When most of us think of the term boggart, we probably first come up with the idea of a shapeshifting creature represented in the Harry Potter universe. But this is nothing like the actual folkloric creature which the word actually refers to. Boggarts have not been studied in particularly great detail until recently – they are a supernatural being specific to the north of England but having much in common with other creatures from our folklore.
Joining Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman to discuss the subject is historian and author Simon Young. Simon disputes the traditional description put forward by Katharine Briggs that the Boggart was a goblin-like creature, but argues that instead it was a much more general term which encompassed aspects of most solitary supernatural creatures from mermaids to ghosts and all points in between. This approach goes a long way to demonstrate how the continual misrepresentation of the boggart by earlier folklorists led to the fantasy version of the creature that we know today.
The Folklore Podcast is an independent podcast, part of The Folklore Network which is striving to collect and preserve folklore material in all forms for future generations. To support our work, and that of the Folklore Library and Archive please join our Patreon or make a small donation on our website. Full details at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/support
To download The Boggart Sourcebook, referred to in this episode, free of charge please visit https://www.exeterpress.co.uk/en/Book/2114/The-Boggart-Sourcebook.html
Folklore and Magic Roundtable
Episode 157: LINCOLNSHIRE FOLKLORE
Episode 156: TRAUMA AND THE PARANORMAL
Episode 155: THE FOX IN ASIAN FOLKLORE
Episode 154: MONSTROUS WOMEN
Episode 153: EVERYDAY FOLKLORE
Episode 152: NICK MEDINA - Native American lore
Episode 151: RAT HOLES, POTHOLES AND MANHOLES
Episode 150 - AISLING: VISIONS OF IRELAND
Episode 149 - LOKI: A BAD GOD?
Episode 148 - REDISCOVERED PRATCHETT
Episode 147 - THE SNOW GIRL
ANNOUNCEMENT: Stories from the Hearth
Episode 146 - AMERICA'S FEMALE GHOSTS
Episode 145 - THREE RAVENS
Episode 144 - THE ELEMENTS
Episode 143 - IN CONVERSATION WITH PETER LAWS
Episode 142 - AN INTERVIEW WITH CHUCK TINGLE
Episode 141 - REBEL FOLKLORE
Episode 140 - FOLKLORE AND FICTION
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