Deborah Hyde

This happened recently - @katecherrell.bsky.social and I recorded something together. What was it? You'll find out soon!

A new handmade witch has just been added to our webstore. Only one available. LITTLE WINTER WITCH is holding a hazel wand to symbolize wisdom, protection and nature and has a quartz necklace - quartz symbolizing protection. Yours for £7.50 plus delivery: www.thefolklorepodcast.com/store/p228/L...

Had a great time yesterday - I went to see 'Ghosts: the possession of Button House'! I loved the series and the movie was so much fun too. Highly recommended.

The Fear in the Fens festival by Culture Babylon was great. I went to beautiful Kings Lynn to give a talk on the Green Children of Woolpit. If you're nearby next year, it's well worth going.

Halloween gets going at @nerdnitelondon.bsky.social this Wednesday with an evening of spooky talks. Dr. Melanie Hyo-In Han, @profchrisfrench.bsky.social and I will be contemplating the uncanny. Join us there. www.designmynight.com/london/whats...

Four weeks and about 100 in-person tickets left for The Haunted Landscape 2026 on 21 November Hosts @valleyofthe.bsky.social & Sarah Sparkes. Bookstall: The Word & @strangeattractor.bsky.social @deborahhyde.bsky.social is not available. Details: forteanlondon.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-... 6/6

Join me with @humanists.uk this evening as we talk about why we believe and the sceptics who called the spirits' bluff humanists.uk/events/in-co...

Beware the werewolf of... Hull? @deborahhyde.bsky.social examines if there's any truth to the legend of 'Old Stinker' at October #NerdNite

Strange religious factoid: one of the first popularisers of religious snake handling in the USA, George Went Hensley, died in 1955 of ... you guessed it. #DoNotPesterSnakes

I went to The Nightmare Realm thenightmarerealm.com for @hauntedmagazine. The taster of the Halloween immersive experience is now on YouTube ... if you dare! 🎃 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgp7...

he Nightmare Realm comes to London!@hauntedmagazine.bsky.social sent me to experience the terror in a Halloween immersive experience. Video now on YouTube ... if you dare! 🎃 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgp7...

If you're also watching horror films, making pumpkin soup, and embracing all things spooky this October, please do join us for 'Ghostbusters' with author and folklorist @deborahhyde.bsky.social 21 October. Register now to join us online and learn more. humanists.uk/events/in-co...

Was delighted yesterday to introduce Jack Maden of Philosophy Break at @conwayhall.bsky.social. Great talk and a full house!

Piccie of me and @maddipow.bsky.social at Raworths Salon North last week. I was talking about ghosts and she about the forgotten voices of women in psychology.

Lunching with the wonderful composer Paya Lehane. Her fantastic music has provided atmospheric environments for several of my videos. Listen at lehaneaudioproductions.uk

If you're in Harrogate this evening there's still time to get a ticket to Raworths Salon North where I'll be talking about why people believe in ghosts. harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/event/rawort...

Just popped over to Bruges ... and guess who was also there?!

Guess who is preparing for Halloween with the right chocolate?

My article for @NewHumanist Summer edition is now online. Can AIs get religion? And have they already started? newhumanist.org.uk/articles/pro...

How much do we all feel this

Looks like Tesco is expanding its range. Good price though. And apparently only six quid if you have a Clubcard.

The Haunted Landscape 2026: Magic, Fairies and Old Gods Saturday 21 November 2026 10 am - 5 pm @deborahhyde.bsky.social is off with that @dannyrobins.bsky.social this year so Sarah Sparkes will be co-hosting. That's young us below Details and tickets forteanlondon.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-... 9/9

Guess where I am today!

Independent, ethical, evidence-driven journalism is needed more than ever. If you enjoy what you read in New Humanist, please consider supporting us with a subscription. They start from just £1.50 a month, and every single one helps us to continue our work: newhumanist.org.uk/subscribe/

Does anybody else working with ChatGPT feel that they're being rude asking so many questions? And get the urge to say 'Thank you' all the time? I'm troubleshooting a website atm and realise I'm treating it like a person.

Interesting - those who've experienced greater hardship may become more susceptible to conspiracy theories when it results in them seeing the world as fundamentally unfair: Dr Daniel Jolley & Dr. Laura Blackie working from @uniofnottingham.bsky.social & @cumbriauni.bsky.social tinyurl.com/yp79992w

I'll be at Raworths Salon North in September talking about why humans are drawn to the supernatural. Professor Adam Zeman will talk about imagination & @maddipow.bsky.social will talk about women in psychology. See you there! thestrayferret.co.uk/event/rawort...

'Abigail' Highly recommended. Do you like good characters, great creature & makeup effects, and a new twist on an old theme? Here is your evening's entertainment.

I thought they used beans, but whatever ...

My latest from @newhumanist.bsky.social

Being a Dead Can Dance fan is like being in a secret society. There are many of us, but our affiliation isn't a matter of public record & we meet each other in unusual places. When you find a fellow DCDer, there are knowing nods & exchanges of titles in case you have the same favourite.

Great talk from Professor Joseph Uscinski at @GreenwichSitP about institutional erosion - how people's faith fails and the consequences for us all.

Anyone in London on 22 July, why not join us @treadwells-books.bsky.social for a soirée about 'performing magnetism'? www.treadwells-london.com/events-1/mag...

... I would like to suggest that Hurtmore Bottom is added to The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Diagnosis 2/2 h/t @sili_faces

Following my *excellent* suggestion that Titz in Germany and Ars in France should be twinned ... 1/2

6/6 But I think we're just seeing the numbers of people who, in the past, would never have had young if they had had the choice. And when you give people birth control ... it seems they use it.

5/6 I suspect we are left with a residual birth rate that represents people who have that abstract desire for young. It's probably malleable with financial support, social myths etc.

4/6 For any animals - and that includes humans - you need two strong drives: to have sex, and to care for your young when they pop out. Until recently sex was an unnegotiable deal: you had sex, you had young. But our technology has changed the terms. tinyurl.com/7pptay8h

3/6 So why would the abstract desire to have young be the prime motivator in breeding? It's not that it doesn't *ever* exist (it clearly does). It's that it often doesn't ... and that *it didn't traditionally need to*. tinyurl.com/7pptay8h

2/6 There are very-few-to-zero drives in animals that focus on an abstract future & get us to work towards it. On the contrary, humans sweat to develop skills like planning, diligence & delayed gratification. Nature's pay-offs are usually pretty quick. tinyurl.com/7pptay8h

1/6 Why have birth rates been declining asks @theatlantic.com? tinyurl.com/yj4a65r8. Government financial support doesn't work over certain limits: something else is happening. Is it a lack of meaning, an existential ennui? I don't think so - and wrote about it in @skeptic.org.uk.

I've recently started an Instagram account- if anyone would like to follow me I can be found at @nearlyknowledgeable_1994 It would be great to see some of you over there! #folklore #folktales #history #localhistory #medieval #churchcrawling #Folkhorror

A man had his phone stolen by a monkey at a Bali temple, only to find the simian scamp had taken selfies & made a video. tinyurl.com/y8pd2nc2. He was lucky not to be charged for the phone's safe return: see my article for @skeptic.org.uk deborahhyde.com/monkey-busin...

Folks - watch 1883. It's the best TV I have seen for a long, long time. And stay hydrated, because you will cry.

Tomorrow night, online. Come along for some poltergeist fun. All ticket money supports the charity bit.ly/flaevents

#Poltergeists are fascinating. Join us on Saturday to find out just how fascinating, as @deborahhyde.bsky.social leads an exploration into their strange #history. 8pm UK time. Tickets £5, from bit.ly/flaevents Ticket holders get a link to a recording, so don't let your timezone hold you back!

With hardly any media coverage one of Britain’s few world-leading sectors is, right now, being decimated. The university funding model does not work and anti-immigrant hysteria has deprived the country of the means by which we met the shortfall: international students.

The ice-cream van in Ealing is shut, due to overheating. Not over-eating ... overheating. #ContradictionInTherms