A little Roman octopus to wish you a happy week! 🐙❤️ From a Roman villa mosaic at Villaquejida, León, Spain. Limestone, AD 100-200. Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid 📷 by me #MosaicMonday #Archaeology

It's here the latest episode of weird in the wade, Black Death in Bedfordshire. Covering everything from plague hag legends, to plague abandoned places in Bedfordshire, Cainhoe Castle's plague story and even some exciting genetics news related to the plague! Listen wherever you get podcasts

Do you want to read about the last known trial by combat held in the middle of Dublin during the sixteenth century? Great. Here you go open.substack.com/pub/medieval...

Blood in the Castle Yard

The last recorded trial by combat in Ireland took place in Dublin Castle between two O’ Connors of Offaly. What does it tell us about the Tudor conquest of Ireland?

open.substack.com

I picked up almost as much from the library as I did from school—real history, not that polished nonsense we were fed!

Just watched Superman (1978). I still enjoy that film.

How did people use arum/lords-and-ladies/cuckoo pint for both mundane and magical purposes? Let’s find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! youtu.be/A8a36msVj-g?...

Are you interested in Ann Radcliffe? Women in Gothic and Horror? Trans horror? Writing workshops with amazing people? You can get it all for one online event. Come to as much or as little as you like! 22nd and 23rd August www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993974113...

'More Terrors Than Her Reason Could Justify': An Online Gothic Conference

On 22nd and 23rd August we celebrate 200 years of Ann Radcliffe's posthumous publications and marginalised genders in the Gothic!

eventbrite.co.uk

Jason Arday is the youngest Black professor in Cambridge's history – and now rightwing newspapers are trying to smear him with untrue accusations of plagiarism. Not on our watch. Add your name in solidarity with Jason here: https://goodlaw.social/jg0w

On Fabulous Folklore this week, I'm joined by Dr A. D. Manns to explore the life and work of Roma Lister, a collaborator of Charles Godfrey Leland. We chat about 19th-century Florence, Roma's work collecting folklore from Italian witches, and how she may have influenced Aradia. youtu.be/MYZREZe_X0A

People keep asking what they can use instead of Substack as if blogs haven't existed for years.

Marketing emails have gotten even more patronising since people started writing everything with AI. If you're going to address potential users like they're just toddlers with a WiFi connection, then I don't imagine you'll get many takers

Small figure of a man made from putty, apparently used as a love charm, with two dried roses. Inside of a straw work box with a lid. Found circa 1897 at Hereford. prm.ox.ac.uk/collections-...

Please enjoy this magical sight 🦦 The gardeners at Bodnant have known for years there are otters onsite, but they have remained hidden... until now. This critter was spotted enjoying the river Hiraethlyn near the Old Mill. 🎥: An otter flowing gracefully down a stream surrounded by lush greenery

In this episode of Fabulous Folklore, I chat to @witchesetc.bsky.social about Helena Scheuberin's witchcraft trial in 1485 in Innsbruck, how her clash with Inquisitor Heinrich Kramer led to the Malleus Maleficarum, and how the book contributed to later witch trials... www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM8o...

In this month's episode of Fabulous Folklore Presents, I talk to Dr Andrea Wright about the fairy tale film as a concept, Jim Henson's career in film and television, the influence of the Muppets on fairy tales on screen, and what Jareth would have made of Miss Piggy! www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwvN...

Sir Sam Neill, who died in Australia aged 78, is being remembered for speaking up about issues he cared passionately about, particularly those affecting the environment in his beloved Central Otago.

Sir Sam Neill: the activist

Sir Sam Neill, who died in Australia aged 78, is being remembered for speaking up about issues he cared passionately about, particularly those affecting the environment in his beloved Central Otago.

dlvr.it

Captured (and safely released) this moth earlier. My Goth heart loves the fact it's a Dark Arches.

Great night tonight taking a group of brave souls on the Newcastle After Dark ghost walk. They were a fantastic group of people and made it all worthwhile. Special guest appearance from @icysedgwick.bsky.social joining us too. (Photos by Icy)

According to Miss Carruthers, the rose first appeared on England's great seal during the reign of Edward IV, and it first appeared on coins during the reign of Henry VI.

Did I need to rewatch the Jack Reacher movie? No. Did I leave it in just to watch the car chase? Yes.

As promised to link to my first actual Hookland book. It is only small, but covers a lot of the ghost soil. If enough of you buy it and like it there will be a Volume Two. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1068598123 It will also be available in an actual bookshop soon.

Yarrow! According to Richard Folkard, you could make a nosegay of coloured flowers, rue, and yarrow taken from a grave to dream of your destiny. Sprinkle the plants with oil of amber using your left hand, bind them around your head under your clean linen nightcap, and see what you dream about!

In Dorset, people called Red valerian kiss-me-quick. In Cornwall, its name was Padstow Pride, while in north Wales, it went by the name ‘cherry noses’. It was also called Devil’s Beard, Jupiter’s Beard, and Fox’s Brush. It deterred witches, attracted love, and acted as an aphrodisiac.

I'm joined for our first Witches episode in July by @aboutwitchhunts.bsky.social to talk about the Salem Witch Trials! We discuss the context of the trials, possible causes, the aftermath of the trials for the accused, and ongoing witch hunts around the world. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g20...

There's something desperately unclassy about supposedly professional sportspeople throwing tantrums.

It's always funny being at design festivals where everyone looks chic, cool, or stylish, and I look like I got dressed in the dark. I'm not fishing for compliments, either. I genuinely find it funny.

Roses weren't always romantic symbols. People once placed plaster roses on ceilings to remind those beneath that the conversations in the room were confidential - hence 'sub rosa'. But if you do give someone roses, remove the thorns to show that you're removing 'thorns' from your life together.

Lavender is apparently so soothing that it can make both lions and tigers docile.

We're looking at Maud Grieve today on Fabulous Folklore, the herbalist who wrote A Modern Herbal and did her bit for the war effort during the First World War! youtu.be/STra1cZwbbM

A blindfolded young woman should pick a rose on Midsummer Day at midday while the clock struck twelve. She should fold the rose in white paper and put it away until Christmas Day. If she did it right, the rose would still be fresh. She should put it on her bosom & her intended would snatch it away.