FAIRY RINGS are a reminder of just how magical #autumn is but upon entering an elf ring or sorcerer's circle of mushrooms you may become invisible and be made to dance until you die of exhaustion! #FolkloreSunday 🎨woodland fairy ring; Cruikshank's twilight fairy ring 1855

SPOOKY STORIES Join us in #StAlbans on 9th Nov for a FREE FAMILY EVENT in the haunting setting of Sopwell Nunnery. A professional storyteller will be sharing stories of werewolves, dark fairies & local folklore based on research by myself Ceri Houlbrook & Kaja Franck for #BeingHumanFestival

VICTORIAN GOBLIN NOVELS The Princess and the Goblin, a fantasy novel by George MacDonald published in 1872, a key influence on Tolkien, and Davy and the Goblin, a novel by Charles Carryl, 1885. I feel lucky to have these beautiful books in my library.

THE #VAMPIRE RABBIT OF NEWCASTLE is a mysterious grotesque which has perched above the door of the historic Cathedral Buildings for over a hundred years; no one is quite sure why the fanged blood-sucking rabbit was created back in 1901

OGOM HALLOWEEN NEWSLETTER www.opengravesopenminds.com/newsletter/o...

SPOOKY READING Don't forget to browse the MUP Spooky reading List for #31daysofHalloween and access the intros to all three of our @OGOMProject books for FREE

#HALLOWEEN As the veil grows thinner between our world & the spirit world & the witching hour approaches I'd like share my photos of the most uncanny landscape I know. This spookiness is entirely real. Cross Stone Graveyard in Yorkshire is unsettling & sublime #31daysofHalloween

THE DEVIL'S MUSEUM or Žmuidzinavičius is in Kaunas, Lithuania. It holds sculptures of devils from all over the world. In 1966 it consisted of 260 devils but visitors have left their own & there are now 3,000 devils #31DaysofHalloween

VICTORIAN VAMPIRE BATS Dracula (1897) as bat scaling the walls of his castle (Constable Book Covers, 1901, 1916); a large Vampire Bat in flight from Hooker’s Illustrated Natural History 1864; 1866 Vampire Bat, British Library, showing these gothic connections #FolkloreSunday

GOTHIC FUNGI Candlesnuff Fungus has tiny ghostly hands & the creepily named Dead Man's Fingers is equally uncanny & gothic! If like me you are open to the spectral mysteries of mycology you will see a ghost and a vampire in fungal form! #31daysofhalloween #FolkloreSunday

VAMPIRE PUMPKIN IDEAS I am a turnip/swede lantern retro person but I do love these!! They have almost converted me to pumpkins - but not quite! Counting on gothic types to keep the Halloween tradition alive.

SPOOKY SEASON READING LIST This is full of great reads ahead of #HALLOWEEN including 3 books I co-authored with @billbloodyhughes.bsky.social for @ogomproject.bsky.social on vampires & werewolves. Put your SPOOKY24 code in for your discount. Link below!

HALLOWEEN FAIRIES - by yours truly Fairies weren’t always cute – they used to drink human blood and kidnap children theconversation.com/fairies-were...

If you look closely you will see my article on the vampire's lost reflection. Thank you to @helleborezine.bsky.social for the wonderful Mirror issue. Readers of these articles on fetches, changelings, doppelgangers and vampires will never look in the mirror in the same way again! #31daysofhalloween

SPOOKY NETSUKE (根付) White bats resemble ghosts in exquisite miniature sculptures popular during the Edo period in Japan. Reflecting important aspects of Japanese #folklore bats are often associated with good fortune #31DaysofHalloween

LOCATING A VAMPIRE GRAVE according to folk belief, you should lead a WHITE HORSE around the graveyard. Horses are thought to be sensitive to spirits thus the horse will refuse to step over the grave of a VAMPIRE. Ideally, a virgin boy should ride the horse! #31DaysOfHalloween #FairytaleTuesday

I'm in #KingsLynn tonight ahead of the SOLD OUT #fearinthefens festival. Looking forward to sharing my research on UK werewolf myths with film goers on Sat 25th at 3.00. Come and say hello if you have a ticket! there! #31DaysofHalloween @hertsresearch.bsky.social

I'm in #KingsLynn tonight ahead of the SOLD OUT #fearinthefens festival. Looking forward to sharing my research on UK werewolf myths with film goers on Sat 25th at 3.00. Come and say hello if you have a ticket! there! #31DaysofHalloween @hertsresearch.bsky.social

LOCATING A VAMPIRE GRAVE according to folk belief, you should lead a WHITE HORSE around the graveyard. Horses are thought to be sensitive to spirits thus the horse will refuse to step over the grave of a VAMPIRE. Ideally, a virgin boy should ride the horse! #31DaysOfHalloween #FairytaleTuesday

Marvelous new @helleborezine.bsky.social! Looking forward to digging in to this article to find out what’s going on here & if there’s any chance I’m ever going to get my lipstick just right ever again

SPOOKY NETSUKE (根付) White bats resemble ghosts in exquisite miniature sculptures popular during the Edo period in Japan. Reflecting important aspects of Japanese #folklore bats are often associated with good fortune #31DaysofHalloween

WOO HOO a chance to read the introductions to all 3 @ogomproject.bsky.social books for free for #31DaysofHalloween via manchesterup.bsky.social @hertsresearch.bsky.social @billbloodyhughes.bsky.social and I really enjoyed working on these!!

If you look closely you will see my article on the vampire's lost reflection. Thank you to @helleborezine.bsky.social for the wonderful Mirror issue. Readers of these articles on fetches, changelings, doppelgangers and vampires will never look in the mirror in the same way again! #31daysofhalloween

DRACULA COOKBOOK This gothic delight was published in 1978 and it imagines what Dracula would serve his guests; he does not eat or drink wine himself of course! #Gothtober #31daysofhalloween

WITCHES' TEARS According to folk belief #witches are unable to shed tears. This is mentioned in medieval witch hunter guide MALLEUS MALEFICARIUM 1486, Jean Bodin's witch accounts 1580, & James 1st Daemonology 1597 #31DaysOfHalloween #FolkloreSunday

VAMPIRE POETRY Les Metamorphosis du Vampire is from Baudelaire's Les Fleurs Du Mal, 1857. The #vampire, boasting of his seductive powers, claims 'Impotent angels damn themselves for me' #31DaysOfHalloween

GOTHIC ROMANTICISM This week on Gothic Romanticism we looked at the supernatural: fairy seduction in Keats, Byron's vampire poetry and Ann Radcliffe's demon Superstition. Enjoyed seeing the students.

MATCH BOX BATS including vintage Japanese design & c. 1900 vampire bat. #Bats associated with darkness ironically become the bringers of light!! In many Asian countries they symbolise good luck #31DaysofHalloween

My next #MythologyMonday book recommendation is 'The Book of Japanese Folklore' by Thersa Matsuura (@uncannyjapan.bsky.social). It introduces a collection of yokai with Thersa's wonderful storytelling and gorgeous illustrations by Michelle Wang. She's also got a #yokai oracle deck on the way.

FEAR IN THE FENS FESTIVAL Woo hoo I will speaking on ‘Becoming Wolf: The English Eerie and History of the UK Werewolf’ Sat 25th October, 3.00 at fearinthefens.com in Kings Lynn. There will be a showing of An American Werewolf in London #31DaysOfHalloween

A WARNING FOR THE CURIOUS Spooky sculptures by Philip Jackson including Cloister Conspiracy, The Sentinels, Dangerous Liaison. Perfect for #31DaysofHalloween 🎃

THE HARVEST MOON will bring increased activity from #werewolves. Compelled to leave their hunting grounds in the woods, they will make their way to open fields at this time to prowl & howl at the moon. They may be found crossing roads & gardens! #FolkloreSunday

GOTHTOBER I encountered the perfect gothic scene on my way to teach Romantic Origins and Gothic Afterlives. Walking through the churchyard on the way to the station it was completely shrouded in mist! #31DaysofHalloween

THE SPOOKY SEASON IS HERE at last! I will be taking part in #31daysofhalloween again from 1st October. Some vintage #Halloween #cats to celebrate! Black cats are lucky not unlucky of course! Can't wait to see all the #Halloween posts!

DESERTED FAIRY TALE CASTLES Ireland & Spain No sooner had he approached the woods than all those great trees & brambles & thorns opened on their own accord & allowed him to pass through. Then he began walking towards the castle (Perrault, Sleeping Beauty) #FairyTaleTuesday

The folkloric belief that reflections, portraits and shadows contain part of a person’s soul influenced two of the greatest Gothic novels of the 19th century. Read more in @coffinboffin.bsky.social ‘s piece for The Mirror Issue. Pre-order on helleborezine.com

SNEEZING can expel demons, likening the body to a burning Hellmouth. According to folk belief the soul can also fly out of the mouth whenever a person sneezes. Saying 'Bless you' is said to prevent this (& death during the plague)🎨Books of Hours

AN ANCIENTE MAPPE of FAIRYLAND newly discovered and set forth. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1918. I have a copy of this map of fairyland by Bernard Sleigh in my study to ponder other worlds. It's filled with awe and wonder.

#AUTUMN BEAUTY I was struck by the unsettlingly dark beauty of the #Bronte family home & churchyard when I visited Haworth. Shrouded in mist among the #autumn leaves it was clear no coward soul could live here. Glorious in its gothic gloom.

THE HOLLY KING regains power at the #AutumnEquinox. His strength peaks during Midwinter, at which point the Oak King is reborn. His reign tells us #Autumn is finally upon us.

The Butterfly Lovers is considered one of China’s four great folktales. Set in the Eastern Jin dynasty, it tells the tragic love story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Zhu was the only daughter of a wealthy family. Despite living in a time when women were not allowed to... #LegendaryWednesday 1/6

Excited to reveal I have a piece on the vampire's lost reflection in this issue on The Mirror. The artwork looks fantastic, and I can't wait to read the other contributions.

CALLING SHAPES & BECKONING SHADOWS Rackham's folkloric fairy trees (1914) are unsettling and windblown calling forth the shadows to celebrate impending darkness as the winter months approach #FolkloreSunday

GHOST APPLES The uncanny name for when freezing rain settles on the fruit & ices over creating a frozen coating. The apple defrosts before the ice does & the rotting apple falls out of the bottom leaving its gothic icy 'ghost' behind! #FolkyFriday

Great theme for this, and the conference is in Yorkshire this year and includes a day trip to Whitby. What's not to like! Gothtastic. Count me in!

Excited to reveal I have a piece on the vampire's lost reflection in this issue on The Mirror. The artwork looks fantastic, and I can't wait to read the other contributions.

The Howling Celestial Dog (Xiaotian Quan, 哮天犬) is no ordinary hound. It is the loyal companion of Erlang Shen(二郎神), charging through myth to hunt, fight, and slay demons. First seen in a Song dynasty painting of a white dog chasing a fiend, 1/2 #mythology #art

Japanese ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Sadahide, originally made in the Edo era, this re-carved edition is from the late 20th Century. #JapaneseArt #ukiyoe #dragon

I have this book!

AUTUMN GRAVEYARD At this time of year, even the graves have shadows. Enjoying the unsettled beauty September in Yorkshire #gothicautumn