Devils in the Details: On Location with Folk Tales in England’s Forgotten County
Written by Rory Waterman.
Published April 2026 by Five Leaves Publications.
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Join Rory Waterman on thirteen quests into Lincolnshire’s landscape in search of the origins and legacies of the folk tales of England’s ‘forgotten county’.
Lincolnshire is a rich picking ground for folklorists and others interested in folk tales. Many of the tales from the county provide missing links between better known stories and historical events, while others fascinate for their sheer strangeness and apparent unconnectedness to more familiar narratives. Most are dependent on societal concerns or the geographical features of a county that has always been relatively cut off from national narratives by virtue of its scale and remoteness.
Devils in the Details is a study into the origins and legacies of Lincolnshire’s folk tales, a love letter home, and a book which to inspires exploration in many guises and on many fronts.
‘A rich and vivid ode to the oft-overlooked folklore of Lincolnshire. Waterman marries robust research with humorous narration, and crafts personal reflections with poetic flair as he travels the county talking to its people, capturing its landscapes, and seeking its hidden folkloric treasures. We travel alongside Waterman as he encounters stories of devils, boggarts, witches, and wild men, and as he searches for the horseshoes, the big rocks, and the old doors that anchor these stories to the land.’ Dr Ceri Houlbrook, co-author of Folklore: A Journey Through Past and Present
‘An enlightening companion to an overlooked county, Devils in the Details is part memoir, part literary criticism and all love of Lincolnshire. The book plunges into the stuff of story in luminous, evocative prose shot through with a wry sense of humour. It will tell you a lot about stories, and probably something about yourself too.’ Eleanor Conlon, Three Ravens Podcast
From reviews:
‘Deeply fascinating. […] Waterman has an easy style of writing which belies the depth of research and knowledge that is highly prevalent throughout the book. There are often pithy and waspish asides as well as biographical anecdotes. […] It may focus on Lincolnshire and rightly so given its relative neglect, but it’s a wonderful addition to the canon of folklore study.’ Benjamin Peel, Aspects of History
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Lincolnshire Folk Tales Reimagined
Edited by Anna Milon & Rory Waterman.
Published February 2025 by Five Leaves Publications.
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Contains new work by: Aliya Whiteley, Alison Brackenbury, Alex Harvey, Jane Simmons, Robert Etty, Philippa East, Fee Griffin, Anne Zouroudi, Rory Waterman, Daniele Pantano, Juliet E. McKenna, Rahul Gupta, Nick Triplow and John Gallas.
This book is an example what can happen when folk tales are not in aspic, are not regarded only as fixed documents from the past, but continue to change with the ‘folk’.
The book also includes detailed, entertaining gloss notes about the original tales and sources, and an introduction.
This anthology brings together new, original fiction and poetry by some of Lincolnshire’s most celebrated writers, all taking inspiration from the county’s rich, diverse, and evolving heritage of folk tales. Yes, here you will find boggarts, rogues, princesses, witches, demons, old rites and customs. Mostly, however, the stories and poems in this book are concerned with the present, with how our collective cultural heritage might add colour to our lives, and with ripping good yarns for their own sakes and for our times.
From reviews:
‘A fascinating collection demonstrating both the versatility and and the ongoing power of folk tales.’ David V. Barrett, The Fortean Times
‘These aren’t dry retellings from dusty archives. They’re full of imagination, humour, and a few eerie twists.’ Anna Yates, Community Spirit
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The project is grateful to project partners Five Leaves Publications, and to all the authors who contributed new work to the anthology and interviews and perspectives for the single-authored book.
Lincolnshire Folk Tales Project 