The Lore of the Land - Jennifer Westwood, Jacqueline Simpson

England is a land of folk tales, and this book includes hundreds of them from every county. It is organised alphabetically by county, and each section is prefaced by a map showing approximately the location of churches and holy wells, hill figures and witches, speaking skulls and other supernatural happenings. The authors are experienced folklorists who have attempted to use the earliest source for each entry, and a comprehensive bibliography is provided. The unembroidered tales are allowed to speak for themselves, though the descriptions can be a little humourless. Within each county, entries are listed alphabetically by place, which means that a description ...  Read the complete review

If you're an adventurous soul, and feel inclined to hunt out the quirky places, people and tales that make up the threads that weave together the folklore of our culture, then this book is utterly essential. Painstakingly put together through many years of devotion and research Westwood and Simpson have created an indispensable guide to the legends and stories that have grown through generations of telling, their origins, and their meanings. The book is divided into chapters by county, and spends roughly an equal amount of time on each county in turn. Whether the tales be those of haunted houses and ghosts (like the spectral hanged highwayman at Clibbon's ...  Read the complete review