Great Britsh Folklore and Superstition MAP

On my last writing workshop, one of my fellow writers brought this Great British Folklore and Superstition MAP. You can find it, like other maps, on the Marvelous Maps website. I had a good look and I really, but really want one. The map is hard to read, but it gives you the whereabouts of many legendary creatures, haunted places, as well as a few monsters from fiction. It would be a highly valuable source of information and inspiration for my scary stories and for this blog during the countdown to Halloween. Even though I am terrible at folding maps.

Calenbour celtique (et atroce)

Un calembour atroce commis par mon frère PJ, après qu'il ait vu ce billet. Je paraphrase, parce que je le reproduis de mémoire:

 Question: Au banquet des dieux celtiques, qui a mangé la moelle?

Réponse: Sucellos, parce qu'il a sucé l'os. 

Je sais, je sais, c'est vraiment épouvantable. 

George and the Dragon

Happy Saint George's Day everyone! Saint George is of course patron saint of England, even though he was not English and never set foot here. He is also and especially famous for slaying a dragon, which makes it all the more interesting for those, like me, who love old legends and monsters. Anyway, him being patron saint of England means that a lot of pubs here are named George and Dragon. It gave them a nice name, if nothing else. I took this picture in one, the George and Dragon in Marlow. I could make it a yearly tradition: put a picture of a pub called George and Dragon every 23rd of April. Preferably a different pub every time. This is a nice image, the dragon looks bat-like and demomic, interestingly enough.

The God Sucellos

The things you learn sometimes thanks to a café. I took this picture the Coffee #1 in Wallingford, one of my favourite quaint English towns. So I learned about the Celtic god Sucellos (or Sucellus). I might have read about him before, but have forgotten. I must confess I don't know all that much about pre-Christian Celtic lore, except from what transpired through and into the Arthurian legend. He seems, in appearance at least, to be the Celtic equivalent of Thor, what with his hammer. Anyway, I'm glad I know a little bit more now about Celtic mythology.

Memento Mori from Pompeii

As you may know, today is is Ash Wednesday today, the beginning of Lent. To mark the day, I have decided to share one very famous Memento Mori, from Pompeii. I took the picture in one of my childhood books about Greek and Roman mythology. This image has always fascinated me. It is an allegory of the transient nature of life. The skull represents death, there is the wheel of fortune, the soul is represented by the butterfly, etc. You can find more details about the moseic here. In the end, I think it's a cool image to encourage people to make the most of their life.

Janus for January

 Iknow I blogged about the same topic, sharing the same image early this month. But I thought that, since we are now pass mid January, it was a nice opportunity to remind us that January is named after the Roman god Janus. He has two faces, one watching the past, the other the future. Since we are in the middle of the month, I can imagine him contemplating both times and well, wondering what the hell's going to happen next. If I was a believer, Janus would be the god I would pray to and make offering to these days.

The month of Janus

I found this picture in a book on Greek and Roman mythology which I liked a lot as a child. I learned from it that January is the month of the Roman god Janus, a two face god, with one face looking into the past and one face looking into the future. It is a mysterious god, as fairly little is known about him. He is a god of time, passage and transition and of course he gave his name to January. I blogged about him before, I thought today was a good time to blog about him again.

The Monster Game

I blogged before about All About Monsters, the very popular Usborne book about, well, monsters, mythical as well as cryptids. A lot of emphasis was put on the cryptid ones, actually. When Usborne republished the book, I quickly bought it. But I discovered that one thing in the French translaiton was missing in the original English: the Monster Game. Truly a board game that was made of the last page of the book, especially created, I think, for the French edition. I'm not sure why. The objective of the game was finding evidence for the existence of a lake monster, the Monster of Ellness Lake, basically a thinly disguised Loch Ness. We never played it. The rules were shoddy at best, for one. My brothers and I used the Monster Game, however for a few make belief games set around a lake and involving a cryptid like this one. Our characters explored the lake in a bathyscape, we questioned the locals, etc. It was quite fun. Anyway, I asked my father to send me pictures of the "Great Monster Game", beacause I wanted to share this memory on the blog. And because it might come in handy.

Blood for Baal!

Today is April Fool's Day, which means, well, that I quote The Simpsons' episode So It Comes to This: A Simpsons Clip Show. Since then, I cannot take Baal, or Bael, or Ba'al, seriously. But anyway, we're the first of April, it's a good excuse as any to have a laugh:

Mélusine

J'ai une confession à faire: même si je suis médiéviste de formation, je connais très peu de choses sur la fée Mélusine, à part son nom et quelques grandes lignes de sa légende. Elle est une créature associée à l'eau et qu'elle a des pieds en queue de serpent quand elle prend son bain, grosso modo. Et j'y pensais récemment et je me suis dit qu'il fallait remédier à ça: je compte donc y remédier prochainement. Pas seulement en googlant son nom et en cherchant sur YouTube, ce serait trop facile. Je compte chercher des bouquins sur le sujet. Si vous en avez à me conseiller, faites-moi vos suggestions dans les commentaires.

Rowan Trees (against the Forces of Darkness)

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I thought I would mention a weapon against supernatural forces that is seldom seen or used nowadays in horror stories. If at all. I am talking of course of the rowan tree. This one on the picture (dating back from 2009) is of the family's rowan tree. I mentioned it before, here and here. Because in mythology and folklore, rowan trees are meant to provide protection against malevolent beings, particularly against witches. So I could easily see rowan trees used to protect homes against witches, devils and ghosts and its branches, leaves and fruits be essential elements of protective magic. Maybe also turn the branches into blunt weapons. To top it off, with its fiery colours in autumn, rowan trees add great seasonal atmosphere for Halloween stories. So they should be featured in horror fiction. I guess I might have to be the one reintroducing them.

Bastet Plushy

This picture comes from the Facebook page of the British Museum.Today is International Cat Day and to celebrate, they are giving away plush toys of Egyptian goddess Bastet. I doubt I will win one, but she looks uber cool and uber cute.

Wolfie's Excalibur

 Well, it had to happen: Wolfie got his own Excalibur. Made of wood and not steel, but still. I will explain how he came into possession with it. Last week, we went to a "medieval festival", just for him (and me too, I am actually a medievalist). It was a rather simple affair, nothing too fancy or immersive, with jousting (more like professional wrestling disguised as jousting), falconry, archery and, well, nobody disguised but the entertainers. We had fun in any case. There were a few kiosks, among them one that sold wooden shields and swords from Tymeagain. And among the wooden toys, well, there was Excalibur. Other swords were cheaper, but neither Wolfie nor I could resist. In any case, it is an educational toy, allowing me to teach him a thing or two about the Arthurian legend. The sword will be central to our games in the next months, I am sure of it. I will keep you posted.

Irish Red Ale

 Well, not all Irish beers have to be Guinness or stout. So today, we went to out Henley-on-Thames and we sort of celebrated Saint Patrick's Day at the The Catherine Wheel, a Wetherspoon pub. I say sort of, because I was the only one truly celebrating. There was actually a beer festival, ending today, and as I have plenty of Guinness at home, I went for Lough Gill Brewery's Irish Red Ale. Which is Irish enough, surely. More suitable, in any case, than the green coloured lagers too many people drink on Saint Paddy's nowadays. Anyway, enjoy the rest of the day everyone.

Britain's Landmarks and Legends

I went to the bokshop recently, looking for a specific book. As I could not find it, I bought another one with a fairly similar subject, the National Trust's Britain's Landmarks and Legends. I love finding books like that one at random, just finding something that you may not need, but think it is worth owning. I love myths and legends, especially when you can associate a specific place to a specific myth. So I don't know when I will read it, having a lot on my TBR already (and currently reading a few books). But hey, I'm glad of my new purchase. Or rather my new discovery.

Buckinghamshire Folk Tales (a quest)

 I went to the local bookshop yesterday. I did it because I am on annual leave and I wanted to encourage local businesses and to buy some new books for the new year. I had one title in mind: Buckinghamshire Folk Tales, which I had seen during my Christmas shopping. Sadly it was not there, so I bought another one (which I will also blog about another time). Of course, I asked the woman at the till if it was in stock. It wasn't, but they can of course order one. I told her I didn't buy it as I was hoping Santa would have it for me last Christmas. She said: "Oh, rude of him! Santa can be so rude sometimes. I wanted an air fryer last year and I did not get one either, even though I had been good." I thought this was very funny and it deserves to be a new great unknown line. But anyway, I know I can preorder it, which is good, as getting hold of this book is my brand new literary quest.

I missed Krampus Night

I learned yesterday that it was Krampus Night, a night dedicated to, well, Krampus, the Christmas baddie, enemy or at least adversary of Santa Claus. I understand this is a relatively new thing, maybe I'm wrong, but anyway, I am not sure if I will properly celebrate it, since I observe something else on the 5th of December and it has all my attention. But I thought I would mention its existence here. I love Krampus, it shows a more sinister side to Christmas. I wished I had knownhim when I was a child.

Spooky Stories and Gruesome Tales

 For tonight's fourth(!) countdown to Halloween post, something from the English Heritage. They have a page on their website called Spooky Stories and Gruesome Tales. About scary stories set in some of their many sites. It's a quick read, should give you a few chills, maybe inspiration to write your own horror story and you might actually want to visit some of these places one day. I thought the countdown lacked a bit of scary stories lately.

Autumn, Halloween, Harvest, etc.

 Quick third(!) countdown to Halloween post for today, just because I forget to plug it: I suggest that you listen to episode 129 of the English Heritage podcast. Which is about autumn, its rituals and its celebrations, including of course Halloween. I found it quite interesting and even if you know a lot of it already (as Halloween fanatics often do), I think you should nevertheless learn a new thing or two. If you are inthe middle of something, like washing up or laundry, have the podcast in the background, it's a nice way to get through your chore.

Monstrum on the Sasquatch

Let's talk about cryptids for a moment. Monstrum has recently done a video on the Sasquatch, aka Bigfoot, which I found utterly fascinating (as always). And as usual with Monstrum, the art and animation are as interesting as the educational content.