Ghostly Pig-Headed Bride

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, a little known ghostly legend. As you may know, I have been reading on and off Halloween Folklore and Ghost Stories. The book tells a few long forgotten pieces of English folklore, that deserves to be rediscovered and maybe developed into bona fide horror stories. Among them, the sighting of the Pig-Headed Bride from the village of Pipe and Lyde. I tried to find more about her (it?) online, but found zilch so far. That's how obscure it is. And that is tragic. I don't know for you, but I find pigs featured in horror stories to be particularly scary. Not sure why. But there is just something about their face. Especially on top of a human body, like here. A pig-headed woman is scary enough, a pig-headed bride even more, but a pig-headed ghost? It's the stuff of nightmare, pure Unheimliche. So yes, I don't know if I can find out more about this abomination, but Pipe and Lyde is now on my list of eerie pilgrimage destinations.

Folkloric Halloween Horror

As you may remember, I started reading Halloween Folklore and Ghost Stories last year. I am still reading it, kind of slowly, because I have a pile of Halloween books to read and reread, not to mention horror stories that are not directly Halloween related.I am also reading it slowly because there is a rather substantial portion of the book is actually about Bonfire Night. A bit too much for my taste, but I digress. What I like particularly about this book is old obscure, sometimes almost forgotten English legends and superstitions based around Halloween and this time of year. There are amazing sources of inspiration for the aspiring horror writer that I am sometimes. I should blog about some of them soon, but until then, I suggest you take a look at this book. It's not flawless, but it's very educational in a spooky way.

Halloween, autumn and reading

These last few days, as it looks and feel very autumnal, I have been reading outside as much as I can. If a neighbour sees me, I guess I look like a monk with a rather sinister mind. So yeah, yesterday I took Halloween Folklore and Ghost Stories and I read it in the garden. I took a snapshot for the blog and the countdown. It was chilly, it had just enough sun, it was quiet, the leaves on the ground and the smell just enhanced the experience for me. So yes, it is my Halloween activity suggestion for today.

Halloween Folklore

 I try never to judge a book by its cover, but sometimes I buy one just because of a good cover. So anyway, for my countdown to Halloween, I an reading at the moment, among other books Halloween Folklore and Ghost Stories. Because, yes, this cover. I love how sinister, macabre yet very old fashioned it looks like. And also because it is as much a history of Halloween and its traditions (especially but not exclusively in England and the British Isles), as it is a series of bona fide ghost stories. My reading will overlap with next year's Halloween season, most likely. But I have already learned a lot from it and it might have given me inspiration for a few scary stories of my own.