FEN FOLK

FEN FOLK Exploring the folklore of the Fens๐Ÿ… Exploring the Folklore, History and Customs of the Fens

Stay weird ๐Ÿ…

โœท ๐•ฎ๐–—๐–”๐–œ๐–˜ ๐–‡๐–Š๐–‹๐–”๐–—๐–Š ๐–‡๐–—๐–”๐–˜ โœทThe Fens donโ€™t seem to have their own crow legend, which feels like a missed opportunity.Elsewhere,...
06/06/2026

โœท ๐•ฎ๐–—๐–”๐–œ๐–˜ ๐–‡๐–Š๐–‹๐–”๐–—๐–Š ๐–‡๐–—๐–”๐–˜ โœท

The Fens donโ€™t seem to have their own crow legend, which feels like a missed opportunity.

Elsewhere, people had plenty to say about them. In Greek myth, crows were once white. The story goes that Apollo sent a crow to watch his lover, Coronis. When the bird returned with news of her infidelity, Apollo was so enraged that he scorched its feathers black.

Fen folk were less interested in divine punishment and more interested in tomorrowโ€™s weather. A flock of noisy rooks gathering and flying low over the fields, meant rain and wind were on the way.

โ€œTiddy Mun, wiโ€™out a nameโ€ฆโ€In the old fen stories of Lincolnshire, Tiddy Mun was a pale little spirit guy who lived in t...
18/05/2026

โ€œTiddy Mun, wiโ€™out a nameโ€ฆโ€

In the old fen stories of Lincolnshire, Tiddy Mun was a pale little spirit guy who lived in the marshes. When floods came, people would stand at the d***s under a new moon and call to him, asking the waters to sink back into the fen. Like a magical and muddy local counsellorย 

But when the wetlands were drained in the 18th century, Tiddy Mun lost his marshes and lost his head over it. The story says he answered with a curse: livestock died, children grew feverish, milk curdled, walls burst outward and thatch fell in.ย 

And the mad thing isโ€ฆ thatโ€™s more or less what actually happened.
The drained peat shrank and damaged buildings. New stagnant pools helped spread disease. Changes to the soil made livestock ill.

Itโ€™s folklore, yeah, but the curse mirrors the real effects of drainage. Like people knew something had gone badly wrong, but the only way to explain it was through a furious little bog spirit haunting the d***s at night.

They used to say that if you were out in the Fens early on May Day, you might see the ghosts of the drowned.Most boatmen...
30/04/2026

They used to say that if you were out in the Fens early on May Day, you might see the ghosts of the drowned.

Most boatmen didnโ€™t argue with that sort of talk. Theyโ€™d just tie up the boats and leave them be for the day, no point risking it if the river was likely to be in a mood.

Ask and ye shall receive Stickers are now available over on fen folk.com
30/04/2026

Ask and ye shall receive

Stickers are now available over on fen folk.com

๐”—๐”ฅ๐”ข ๐”–๐”ฅ๐”ž๐”ค ๐”ฃ๐”ฌ๐”ž๐”ฉ ๐ŸŽThe shag-foal is seen throughout the folklore of northern England and the Lincolnshire fens. Itโ€™s a type ...
22/04/2026

๐”—๐”ฅ๐”ข ๐”–๐”ฅ๐”ž๐”ค ๐”ฃ๐”ฌ๐”ž๐”ฉ ๐ŸŽ

The shag-foal is seen throughout the folklore of northern England and the Lincolnshire fens. Itโ€™s a type of hobgoblin that shows itself as a small, shaggy horse (sounds kinda cute imo).

Thereโ€™s an old story of one haunting a spot in Freiston, near Boston. Itโ€™s said the shag-foal would follow travellers along the road at Spittal Hill, where a hospital once stood. If you were on horseback, it might suddenly leap up behind you, wrap its forelegs round you, and cling on so tight it nearly crushed you, then disappear once you reached a certain point.

Some say itโ€™s there because of a murder that happened nearby. Others think itโ€™s guarding treasure buried in the ground.

๐•ณ๐–†๐–‘๐–‹ ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–˜๐–, ๐–๐–†๐–‘๐–‹ ๐–‹๐–‘๐–Š๐–˜๐–Inspired by Imperial Mud and some very flattering historical PR about the Fens
15/04/2026

๐•ณ๐–†๐–‘๐–‹ ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–˜๐–, ๐–๐–†๐–‘๐–‹ ๐–‹๐–‘๐–Š๐–˜๐–

Inspired by Imperial Mud and some very flattering historical PR about the Fens

๐•ฐ๐–Š๐–‘๐–˜! ๐•ฐ๐–Š๐–‘๐–˜! ๐•ฐ๐–Š๐–‘๐–˜!Thereโ€™s a limited number of these bad boys left on fenfolk.com ๐Ÿชฑ
14/04/2026

๐•ฐ๐–Š๐–‘๐–˜! ๐•ฐ๐–Š๐–‘๐–˜! ๐•ฐ๐–Š๐–‘๐–˜!

Thereโ€™s a limited number of these bad boys left on fenfolk.com ๐Ÿชฑ

Hereโ€™s a story from Quadring, in Lincolnshire, about Simon Greenleaf of Nut Hall. He was really wealthy but wouldnโ€™t giv...
08/04/2026

Hereโ€™s a story from Quadring, in Lincolnshire, about Simon Greenleaf of Nut Hall. He was really wealthy but wouldnโ€™t give anything to the church, which people thought was a bit off for someone like him. Apparently he was more into black magic anyway, doing things up in the tower of his house.

He really didnโ€™t get on with the local priest, theyโ€™d had a few arguments, and at some point Simon decided he was going to get his own back. So he made this potion that was meant to destroy the souls of any babies it touched, which is a bit extreme.

The night before a christening he sneaks into the church and swaps the font water for his potion, fully expecting it to go ahead the next day.

But it completely backfires. Before anything can happen, the whole thing gets turned on him, people say an angel stepped in, and the potion ends up all over Simon instead. He runs out of the church screaming and when people come to see whatโ€™s going on, they find him stone dead.

Source: Lincolnshire Life magazine; Folklore of Lincolnshire by Susanna Oโ€™Neill

Merry Christmas ๐ŸŽKeep an eye on the apple trees this Christmasโ€ฆ the fens say the sun makes them ambitious ...
24/12/2025

Merry Christmas ๐ŸŽ

Keep an eye on the apple trees this Christmasโ€ฆ the fens say the sun makes them ambitious

๐•พ๐–š๐–’๐–’๐–”๐–“๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐•ฏ๐–Š๐–›๐–Ž๐–‘ ๐–†๐–™ ๐•ฎ๐–—๐–”๐–œ๐–‘๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐•ฌ๐–‡๐–‡๐–Š๐–ž ๐Ÿ‘นI could do a whole string of posts on Crowland Abbey (and lets face it, probably ...
12/12/2025

๐•พ๐–š๐–’๐–’๐–”๐–“๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐•ฏ๐–Š๐–›๐–Ž๐–‘ ๐–†๐–™ ๐•ฎ๐–—๐–”๐–œ๐–‘๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐•ฌ๐–‡๐–‡๐–Š๐–ž ๐Ÿ‘น

I could do a whole string of posts on Crowland Abbey (and lets face it, probably will), but the bit of folklore I heard most growing up was if you walked down these old decrepit steps (slide 2) backwards three times, youโ€™d summon the devil. No idea who came up with that, but a taleโ€™s a tale, isnโ€™t it lads?

Lemme know if youโ€™re local and if you have you heard this one!

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