The folklore of the subterranean: the spectres of the underground in Dudley tourist sites

Macfarlane, Sian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5554-0436 (2023) The folklore of the subterranean: the spectres of the underground in Dudley tourist sites. In: Folklore, People, and Places: International Perspectives on Tourism and Tradition in Storied Places. Routledge Advances in Tourism and Anthropology . Routledge, London, pp. 169-185. ISBN 9781032316932 (hardback); 9781003374138 (ebook)

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Abstract

Dudley, a market town in the West Midlands, UK, has a long history as a site of mining, being one of the key areas in the emergence of the industrial revolution. Within the rich mining cultures of this area emerged a strong folklore of superstition and belief, acting as a defence mechanism against the precarious and dangerous working conditions the workers of the mines were subjected to. This chapter explores four tourist sites in the Dudley area that interpret the histories and industrial past of the region. These sites are Wren’s Nest, Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust, Dudley Castle, and the Black Country Living Museum. An exploration of the folklore itself will lead the inquiry, moving on to consider the various ways in which the folklore of the region, in relation to the underground, is communicated in each tourist site. This is carried out through research in the field, with local people, local historians, and experts in the geological and social history of the region. The chapter offers a comparative analysis of these tourist destinations’ relationship to the subterranean, exploring the possibilities for how tourism can invoke the latent strands of subterranean folklore.