Death Takes Wing: Birds and the Folklore of Death
One could write an encyclopaedia on the appearances of birds in folklore and their association with death and mortality, travelling from Japan to Scandinavia, France and beyond.
The Casket Girls and Vampires of New Orleans
ew Orleans blends the past and the present into a heady mix where almost anything seems possible. Especially at Halloween. The balmy New Orleans evenings do more than just hint of the uncanny. It is a sense that strengthens and grows in the approach to Halloween turning even the stoutest hearts towards tales of past. […]
Black Arts and Talismans: Huw Llwyd, the Real Welsh Wizard
Huw Llwyd, the Welsh wizard, has been immortalised in the folklore and fairy tales of Wales, his fantastic exploits told and re-told down the ages.
Restless Ghosts and Black Dogs: Was Black Vaughan Really as Evil as Rumour Tells?
According to local legend, after Black Vaughan’s headless body was buried, he proved to be a restless spirit who wreaked havoc amongst the townsfolk.
Gruesome Folk Healing: The Curious Cures for Warts and Wens
These remedies, many of them fairly gruesome to our ears, were recorded only 100 years ago by Mrs Ella Mary Leather at the beginning of the 20th century, from the towns and villages of Herefordshire. Here are the folk memories of people who remembered these remedies being used and, what’s more, being efficacious. They are […]