Tanuki: Mischief, Magic and Change in the Japanese Countryside
The Japanese raccoon dog or tanuki, a shape-shifting, hedonistic and jovial trickster, has always lived in the borderlands between human settlement and the wilderness
Castles That Go Bump in the Night
From Macbeth’s castle in the Scottish Highlands to the shores of Hampshire, Britain has many haunted castles that go bump in the night. Sad stories, gripping tales, injustices, battles and sieges, kings and queens, all spanning two thousand years of history.
The Seal Children: Sealskins and Soulskins. Or, When We Were Migrants
The first story that I found in this land where I live was The Seal Children, and as we walk the path to Maes Y Mynydd where the story is set, my mind wanders back through selkie stories.
The Magic of the Fairy Glen: Merlin’s Hiding Place
Merlin, the Mage, slept in the land on two portentous occasions: once leading up to the birth of Arthur; the second just before, and well beyond, the death of the Once and Future King… Each time there was a mighty mythical beast involved – the Afanc and the Red Dragon.
British Legends: Aurelius Ambrosius, Legendary King of the Britons
This is the story of the legendary Aurelius Ambrosius, a King of the Britons in the 5th century AD.