There are many examples of prehistoric barrows and tombs being haunted by men without their heads (see list below). Could they be #ghosts or folk memories of sacrifices linked to some ancient head cult? (It's a doubtful theory but all I could think of for #FolkyFriday !) #PhantomsFriday #FolkHorror

The witch in legend of the Rollright Stones on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border turned herself into an elder tree. Local lore held that if the tree was cut it bled. #FolkyFriday

Not a book on ghost as such but ‘Needles of Stone’ by the dowser Tom Graves has been really influential on my ghost beliefs. In it Graves uses the theory of earth energies/ley lines to explore why certain phenomena like ghosts, ghouls, fairies and UAPs cluster around certain sites #PhantomsFriday

#PhantomsFriday again of course tomorrow, a week after a splendid Hallowe'en Friday. Follow along on @phantomsfriday.bsky.social or better still, use the hashtag for your own #ghost posts: words, pictures, popular culture, #folklore and #legend & #haunted sites ancient or modern - anything ghostly!

In Slavic #mythology, Ognyena Maria (Fiery Mary) is a #fire goddess & sister to thunder god, Perun. 🔥⚡ Her feast day on July 17th, particularly in Ukraine, is when villagers paid attention to any lightning in the sky, hoping that was an indication of rain for their crops. 💧 #WyrdWednesday

In Slavic #mythology a Raróg is a #fire demon sometimes depicted as a fiery falcon. According to Czech #folklore it hatches from an egg incubated on a stove for 9 days & nights, then appears either as a fiery falcon or a fire breathing dragon. 🥚 🔥 🐉 #WyrdWednesday

At Long Marston this version of the well-known rhyme used to be recited by those collecting wood for the village bonfire: Please to remember the fifth of November Gunpowder plot Shall never be forgot As long as old England is tied in a knot #WyrdWednesday

A chilblain cure still current in the 1920s involved dipping hands or feet in urine. Folklore collector JH Bloom noted how this occasionally led to the breaking of chamber pots when people were unable to extricate their feet after soaking them in the receptacle. #Folklore

In parts of the county a “simulated” horse’s head covered by a sheet was carried on All Souls Day to frighten the unwary. Folklorist Roy Palmer believed that it represented a demon horse. 🧵

Researching lore about childhood ailments in the early 20th C, J.H Bloom found that in Shottery bead necklaces were given to children as protection against sore throats. For poorer families a single bead on a cord was used #FolkloreSunday #FolkMedicine

Got the sniffles, a tickly throat, plagued by persistent warts? My theme this month of folk remedies may be of interest. First a health & safety warning. Don’t try any of the remedies – unless you’ve sought advice from your GP, a qualified herbalist or reputable cunning person. #folklore

Bridesmaids' dresses get the #Halloween treatment at Lily Rose bridal boutique in Kenilworth. They do really cool seasonal window displays there.

In parts of #Wales it was said that on #Halloween night, phantom pigs were to be found sitting on every stile. Stiles are, of course, liminal places like bridges; neither one place nor another. Similarly, twilight is neither day nor night and is a prime time for hauntings. #PhantomsFriday #folklore

For #PhantomsFriday, the tomb of the helhest, the hell-horse, in Roskilde Cathedral. Its ghost is said to appear at night to anyone who dares to go near the cathedral. The horse's ghost is three-legged and skeletal with red-burning eyes, and anyone who sees it will die soon. 📷 from 2022

In the late 19th C a female ghost was reputed to haunt Shottery Brook. In 1930, folklore collector FW Bennett, noted that he could “personally vouch” that the chance of meeting her kept many youngsters away from the water after dark. #PhantomsFriday

Folkore of Warwickshire research assistant Ted, aka demon-in-a-snowglobe, is all enthusiastic about tomorrow. He's even got himself a little pumpkin 🎃

In the absence of #BookologyThursday, #FolkloreThursday and #FolkyFriday this week, you might like to join us for #PhantomsFriday this #Halloween instead. Any #ghost related posts - eg words, art, #folklore, #legends, haunted places - all will be very welcome. Just use the hashtag to join the feed!

Jabez Allies, 19thC Worcestershire folklorist, recalled that young boys would carve faces on turnips, turning them into "Hoberdy's Lanterns" - ".. having lighted it up by inserting a stump of a candle, they use to place it upon a hedge to frighten unwary travellers in the night." #LegendaryWednesday

Seeking protection from witches? Then head to your nearest church as grabbing hold of a church door handle is one form of shielding yourself from maleficent witchcraft #WyrdWednesday #witchcraft

Broomsticks aren’t the only items witches use for flying. One stormy night sometime in the late 19th C, a Darlingscott farmer getting his horses in to shelter saw Betty H., a reputed local witch, fly by on a hurdle. #FolkloreSunday #Halloween

A phantom calf is said to roam hedgerows along the A3400 going towards Alderminster. It is a creature of ill omen. In 1931 a farm labourer who saw the calf fell off a hayrick and broke his legs. #PhantomsFriday

The Clurichaun, a mischievous Irish #fairy known for his love of drink, haunts breweries, pubs, & wine cellars. 👻 According to folklorist Nicholas O'Kearney, "Any wine cellar known to be haunted by this sprite was doomed to bring its owner to speedy ruin." 🍷 #FolkloreSunday #Fairytales

Postbox topper in Tredington #FolkloreSunday #folkart #Halloween

Our mythological creature of the day is Loveland Frogman! It is a humanoid frog allegedly seen in Loveland, Ohio. #WordFest #MythsAndLegends #MakeWordsCount #Libraries #Wakefield #Loveland #Ohio #America #FolkLore

How about the Herring King for #FolkyFriday? A fish almost twice the size of the rest, followed by the shoal. Fisherfolk call it "the King of the Herring & when they chance to catch it alive they drop it carefully into the sea, for they judge it Petty Treason to destroy a Fish of that Nature"

Near an old Belgian mill, witches, ghosts, and cats came together to dance around an oak tree. They were often spied upon and would then scream 'over hedges and bushes.' The onlooker would arrive home scratched from crawling through thick hedges. 🎨Arthur Rackham #PhantomsFriday

The ghost of the Dun Cow, killed by Guy of Warwick, was reputed appear in the courtyard of Warwick Castle whenever a member of the Earl of Warwick’s family was likely to die. The spectral bovine made no sound and its hoofs left no marks. #PhantomsFriday #FolkyFriday

In 1880 a dairymaid stuck pins into a cow’s heart then roasted it in an oven to summon the witch who had bewitched her herd. A small creature appeared and started scratching frantically at the oven door. The dairymaid killed the creature thus lifting the spell. #WyrdWednesday

My post for the Mainly Museums blog on my trip last year to the Museum of Country Bygones at Marton. A fascinating small museum full of objects to do with rural life in the 19th and early/mid 20th centuries. #Museums mainlymuseums.com/post/1292/ma...

John Day from Wimpstone had the reputation of being a great wart-charmer but details of his wart cure are vague. According to folklore collector JH Bloom, Day did “something” to the wart with a knife, then cut a nick in a stick while “mumbling some words which were indistinct”. #FolkloreSunday

#Inktober2025 day 11: sting Unleasing the Halloween wasp

The mysterious slab in Written Stone Lane, #Preston, #Lancashire. A #boggart lived beneath it and attacked a man who foolishly scoffed at its existence. After trying to use it as a gatepost, a farmer was also punished by the spook and rapidly put it back: 'TO LYE FOREVER' #PhantomsFriday #folklore

#PhantomsFriday A classic ghost photo taken by Reverend R.W Hardy on the Tulip Staircase in Queen’s House, Greenwich, 1966. I've usually seen it reproduced in B&W so I didn't realise until comparatively recently it was actually taken in colour.

Another of my ghost books is ‘Ghost and Witches of the Cotswolds’ by JA Brooks. Contains some Warwickshire material as the Cotswolds extend into the county. Plus, the cover kind of reminds me of the creepy preacherman from ‘Poltergeist II’. 🧵 #PhantomsFriday

"...sent him off on his "journey round the universe." "Leo Greenhill's Journey" from "The Mysterious Cobbler, Being the Story of Arthur Spray of Bexhill who has natural magnetic powers; told by himself." 1935. #WyrdWednesday #Bexhill #Sussex #ArthurSpray #MysteriousCobbler #Hypnotism #Journey #1930s

A cave in a hill near Haselor was believed to contain an iron chest full of treasure secured by 3 locks and guarded by a cockerel. One intrepid treasure-seeker found his way to the chest only to be ripped apart by the guardian before he could open the 3rd lock. #WyrdWednesday

October weather lore seen at Marton Museum of Country Bygones 👇 #WeatherLore #HareCheck

Some Warwickshire moon lore: When the first moon of each lunar month appears, men should bow to it 9 times and women curtsey 9 times. This ritual was believed to bring good luck. #FolkloreSunday

Leeds' City Varieties Hall #ghosts: a red-haired woman who brings good luck, a White Lady, a man in a bowler hat, disembodied legs climbing the stairs,a man in a WWI trench coat,slamming doors,cold spots,invisible touches & the feeling that someone is breathing over your shoulder. #PhantomsFriday

Hags and water spirits abound in English folklore; in Suffolk we have a tale of a pond in Rendlesham said to be haunted by a ghostly woman in white who has been seen gliding on its surface or rising from its depths… #PhantomsFriday

The ghost of Betty, a reputed witch, was reported to sit on the churchyard wall of St Gregory’s, Tredington, smoking a pipe. In life, she would sit on top of a willow tree in Honington slowly putting on her stockings. #PhantomsFriday #witches

Limited book-buying budget but lucky enough to live near a good public library. Current reading: The beautifully illustrated 'The Folkore of Birds' by Alison Davies #libraries #books

A spooky #FolkloreThursday wouldn't be complete without a traditional Cornish Spriggan. The rock-throwing, mischief making menaces that haunt ancient ruins, cairns, and barrows. Caught this one in the act!* *made by me for a folklore art challenge back in 2021

The ancient of St Lawrence, Napton on the Hill, has a long reputation of being haunted by two women in Elizabethan dress who kneel in prayer in the front pew. In ‘Haunted Warwickshire’, Meg Atkins noted how church attendance would drop off after sightings of the women. #LegendaryWednesday

To hear an owl hoot near one's house is one of the myriad of bad luck omens associated with Warwickshire's flora and fauna. I love owls so it's a shame they don't have a better rep in folklore. 📷 by me

To mark this weekend's 200th anniversary celebrations of the Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&DR) here's a reminder of a brilliant #postboxtopper in Yarm #railway #PostboxSaturday #locomotive @folkloresociety.bsky.social

‘It would make Chairs, Tables, Trunks & all moveables walk up and down the Rooms. And often come tumble down the stairs, some times like a bowl & other times as if it drew a Chain.’ John Mompesson, describing the poltergeist activity later known as 'The Drummer of Tedworth' in 1661 #PhantomsFriday

Billy Barber from Wolvey was able to cast spells and foresee the future. It was rumoured that he gained his powers from a pact with the Devil. When Billy died those sat round his deathbed heard the sound of horses galloping up to the door. The Devil had claimed Billy’s soul. #FolkyFriday

Another of my ghost bibles, ‘Haunted England’ (1947) by Christian Hole. Lots of detail and accounts written in a matter of fact style which makes them seem more eery. Not much Warwickshire tho – a shame as the county has some most excellent ghosts. #PhantomsFriday #books