About this episode

This episode explores the connections between Anglo Saxon heathenism and the themes of Folk Horror.

Anglo Saxon heathenism the polytheistic beliefs of the Anglo Saxons before Christianisation centred on a sacred, animistic relationship with nature, worship of gods such as Wōden, Thunaer and Frēo, and veneration of sacred groves and pillar-like objects like the Irminsul. Folk Horror draws heavily on that same soil the fear of the wild, the power of ancient gods (or at least the suggestion of them), the sense that the land itself might remember or punish, and that archaic rituals and pagan rites leave a shadow from the past. In other words Folk Horror often dramatises a world where the pre Christian beliefs and taboos of peoples like the Saxons are not safely buried with time but instead linger in the landscape, seeping into isolated villages or forgotten woodlands. That lingering past becomes a source of dread the “folk” are not just people, but memory, land-spirits, and uncanny religious forces that refuse to die.

People in this episode

Host: Frank Docherty

Topics covered

• Anglo Saxon Heathenism
• Folk Horror
• Polytheistic beliefs
• Nature worship
• Ancient gods
• Pagan rites
• Cultural memory

Keywords

• Anglo Saxon
• heathenism
• Folk Horror
• nature
• ancient gods
• paganism
• cultural memory

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Wōden, Thunaer, Frēo, Irminsul

More episodes of The Wanderer Anglo Saxon History, mythology, Folklore and religion

• Nova England · July 13, 2026 · 8 min
• The Anglo Saxons and UFOs · January 31, 2026 · 12 min
• Two tales of Anglo Saxon mythical creatures · September 29, 2025 · 20 min
• Bonus Episode: The Little People · July 9, 2025 · 9 min
• Anglo Saxon Religion and Witchcraft · July 5, 2025 · 7 min
• Anglo Saxon Daily Life · May 16, 2025 · 35 min

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