The Three Ravens Folk Tales: New tellings of half-forgotten stories from England's 39 Historic Counties

by Eleanor Conlon, Martin Vaux

'Delightfully offbeat and always engaging, this collection of folk tales offers new perspectives on both familiar and forgotten stories. Perfect for folklore fans and anyone who wants to add a bit of magic to their day.' - Heather Fawcett, Sunday Times best-selling author of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Do you know the legends of the giants who ruled England before the first human kings? What about the demon dog Black Shuck who terrorized sixteenth-century Norfolk? Or the many times the Devil has tried to get his way before being outwitted by everyday people?

England's historic counties are overflowing with folklore, and this collection of 39 stories from the hit podcast Three Ravens reimagines dozens of classic tales in surprising, spooky, and often hilarious ways. Filled with tales of ghosts, mermaids, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends and more, The Three Ravens Folk Tales spans centuries, styles, tones and narrators, making it perfect for bedtimes, reading by torchlight, or curling up on the sofa to enjoy with a mug of something hot.

474 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 17, 2025

Reviews

[Sasha Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection is based on the authors' podcast, and I think that might be a better format for these stories, since the authors are oral storytellers by profession. For me, most of these adaptations of local folk tales fall between two stools. They don't provide reliable information about the folk tradition, because disparate tropes have been mashed together from unrelated strands if that tradition; and they don't reimagine the stories thoroughly enough to shed any interesting new light on them or on the modern world. In some cases they have at least been updated to reflect modern values on how we define and treat the Other, but not always. Early on there is a shockingly casual treatment of a witch-burning, for instance, with the witch portrayed as in the wrong and deserving her fate.

[Tammi Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book ! Eleanor and Martin's retellings of these folk tales made them come to life for me ! Some were vaguely familiar as my Grandmother was from Liverpool, and others were brand new to me.
I 1st found out about Three Ravens on their podcast and got to hear them actually telling the stories, which was a truly wonderful and immersive experience and I'm so happy that they wrote a book with their stories !
Now I just have to figure out how to get to England someday so that I can visit some of the amazing counties that they've talked about ♡

[Heather Fawcett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! It's an entertaining collection of folktale retellings, some creepy, some funny, some just plain weird, and I loved how they were all tethered to specific counties. Here's my official blurb:

"Delightfully offbeat and always engaging, this collection of folk tales offers new perspectives on both familiar and forgotten stories. Perfect for folklore fans and anyone who wants to add a bit of magic to their day."

[DJR · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to these 39 stories (and more) on the Three Ravens podcast. They are excellent! Some include humour; others are sad or scary—but all are worth reading (or hearing). Because I already know the stories, I am really looking forward to buying the book for my shelves. Highly recommended!

[Emily Treece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and carefully researched re-tellings of folk tales from each of England's historic counties. Some are scary, some are funny, but they are all gorgeous!

[Cathy Smyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! I’m a huge fan of the podcast and now these writings! we need more!