Last week, we looked at the folklore of flowers, focusing on Angel’s Trumpet, Foxgloves, and Deadly Nightshade. They are by no means the only poisonous flowers in existence. This week, I thought we’d bring it a little closer to home and look at three really common garden flowers – that are all toxic! You can […]
#FolkloreThursday
Wonderful Waterfall Folklore, Myths & Legends
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 period of the Grand Tour” (2012: 105). This was the era in which rich young men toured […]
Avoid the Dark Depths! Dangers Lurk in Lake Folklore
Perhaps the most famous slice of lake folklore is the Lady of the Lake in Arthurian legend. So much so that when an 8-year-old girl pulled a sword from Vidostern lake, the internet dubbed her the new Queen of Sweden. The Lady of the Lake of Arthurian legend aside, lakes pop up in a range […]
Strange River Folklore: River Gods and Dark Spirits
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 […]
Why Are Kelpies So Feared in Scottish Folklore?
Many of the lochs and ponds of Scotland feature tales of kelpies. Unlike the gentle selkies of Scottish lore, kelpies are altogether more dangerous beings. Most accounts describe the kelpie as taking the form of a horse. They lure bystanders to climb on their back, before plunging headlong into the nearest body of water to […]
Money Folklore: Coins, Wishes, and Fairy Gold
Love, health, and money are perhaps three of the most common topics for divination and magic. Despite the fact that practising magic to find treasure or money was a crime under England’s 1542 Witchcraft Act (McDowall 2013: 254). But it’s not surprising that money folklore would focus on how to use money for luck—or to […]
