Ghostly sightings of the Duke of Monmouth

On the 16th July each year it is reported that recurring sightings of the Duke of Monmouth can be seen in the woods at Horton in Dorset. The Duke was put to death at the Tower of London but his ghost is said to haunt the site of his failed rebellion, carrying his head in his hands.

Source: https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/

Calan Gaeaf

Calan Gaeaf - the start of winter in Wales celebrated on November 1st following 'Nos Calan Gaeaf' (Halloween, All Hallow's Eve, Samhain or what ever you wish to call it) on October 31st when spirits abound, and the old year is ended and the earth is ready to rest over winter.

The start of winter was observed, and in some places still is, in Welsh villages and towns. Traditionally the main celebration was when the women and children danced around a fire in the centre of the village, everyone would write their name on a stone which would be placed into or near to the fire. As the fire started to fade, everybody would run home through fear that Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta - an evil spirit appearing as a tailless black sow with a headless woman would take their souls.

The next morning, all the named stones would be retrieved from the ashes and checked, any stones missing would foretell the person named dying within the year.

Gorleston-on-Sea Black Dog

While on duty at the rescue headquarters on the 19th April 1972, Graham Grant is said to have watched a very large black dog running on the sand, it would stop every so often to look around, then before his eyes vanished in the middle of the beach!

There are lots of books about Norfolk Folklore, here's a good place to start:

On this day in 1857 - The Spirits Book.

On this day - April 18th in 1857 - the famous book, regarded as the most important in the spiritist movement was published, The Spirits Book by Allan Kardec.

It is composed mainly of a collection of questions about the origin of spirits, what the afterlife entails, the concepts of good and evil and ultimately the purpose of life. The answers were provided by a group of spirits who called themselves 'The Spirit of Truth' and he communicated with them in many sessions during the 1850's.

It contains many concepts that we still grapple with today, and is still available (on Amazon would you believe it?! See link below) including do spirits pre-exist and survive physical matter, are there good and evil spirits, reincarnation and guardian 'angels'. Fascinating stuff, and groundbreaking especially for the time.

Periwinkle

Many plants have legends and folklore associated with them throughout the world, established and native ones especially. The pretty, wild plant periwinkle is no exception and the mythology linked with it – both good and bad - is very interesting. 

In folklore, periwinkle, the evergreen trailing plant which has delicate, five-petaled flowers in shades of white and purple-blue, is thought to have powers associated with ghosts, spirits, witches and the dead. It was traditionally grown on graves and used in garlands for the recently deceased but more often than not periwinkle would grow naturally in graveyards thus empowering the belief that it was intrinsically linked with death. In many countries it was used as a funeral plant specifically for children, often woven into wreaths to be placed on top of their coffins, as it was thought this would help them on their way to the afterlife. Mostly seen as a protective plant or having a guardian duty for the dead it was not to be feared but respected, however in Welsh folklore it is said that if a periwinkle flower is picked from a grave the person will be haunted for one year by the dead spirit.  

People often used periwinkle for its protective properties and there was a lot of superstition surrounding its use. If harvesting periwinkle for magical use there were some strict rules to follow, the person should be free of all illness, and it could only be picked on certain nights of the month depending on the moon’s phase, only then could it be used properly. Periwinkle was commonly hung in wreaths or bunches on the front doors of houses and other important buildings to protect them and their occupants from evil and to ward off vermin and pests, travellers would also carry periwinkle with them for protection from wild beasts and bad fortune. 

There were some very positive qualities connected to periwinkle too, in Germany for example it was regarded as the plant of immortality and was grown in abundance, it is also said to increase passion if scattered underneath the bed of lovers! 

These days periwinkle has been classed as a bit of a pest as it grows very quickly and in most climatic conditions, indeed in the USA it is illegal to plant it in some states because it is so rampant, but it has a long and fascinating history and deserves to be admired for its important heritage. 

Haunting of Hill House

Wow...we finished watching it a couple of days ago and my goodness it was good. A gripping, believable horror that completely enchanted us. I'm not a fan of the blood and guts type horror films, I don't want to see people suspended on hooks or having their fingernails pulled out, I like to exercise my mind, and this programme certainly did that! Each episode left me wanting more...hence the almost binge-watching that followed.

Everything from the writing that transformed a classic novel into a modern day setting, together with the scene settings, atmosphere, sound and lighting made this an absolute winner...I may need to watch it again if only to spot all the ghosts I missed (which add to the almost subliminal 'did I just see that' feeling) first time round.

Watch it, I recommend it!

Newspaper snippet

I just came across a little snippet I cut out of a UK newspaper last year (I think) about people's top 10 favourite spooky phenomena, thinking about writing about them all in due course although a couple of them - the origins of Stonehenge especially - are so vast a topic that I wouldn't know where to start, so many opinions, conflicting arguments etc, but fascinating nonetheless. They run as follows:

10 - Hampton Court ghosts, Surrey
9 - Highgate vampire, north London
8 - Devil's footprints, Devon
7 - Rendlesham Forest UFO, Suffolk
6 - Agatha Christie's 'missing 11 days', Harrogate, Yorkshire
5 - Suicidal Dogs at Overtoun Bridge, West Dunbartonshire
4 - Enfield Haunting, north London
3 - Beast of Bodmin Moor, Cornwall
2 - Origins of Stonehenge, Wiltshire
1 - Loch Ness Monster, Scottish Highlands

Is your favourite there? 

Elf holes and fairy doors.

I think of myself as very lucky, in the way that when I was a child, my parents and I walked a lot. On these walks my Dad would sometimes tell me tales, superstitions and stories of the countryside, being from a farming family superstitions were rife with his elders...everything (or so it seems) could bring bad luck! Never bring snowdrops into the house, red and white flowers mixed in a vase would mean a death in the family, never bet on a horse with one white foot, they go on and on.

However, on a lighter note, elves and fairies were not always a bad thing. Holes and cracks in cliffs and rock formations were elf entrances to their homes, and similar crevices in trees were where fairies lived. We would often leave a little present (a sweet, a penny, a flower) by the hole as a good will gesture for passing through their area - to a small child this was fantastic. 

In my adult life I have found many similar things, fairy doors are now made by craft people to put in one's garden for example. Research I did for an article about the Domovik house spirits seemed very familiar and I could see in my mind's eye farm houses from my childhood being home to such helpers.

Are children still told these tales? I do hope so. Sadly in the age of political correctness I wonder sometimes if these age-old stories will be allowed soon! The resurgence in storytelling and folklore should hopefully keep these encounters alive...fingers crossed.

Thoughts on Paranormal Perceptions.

The world of the paranormal conjures many feelings in us, curiosity, fascination, amazement, but more often than not it is fear, and this is usually a fear of the unknown, mixed in with influences of the movies and horror stories.

There are many positive, even happy experiences within the realm of things classed as paranormal. To see a loved one in a dream, to catch a glimpse of a departed pet in the corner of your eye or small a waft of scent someone used to wear. But positive experiences often have to be hunted out from behind the easier to believe and more ‘interesting’ scary accounts.

As with many things in life, especially with a subject as diverse and personal as paranormal experiences, we are often told only the negative, scary, unsettling things. Due to the nature of paranormal happenings there is usually a factor to expand upon for effect - to set the scene, such as things happening in the dark of night or in an old, cold, damp building.

Tales of ghosts and spirits were often used as tools to keep people away from certain places or to deter children from being naughty. These almost ingrained feelings are naturally passed down to each generation - the supernatural is something scary and unpredictable and must therefore be feared. Add to this the more recent influence of Hollywood. Stories such as the Amityville Horror or The Blair Witch Project, based on ‘true’ events have been transformed into blockbuster movies by artistic licence leaving scores of people hypersensitive to strange happenings or the slightest bump in the night. This kind of movie mania isn’t just restricted to films of this type of course, a good example is the fear that 'Jaws' has struck into the hearts of those who have seen it for example. Sadly as a consequence an irrational fear of sharks the world over resulted, animals persecuted due to a horror story and a very effective theme tune.

It is a natural reaction of self-preservation of course, to fear that which we are told to be afraid of, and feelings of fear should not be ignored, but there has to be some rationality too. Fear of most things can be overcome or at least eased by learning – knowledge really is power. Research and information is the best defense against feelings of fear getting out of control. The paranormal is a vast and varied area of experience, it cannot all be frightening. By looking up positive tales of protector spirits, helpful entities and friendly ghosts for example, one can realise that nothing is all bad, and that there is so much to be gained from thinking about the paranormal in a different way.
For those who have had paranormal experiences, they may well be unsettling or confusing, but are they to be feared? Some undoubtedly will be yes, and fear is an instinct that is within us for a reason, but the paranormal as a whole need not be tarred with the same brush. Culture, media and these days social media has an undeniable impact on every aspect of our lives, but how you react to a deeply personal experience is your business and nobody else's.
Just my thoughts!

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The Lost Souls of Aokigahara Forest.

There are few places in the world that conjure up feelings of sorrow, pity, fear, and ultimately fascination as Aokigahara Forest in Japan. Also called the ‘Sea of Trees’, this dense woodland at the base of Mount Fuji has the unfortunate fame of being one of the most well-known places to commit suicide in the world. It is known to be haunted by the ghosts of the hundreds who have died there. 

Aokigahara Forest is the most popular place to commit suicide in the whole of Japan; in fact it is only second to the Golden Gate Bridge in the world. Since records began being taken in the 1950’s, over 500 people have taken their own lives amongst its trees, most by hanging, some by overdoses or other methods. The gruesome trend supposedly began after the publication of Seicho Matsumoto’s novel Kuroi Kaiju (Black Sea of Trees) where two of his characters commit suicide at Aokigahara, however the history of suicide predates this and the forest has had an association with death for a long time. 

Due to the high numbers of incidents, the unenviable task of an annual body search began in 1970, consisting of a small collection of police, volunteers, and a few journalists. These groups follow official and unofficial forest trails as well as going off the beaten track to recover bodies and mark the places with tape – this tape is never removed. They have found over 100 corpses per year in recent times, but who knows how many they never find? The first kilometer in is where most of the bodies are found, and some people are saved from their attempt, but those who are determined tend to walk a long way into the woods. 

These lost souls are said to haunt the forest, which is in itself a very eerie place. The densely packed trees mean that there are parts that are in continual darkness, the light blocked out by the foliage. Due to the closely growing trees there is hardly any wind and an odd absence of wildlife gives the forest a silent, foreboding atmosphere. The ghosts of people who took their own lives are likely to be troubled, unable to rest, and there have been many reports of spooky encounters.  

Due in part to its reputation, the Aokigahara Forest is a popular tourist destination as is Mount Fuji itself. People have talked of the feeling of being watched, followed and taunted by unseen entities as well as hearing sounds which can’t be explained. 

The trend of suicides at Aokigahara doesn’t seem likely to diminish any time soon. The Japanese government has tried to dissuade people by employing officials to position signs, in both Japanese and English, urging those who have gone to the woods in order to commit suicide to seek help, think of their families and not kill themselves. Whether it is due to folklore, the draw of a novel or the fame that precedes it, the lost souls of Aokigahara Forest will most likely continue to grow in number for the foreseeable future. 

Domovik Folklore - protective spirits.

The domovik is a protective spirit or that can be found in Slavic and Russian folklore (known as domovoi in Russia), it takes the form of a small old man with a distinctive grey beard who lives behind or under the stove, every Russian home is said to have a resident domovik spirit.

Referred to as ‘the Grandfather’ or just ‘He’ but never by a personal name, the spirit is said to be that of the ancestor who originally founded the family, he moves with them from house to house, when the family moves home, embers from the fire in the old stove are carried to the new one where it is lit to welcome the domovik into his new place of residence. 

It is believed that the domovik will watch over the family, guard the house and protect them against evil spirits or misfortune and will even help out with odd jobs or chores at night when the family are asleep, much like the Brownie house spirits of Scottish folklore, like Brownies, the domovik is also said to be pleased by gifts of food left for him, especially dairy items. 

If the family do something to offend or displease the domovik, he can turn quite mischievous, doing things like moving objects, hiding things and upsetting furniture.  If offended very badly, he may burn the house down, therefore breaking his ties with the family.

The belief in domovik spirits is one that has survived to modern times and much respect is still given to them in many modern homes today, allowances are made for the domovik’s activity and great care is taken to keep them happy.