The Unquiet Grave
Wisdom and Songs from Scotland and Appalachia to Help Us Mourn & Set the Dead Free
A Virtual Course: October 1st - November 12th, 2026
Thursdays, 10:30am PST / 1:30pm EDT / 6:30pm GMT
Registration has ended. Please email sarosingssongs@gmail.com with any late registration inquiries (please be aware you will not be able to attend the first class live, but all classes are available for playback).
As we enter the autumn season, a traditional time to remember the ancestors, let’s immerse in the folklore, songs and stories that help us remember how to grieve the dead, let go, and honor the soul’s greater journey.
Ancestral Songs and Stories to Help Us Heal
Beliefs about the afterlife, how to care for the spirits of the dead, and customs for mourning have always been a central part of ancestral wisdom. However, our modern culture often sanitizes death and hides it away: When we lose someone, we yearn for the traditional knowledge that helps us to have a healthy grieving process and usher the dead into the next world. In The Unquiet Grave, we explore these important forms of wisdom through the connected inheritance of Appalachian songs and Scottish folk tales, music and lore.
Weaving Wisdom From Scotland to Appalachia
Scotland possesses a rich diversity of folklore about death and the afterlife, blending together traditions from the Celts, Norse, Picts, Anglo-Saxons and many more. These beliefs were carried across the ocean to North America by Scottish and Scots-Irish immigrants, many of whom colonized the mountain region of Appalachia. There, these beliefs continued to be remembered- especially through old story-songs known as ballads. Engaging with these diasporic songs alongside the long-held folklore of Scotland links us to animist and ancestral folkways that expand our understandings of death, the dead, and healthy ways to mourn.
Embodied Learning with Song Leaders, Storytellers and Folklorists
In our classes, we’ll blend storytelling, songs, and folklore to create an embodied approach to learning about the dead, the afterlife, and mourning. In a typical session, we’ll hear from a Scottish or Scottish-diaspora tradition-bearer, learning and weaving in Appalachian (and sometimes Scottish) songs as we go. Singing these old songs, we’ll journey through time, using breath and melody to connect with ancestral forms of knowledge. Each class is uniquely designed, so please read the descriptions for each below. Our last session will be an opportunity to share our own songs of mourning and release for those who have passed.
About the Ballads: In The Unquiet Grave, we’ll often be learning ballads— centuries-old story-songs that are often mournful, beautiful and slow, taking us into a deep time of listening and discerning that the old songs ask of us. Ballads often tell sad stories, meant to guide us into proper relationships with the dead who need help.
What You’ll Receive
Song and community-focused opening and closing calls with Saro Lynch-Thomason
Five sessions of song and folklore with Saro, phenomenal tradition-bearers and researchers
Private video recordings of all sessions + lyrics to all songs learned
A private community forum for discussion (not on Facebook)
What You’ll Learn
A mix of Appalachian ballads, hymns and folklore
Traditional Scottish stories, songs and folklore on themes of death, the afterlife and mourning
Vocal techniques that add depth and expressiveness to your singing
At the center of this course are songs and stories to help us notice our grief, discover the myriad journeys of the soul, and send our loved ones onwards with appreciation and celebration.
About Saro: Song Leader & Host
Hi, my name is Saro Lynch-Thomason (she/her). I’m a song leader and folklorist living on the occupied lands of the Cherokee in what is now called Asheville, traditionally known as ᏙᎩᏯᏍᏗ (Togiyasdi: “The place where they raced”). I have studied and taught folk songs from Appalachia, Scotland, England, the American South and beyond for over 15 years. I lead community sings and pagan choirs, teach at music camps and have produced several albums. My song “More Waters Rising” has become an international anthem in the movement to end climate change (and was praised in the Huffington Post)!
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My people largely come from England and Scotland, and immigrated to what is now called the U.S. several hundred years ago. Much of my family has been in southern Appalachia for many generations, though I was raised in the urban South and was not directly raised in Appalachian culture. As a teenager, I began learning Appalachian ballads alongside traditional songs from England and Scotland, and was thrilled to discover the ancient folk knowledge embedded in these songs, as well as the ways the songs had transformed (and stayed the same!) through oral tradition.
In The Unquiet Grave, I’m excited to combine my long-time love of Appalachian songs and ballads with the knowledge of Scottish and Scottish-diaspora culture keepers to help us gain more intimacy with ancestral traditions about death, the afterlife and grief.
Who is this for?
Anyone who wants to connect to traditions about death, mourning and the afterlife from Scotland and Appalachia
Anyone who likes to sing (you don’t have to think of yourself as a “good singer”) or learn exciting folklore!
Anyone who wants to spend their Halloween season deepening into knowledge about death and remembrance
Anyone who is curious about using song as a way to mourn and celebrate the dead
Our Schedule
All classes take place on Thursdays, 10:30am PST/ 1:30pm EDT / 6:30pm GMT. All classes are approximately 2 hours in length.
Week 1: Thursday, October 1st, Opening Call with Saro
Week 2: Thursday, October 8th, What Happens to the Dead? with Eileen Budd
Week 3: Thursday, October 15th, Setting the Dead Free with Eileen Budd
Week 4: Thursday, October 22nd, Funerary Folk Traditions & Song in Appalachia with Saro
Week 5: Thursday, October 29th, Funerary Folk Magic in Scotland with Scott Richardson-Read
Week 6: Thursday, November 5th, English and Scots-Gaelic Chants to Mourn & Release the Dead with Sìne McKenna
Week 7: Thursday, November 12th, Singing Our Own Songs for the Dead with Saro
Course Details
Week 1, Oct. 1st: Opening Call w/ Saro
This opening call is an opportunity to orient to the course and hear from the community about why we’re inspired to be exploring these songs and stories on death, the afterlife and grieving. We’ll get an introduction to how Scottish songs and customs arrived in Appalachia, delve into some of the vocal techniques found in Appalachian song, and learn a song or two to carry us through the series.
Week 2, Oct. 8th: What Happens to the Dead? w/ storyteller Eileen Budd
In this class, we’ll explore some of the many possibilities of the afterlife found in Appalachian ballads and Scottish stories. We’ll learn how the soul can travel through plants, animals and insects, become the sidhe or take celestial flight, showing the many interwoven cultural beliefs found in Scottish and descendant Appalachian traditions.
Week 3, Oct. 15th: Setting the Dead Free w/ storyteller Eileen Budd
How do the living keep the dead from their journey, and how can the dead be set free? Appalachian ballads abound with tales of the dead who return as revenants to speak to the living. Often these dead have a specific mission: to convince the bereaved to stop mourning, in order that the dead might rest or continue their natural journey to the next realm. In this class, we’ll learn an Appalachian song or two from these traditions and explore Scottish stories that warn against staying too attached to the dead. We’ll also hear tales that model some of the healthy relationships we can have with those who have passed on.
Week 4, Oct. 22nd: Funerary Folk Traditions & Song in Appalachia w/ Saro
In this class, we’ll look at some of the popular customs associated with Appalachian wakes, funerals and burials that help to protect the living and ensure that the souls of the dead don’t remain trapped on our earthly plane. We’ll also learn Appalachian hymns and songs that ask questions about the afterlife and honor loved ones.
Week 5, Oct. 29th: Funerary Folk Magic w/ folklorist Scott Richardson-Read
In this class, join us to walk in step with the old ways of parting and remembrance from Scottish traditions. Together, we will follow the path from the moment of death to the wake, along the winding road of the funeral procession, and finally to the body's final resting place.
Scott will share stories of Scottish folk customs that helped guide the dead on their journey and protect the living from harm – from telling the bees, to the lonely practice of sin-eating, to intimate acts of divination. In exploring these traditions, we’ll be able to see how Appalachian customs descend from many of these folkways. Step for a while into a way of seeing the world where death is not an end, but a deeply woven thread in the fabric of life!
Week 6, Nov. 5th: English and Scots-Gaelic Chants to Mourn & Release the Dead w/ singer Sìne McKenna
In this class, Saro and Sìne will introduce songs and sounds that evoke grief, including Scots-Gaelic laments and lining out (psalm-singing) hymns from Appalachia. We’ll also focus on learning a few dual-language chants in a mix of Gaelic and English. These chants, adapted from traditional sources, are designed to help us express bereavement and send the dead on their journey to the next world.
Week 7, Nov. 12th: Singing Our Own Songs for the Dead w/ Saro
This last class is an opportunity for students of the course to share a song in tribute to someone who has passed away, or as reflection and preparation for their own deaths. The songs can be new or old- perhaps a hymn, a favorite of a loved one who has died, or a newly composed piece. Students can also show up to just listen and appreciate what’s shared. This will be our closing call, with time to say our goodbyes and reflect on the course.
Cost and Payment Plans
Registration has ended. Please email sarosingssongs@gmail.com with any late registration inquiries (please be aware you will not be able to attend the first class live, but all classes are available for playback).
Base Price (One-Time Payment): $280 (+fees)
Base Price (Payment Plan): Two payments of $140 (+fees)
Pay it Forward (One-Time Payment): $340 (+fees) Purchase the course and give a bit more to support our scholarship program!
Pay it Forward (Payment Plan): Two payments of $170 Purchase the course and give a bit more to support our scholarship program
Our Instructors
Eileen Budd
Eileen is a Scottish author, artist and storyteller with TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland) and Scottish Book Trust. Raised in Perthshire in a family with a strong tradition of maintaining oral storytelling practises, she specialises in traditional Scottish folklore, folk objects, folk beliefs, origin stories and ancient Scottish legends.
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Before devoting her life to sharing stories she spent over 20 years working with national museums, including National Museums Scotland and V&A London. Compelled to maintain her family’s storytelling tradition and use all she learned from working in museums, she now travels all over Scotland sharing the stories, using song, illustration and historic object handling to help bring Scottish tales from history and folklore to life for audiences of all ages. Some of her stories can be found on Instagram: @eileenbudd
Scott Richardson-Read
Scott Richardson-Read is a working-class writer, folklorist, and cultural historian with a deep connection to Scotland’s folk heritage. As the creator of Cailleach’s Herbarium, a platform dedicated to reviving and preserving Scottish folk traditions, Scott has spent years researching and sharing the stories, practices, and beliefs that define the working-class and animistic roots of Scottish culture. His work reflects a blend of deep archival exploration, oral history, and personal experience in the landscapes of Scotland.
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With a background steeped in human rights, ecology, activism, and traditions, Scott’s writing bridges the past and present, offering fresh insights into the enduring significance of folk belief. Throughout his decades-long journey, he has continued to advocate for the preservation of Scotland’s sacred sites and cultural heritage.
When not writing, Scott is often found exploring Scotland’s wild spaces, old libraries, and archives, drinking tea with his cats, or engaging with the vibrant communities keeping traditions alive.
Scott is the author of two books, The Tales of the Taibhsear (2018) (and associated album) and released this year, Mill Dust and Dreaming Bread – Exploring Scottish Folk Belief and Folk Magic (2025).
Sìne McKenna
Sìne McKenna has been teaching and performing Scots Gaelic songs for over 35 years. Although born and raised in Montreal, she was immersed in the culture of the Scottish and Irish Gael from a young age. She first began her Gaelic language studies at St. Francis Xavier University, in Nova Scotia and later, on the Island of Skye where she worked under the mentorship of language activist Sir Iain Noble.
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Sìne has performed at concerts, clubs and cèilidhs in Scotland and Canada and has appeared on the BBC, Channel 4 (Scotland), the CBC and Radio Canada. After moving to Glengarry County, Ontario, in 1999, she became the language consultant for the award-winning Glengarry Gaelic Choir, and went on to establish three Glengarry based musical groups: Nigheanan Glengarry, Anam Cara and Sacred Highland Voices. Sìne was awarded gold medals for excellence in traditional song, at the Toronto Gaelic Mod, the premier Gaelic festival in North America. She is also winner of the prestigious Quebec Thistle Council Award, for the teaching of Scots Gaelic language and song.
While working as an elementary teacher, she developed a unique Celtic heritage programme for children, in which she incorporated Gaelic language songs and stories as well as dance and drama. She presented this for a number of years in Glengarry. As an offshoot of this project, she has written a booklet entitled: Gaelic Language Learning Songs for Children and the Young at Heart. For many years Sine organized Gaelic language classes for adults in Montreal and Glengarry. She was also a language instructor at the University of Ottawa for 10 years, where she taught Scots Gaelic and Highland traditions.
Sìne has always been passionate about Gaelic laments. At the present time she is working on a CD called: The Wisdom of Grief: Songs of Loss and Longing from Gaelic Scotland.
Since 2018 she has been sharing these ancestral treasures online with groups and individuals. She has also been travelling with her songs and stories to western Canada, the United States and Italy.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A: Yes, all classes will be recorded and links to the videos will be provided after the class takes place.
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A: All of us are meant to sing, and all voices are welcome in this class, from the beginner to the seasoned practitioner. To start off each class, we will have warmups and voice-opening exercises. However, please note this is not a class on vocal instruction, so possessing general confidence in carrying a tune may help you feel more comfortable.
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A: Yes. All song recordings and lyrics will be available to students forever. You can learn at your own pace and review material whenever you want. All virtual sessions will be recorded and can be reviewed at your leisure.
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A: No. In this course we will be learning songs using sing-and-repeat methods, recordings and lyric sheets.
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A: We will not be exploring keening specifically in this course. Saro will spend time exploring sounds and vocal techniques often found in Appalachian song that can be used to express and release grief, we will learn Scots-Gaelic lament songs from teacher Sine McKenna, and we’ll explore some mixed English-Gaelic chants to release grief and send the dead on their way.
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A: We do not have a payment system for individual classes. To attend any of the classes, you are still required to pay the full price for the course.
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A: There are no refunds available for the course and all sales are final.
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A: You will not be required to sing in front of other people. As a student, you will be muted during our sessions, meaning you’ll be able to hear your own voice as well as the voice of the instructor, but no one else will hear you. Students can volunteer to unmute and sing back a line they’re learning, or to share songs in the final session of the course, but sharing your voice is not mandatory.
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A: This is a virtual course, using the Zoom platform.
Testimonials
“This class taught me so much about my own ancestors’ traditions and worldview, traditions that must have been shed many generations ago in my own lineage. It felt like a homecoming. ”
“The Unquiet Grave helps us remember who we are, and how to bear and grow from life’s experiences. Saro has a remarkable ability to create community online, and all the presenters display a desire to connect rather than perform. I... draw all week on the deep well of creative possibility that remains long after the class ends.”
“This course offered a space where sorrow felt sacred, where loss could transform into understanding, and where the old traditions reminded me that mourning, too, can be an act of love. These are lessons and practices I know I’ll keep returning to.”