Icy Sedgwick's Blog, page 31
November 2, 2019
Dartmoor: Home of Hairy Hands, Spectral Dogs, and the Watching Place
Few places in England conjure the concept of ‘wildness’ quite as well as Dartmoor. This national park boasts rocky outcrops, Stone Age remains, and more ghosts and legends than you can shake a stick at. Headless horsemen, black dogs, bottomless pools, and plenty of Devil-related shenanigans await on the moors. It’s hardly surprising that Sir […]
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October 5, 2019
Why do so many people fear the number 13?
How many times have you walked past a row of houses, counting the numbers as you go? In the UK, the even numbers are often on one side, the odd numbers on the other. 7, 9, 11, 15 – what? What happened to number 13? It’s weirdly common for builders to skip 13 when they […]
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September 21, 2019
Who or what is the Vampire Rabbit of Newcastle upon Tyne?
Newcastle sometimes gets a raw deal here in the UK. Nearly all talk of the so-called ‘Northern Powerhouse’ forgets there’s still a whole swathe of England north of Manchester. People form their opinion of its inhabitants based on photos of scantily-clad clubbers tottering through the snow in 6-inch heels. It completely ignores our Roman history, […]
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August 31, 2019
Psychogeography and Folklore: Walking the City’s Legends
A few weeks ago, we headed to Manchester to explore a story related to Dr John Dee. In that post, I mentioned a tale involving a group of psychogeographers and their attempts to contact the good doctor’s spirit. I asked if anyone wanted a post about psychogeography as a practice. People said yes, so here […]
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August 24, 2019
What is alchemy and did it ever work?
Mention alchemy to most people and they’ll either think of the philosopher’s stone. Or they’ll think about turning lead into gold. Alchemy was actually a worldview, according to the oldest texts written in Greek. They came to Europe via the Middle East after being translated into Arabic. Robert Allen Bartlett makes the claim that alchemy […]
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August 17, 2019
The Brazen Head: Medieval Prophecy Machine or Tall Tale?
Over here in the Fabulous Folklore Family, we’re no strangers to severed heads. And we’re old friends with those that make prophecies, like that of Bran the Blessed. Or Orpheus, whose head washed up on the island of Lesbos. But as it’s Magical Month, we’re going to delve into the mysteries of the Brazen Head. […]
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August 3, 2019
Daemonologie: Or, How A King Whipped Up a Witch Craze
Sometimes it can be difficult to comprehend the popular appeal of a book. Sure, we’ve had phenomena like Harry Potter and 50 Shades of Grey. But neither of them (as yet) have led to the mass persecution of (probably) innocent people quite like Daemonologie. To give it its full title, Daemonologie, In Forme of a […]
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July 20, 2019
What were the three types of water nymphs in ancient Greece?
For the past three weeks we’ve been looking at mythology related to water and the sea. Our final aquatic jaunt will be to meet the three groups of water nymphs in ancient Greece. They are the Naiads, the Nereids, and the Oceanids. Just to make things more complicated, you also have undines. Wikipedia lists naiads, […]
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July 13, 2019
Why do people confuse sirens with mermaids?
There’s been a lot of confusion between sirens and mermaids since the Middle Ages. Many of the images show gorgeous women with fish’s tails. Or creatures with beautiful voices capable of bewitching men. Look at Ariel in The Little Mermaid. But it’s far from their Greek origins. And the siren/mermaid confusion only really starts when […]
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July 2, 2019
Are the mermaids of folklore as vicious as legends suggest?
Mention ‘mermaids’ to most people and they might think of Ariel, the red-headed Little Mermaid of Disney’s 1989 classic. Or, if they’re old enough, they might think of Daryl Hannah in Splash! Or maybe they’ve been keeping up with the casting news for Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Congratulations to Halle Bailey for […]
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