Loremen Podcast
Join the Loremen (James Shakeshaft and Alasdair Beckett-King) as they "investigate" local legends and forgotten folklore.
Episodes
October 22, 2025 • 43 mins
Queen Victoria, the second longest Queen of England (at the time of recording), escaped death on numerous occasions. But did she ever explore the spirit world? Alasdair recounts an series of (attempted) murder mysteries and relates the strange tale of a stolen timepiece. While James attempts to answer that age old question: who watches the watch, man?
Find out more about Vicky's Ticker in Roger Clarke's article on the Spitalfields...
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October 15, 2025 • 40 mins
Alasdair bedazzles James with tales of gold-digging ants. Did we mention these creatures were also massive? And deadly? Well, they were! Beginning with an Old English legend from Hana Videen's bestiary The Deorhord, the Loreboys travel into a world of dubious manuscripts and outlandish beasts.
Lock up your camels!
This episode was edited by Joseph Burrows - Audio Editor
Join the LoreFolk at...
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October 8, 2025 • 37 mins
Are the paths of Wiltshire stalked by a pagan deity in disguise? Usually on Loremen we recount tales that are seldom told, but this week is different. The legend of the Peaked Red One was, in fact, told by James and Alasdair at the Strange Days Festival of Forteana. But the sound quality was a bit bobbins, so we told our stories again, and here they are!
There's ghosts, treasure and a little man with a pet trout.
See the Loreme...
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October 1, 2025 • 50 mins
Comedian and podcaster Amy Matthews takes the Loreboys on a spooky tour of her Essex hometown. From Bell Wharf to Doom Pond, Leigh-on-Sea is no stranger to strange goings-on. But what's the truth behind the legend of the witch who sold the wind?
Order Amy's stand-up album Commute with the Foxes now, and check out the English Heritage Podcast!
See the Loremen LIVE in London on Oct 15th.
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September 24, 2025 • 41 mins
It's Britain's most haunted village, according to the Guinness Book of Records. Pluckley in Kent is replete with legends and thick wi' ghosts. James leads Alasdair through your basic Pluckley hauntings, and uncovers a couple of stories that haven't had mainstream media coverage*. Plus... has James been Mandela-effected?
* I.e. they're not in the Usborne Book of Ghosts.**
** Plus a BIG*** reveal about that book.
*** Not that big....
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September 17, 2025 • 49 mins
The Loremen meet the Map Men. Yes, it's the crossover we can only assume people have been clamouring for! Jay and Mark joined us to discuss the mythical island / clerical error known (amongst other things) as Hy-Brasil.
Prepare for some dodgy pronunciations and little local lore from Enfield.
Watch the Map Men on YouTube and pre-order their book.
And see the Loremen LIVE in London on Oct 15th.
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September 10, 2025 • 42 mins
Storm's comin', and it is quite literally "mucky out". Alasdair forecasts peculiar precipitation with spells of weird science. The black rains that fell on one small Scottish parish in the 1860s have a variety of explanations, ranging from the odd (squids) to the really odd (Italy). Plus, we have a doozy of a theory from the man himself: Charles Fort.
This episode was edited by Joseph Burrows - Audio Editor...
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September 3, 2025 • 36 mins
Matt Stewart (Do Go On Pod, Who Knew It? With Matt Stewart) joins James as Alasdair is laid-low having lost his voice. Matt is about to launch his UK tour and James gives him a stern warning about the city of Cambridge.
Book yout tickets via his website www.mattstewartcomedy.com and check out his YouTube special and various podcasts.
Listen to Alasdair (in full voice) guesting on The Rules Podcast and why not come and see the Lor...
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August 27, 2025 • 45 mins
Buff the buckles on your shoes and ready your bodices for ripping. James has plucked a tale of betrayal and romance from the annals of Yorkshire legend.
SMASH CUT: It's another Shakeshaft Movie Special. This time featuring gambling dens, a fortune teller, an innocent man accused and - of course - gentlemen of the road (i.e. highwaymen / thieves).
This episode was edited by Joseph Burrows - Audio Editor
...
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August 20, 2025 • 37 mins
Polterguys are back! As are Alasdair and James! After a wee August break, the Loreboys return with some noisy sprits from a disputed corner of Oxfordshire. Listen carefully and you might just learn something about early British Christians. Not how to pronounce their names, though. Apologies in advance for that.
This episode was edited by Joseph Burrows - Audio Editor
Join the LoreFolk at patreon...
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August 13, 2025 • 25 mins
The boys are on holiday, so this episode is pure "bants". Enjoy a selection of bonus bits from our recent episodes and take care out there, kids.
If you like this and want more of it, go to patreon.com/loremenpod
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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August 6, 2025 • 42 mins
Join Alasdair and James in a not-at-all dank Oxford cellar, as part of the Oxford Comedy Festival. The boys meet a hornéd hunter and a two-faced Edward: legends who left the pages of literature and entered the realm of lore. Like a pair of old-school Slendermen.
Thanks to Matthew Chadourne and the Oxford Comedy Festival for having us!
Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/IMykate4t9s
Join the LoreFolk at pat...
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July 30, 2025 • 39 mins
James takes Alasdair back to the Croydon of the Cotswolds™ - Banbury! - for a deep-dive into the origins, variations and possible meanings of the town's "famous" nursery rhyme. You know, the one with the rude horse and the lady with peculiarly positioned bells? Plus, James shares the tragic tale of a horse whose sat-nav led to a vicar's downfall.
This episode was edited by Joseph Burrows - Audio Editor
Joi...
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July 23, 2025 • 45 mins
James is joined by Dave Warneke of the podcasts Do Go On and Book Cheat to hear about one of the UK's breaking (and bounciest) cryptids.
Check Dave's upcoming stand-up special here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIuGey7qQ50
This episode was edited by Joseph Burrows - Audio Editor
Join the LoreFolk at patreon.com/loremenpod
ko-fi.com/loremen
Check the swe...
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July 16, 2025 • 44 mins
Looking for a tale to warm your knockles? If so, you've come to the wrong place! Alasdair's North Country legend will make your knockles chillier than ever. You're gonna wish you'd invested in 8 tiny beanies to keep 'em warm*.
This is the sanguinary story of Stephen Hollin's ghost from Manfield (near Darlington). Stephen is a spectral prankster who will either kill you with a plough coulter or steal all your cheese. Stroll throu...
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July 9, 2025 • 32 mins
Welcome to Sydenham, but be warned — this ain't your grandma's Sydenham. It's more likely to be your great-great grandma's Sydenham.
James takes Alasdair to a tumbledown cottage on a moonlit night, where an unwary rambler had a terrific fright. At least, according to the ghosthunter Elliot O'Donnell. From dreamland visions to the horrors of the London rental market, this episode should give you a shiver, even in the midst of a he...
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July 2, 2025 • 38 mins
James takes Alasdair on a whistle-stop tour of Britain's mobile stones, as catalogued in Janet and Colin Bord's The Secret Country. These standing stones were made for walking, and that's just what they'll do. Except when they're spinning around on the spot. Or not moving at all.
Plus, we answer the questions no other podcast would dare ask:
Do stones grow? (No)
Should you go in a Piper's Hole? (No)
Do stones respect / ...
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June 26, 2025 • 35 mins
In the midst of a heatwave, James brings the temperature down with the chilling tale of a ghost named Bloody Bones. The loreboys visit the most notorious haunted house in London. It's the Victorian equivalent of the Cat Bin Lady (but with ghosts in a house rather than a cat in a... well, you know).
Prepare yourself for tales of hubris and horror, plus a typewritten message from the beyond!
Join... Us... at The Oxford Comedy Festi...
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June 18, 2025 • 36 mins
Do you struggle to tell the difference between Prince Edward Island, the Canadian province, and Prince Edward the Duke of Edinburgh (15th in line to the throne AT TIME OF RECORDING)? If nothing else, this episode will teach you which of the two produces 25% of Canada's potatoes.
Plus, you can expect a bunch of cryptids sprung from the pages of Chasing North American Monsters by Jason Offutt (and thanks to the publisher, Llewellyn...
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June 11, 2025 • 41 mins
The remote islands of Scotland are known to be home to folk with the second sight. Alasdair tells James the story of three gifted seers, each of whom came to a sticky end. (In one case, literally. Barrel of tar, innit?)
This is a bumper episode for new ways to exploit the Loremen brand. We're talking a new TV show, a dark reboot of the name Kenneth, and a brand new music genre combining Drum & Bass with the Irish playwright Georg...
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