Folklore of Sussex

Jacqueline Simpson gathers the recorded legends, customs and beliefs of Sussex, linking folklore to the county’s woods, pools, burial mounds, churches, houses and monuments. The accounts include buried treasure, lost bells, giants, bogeymen, dragons, fairies, ghosts, witches and stories of the Devil, showing how tales become attached to particular places and people.

Alongside these local legends, the book considers customs surrounding birth, marriage and death, seasonal observances and traditional cures for illness. Simpson draws on material collected over roughly 150 years, presenting folklore as part of everyday life as well as local storytelling. The revised edition updates the original study and includes photographs, printed ephemera and the original line drawings.