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Icy Sedgwick

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European City ghost stories

Folk Traditions and Strange Sights in Florence

July 5, 2025 by Icy Sedgwick 1 Comment

Florence is a popular city destination, but did you know about its more unusual attractions and folk traditions? Read on to learn more.

Florence was founded in the 1st century BCE as a Roman military outpost, although it came to prominence as a centre of commerce and the arts in the 14th to 16th centuries CE. The Florentine method of speech even became the Italian language (Silver et al, 2025). Some of the city’s most famous exports are […]

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Filed Under: Folklore Tagged With: #FolkloreThursday, European City ghost stories, florence, folklore

Carlisle Legends: Ghosts, Secret Tunnels, and The Cursing Stone

July 20, 2024 by Icy Sedgwick Leave a Comment

This post explores a range of Carlisle legends, including secret tunnels, ghosts at the castle, the cursing stone, poltergeists, and a big cat!

Carlisle began life as Luguvalium, a Roman settlement that grew out of the fort on the site. Its next name, Caer Luel (the fortified place belonging to Luel) gives us the beginnings of the name ‘Carlisle’. Vikings captured the town in 876, before the Saxons took it in the 10th century. Over time, it took […]

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Filed Under: Folklore Tagged With: #FolkloreThursday, city, city folklore, European City ghost stories, northern folklore

Milan Legends of Dragons, Ghosts, and the Devil

May 25, 2024 by Icy Sedgwick Leave a Comment

Click here to learn about Milan's legends, including dragons, veiled women, a lucky bull, traditional risotto, ghosts, and the Devil!

Milan first appears in the ancient record in c. 590 BC as a Celtic settlement, later conquered by the Romans. When Diocletian divided the Roman Empire, Milan was the capital of the western half. But here in the 21st century, it’s perhaps better known as a fashion capital. Or maybe as the home of AC […]

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Filed Under: Folklore Tagged With: #FolkloreThursday, European City ghost stories

What was the Dancing Plague of 1518 in Strasbourg?

May 18, 2024 by Icy Sedgwick 8 Comments

The Dancing Plague struck Strasbourg, France in 1518. What caused it, how was it treated, and what can we learn from it? Find out here.

When it comes to plague outbreaks in Europe, your mind probably doesn’t immediately jump to a so-called dancing plague. Yet that’s precisely what seemed to grip Strasbourg, France in the summer of 1518. Townspeople started dancing, seemingly against their will, and couldn’t stop for almost a month. Hundreds died of exhaustion, with contemporary commentators blaming […]

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Filed Under: Folklore Tagged With: #FolkloreThursday, European City ghost stories, folklore

Vienna Legends: Mozart, Elisabeth Bathory & Restless Ghosts

May 11, 2024 by Icy Sedgwick 1 Comment

Vienna legends include Mozart and the masked messenger and Elisabeth Bathory's murder house.

Vienna has a long history, dating back to the 1st century CE Roman military camp of Vindobona. It was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is now the capital of Austria. And it’s been home to some pretty big names over the centuries. Mozart, Beethoven, Sigmund Freud, Gustav Klimt, Hedy Lamarr, Marie Antoinette and […]

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Filed Under: Folklore Tagged With: #FolkloreThursday, European City ghost stories, folklore

Helsinki Legends: Haunted Theatres and Restless Ghosts

May 4, 2024 by Icy Sedgwick Leave a Comment

Finnish capital Helsinki is home to a range of ghost stories, from haunted theatres to a headless colonel. Learn more about them here.

The Helsinki region has been inhabited for millennia, as proven by the Bronze Age burial mound in Kulosaari. Yet Gustav Vasa founded Helsinki as a city in 1550. Russia conquered Finland in 1808 and made Helsinki the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland, a region within the country. Finland finally gained independence in 1917. […]

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Filed Under: Folklore Tagged With: #FolkloreThursday, European City ghost stories, folklore

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Who is Icy Sedgwick?

icy sedgwick

Icy is a folklore blogger and host of the Fabulous Folklore podcast. She is based in the north east of England, where she was born and raised amid the folk tales and legends of Tyneside and Northumberland. Icy is fascinated by history, cinema, art, and the occult, and griffins will always be her favourite mythical beast. She also writes dark fantasy novellas, Gothic short stories and the occasional weird Western, and she holds a PhD in Film Studies!

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