Worms, Witches and boggarts

In 2010, writer and broadcaster Bob Fischer was fascinated to discover a marker stone on windswept Gisborough Moor, just south of Hartlepool, that bore the legend 'Hob on the Hill' and the date 1798. Who - or what - was the 'Hob', and what was it doing on an ancient Bronze Age burial site in this remote part of the North Yorkshire Moors? So began Bob's research into the folklore of the region. From Hobs to Boggarts to Peg Powler, the River Tees' own child-eating witch, Worms, Witches & Boggarts explores a unique cast of folk characters that are by turns bizarre, creepy, hair-raising and always entertaining.

 

Bob Fischer specialises in an eclectic blend of popular culture and folklore. His debut book, Wiffle Lever To Full! was an offbeat travelogue of British science-fiction and cult TV conventions.  In more recent years, he has written for the Fortean Times on such diverse subjects as the hauntology movement and the books of Alan Garner. His stage show, The Haunted Generation, is a multi-media exploration of the weirder side of 1970s childhood.

 

In 2015, Worms, Witches & Boggarts was the very first event of the first Hartlepool Folk Festival! We thought it was the perfect time to re-visit the event as part of our Folk Horror theme.