Bibliography - Social and family topics: Folk-Lore
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West Sussex Superstitions, by Charlotte Latham, published 1878 in The Folklore Society (vol. 1, issue 1, article, pp.4-67, Taylor & Francis, ISSN: 1744-1994)   View Online

Sussex Folk-Lore and Customs connected with the Seasons, by Frederick E. Sawyer, published 1883 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 33, article, pp.237-260) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2118] & The Keep [LIB/500251] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Sussex Folk-Lore, by Frederick E. Sawyer, published 1883 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 33, notes & queries, p.270) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2118] & The Keep [LIB/500251] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Sussex Folk and Sussex Ways: Stray Studies in the Wealden Formation of Human Nature, by Rev. John Coker Egerton, M.A., published 1884 (140 pp., Lewes: Sussex Advertiser) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 4533][Lib 3183] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Sussex "Tiptecrers" Play, by Charlotte Latham, published 1884 in The Folklore Society (vol. 2, issue 1, article, pp.1-8, Taylor & Francis, ISSN: 1744-1994)   View Online

Sussex Folk and Sussex Ways: Stray Studies in the Wealden Formation of Human Nature, by Rev. John Coker Egerton, M.A., published 1892 (2nd edition, x + 172 pp., London: Chatto & Windus) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Sussex Folk-Lore, by J. Lewis André, F.S.A., published 1896 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 40, notes & queries, p.269) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2125] & The Keep [LIB/500258] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Sussex Folk-Lore, by William Noble, published 1898 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 41, notes & queries, p.238) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2126] & The Keep [LIB/500259] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Sussex Folklore, by Mrs Hardy, published September 1914 in The Folklore Society (vol. 25, issue 3, article, pp.368-369, Taylor & Francis)   View Online

Sussex Folk and Sussex Ways: Stray Studies in the Wealden Formation of Human Nature, by Rev. John Coker Egerton, M.A., published 1924 (3rd revised edition, 172 pp., London: Methuen & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12288] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Folk-lore & legend of the Surrey Hills and of the Sussex Downs & forests, by Edward Lovett, published 1928 (38 pp.) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

Dragon Folk-Lore in Sussex, by Canon Tatham, published 1931 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. V no. 10, article, pp.662-665) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2310] & The Keep [LIB/500174]

Sussex Folk and Sussex Ways, by John Coker Egerton, published 1933 (4th edition, 172 pp., London: Methuen & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 88]

Scheme for recording the Folk-Lore of Prehistoric Remains, by L. V. Grinsell, published February 1940 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. VIII no. 1, note, p.27) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8865][Lib 2207] & The Keep [LIB/500210] & S.A.S. library

Witch Lore from the Borders of Sussex and Surrey. (1895-1898), by Mary M. Banks, published March 1941 in The Folklore Society (vol. 52, issue 1, article, pp.74-75, Taylor & Francis)   View Online

Rough Music in Sussex, by S. Olivia Wooley, published March 1958 in The Folklore Society (vol. 69, issue 1, article, p.39, Taylor & Francis)   View Online

Legends of Chanctonbury Ring, by Jacqueline Simpson, published June 1969 in The Folklore Society (vol. 80, issue 2, article, pp.122-131, Taylor & Francis)   View Online

Folklore of Sussex, by Jacqueline Simpson, published 1973 (London: B. T. Batsford Ltd.) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500148]

Sussex Local Legends, by Jacqueline Simpson, published September 1973 in The Folklore Society (vol. 84, issue 3, article, pp.206-223, Taylor & Francis)   View Online

"The world will turn upside down": an unusual burial explanation in folklore and literature, by Herbert Halpert, published 1976 in Folklore today: A Festschrift for Richard M. Dorson (pp.193-207, Indiana University, Research Center for Language and Semiotic Studies, ISBN-10: 0877501971 & ISBN-13: 9780877501978)

Discusses four legends: two from Surrey, two from Sussex. The Sussex legends concern a miller named John Oliver on Highdown Hill and an unknown man underneath Toat Tower, Pulborough

Sussex Legends and Folklore, by Judy Moore, published April 1976 (pamphlet, 40 pp., James Pike Ltd., ISBN-10: 085932169X & ISBN-13: 9780859321693) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14904] & The Keep [LIB/500052] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

"Waendel" and the Long Man of Wilmington, by Jacqueline Simpson, published March 1979 in The Folklore Society (vol. 90, issue 1, article, pp.25-28, Taylor & Francis)   View Online

Mumming, howling and hoodening: midwinter rituals in Sussex, Kent and Surrey, by Geoff Doel, Fran Doel, published 1992 (64 pp., Rainham: Meresborough, ISBN-10: 0948193743 & ISBN-13: 9780948193743) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Sussex Ghosts and Legends, by Tony Wales, published 6 October 1992 (128 pp., Berkshire: Countryside Books, ISBN-10: 185306209X & ISBN-13: 9781853062094) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12063] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The Sussex Serpent, by J. Harte, published 1994 in The Folklore Society (vol. 105, issue 1-2, article, pp.103-104, Taylor & Francis) accessible at: British Library   View Online

Folklore and Legends of Sussex., by Penelope George, published December 1995 in Midhurst Magazine (Volume 8 Number 2, article, pp.13-14, Winter 1995) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15968]

Stories of the folklore of Sussex from Winter 1995 lecture given by David and Elizabeth Tait.

Fields of Mystery: The Crop Circle Phenomenon in Sussex, by Andy Thomas, published 1 June 1996 (96 pp., Seaford: S. B. Publications, ISBN-10: 1857700961 & ISBN-13: 9781857700961) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

The last refuge of the faeries: archaeology and folklore in East Sussex, by Martin Brown and Pat Bowen, published 1999 in Archaeology and folklore, edited by Amy Gazin-Schwartz and Cornelius Holtorf (article, p.261)

Is this where the Elders met?, by T.V. (Thea Valentine?), published April 1999 in Midhurst Magazine (Volume 11 Number 3, article, pp.6-8, Spring 1999) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15969]

Short article considering the origins of the mysterious Eldar Stone in Midhurst. Was this where the men of Midhurst sat to decide on local matters, many centuries ago?

More about the Eldar Tree., by F J-D [Mrs D.V.F Johnson-Davies], published July 1999 in Midhurst Magazine (Volume 11 Number 4, article, pp.22-23, Summer 1999) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15969]

Follow up letter and article relating to the Elder (or Eldar) Tree in Midhurst. Memories of the 1920s and 1930s by Miss Margaret Knight.

Sussex Celebrities: A Gallery of Icons, Eccentrics and a Few Rogues, by Fred Lilley, published 30 September 2000 (104 pp., SB Publications, ISBN-10: 1857702034 & ISBN-13: 9781857702033) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

A Treasury of Sussex Folklore, by Tony Wales, published 6 November 2000 (176 pp., Europese Bibliotheek, ISBN-10: 1857702174 & ISBN-13: 9781857702170) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Sussex Tales of Mirth and Mayhem, by Tony Wales, published 1 November 2001 (96 pp., Berkshire: Countryside Books, ISBN-10: 1853066958 & ISBN-13: 9781853066955) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/509440] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

A collection of humour and funny stories from the county's past including parsons, priests and parish clerks, shopkeepers and showmen, saucy simpletons, cheerful characters and fairy folk. Illustrated.

Folklore of Sussex, by Jacqueline Simpson, published 2002 (illustrated and revised, 208 pp., Tempus, ISBN-10: 0752424696 & ISBN-13: 9780752424699) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Vital Signs: A Complete Guide to the Crop Circle Mystery and Why it is Not a Hoax, by Andy Thomas, published 15 June 2002 (192 pp., Seaford: S. B. Publications, ISBN-10: 1857702565 & ISBN-13: 9781857702569) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Sussex Folk: Folksong Revival and Clubs in Sussex, by Clive Bennett, published 15 August 2002 (200 pp., Country Books, ISBN-10: 1898941785 & ISBN-13: 9781898941781) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

This book outlines the development of the folk song movement across Sussex from Chichester to Hastings with a detailed survey of the clubs in the densely populated central coastal area around Brighton. This ranges from the first Brighton skiffle club through the various other sessions in Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne and Lewes up until the start of the new millennium.

Swirled Harvest: Views from Crop Circle Frontline, by Andy Thomas, published 30 June 2003 (176 pp., Seaford: S. B. Publications, ISBN-10: 1857702727 & ISBN-13: 9781857702729) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Herbert Toms and the geological folklore of Sussex, by Christopher Duffin, published 2009 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 77, article, p.57) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/77] & The Keep [LIB/500501]

Folklore of Sussex, by Jacqueline Simpson, published 15 June 2009 (revised edition, 192 pp., The History Press, ISBN-10: 0752451006 & ISBN-13: 9780752451008) accessible at: British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

From giants and bogeymen to fairies and witches - a detailed exploration of the folklore of Sussex

Herbert Toms (1874-1940), witch stones, and "porosphaera" beads, by Christopher J. Duffin, published April 2011 in The Folklore Society (vol. 122, issue 1, article, pp.84-101)   View Online

After early employment with the archaeologist, General Pitt Rivers, Herbert Samuel Toms (1874-1940) was a curator in the Brighton Museum. He amassed a significant folklore archive, including specimens, photographs, and records of interviews from Sussex and adjoining counties, his particular interest was naturally perforated flints (witch stones or hagstones), used to protect households against witches, domestic animals from the ravages of the nightmare, and to cure a range of diseases. By the 1920s, they were regarded as little more than "lucky stones", as were necklaces made up of the Cretaceous fossil sponge, Porosphaera.

News of the Sussex Dragon, by Andrew Hatfield, published 2012 in Reformation (17(1), article, pp.99-113)   View Online

Rye Spirits: Faith, Faction and Fairies in a Seventeenth Century English Town, edited by Annabel Gregory, published 22 March 2013 (320 pp., The Hedge Press, ISBN-10: 0957108001 & ISBN-13: 9780957108004) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/501581] & East Sussex Libraries

Sussex Folk Tales, by Michael O'Leary, published 1 October 2013 (192 pp., The History Press, ISBN-10: 0752474693 & ISBN-13: 9780752474694) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

With screaming demons in Wealdon copses and dragons lurking in bottomless ponds, the folk tales of Sussex truly represent the diversity of the area. Meet knuckers and willocks, mawkins and marsh monsters, the Piltdown Man, Lord Moon of Amberley Swamp and the princess of the Mixon Hole. There is also something terrible crawling to Crawley from Gatwick, which develops a degraded appetite in a bin . . From ghosts and madmen to witches and wise women, Michael O'Leary reveals many of the hidden horrors of Sussex - horrors that can be found in the most beautiful places, or that lurk beneath the seemingly mundane. Amid these dark tales are stories of humour and silliness, of love, lust and passion.

Sussex Folktales, by Jacqueline Simpson, published 4 May 2015 in The Folklore Society (vol. 126, issue 2, article, pp.247-248)   View Online

Secret Shore: Smuggling and Folklore in Sussex and Hampshire, by Chris Hare, published 23 November 2016 (South Downs Society, ISBN-13: 9780995612419) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Two hundred years ago the coast of Sussex and Hampshire were alive with the illegal activities of local smuggling gangs. In this book, Chris recounts the real events of those days including the bloody confrontations that frequently took place between the smugglers and the authorities.
This book also delves into the folklore of the south coast and contrasts a survey of local superstitions carried out by pioneering folklorist, Charlotte Latham in Sussex in 1868, with the findings of the Secret Shore folklore survey carried out in 2015.
The results may surprise you, as a good deal of the old beliefs in ghosts, omens and witchcraft, continue to linger in the 21st century.