Mini Stranger #11 - Mother Lumpkin's Hole

For this mini episode we delve into the murky world of grindylows and water hags - bogeymen (or perhaps more accurately, bogeywomen) from folklore that serve to warn children away from the watery danger of rivers, lakes, wells, and resevoirs. Starting with Mother Lumpkin’s hole on the Minsmere River in Suffolk, a quick exploration of these straggle-haired, sharp-toothed creatures whisks us from East Anglia to the rest of the UK, Europe, and beyond as Mother Lumpkin is joined by Peg Powler, Jenny Greenteeth, and more alarming child-snatchers! Watch out for their grasping fingers.

Episode illustration shows an engraving of the sea witch by Harry Clarke.

Ruth McPhee