Teller

Mike O'Leary

Storyteller and author, if you haven’t seen Mike before you may have read some of the tales he has collected together in several story collection books:

• Hampshire & Isle of Wight Folk Tales: These beautifully told folk tales, brought vividly to life by Marcel O’Leary’s graphic illustrations, have been collected by the author over his years of working as a greenkeeper, gardener, teacher and storyteller in Hampshire. Many are published here for the first time, and others have evolved through countless retellings in Hampshire schools, festivals, fêtes and events. Featuring dark tales of murderous kings and commoners, wild women, screaming skulls, galloping plague coaches, dragons dancing themselves to death, giants, and wandering corpses, combined with humorous stories and evocative tales of love, lust and passion, this book takes the reader beyond the written page and reveals the wonders that lie within the Hampshire landscape. The future holds “Sussex Folk Tales”

• Hampshire & Isle of Wight Ghost Tales: The stories in this haunting collection are as ancient and modern, powerful and fantastical, ambiguous and ambivalent as the ghosts they feature.
  Here you will find tales of headless horses riding moonbeams, an entrance to another world on Marrowbones Hill, drowned sailors and ghost ships, and a girl riding pillion on a motorbike driven by her dead boyfriend - all told in the distinct voice of noted storyteller Michael O’Leary who, for years, has wandered the highways and byways of Hampshire, immersed in the layers of ghost stories that have accumulated in this ancient county. Richly illustrated with original drawings, these tales are perfect for reading under the covers on dark, stormy nights.

• Hampshire Folk Tales for Children: If you love magic and adventure, here is the book for you. In this treasure trove of tales, storyteller Michael O’ Leary has collected stories from the Hampshire Downs (which are up), the New Forest (which is old), thecopses and coppices, fields and farms, villages, towns and cities of Hampshire. Inthese stories you will meet dragons, giants, knights, princesses and some vile Vikings- and of course the Liphook fairisies. From ‘Once upon a time…’ to ‘Happy ever after’ you will be transported to Hampshire, where even the stones have stories to tell.

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