The Crouch End Spriggan
I feed on as many books of London lore as I can find, everything from Neverwhere to London Orbital, King Rat to A Journey Through Ruins, Savage Messiah, The Great God Pan and The London Adventure.
Mark Twain’s Wild West and the Presidential Election of 1872
In a daring act, facing frightful peril, Mark Twain exploited a legend to launch his onstage comic career. With his future as a lecturer on a knife’s edge, Twain decided to open with a worn-out narrative that had seen better days. A disgruntled audience nearly drove him from the stage … until they understood his brilliant manipulation of their own folklore.
Faces in the Mirror: The Urban Legend of Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary is a scary urban legend that has been told for decades, but what might psychology tell us about its appeal and origins?
The Two-headed Ghost That Terrorised a Welsh Community
The Victorian newspaper archives are full of unusual ghost sightings, but there aren’t many as unique, or with a more gruesome origin story, than the Welsh spectre which gained a second head.
‘Terra Incognita’: Tracing Literary Occult Pathways in North London
North London has captured the imagination of gothic writers through the ages, exploring both sides of the region’s possibly: one a promise, one a threat.