In Norwegian legend and folklore in the days before Yuletide, the Oskoreia ride through the skies. This ghostly horde of the restless dead and witches spreads terror through the wintry night sky. The Oskoreia is not dissimilar to the continental European legend of the “The Wild Hunt”. There is a common root throughout all these… Continue reading Norwegian Legend: the Oskoreia
A samodiva (plural: samodivi) is a wood nymph from the Balkans, specifically in Bulgaria. Samodiva translates ‘samo’ (alone) and ‘diva’ (wild/divine). The first part of the name signifies avoidance of humans and the second part indicates the wild or divine nature. These nymphs are forest spirits who appear as beautiful young women. But the Samodivi… Continue reading Slavic Folklore: Samodivi
Publisher’s Description Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many forms: for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai’po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl. But what all these legends hold in common… Continue reading Never Whistle at Night
Publisher’s Description Half vampire. Half fox-spirit. All trouble.Pawned by her mother to the King of Hell as a child, Lady Jing is half-vampire, half-hulijing fox-spirit and all sasshole. As the King’s ward, she has spent the past ninety years running errands, dodging the taunts of the spiteful hulijing courtiers, and trying to control her explosive… Continue reading Shanghai Immortal
Art - Marek Hapon The likho is part of Eastern Slavic fairy tales. Although not as frequently mentioned as the witch Baba Yaga, the likho assumes many guises from an old woman clad in black or a male goblin-like being. The common feature in both is the likho has only one eye. In the pre-Christian… Continue reading Slavic Folklore: The Likho
Nidhogg (Old Norse Níðhöggr, “He Who Strikes with Malice”) is one of several serpents or dragons in the Nine Worlds. The most famous serpent is Jormungand or the Midgard-serpent but Nidhogg is a dragon trapped beneath the Yggdrasil and constantly gnawing at its roots and corpses. Nidhogg is a force for chaos by destroying Yggdrasil,… Continue reading Norse Myth: Nidhogg
Funerary statue of a siren with a shell lyre, c. 370 BCE In Ancient Greek mythology, the sirens are vaguely described by various sources but are usually interpreted as being large birds with the heads of women. In the classic Ancient Greek legend The Odyssey attributed to Homer, the hero Odysseus’s ship is attacked by sirens… Continue reading Greek Myth: Sirens
May Day Hills Historic Asylum AsylumFest 2023 will be held October 27 - 29 in Mayday Hills located within Beechworth, Victoria. Mayday Hills operated from 1867 to 1995 and was one of the largest mental health facilities in the state, with over 1200 patients and 500 staff at its peak. Today, it is a heritage… Continue reading Asylumfest Horror Convention
Publisher’s Description Let’s travel in time together, a thousand or so years back, and meet Viking women in their hearth-lit world. How did these medieval viragoes live, love and die? How can we encounter them as flesh-and-blood beings with fears and feelings – not just as names in sagas or runes carved into stone? In… Continue reading Viking Women
The Rusalka is related to water-dwelling nymphs and appears in the form of a beautiful woman. Water nymphs, unlike mermaids, have legs and can walk on land. Rusalki are found in rivers or lakes they come out of the streams at certain times a year to dance and walk in the woods especially in summer… Continue reading Slavic Folklore: Rusalka
Leanbh Pearson 
You must be logged in to post a comment.