About this episode
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
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