The Aurora Borealis: The Beautiful Northern Lights in Folklore and Myth

The Aurora Borealis: The Beautiful Northern Lights in Folklore and Myth

Author: Icy Sedgwick September 5, 2026 Duration: 22:30

As we’re focusing on the Folklore of the Skies this month, it seemed only right to start with a celestial phenomenon that becomes a lot easier to see as the nights draw in. Yes, we’re looking at the northern lights, or aurora borealis.

Annoyingly, I am yet to see the northern lights. The one time they were visible with the naked eye across the whole of the UK, I was in bed with a migraine.

I know, I know, strange lights in the sky, with one individual unable to see them, is how Day of the Triffids starts.

We will focus on folklore from Britain and Scandinavia. There are Indigenous legends, but they’re not mine to tell. But if you’re reading this and you’re Indigenous, please feel free to share anything you feel called to share in the comments!

Let’s explore the aurora borealis and its folklore in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore!

Donate to the Nepal Disaster Relief Fund: https://pmdrf.nchl.com.np/

Find the images and sources used on the associated blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/northern-lights-in-folklore/

Watch my chat with Ùna Maria Blyth: https://youtu.be/euu7P8Be4VE

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595

Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/

Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick

Find the Fabulous Folklore Bookshop, Icy's social media links, and other useful bits at: https://icysedgwick.com/start-here


Each week, Fabulous Folklore with Icy offers a compact, fifteen-minute dive into the strange and storied shadows of our world’s traditions. Host Icy Sedgwick, a writer steeped in fantasy and Gothic horror, brings a storyteller’s eye to the material, weaving together tales of local legends, deep-rooted superstitions, and ancient myths. The podcast moves beyond simple retellings to consider the cultural soil from which these stories grew-why people believed what they did, how these narratives functioned in society, and the peculiar, often unsettling details that make them endure. You’ll hear about the oddities and occult practices that textbooks often overlook, all delivered with a blend of curiosity and a slight chill. It’s a consistently engaging exploration for anyone fascinated by the weird corners of history and human belief, a weekly reminder that our world is far more mysterious than it seems. Sedgwick’s background ensures the tales are told with both authority and a palpable sense of wonder, making each short episode a perfect gateway into a larger, fabulously folkloric universe. This isn’t just a catalog of curiosities; it’s an invitation to look at the familiar landscapes around us and imagine the layers of story hidden just beneath the surface, all packed into a brief, compelling listen that easily fits into a daily routine.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Fabulous Folklore with Icy
Podcast Episodes
Explore 3 strange legends of the Newcastle Castle [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:06
The Newcastle Castle occupies a strange position in the city centre. So strange that some people can’t believe we have a castle in town at all! Various buildings have stood on the site for centuries, dating back to the R…
Meet Joe Wilson: The 19th-Century Bard of Tyneside [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:20
Walk along Stowell Street in Newcastle upon Tyne and turn into St Andrew’s Street, and you might notice a plaque on the wall. It marks the site of the house where Tyneside bard Joe Wilson was born - though it’s unclear h…
Newcastle Disasters: Fire, Flood, and Plague [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:11
Newcastle upon Tyne is famous for many things: its bridges, nightlife, and being the birthplace of Greggs are just some of them. We've seen plenty of world firsts here, been on the frontline of science and technology, wi…
New Year Folklore and Traditions with Eerie Essex [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:54
We're onto the final instalment in this series of Festive Folklore episodes, that are coming to you with the help of some of my Fabulous Folklore friends! This time we're turning our attention to New Year and I'm joined…
The Christmas Ghost Story Tradition with Dr Kate Cherrell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:02
Dr Kate Cherrell is a writer and broadcaster specialising in the long 19th century and paranormal history. Her academic interests include 19th-century Spiritualism, mourning traditions, the gothic, the monstrous feminine…
A Portmanteau Ghost Story for Christmas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:19
For this third episode in our Festive Folklore series for December 2025, I'm adding my own tale to the noble tradition of the Christmas ghost story! And it arrives right ahead of the winter solstice... With plenty of fol…
Myths of the Stars and Planets with Suki Ferguson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:49
In this episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I chat to writer Suki Ferguson about some of the myths associated with the celestial bodies, how you approach myths when you don't just want to focus on the Greek and Roman…