Within our current society of filtered perfection and aggressive online happiness, there is something oddly refreshing in the macabre.

Ireland has at least 3,000 wells that are, or were at least up until recently, looked upon as holy or

Birds of the crow family have long been heralds of doom and devastation. They destroy crops, devour corpses, act as

Nearly everyone has a lucky number. It may well be seven but all the numbers associated with luck – and

Each morning the sun rolls across the sky. In Estonia it was the hatched egg of the enchanted swallow bird,

Mark Norman explores the folklore of bees and beekeeping in his new book, 'Telling the Bees and Other Customs: The

In Cork, on May morning before sunrise, a person went out and brought back a branch of hazel, holly and

There's something about the concept of a poison garden that either titillates or terrifies, depending on your preferences. The UK's

Shell grottos have a certain murky ambiguity to their history and folklore. This for me made them all the more

Easter customs of old were many and varied but who would have expected so many of them to be nothing

If a bouquet of flowers arrives at our door, we’re more interested in who sent them. The Victorians were more

Since the beginnings of human civilization, seeds have been revered for their gift of life. How we treat them in

As Valentine’s Day comes around, spare a passing thought for that ubiquitous red heart that has come to symbolize the

We humans, love to eat and we love to celebrate with food, from weddings to birthdays to a Sunday family

The Auroras, as we know today, are dependent on the interactions of the sun and our upper atmosphere, and have

The winter solstice has been celebrated in some form all around the world for centuries. Individual human cultures often

Plants play a major part in the many customs surrounding the Christmas festivities. The Yule log for example, was essentially

Rituals can be transformational episodes that connect the initiand with other realms and higher cosmic plains. Thai Lanna Buddhist rituals

When you think of tarot cards, do you picture a fortune teller predicting your untimely end in a darkened room?

On Michaelmas Day the Devil takes possession of the blackberries and to eat one after that day would risk… well,

Of all the Chinese festivals, I love the Mooncake/Mid-Autumn Festival the most. Right after the scary Hungry Ghost Festival or

Since the dawn of mankind we have desired to leave our mark on the world around us. From grand monuments,

For thousands of years, physicians relied heavily on a single treatment for hysteria, heart disease and just about every other

Cats. It’s not just the internet that is obsessed with these (sometimes) mysterious creatures, it seems people have always been

Ship’s cats have been sailing the seven seas alongside humans for centuries. They were not usually taken along as

Until the 20th century, the inadequacies of orthodox medical services left a large proportion of the population dependent upon traditional

This article examines the myths and legends which have grown in the very short period since the incarnation of crypto-currencies.

nasyrma, or the lifting of one’s skirts to expose genitalia, has been used throughout history and mythology as a method

Up until the genocidal removal known as "the Trail of Tears" storytelling was an extremely important part of Cherokee culture.

Bees have been an ally to humankind since ancient times. Discover how even now we look to the wisdom of

A horse or a dragon? Anyone who has seen May Day's ‘Obby ‘Oss of Padstow may conclude that it looks

“Hat, cat, rat,” Umakant would shout at the top of his voice whenever he would see cowherds around the Peepal

Spring is the herald of new life, and throughout the animal world, spring is a time to forecast the weather

Stereotypes based on appearance are all too common, but redheads certainly seem to have a raw deal. Where might some

White blossom on the trees is one of the delights of springtime, but it masks a deeper magic in three

Daffodils are said to have dangerously toxic bulbs. Once, it’s claimed, they were used by Roman soldiers as a ‘go

St Patrick’s Day, 17th March, is a key fixture in the Irish calendar, and indeed in many other places throughout

The phrase "Tapping the Admiral" originates from a piece of folklore surrounding the death of Horatio Nelson at the Battle

Sending mean cards? Eating mashed earthworms? Using jack o’lanterns to light medieval love banquets? They’re all surprising yet vaguely sinister

The Folklore of Cornwall: The Oral Tradition of a Celtic Nation addresses everything from piskies – south west Britain’s fairies