Last week we looked at the folklore of rivers, but this week we’ll look at waterfall folklore. Waterfalls are a favourite subject of artists and photographers alike. Discussing painting and literature, Brian J. Hudson points out that “the popularity of waterfalls appears to have grown considerably between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries [.. in] the […]
Folklore
Strange River Folklore: Dark Spirits and Dead Bodies
One of the things I love about running this blog is taking requests for posts. I got one a few weeks back about the folklore of water. The more I delved into it, the more I realised there was too much for a single post. So we’re splitting things into categories. We’ll look at river […]
[Review] England’s Witchcraft Trials by Willow Winsham
The subject of witch panics and witchcraft trials remains a hotly contested one, even in these more enlightened times. Recently, I posted an article about northern witchcraft trials that surprisingly didn’t end in execution. One accusation occurred as late as 1867, and the accuser ended up paying damages to the accused. Yet an indignant tweeter […]
What is the Day of the Dead and how is it celebrated?
For the past few years, colourful skulls have joined the more traditional skeletons as Halloween decorations. More people outside of the Americas are adopting Day of the Dead celebrations. The 2015 James Bond outing, Spectre, even opened with a huge Day of the Dead parade. But what is the Day of the Dead? How does it differ from […]
Halloween spells for Protection, Romance & Loved Ones
Plastic pumpkins and foam headstones fill the shops. Youtube groans under the weight of Halloween makeup tutorials. And the television stations pump their channels full of creaky old horror films. But for those in the know, this is the time for Halloween spells, honouring the dead, and preparing for winter. Don’t panic at the mention […]
Witches’ Familiars: The Good, the Bad, and the Weird
We’ve all seen the images of witches with their loyal cat or toad by their side. These witches’ familiars help them cast spells, or in the case of Harry Potter, deliver the mail. But what are familiars and why are they so important to ideas around witchcraft? And what unusual familiars can we find in […]
