Delyth Badder
Delyth Badder | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Ysgol Feddygaeth Prifysgol Caerdydd |
| Employer | National Health Service |
| Organization | British Association of Paediatric Surgeons |
| Notable work | The Folklore of Wales: Ghosts (2023) |
Delyth Badder is a Welsh folklorist, writer and antiquarian book collector. She co-wrote The Folklore of Wales: Ghosts (2023) with fellow folklorist Mark Norman. She is also a medical examiner, National Health Service consultant and the world's first Welsh-speaking consultant paediatric and perinatal pathologist.
Biography
Badder was born in Llwyn-hudol near Pwllheli, Gwynedd, Wales.[1]
Medical career
Badder studied at the Ysgol Feddygaeth Prifysgol Caerdydd (Cardiff University School of Medicine).[1] She is the world's first Welsh-speaking consultant paediatric and perinatal pathologist, working for the National Health Service (NHS) in Pontypridd, Wales. She is a Medical examiner for the Welsh Medical Examiner's Office.[2] She works part-time to divide time between pathology and folklore.[1]
Folklore
Badder is a Welsh folklorist with special interest in Welsh death omens, apparitions and the nineteenth-century neo-druidic movement in Pontypridd.[3] She is an Honorary Research Fellow with Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum of Wales).[2] She is studying a masters degree in the field at Cardiff University.[4]
Badder co-wrote The Folklore of Wales: Ghosts (2023) with fellow folklorist Mark Norman, curator of the Folklore Library and Archive in Devon, England.[5][1] The book recounts historic folkloric beliefs about ghosts in the Welsh landscape, such belief in the Tylwyth Teg (fairy folk), holy ghosts, spectral white ladies and water spirits.[6][7] Rare Welsh folk stories were collected in their original Welsh language versions from manuscripts, with several printed and translated into English for the first time.[1][8][9] Famous ghosts are also included in the book, like Gwynedd's Cadi’r Forwyn (Cadi the Maid), the Bwci Melyn Bach y Cwm (The Little Yellow Bogey of the Valley), the soldier Owain Lawgoch, whose ghost was supposedly captured in a bottle then flung into the deep of the River Dulas in Ceredigion, Wales,[6][7] and Arawn (king of the otherworld realm of Annwn in Welsh mythology)[1]
Badder is a regular contributor to discussions on Welsh folklore in the media. She has been invited onto Welsh national radio to discuss Welsh folklore,[10] tell traditional ghost stories at Halloween,[11] share old Welsh rituals and traditions of the Christmas season,[12] cover how birds are presented within Welsh folklore and legend,[13] and to discuss the life and work of the "eccentric" Welsh Archdruid, physician and political activist William Price.[14] She had been a guest on podcasts[4] and the Fabulous Folklore Presents on YouTube.[15] She has delivered talks at Welsh language-events, including a talk on "Charms and Magical Powers of the Welsh Common Folk" at Bangor University in Bangor, Wales.[16]
Personal life
Badder is married to Welsh children's author Elidir Jones.[2] She plays the harp and the piano.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Dafydd, Cadi (5 February 2023). "Y meddyg sy'n mwynhau hen hanesion arswydus". Golwg360 (in Welsh). Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ a b c "Delyth Badder". Art UK. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ Powell, David (24 September 2023). "Haunted Eryri cave behind icy waterfall where 'terrible screams' can be heard". North Wales Live. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ a b "Welsh Death Omens and Apparitions: Unveiling the Haunting Legend…". Haunted History Chronicles. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ Berrow, Hari (11 October 2023). "THE FOLKLORE OF WALES: GHOSTS unearths haunting tales in time for Halloween". Buzz Magazine. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ a b Gower, Jon (26 September 2023). "Review: The Folklore of Wales: Ghosts by Delyth Badder and Mark Norman". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ a b Birt, Elizabeth (8 October 2023). "Previously unseen ghost stories from Pembrokeshire told in new book on Welsh folklore". Western Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ "The Folklore of Wales: Ghosts by Delyth Badder and Mark Norman". News From Nowhere Radical & Community Bookshop, Liverpool. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ Roberts, Sara Elin (25 February 2025). "Welsh Studies: Language, Linguistics, and Literature, Modern Period". brill.com. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ "Beti a'i Phobol, Dr Delyth Badder". BBC Radio Cymru (in Welsh). Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ "A Welsh ghost story for Halloween". BBC Radio Wales. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ "Aled Hughes – Hen Draddodiadau'r Nadolig – BBC Sounds". BBC. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ "Aled Hughes – Llên Gwerin adar Cymreig". BBC. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ "Aled Hughes – Dr William Price". BBC. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ Icy Sedgwick (29 December 2022). Welsh Death Omens with Dr Delyth Badder. Retrieved 15 February 2026 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Charms and Magical Powers of the Welsh Common Folk". Bangor University. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2026.