The Scottish Play and the Welsh Wizard: Witches in Punch Cartoons
From its beginnings in the 1840s until the late twentieth century it was Shakespeare’s Three Witches who inspired the majority of cartoons featuring witches in Punch.
Haunted by Monsters: Top 5 Wicked Creatures in Polish Folklore
ith its rich folklore, deep woods filled with wild boars, wolves and massive bison, and dark 20th century history, Poland often feels haunted by monsters. I first went to Poland when I was eighteen and among the places I visited was the fairy-tale city of Kraków. Although I traveled extensively afterwards, I found myself returning […]
The Pit of Ghosts: Exploring the Haunted Mines of Victorian Wales
Welsh miners of the nineteenth century held strong superstitions in supernatural elements, which they believed existed deep in the mines.
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.
Top 5 Scary Brazilian Monsters
Brazil is full of folklore, myths and superstitions. Here in Brazil, we’ve got a fascinating and complex collection of stories and of monsters that merge European, African and Native Indigenous Peoples’ cultures.