It feels slightly surreal to be writing this.
We have just launched the Kickstarter for Droll, our animated series.
For the past months, @wabisabicreationsuk@ellogical_art and I have been hammering away on The Droll of the Mermaid. Storyboarding. Drawing. Animating. Building something we truly believe in. And now we are asking for your help to finish the full six part series.
Droll is our animated anthology of Cornish folklore. Six episodes. Six animation styles. Narrated in Kernewek, with English subtitles and a separate English version. The old stories, told properly.
The Mermaid is already deep in production. The Giants are already underway. This series is happening.
And we have put together rewards that we genuinely think are worth it.
It is one of the best ways to get hold of one of the last remaining Dark Cornwall folklore maps, grab a ticket to one of our workshops, add a little extra magic with a ticket to the Dark Cornwall Fête, or even get properly involved in the production by becoming an Executive Producer of the show.
If you have ever supported Dark Cornwall, shared a post, bought a map, come to a workshop, or simply followed along, thank you. Truly. This means so much more than you might realise.
The link to the Kickstarter page is in our bio and also in our latest story.
Please back it if you can. Share it if you can’t. Both matter more than you know.
Let the legends live.
#darkfolklore #darkcornwall #darkcornwallstudio #animation #fantasyart
We have an exciting update to share about the Dark Cornwall Fête.
In fact, I was so excited that I decided to have a go at stop motion animation to announce it.
First, the difficult part. We have decided that there is currently a little too much uncertainty around the ability of Carnglaze Caverns to host the Fête this year. It was not an easy decision. We care deeply about the Caverns and the team behind them, and we very much hope to host an event there in the future and continue our support.
Now for the good news.
We have found the perfect new home for the Dark Cornwall Fête.
On 24 October, we gather at The Arborist at Killiow Estate, Playing Place, just outside Truro. A beautiful woodland nature park with space to breathe, room to build, and the freedom to create the world we have been imagining.
Canvas tents. Marquees. Covered stages. Makers. Music by @get_folkd_promotions . Puppets. Cosplay, life-size creatures, art exhibition. A great bonfire at the heart of the field for our Samhain ritual.
This move allows us to expand the vision and bring the Fête fully to life in the way it deserves.
We look forward to you joining us in October!
#darkfolklore #darkcornwall #darkcornwallstudio #darkfolklorefestival #letlegendslive
I know that most of the shots for the British version of Fraggle Rock were filmed in a studio in Kent, but it’s the exterior scenes at St Anthony’s Lighthouse in Falmouth that I remember most vividly.
Here is my favourite clip of Fulton McKay performing with Sprocket. For an actor known for playing such stern characters, the affection he shows towards the puppet is genuinely heartwarming.
#darkfolklore #darkcornwall #darkcornwallstudio #fragglerock #cornwall
We managed to trek over to Arthur’s Sword while we were on Bodmin Moor, and it is a pretty stunning rock stack.
There is a possible human made phallic carving on the capstone, but with two little ones with me who love getting into trouble, I could not scramble up to take a photo.
It sits among a field of striking granite boulders, the ruins of Carbilly Tor and the most beautiful views.
#darkfolklore #darkcornwall #darkcornwallstudio #bodminmoor #cornishfolklore
Recently, I took our boys for a wild walk on Bodmin Moor and to spend some time with one of the many stone circles in the area.
The Trippet Stones stand proudly on Manor Common. This Bronze Age stone circle once held at least twenty six granite stones arranged in a near perfect ring more than 30 metres wide, making it one of Cornwall’s few “true circles.” Today only eight remain standing, with others fallen or lost to centuries of stone breaking, yet the atmosphere of the site remains powerful.
The circle sits between Hawk’s Tor and Carbilly Tor, with the Stripple Stones visible across the moorland beyond. Archaeologists believe these monuments may once have formed part of a wider ceremonial landscape stretching across this side of Bodmin Moor. Excavations in the early 1900s uncovered flint flakes and evidence suggesting links between the circles, while more recent restoration work revealed a flint blade beneath one of the stones, strengthening the site’s prehistoric origins.
Like many Cornish stone circles, folklore surrounds the Trippet Stones. The name itself is thought to come from “tripping lightly,” tied to the old tale that the stones were once girls turned to granite for dancing on the Sabbath. Yet the site also carries deeper alignments with the landscape and sky. At midsummer the setting sun drops over Carbilly Tor, while astronomer Norman Lockyer believed the circle aligned with the rising of Arcturus over Rough Tor around 1700 BC.
A special thank you to the group from the Netherlands, who let my children have a little time communing with stones whilst you were having your tour. I hope you enjoyed Tintagel!
#darkfolklore #darkcornwall #darkcornwallstudio #bodminmoor #stonecircles
For us, as parents of a five and six year old, finding ways to stretch our children’s minds through different forms of art is so important.
When @seamusmckennamusic and @get_folkd_promotions performed at our neighbourhood @thearboristcafe , we went along as a family and had a grand old time. We made some new friends, saw some old ones, and inspired our children to think about which instruments they might want to learn. Oboes, sax, guitar, violin… I think violins are looking pretty good right now!
There were so many great artists performing that I forgot to record them all. Here are just some of the acts I managed to capture once I finally put my pint down and got my phone out.
Whether you want to help expand the minds of the next generation or simply enjoy a great night out listening to incredible musicians, nights like this really matter. Give @get_folkd_promotions a follow!
#darkfolklore #darkcornwall #darkcornwallstudio #letlegendslive #cornwallmusic
During the 1970s, Shell created a series of documentaries to encourage drivers to get in their cars, buy and burn more petrol, and visit places like Cornwall.
This clip from their Cornish documentary, which quite ably walks the line between history and legend, discusses Lyonesse and St Michael’s Mount’s connection to it. A lovely way to start a Sunday morning.
#darkfolklore #darkcornwall #darkcornwallstudio #lyonesse #stmichaelsmount
I think I have now watched all of the early 80’s West Country Tales at least three times, and I love every one of them. The Beast is in my top three, but number one has to be The Poacher.
Not only does it feature a magical humanoid goat, perhaps a Bucca or even Pan, but the narration by Douglas Leech is sublime.
I love these tales. The fact that they originated from real life experiences sent in by viewers in response to a BBC appeal makes them feel even more special and strangely overlooked.
Definitely worth a watch. The series can still be found on YouTube.
#darkfolklore #darkcornwall #darkcornwallstudio #westcountrytales #cornishfolklore
For this post, I am going to leave the archaeological significance to people far more learned about fogous than me.
Carn Euny Fogou, like many others I suspect, was my first experience of entering a fogou, pronounced “foo goo” from the Cornish “fogo”, meaning cave). Thought to have been constructed during the Iron Age, their exact purpose remains unknown, but this one feels like a place for ritual and congregation.
The act of crawling beneath granite blocks to enter this corbelled chamber feels like a rite of passage, almost like being born again. I used to do a fair amount of rock climbing, and this place reminds me of a route in Joshua Tree where you had to squeeze through a gap called “The Birth Canal” or risk a 75 foot drop. This reminds me of that, not in scale, but in the sense of journey.
When you enter, there is a profound sense of peace and quiet. The bioluminescence of the moss growing along the inner walls feels strangely intentional, and the stone plinth in the centre immediately draws your attention.
Frequently flooded, something one assumes may have happened throughout its existence, the water allows for beautiful reflections of the walls and the opening above. I think we underestimate how important water was to ancient people. Before mirrors and glass, this substance allowed people to see themselves, in this realm and perhaps others. Water brought life and, for those who fished from the nearby coves, perhaps frequently took it away.
Alongside Halliggye Fogou, this is perhaps the best preserved or reconstructed fogou in Cornwall, and it is managed by @englishheritage . It is free to access, though it is worth noting that the trail to the site is not wheelchair accessible.
Personally, I have a calling to some of the more obscure fogous, where they have not been groomed back into existence, but it doesn’t make this site any less magical. Give @project.fogou@cornwallheritagetrust or @c.a.s.p.n or @archaeologycornwall a follow for far more refined insights.
#darkfolklore #darkcornwall #darkcornwallstudio #cornwall #fogou
Bal Maidens, Camborne, at the turn of the 20th century.
Photograph by Jonathan Blake and selected postcards.
The bal maidens were the women and girls who worked on the surface of Cornwall’s mines, dressing the ore that had been brought up from below. Their name comes from the Cornish word bal, meaning mine, and the English word maiden.
They sorted, broke, washed and carried ore in hard conditions, often beginning work between the ages of 10 and 12, although some started even younger. Younger girls might earn around 4d a day, while experienced women carrying out skilled ore dressing work could earn between 8d and 1 shilling (roughly £2.65 to £7.95 per day). By the height of the Cornish mining boom in the 19th century, thousands of women and girls were employed across Cornwall and West Devon, with at least 2,500 working within five miles of Camborne alone.
Dressed in their distinctive gooks, aprons and protective clothing, they became one of the most recognisable sights of the Cornish mining landscape. Their working days were long, exposed and physically punishing. On the dressing floors they worked in all weathers, breaking stone with hammers, sorting ore by hand, carrying heavy loads and breathing in mineral dust. The noise of machinery, cold, damp, arsenic fumes and constant physical strain formed part of daily life. Their work was skilled and technical, essential and often dangerous.
By the early 20th century, mechanisation, mine closures and the decline of Cornish metal mining brought the tradition to an end. But the bal maidens remain part of Cornwall’s industrial history, women of strength, skill and endurance who chiseled the image of the mining world.
#darkfolklore #darkcornwall #darkcornwallstudio #balmaidens cornishmining
I have been enjoying the first episode of Children of the Stones, the haunting 1977 folk horror series set in the mysterious village of Milbury. The story follows a father and son who arrive in a seemingly peaceful community built around an ancient stone circle, only to discover that something dark lies beneath the ground. Without giving too much away, the series explores themes of time, control, ancient ritual, astronomy, and history.
Filmed at Avebury in Wiltshire during the scorching summer of 1976, the real stone circle gives the series its atmosphere. Interior scenes were filmed at HTV’s Bristol studios, while Sidney Sager’s chilling score, performed with the Ambrosian Singers, adds an almost hypnotic form of terror throughout. I think it is one of the most unsettling and uniquely British television series ever made.
The series was repeated on ITV from 21 July 1978 to 1 September 1978 at 16:15, but since then it has never been repeated on British TV. I am watching the full series on YouTube.?
#darkfolklore #darkcornwall #darkcornwallstudio #folkhorror childrenofthestones
I thought it would be fun to create a little montage of my old footage of Cornwall’s ancient sites to support the forthcoming @carncrescentcrow exhibition from the 19th to the 21st of June.
With 23 artists exhibiting, including myself, alongside talks, live music, performances, ritual, and plenty of great networking opportunities for creative folk, I am excited to be part of it.
You can find out more by visiting @carncrescentcrow .
#darkfolklore #darkcornwall #darkcornwallstudio #carncrescentcrow #cornwallart
