Dog Folklore: Companion Dogs as Seers, Healers, and Fairy Steeds

Companion dogs were often believed to have mystical abilities. Dog Illustration from Johnson’s Book of Household Nature, 1880.

When considering dog folklore, we generally think of those stories which feature the Grimm, the Gytrash, or other sinister black dogs roaming the moors in the North of England. But there is more to canine folklore than the ominous black dogs of legend. Companion dogs, such as Pugs and Corgis, have their place in dog folklore as well.

The Tribulations of Dick Whittington and His Faithful Feline Friend

Dick buys cat from a woman, 1847? - The Adventures of Whittington and His Cat, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64955430

It seems fairly logical to begin our search for the real Dick Whittington at Whittington Castle in Shropshire, which local lore claims to have been his home.

Clown Panics and Computers: Chaos Manifests in the Age of the Internet

Scary clown. By Graeme Maclean - originally posted to Flickr as bad clown, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4083868

This article is about clowns. If you have clourophobia you might want to look away now. Not many forms of entertainment have their own phobia, yet there seems to be something about clowns that gets deep into our psyche.

A ghost story that caused a riot: the strange case of Maude Carew

Ghosts Image by Enrique Meseguer, Pixabay https://pixabay.com/illustrations/gothic-vintage-female-ghost-stories-1662756/

In February 1862 a riot broke out in a Suffolk churchyard over a ghost story. Margaretta Greene, the story’s author, originated an enduring legend of the ghost of a nun, Maude Carew, who haunts the ruins of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds. But the story of Maude Carew, and the riot she inspired, raises intriguing questions about the origins of folklore and beliefs about the supernatural.

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