Kidomaru and the Tengu - Utagawa Kuniyoshi In Japanese folklore, many stories include spirits, supernatural creatures, and demons called yokai. And of all the yokai, the tengu is the one that might seem most familiar to a modern Westerner. At first glance, it's a lot like a superhero: the ability to fly, great physical strength,… Continue reading The Tengu
In Scottish mythology, Beira or Dark Beira is the great mother of the gods and goddesses. She’s also known as the Cailleach, or the Cailleach Bheur in the Gaelic traditions of Ireland and the Isle of Man. Donald Alexander Mackenzie usually described her as being very tall and very old but could be terribly fierce… Continue reading Dark Beira: Queen of Winter
In the darkest months of the Welsh year, a white horse appears at your front door. It is mysterious and menacing Mari Lwyd. The Mari Lwyd has a horse skull for a head and lights or baubles for eyes. Her mane is made of colourful streamers, sometimes made of holly and ivy. She is covered… Continue reading The Mari Lwyd
Ilari-Grohn-Art on DeviantArt Joulupukki translates to “Yule Goat.” Yuletide, is a pre-Christian pagan festival which was held as a midwinter celebration with feasting and sacrifice taking place across many Germanic cultures. There is no certain answer as to the relate between goats and Yule. One concept links it to the Norse god Thor. He was… Continue reading The Finnish Joulupukki
Want to know more about the research behind my recent novella Bluebells? Read on! These are some of the photographs I took in 2021 from the town of Berrima which features in Bluebells. Harper’s Mansion which is the fictional ancestral home of Anna and Peter Baylon in Bluebells, is one of the older houses in… Continue reading Bluebells Research
The skogsrå is one of the important genii loci, the spirit of the Forest from Scandinavia. She will appear to hunters mostly but also to some travellers through the forests of her domain. The Skogsra is often described as human-like being, but with something uncanny about her. She’s often very beautiful but will have a… Continue reading The Skogsrå
In Madagascar, a highly unusual endangered nocturnal lemur is associated in regional as taboo or fady. The bizarre habits, secretive nature and distinctive appearance of the aye-aye fills some Madagascan peoples with the horror and dread at the sight of it. This has often lead to the slaughter of aye-ayes. In other regions of Madagascar,… Continue reading Folklore of the Cursed Aye-Aye
The Isle of Skye is rich in fairy lore. One of the most magical-looking is the miniature landscape of grassy, cone-shaped hills and whimsical rock spirals of Fairy Glen. There is no documented folklore linking the landscape to the realm of myth, and there have been no actual sightings of fairies, Fairy Glen is rich… Continue reading Isle of Skye: Fairy Glen
"The Legend of the Pussy Willow" In an old Polish legend, many springs ago, a mother cat was crying at the bank of the river where her kittens were drowning. The willow at the river's edge longed to help her, so they swept their long graceful branches into the waters to rescue the tiny kittens… Continue reading Legend of the Pussy Willow
The Scottish Wulver Unlike the French loup garou, not all werewolves terrorise humans giving into their blood lust. The Scottish wulver of the Shetland islands, just north of the Scottish mainland, is a benevolent werewolf. The wulver was thought by the ancient Celts to be its own species between a man and a wolf. Folklorist… Continue reading Scottish & Irish Werewolf Folklore
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