We include below a very select list of books and other texts, with short annotations where necessary, to help you explore further. This list includes several texts referred to in entries to the interactive Lincolnshire Folk Tales Map on this website, and concentrates on sources that are either in print at trade price, or otherwise readily available. Many website links are provided in individual folk tale entries on the map, so are not replicated here. See the map entries to discover those links.

Brandon, David, Haunted Lincoln (Stroud: History Press, 2009).
A successor to the book by Daniel Codd (see below), focused largely on the city.

Briggs, Katharine M., Folk Tales of Britain (London: The Folio Society, 2011).
This three-volume compendium of British folk tales was first published in 1970, and republished, with illustrations, by the Folio Society in 2011. It is beautiful and well-referenced, and includes a good share of Lincolnshire folk tales.

Clark, David, It Happened in Lincolnshire (Ludlow: Merlin Unwin, 2016).
A wide-ranging, entertaining and well researched book, the second chapter of which in particular details several Lincolnshire myths and legends.

Codd, Daniel, Haunted Lincolnshire (Stroud: Tempus, 2006); Daniel Codd, Mysterious Lincolnshire (Derby: Breedon Books, 2007).
The former is a catalogue of ghost anecdotes from around the county, and is probably the most detailed and up-to-date volume of its kind. The latter is a detailed, historically astute guide to local myth and superstition, especially of the darker kind, with many photographs.

Crossley-Holland, Kevin, The Dead Moon (London: Faber, 1982); Kevin Crossley-Holland, Long Tom and the Dead Hand (London: Faber, 1992); Kevin Crossley-Holland, The Old Stories (London: Colt, 1997).
These three books include sparkling renditions of many folk tales from Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, written by one of our finest living authors and poets.

Gray, Adrian, Lincolnshire Tales of Mystery and Murder (Newbury: Countryside Books, 2004).
This book essentially has a focus on verifiable fact, as its title suggests, but includes chapters that give context to many events that have influenced folk tales, as well as chapters on phenomena such as big cats and alleged UFOs.

Gray, Adrian, Tales of Old Lincolnshire (Newbury: Countryside Books, 1990).
A selection of twenty-four folk tales and unusual historical narratives, each told in a very engaging style.

Gutch, Eliza and Mabel Peacock, Examples of Printed Folk-Lore Concerning Lincolnshire (London: David Nutt, 1908).
A compendium of folklore, including some entries that link to or constitute tales. It has long been out of print, but is freely available online: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.106716/mode/2up.

Howat, Polly, Ghosts and Legends of Lincolnshire and the Fen Country (Newbury: Countryside Books, 1992).
Outlines a good selection of tales, about half from Lincolnshire and half from the Cambridgeshire and Norfolk Fens, in alphabetic order of their settings.

James, Maureen, Lincolnshire Folk Tales (Stroud: History Press, 2012).
If you want one very readable book of Lincolnshire folk tales in modern prose, many contextualised, this is it. This book is part of a series, and James has also written the Cambridgeshire counterpart.

O’Neill, Susanna, Folklore of Lincolnshire (Stroud: History Press, 2013).
An entertaining, wide-ranging journey through local legend and superstition, with many photographs.

Simpson, Jacqueline and Steve Roud, A Dictionary of English Folklore (Oxford: OUP, 2000).
A useful and entertaining reference guide, explaining many terms and traditions.

Smith, Martin, Stamford Myths & Legends (Donington: Paul Watkins Publishing, 1991).
A beautifully illustrated collection of Stamford legends, historical anecdotes, and notable personages.
Kindly recommended by Richard O’Brien.

Turner, Derek, Edge of England: Landfall in Lincolnshire (London: Hurst, 2022).
Part-travel memoir, part-history of the county, beautifully written and incorporating several legends and tales.

Wade, Stephen, The A-Z of Curious Lincolnshire (Stroud: History Press, 2011).
An enjoyable compendium that includes several folk tales.

Lucy Wood, The Little Book of Lincolnshire (Stroud: History Press, 2016).
A wide-ranging book of thirteen chapters, including one on folklore and another called ‘The Supernatural County’.

Wray, Michael, 13 Traditional Ghost Stories from Lincolnshire (N.P., 2003).
Fun renditions of several local folktales with a ghostly element, illustrated by Anne Marshall.

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If you would like to propose the addition of an especially relevant book that is in print or otherwise widely available, please get in touch!