In this episode of Haunted History Chronicles, I’m joined by writer, folklorist and broadcaster Deborah Hyde to explore one of medieval Britain’s most unsettling and enduring mysteries: the Green Children of Woolpit.
Emerging from a pit on the edge of a Suffolk village in the 12th century, two strange children with green-tinged skin and a language no one recognised entered the historical record — and never truly left it. Drawing on medieval chronicles, folklore traditions and historical context, Deborah carefully examines what may lie behind the tale. Were the Green Children misunderstood migrants, symbolic folklore, or something far stranger?
Together, we explore how belief, fear and storytelling shape the way these accounts are recorded, remembered and retold. With her characteristic wit and academic rigour, Deborah guides us through the shifting interpretations of this luminous legend, revealing why the Green Children of Woolpit continue to trouble the boundary between history and the uncanny.
🎧 In this episode, expect insights into:
The medieval sources and folklore behind the mystery of the Green Children
Possible historical, cultural and psychological explanations for the tale
Why stories like this endure — and what they reveal about belief and the unknown
About my guest
Deborah Hyde explores why people believe strange and unsettling things. She is a writer, folklorist and broadcaster, a regular expert on the hit BBC podcast Uncanny, and former Editor of The Skeptic magazine for ten years. Deborah has contributed to investigations into cases including the Enfield Poltergeist, the Hull Werewolf and Borley Rectory, and is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. She also once accidentally played a five-hundred-year-old queen in a Terry Gilliam film.
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👉 https://www.podpage.com/haunted-history-chronicles/deborah-hyde-and-the-green-children-of-woolpit-lost-children-fairy-folk-or-fear/
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