The authors should like to thank The History Press commissioning editors Nicola Guy and Declan Flynn, as well as Helen Bradbury and Ross Britton from marketing, and especially Chris Ogle for his helpful and responsive approach to his editorial work.
A thank you to all the writers and storytellers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries for collecting and recording such a wealth of folk tales, especially Frank Hird, John Harland & T.T. Wilkinson, Revd Thomas Cruddas Porteus and John Roby.
David should like to thank his family and friends for their patient support, especially his son Ed for his editing work, and his friends for listening to his stories, in particular Sylvia Friend, Jane Morrell and Simon Smith. Thanks also to Slough Writers for the invaluable contact with other professional writers, and especially to chairman Terry Adlam for his consistent support. His local librarian, Derek Beaven, a brilliant writer of literary fiction, for his support and encouragement, and to all who have helped along the way: Sir Bernard de Hoghton of Hoghton Tower; Revd Ray Hutchinson, rector of the parish church of All Saints, Wigan; the church cleaning team at St Elphin’s church, Warrington; and to the security guard who showed us the dungeon in Lancaster Castle where the Pendle witches had been incarcerated.
Jennie should like to thank her family and friends; Bury Heritage Library; Rebecca Daker; Tom Goodale; Richard Goulding; Dr Simon Heywood; Sarah Hau; Rob Hawley (and Jonas!); Dr Graham Kemp; Lancashire County Council; Lancaster Castle; Manchester Metropolitan University; Middleton Library; the People’s History Museum; the Portico Library; Dr John Sears; Touchstones Local Studies Centre (especially for showing her their ‘Weird and Wonderful’ files) and James Young.