Jim Causley and Miranda Sykes

Jim Causley and Miranda Sykes present – Ghosts, Werewolves and Countryfolk – the songs and stories of Sabine Baring-Gould

Six-time BBC Folk Award nominee Jim Causley and Miranda Sykes of award-winning Show of Hands and Daphne’s Flight, join narrator John Palmer to celebrate the centenary of the death of Victorian superstar the Rev Sabine Baring-Gould, interweaving songs he collected with stories from his best-selling books about Ghosts, Werewolves; Norse Myths and Countryfolk.

Sabine Baring-Gould inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Sherlock Holme’s Hound and Bernard Shaw’s Doolittle. He brought Ghostly Aunt Eliza, wretched heroine Mehalah and Norse hero Grettir to life. He mentored folk song collector Cecil Sharp – and wrote Onward Christian Soldiers.

Jim has been a long-term admirer of Baring-Gould and includes many of his songs in his popular shows based on songs of Dartmoor.

“It’s fascinating to see how many songs he collected found their way into his Dartmoor books.  It’s also quite eerie to see how many other songs fit the mood of his books on ghosts, werewolves, myths and his classic Gothic novels”, he said.

Miranda added: “We’re really excited about having found a unique and enjoyable way of bringing all of his work together in a show which we think will engage audiences and leave them fascinated and entertained.”

John Palmer said: “It’s surprising that someone who was such a prominent public figure in his day has almost disappeared today. We hope that this show will introduce many more people to Sabine and restore some of the credit he deserves”.