The Three Ravens Podcast

Hold onto your preconceptions if you must as we, two English people, open a can of worms in our first full episode of Series 8 to discuss Virginia, the 'Mother of States!'

We begin as colonial America did - in Jamestown - before digging into some of the key differences between life in Virginia in those early days and life in England at the same time, tracking points of comparison forward through into the modern day.

Enriched by extracts from this Saturday's upcoming Local Legends interview with Jon Lohman, who served as Virginia's State Folklorist for over two decades, we chat through Virginia's fundamentally important role in the global tobacco business, explain why the state was so central to the American Civil War, and talk about some aspects of what life was like in the American Indian Powhatan Confederacy, too.

As you might expect, we also dig into the state's folklore, discussing some of the myths surrounding Captain John Smith, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, hang out with some very cool cryptids including The Woodbooger, Mothman, and the Chesapeake Bay Sea Monster, dabble in some conspiracy theories, and much more besides!

We also tuck into a five course State Dinner in which Martin attempts to honour the diverse range of Virginia's distinct regions and cultures, spend a bit of time with the Great Hare as he creates the world and shows a quartet of giants who's boss, and then, to conclude the episode, we argue the toss as to who we should crown as Virginia's ultimate Folk Hero.

From John Henry the 'steel driving man' to the complex history of Pocahontas, we hope you find it interesting, surprising, and that it also makes you giggle, which is very much part of the point!

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!
🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!
🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop
👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon
📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales
👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027
📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
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Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode of Local Legends Eleanor chats with historian, curator, author and activist Dr Gabrielle Tayac.

We were thrilled Gabrielle spoke to us at the beginning of Series 8, after this week's background episodes on the history of North America. As Associate Professor of Public History at George Mason University and the inaugural curator of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, she has a unique insight into the history of America before colonial expansion.

She’s a member of the Piscataway Indian Nation, a tribe based in southern Maryland, and is the granddaughter of the late Chief Turkey Tayac, a medicine practitioner involved in early and mid 20th century Native American cultural revitalization movements.

As a curator, Gabi worked on one of the museum’s first permanent exhibitions, Our Lives: Contemporary Life and Identity, and solo curated Return to a Native Place: Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region, along with the travelling exhibition IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas.

She authored the popular My World: Young Native Americans Today series, along with editing and contributing to boatloads of books and journals, and has also been active in global indigenous human rights movements.

Visit the Native Knowledge 360 resource: https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!
🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!
🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop
👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon
📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales
👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027
📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this week’s story we have the tale of a particularly unwelcome immigrant called “How The Devil Came to America.”

Written by Eleanor, it’s a piece of arcane folk horror that explores the failure of the infamous Roanoke colony, positing a new theory as to why things went wrong for the residents of ‘The City of Raleigh’ in a tale which travels from the private offices of Queen Elizabeth I’s chief spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham across the sea to America’s eastern seaboard.

For hardcore Three Ravens fans, you may notice connections to some of our other stories within this one, including to our 30-part audio adventure from last summer, Dog Days: A Kit Marlow Mystery.

And if you have not listened to Dog Days then don’t worry – this story stands alone on its own two hooves. Though do please check out Dog Days when you have the chance, as it’s a pretty wild ride and was the very first thing we wrote well and truly together.

Details in the story were inspired by Solving The Mystery of the Lost Colony Lee Miller and The American Heritage History of the Thirteen Colonies edited in chief by Michael Blow.

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!
🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!
🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop
👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon
📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales
👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027
📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month's update episode we're chatting through Autumn Equinox folklore, the end of harvest, and the Devil doing unspeakable things to blackberries...

Including discussions Britain's traditional Quarter Days and the folklore of Michaelmas, from 'Stubble Goose' divination to Medieval beliefs in "Dragon Days" along with autumnal spider folklore and a slice of apple magic, we also include some of our own news, chat about our upcoming spooky Live Shows surrounding the launch of our second book Three Ravens Ghost Tales and share the opening chunks of August's two Three Ravens Patreon Exclusive episodes.

First comes the opening 20 minutes of Eleanor's retelling of iconic fairy tale The Goose Girl, set against the horrifying backdrop of Soviet Romania. This is then followed by the first part of our Film Club episode all about 'Master of Horror' Stuart Gordon's cult straight-to-video Gothic/Giallo mashup movie Castle Freak.

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!
🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!
🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop
👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon
📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales
👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027
📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before we begin our adventures exploring the history and folklore of the Thirteen Colonies of America, we present our first episode of Series 8: A Brief History of America!

We explore the history of North America from the earliest human migration across the Beringia land bridge, now the Bering Strait.

Looking at the distinct archaeological stages of American pre-history, we talk through the Lithic, the Archaic, the Formative, the Classic and the Post-Classic phases, and the development of distinct societies and cultures.

It's a fascinating picture of complex early societies with incredible trade networks like the Hopewell Exchange System, which allowed goods and resources to travel great distances from their place of origin.

All this came before the first contact with European explorers. Searching for a western route through to India to bypass Ottoman control of eastern trade, sailors made landfall in the Americas almost by accident, yet it ultimately led to wide-scale colonisation.

We hope it's an interesting listen, whether you are American or otherwise - and the story of how 'America' got its name should at least make you laugh!

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!
🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!
🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop
👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon
📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales
👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027
📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.