taking our culture forward

New Book: Ghosts, Bugganes & Fairy Pigs

Fri, 27 Sep 2019


A new book entitled ‘Ghosts, Bugganes & Fairy Pigs’ has just been published by Culture Vannin.

It offers one of the richest sources of traditional tales from the Isle of Man, including fairies, bugganes, ghosts, giants, witches and so much more.

Collected over a hundred years ago by a man named Karl Roeder, this fascinating collection is reprinted here for the first time since 1904 and now includes exciting additional material.

Stories include the origins of Hunt the Wren, the murdered witch of Slieu Whallian, and perhaps the Isle of Man’s oldest UFO sighting…

Many of these stories were gathered from Edward Faragher – ‘Ned Beg Hom Ruy’ – the legendary poet of Cregneash whose former home forms a part of the folklife museum in Cregneash today.

As well as folklore, it contains fascinating pieces of history, language, literature and other things of Manx interest, as well as some more theoretical discussions of Manx matters unmatched then or since.

All of it has been faithfully transcribed and introduced by Stephen Miller, whose knowledge of the material is second to none.

Anyone interested in the Isle of Man will find this book enormously rewarding.

The book of 274 pages has cover art designed by Kim Gee and it is priced at only £12.

It is available from the Island’s bookshops, including at Culture Vannin itself in St. John’s.

More information about the book is available here: Ghosts, Bugganes & Fairy Pigs: Karl Roeder's Manx Notes & Queries