-Brennand is a Norwegian lecturer with a master degree in language, culture and literature from the University of Oslo and Linnaeus University. She has been lecturing and teaching various subjects since 1998. Her field of interest and main focus has always been topics that others have considered strange, eccentric and eerie, and she has specialised in a variety of dark subjects linked to folklore, mythology and Victorian traditions and medicine. Her students often point out her thorough knowledge about the subjects she is teaching, in addition to her charismatic appearance. She refers to herself as a performance lecturer and always gives her audience an outstanding experience
don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day
