I’m a folklorist, researcher and social historian with a long-held interest in the relationship between supernatural experience, local landscape and oral tradition. I was born in Jersey, an island scattered with a network of ancient dolmens and rich in folklore. Partly due to my Irish heritage and the wonderful folktales of my father, I am particularly inspired by the survival of oral lore in rural communities.
In 2015 I gained a Masters in History from the University of Bristol, supervised by Professor Ronald Hutton.
My research focused on the portrayal of the Sidhe in Medieval Irish literature. Together with fellow member of the Folklore Society and author, Mark Norman, in 2016 I co-authored a chapter in Simon Young’s widely acclaimed book, Magical Folk: British and Irish Fairies: 500AD to the Present.
Mark and I had begun researching for ‘Magical Folk’ in 2016 and from there, I created a project called Modern Fairy Sightings. The main motivation of my research is to collate and preserve people’s experiences.
In lockdown 2020 I created The Modern Fairy Sightings Podcast where we hear people describe their own personal fairy encounters.
I hope my work helps to break the taboo that still exists around speaking about personal fairy experiences.
Contact Me:
Please contact me at: scarlettofthefae@gmail.com