According to the Venerable Bede, what we call February was called Sol-Monath by the ancient Britons. This translates to ‘Month of Cakes’ and the people gave cakes to the gods as offerings (Gazur 2022). I don’t know about you, but that’s a practice I could get behind. It’s worth bearing in mind that what we […]
Why does a London pub hang hot cross buns in the bar?
Go to Devons Road in London in Bromley-by-Bow and you’ll find a pub with a net of hot cross buns hanging above the bar. I know, it’s pretty weird – even for a pub. But a legend has grown up around The Widow’s Son. Every year, a sailor arrives on Good Friday and places a […]
[Guest Post] The Psychology and Mechanics Of Horror World-Building
Writing horror is one of the most cathartic things you can attempt. As a Gothic horror writer myself, I’m naturally biased in advising people to have a go! (And I have a class to help you write your own haunted house story if you’re interested) But we don’t always necessarily think of world-building when it […]
Fruit Folklore: Healing Remedies, Nursery Rhymes, and Love Predictions!
Fruit is an important part of our world, whether it’s through our diet, or the many proverbs attached to it. A variation on “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is “Eat an apple going to bed, make the doctor beg his bread” (Binney 2018: 46). And look how many sayings involve rotten apples. […]
Bread Folklore: Medicine, Divination Tool, and Love Magnet!
You wouldn’t think something as humble as bread would have so much folklore attached to it. Yet many of us encounter bread folklore when we’re young. I’m sure we’ve all heard the old wives’ tale that eating your bread crusts would make your hair curly. My primary school had a particularly draconic dinner lady whose […]
Outerwear and Underwear: Folklore, Superstitions, and Lucky Pants
Clothing, by and large, provides a form of extra protection for the body. Outerwear can give us extra warmth, or prevent clothes underneath from being soaked through in wet weather. Underwear can also provide an extra layer, helping to trap warm air between layers. It also stops your other clothes from rubbing or irritating the […]
