West Midlands Folk Tales

Cath Edwards gathers folk stories from a county shaped by coal mining, ironworking, farming and the growth of industrial towns. The collection includes miners’ beliefs about broken shoes, warning signs, Gabriel Hounds and the Seven Whistlers, alongside tales of witches, ghosts and other unexplained happenings.

The Black Country provides many of the book’s distinctive voices, from the familiar comic figures Aynuk and Ayli to colourful local characters and stories of wise fools. Elsewhere, Edwards retells accounts involving the Gilbertstone, magpies and crows, highwaymen and highwaywomen, guns, manufacturing, wishing trees and modern urban myths. The result brings together supernatural traditions, tall tales, local legends and humour rooted in the West Midlands landscape and communities.