Otters are some of the most charming mammals you might encounter. Sometimes nicknamed the “water sausage” by the internet, otters are playful, intelligent, and capable of using tools. They also appear in popular culture, most notably in Tarka the Otter and The Wind in the Willows. Yet in reality, they’re incredibly elusive. They might live […]
Creepy Listener Tales of Space and Place
When we think about folklore, we often think about the characters involved: King Arthur, Queen Mab, Lady Godiva, and more. Yet folklore has an intrinsic link with place, too. Even the most throwaway comment about a place can reveal stories linked with them. Such stories can reveal how we feel about places, especially when human […]
The Screaming Skulls: Guardian Spirits or Poltergeists-in-Waiting?
English folklore is full of peculiarities. The legends of the so-called screaming skulls are definitely among them. These are skulls kept in mansions and farmhouses, sometimes considered to be guardians of the property. Legends abound of the violent deeds done to the owners of the skulls. But many of these stories come with hauntings attached […]
How does ‘Poltergeist’ draw on actual poltergeist accounts?
Poltergeist marked Hollywood’s big-budget engagement with the ghost film in 1982. Produced by Stephen Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper, it took the haunted house film and mashed it together with the family adventure film. Throw in some special effects courtesy of Industrial Light and Magic, and you end up with the film that relocated […]
The Wesley Poltergeist and the Bishopwearmouth Poltergeist Go Head-to-Head
Last week, we looked at some poltergeist definitions and whether such definitions are even helpful. Can something as truly bizarre as a ‘knocking spirit’ be boiled down to a series of checkboxes on a form? Yet they’re also not the invention of the 20th century. Nor are they the preserve of ghost hunters or psychics. […]
Poltergeists: Noisy Ghosts or Household Spirits?
This instalment of Fabulous Folklore begins with a reading of the Poltergeist entry from my new book, Ghostlore. Then we explore the problem with poltergeists—how do you define one?! From deciding what phenomena to include to picking a name, the poltergeist proves to be a flexible yet elusive figure in historical accounts. Is that spontaneous […]
