You are correct in your assertion, Sharon! OH BOY!!! 🖤

Sapho, I will choose to go Where the Northern winds do blow Endless Ice, and endless Snow; Rather then I once wo'd see But a winter's face in thee, To benumb my hopes and me. Robert Herrick, 'To Sapho' (1648) 🖼️ Gustave Dore, 'Voyage to the Moon' (1868) #BookWormSat #Fantasy

What a year 2025 was for guests.Heartfelt thanks to each & every one of them for sharing their knowledge, passions, insights, & enthusiasm for theatre history @audioandrea.bsky.social @threeravenspod.bsky.social @wokestudies.bsky.social @simonsandys-winsch.bsky.social @drsheeha.bsky.social

This was great fun! 👇👇👇

We're so happy that this mad project — described by one review as "Mike Oldfield on ketamine" — is reaching people. Look out for a new episode of @threeravenspod.bsky.social out today where we discuss the ideas behind it...

I popped up on the @threeravenspod.bsky.social Christmas special talking about the history of Christmas food. It was great fun to record. Thanks for having me on, Eleanor and Martin. Available on all podcast apps, inc this one: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...

On today's episode we're back telling the Lang Fairy Tales - starting with The Goose Girl! 🖤 A stone-cold classic with versions known from Europe to Japan and across to the U.S, this one comes from The Blue Fairy Book collected by Nora and Andrew Lang. Listen wherever you get your podcasts!

Happy Winter Solstice! 🖤 Ready for a six-part festive extravaganza? It all begins tomorrow 6am UK time with an episode about the history of Christmas Food with Dr Neil Buttery, award-winning writer and host of the British Food History Podcast! Find Neil's work here: @neilbuttery.bsky.social

For us, this time of year is associated with ghost stories by M.R. James - and across the genre really! 🖤 Christmas Eve last, Eleanor released her Jamesian ghost story "The Spinning House" inspired Caroline Biggs' amazing book - @carolinebiggs.bsky.social For those seeking haunting. #BookWormSat

‘Christmas always rustled. It rustled every time, mysteriously, with silver and gold paper, tissue paper and…shiny paper…’~Tove Jansson. This #BookWormSat, we will unwrap the gifts of literature by celebrating all aspects of Christmas…be they festive or disdainful. Do join us.

Beautiful friends, what a cracking #FolkyFriday. Thank you! 🖤 On the theme of endings, after two years of folky fun, today was our final #FolkyFriday. We launched the hashtag to encourage folky sharing on Fridays in lieu of #FaustianFriday - and now #PhantomsFriday has it locked down! (1/2)

... in Sweden, as we saw, the mistletoe... is attached to the ceiling of the house, the horse’s stall or the cow’s crib, in the belief that this renders the Troll powerless to injure man or beast." (Frazer "The Golden Bough") 🎨 John Bauer #folkyfriday

Taking a mysterious spirit as a lover brought Count Peter Wlast to a bad end. #folkyfriday https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Hunting_Lodge_at_the_Katzbach_River

#FolkyFriday #WildHunt 🐾 Cŵn Annwn = "Hounds of Annwn." Ghostly dogs: snow-white with blood-red ears (sometimes small & liver-colored or black.) They hunt with the Wild Hunt for Annwn's ruler—Arawn (early Mabinogion) later Gwyn ap Nudd, king of Fae & underworld. Omens from the Otherworld!

RP @hauntedbench75.bsky.social #PhantomsFriday #FolkyFriday

#FolkyFriday ❄️🔥🪵 The Yule Log is an ancient Germanic and Scandinavian tradition. A symbol of the Sun's RETURN, it burns brightly in homes to usher in longer days. A piece is saved to light next year's fire, linking seasons in a cycle of renewal. #Yule #Yulelog 🪵🔥 #Midwinterlore ❄️☀️ 🎨Art by D.L.A.

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War is considered the end of the Age of Heroes. In some versions, it was purposefully instigated by Zeus because he was worried that all these demigods could be a threat to the gods. Thus, Zeus caused a war to make them slaughter each other. 🎨Peter Rubens #FolkyFriday

Frau Holla roams the land during the Twelve Nights of Christmas #folkyfriday https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Frau_Holla_Roams

#FolkyFriday #FindsFriday: `Dr. 1/3

The romance between a noblewoman and a ghost ended when their relationship goals diverged. #folkyfriday https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Ghostly_Suitor_on_Hartenstein_Castle

Some early Christians believed that the pagan era came to an end with the death of Pan, an event reported by Plutarch in the first century CE; but when Pausanias visited Arcadia a century later, people still heard Pan’s pipes echoing on Mount Lykaion. Io Pan! #FolkyFriday 🎨Louise Glazier (1903)

1/5 In this #fairytale, Eric is a master painter who is enchanted by a dream. He dreams of a particular set of eyes he must find to complete his painting & goes in search. 🎨Dreamer of Dreams -Edmund Dulac redbubble.com/shop/ap/3420... #PhantomsFriday #FolkyFriday #illustration #gifts #art #wallart

On the topic of endings, the rope used by a hangman was thought to be a lucky charm… while the hand of a hanged criminal could be turned into a hand of glory and used to aid further crimes! #FolkyFriday More at

#FolkyFriday "And so ends this branch of the Mabinogi." It's a subtle but powerful closing line, a phrase that ties each individual story into the larger, interconnected tapestry of the Four Branches. It`s a line that, much like Christmas, gives both closure and anticipation for what's to come!

As part of a Welsh winter custom, Mari Lwyd—a character represented by a decorated horse skull—is carried door to door by a group of performers, who sing their requests for entry into homes. Those who welcome them in will have good luck for the year. #FolkyFriday

A ship's fate is sealed when its Klabautermann spirit leaves. #folkyfriday https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Klabautermann

Beiwe, the Sami goddess of the sun and spring, rides a flying sleigh made of reindeer bones during winter solstice. The Sami people of Finland put butter on their doorposts and wrap reindeer meat in wreaths to help keep her fed on her travels. #FolkyFriday

"The Star Money", which features in "Grimm's Fairy Tales", is the story of a kind hearted orphan girl who gives all she has to others and is rewarded by a shower of silver Thalers falling from Heaven. image: childstories.org #FolkyFriday

#FolkyFriday #FindsFriday: `According to Dr. Miranda J. Green in her book, Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend, the sun was significantly meaningful to the ancient #Celts. She states that “One of the most important venerated natural phenomena was the sun […] [Original post on hear-me.social]

According to Swedish folklore, the perfect way to ring in the New Year is to fast from food and social interaction all day, followed by a walk in the woods. This ritual, known as årsgång (or “year walk”), is meant to provide insight for the upcoming year. 🧵 #PhantomsFriday #FolkyFriday

People often call winter solstice Midwinter, marking the center of winter, but this was not always the case. Before the rule of Haakon the Good of Norway, Midwinter, at which Yule was celebrated, was the first day of þorri, which is mid-January on our calendar. #FolkyFriday

Csodaszarvas, or the Miraculous Hind, is a divine golden deer in Hungarian myth, often depicted with a star on her forehead, the moon on her belly, and the sun in her antlers. During the winter solstice, she uses her antlers to carry the sun into the new year. #FolkyFriday

A village teacher was dragged off to an uncertain fate by his own demonic familiar. #folkyfriday https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Village_Teacher_and_the_Devil-Cow

During the first week of January in Ilulissat, Greenland, the perpetually dark streets come alive with horror. Distorted human figures linger in the shadows, waiting for unsuspecting citizens. But no one is in any real danger. The annual tradition of Mitaarfik #FolkyFriday 🧵

Lady Jane Grey was born at Bradgate House, #Leicestershire. Every Christmas Eve (and also New Year's Eve - she knows how to party), Lady Jane rides round the park in a phantom coach with her head on her lap. It's hard to imagine a more traditional #ghost story than that #PhantomsFriday #FolkyFriday

There's a folklore motif where the Winter Solstice marks the height of the powers of the Holly King in the deep Midwinter before the Oak King regains his power as the Sun returns. #FolkyFriday

According to legend, after clockmaker Master Hanuš built the Prague Astronomical clock in 1410, city officials blinded him to stop him creating another masterpiece. In revenge he cursed the clock, saying it would bring misfortune to the city if ever neglected 1/2 #PhantomsFriday #FolkyFriday

with his ghost personally guarding it. The legend claims if the Prague Orloj stops, the city will suffer. Supposedly, the curse will be confirmed by the skeleton figure on the clock nodding its head. #PhantomsFriday #FolkyFriday

The Dragon of Röthelstein came to a rather painful end. #folkyfriday https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Dragon_of_R%C3%B6thelstein

“Brothers shall strive | and slaughter each other; Own sisters' children | shall sin together; Ill days among men, | many a whoredom: An axe-age, a sword-age, | shields shall be cloven; A wind-age, a wolf-age, | ere the world totters.”   (Gylfaginning)   🎨 Valin Mattheis #FolkyFriday

According to Flemish folktales, bloodthirsty birds flew through the cold air during winter. In one story, someone whistled at one of these birds and the animal shouted: I will torture you until the last drop of blood in your heart has disappeared. 🎨Maud Earl #FolkyFriday

Even the famous healing arts of Paracelsus could not prevent his death in the end. #folkyfriday https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Death_of_Doctor_Theophrast

The wren is the emblem of the Holly King, who reigns over the period of shortening days and is ritually vanquished by the Robin (representing the Oak King or the new, growing sun) at the Winter Solstice to mark the turning of the year and the return of light. Art my own. #FolkyFriday #Folklore

Prince Charming's behavior in #Cinderella tales like Allerleirauh raises some red flags, not least of which is the violence w/ which he rips off her furry cloak. #AnotherCinderella #FolkloreThursday #folkyfriday #folklore #notdisneyprincess #donkeyskin #brothersgrimm #brothersgrimm 🎨Maurice Sendak

The Sorcerer of Sistrans led a spectacular life thanks to his magic. But he paid for it with an equally spectacular end. #folkyfriday https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Sorcerer_of_Sistrans

💨🌨️💨"The North wind doth blow, And we shall have snow, And what will poor robin do then, poor thing? He'll sit in a barn, And keep himself warm, And hide his head under his wing, poor thing." 🪶16th century English nursery-rhyme #FolkyFriday #FolkloreSunday

A pysky led adventure on the moors of Penwith #Cornwall #Kernow #flashfiction #folkyfriday literallystories2014.com/2024/04/09/t...

Once, three miners were imprisoned within Kuttenberg Mountain. And each found an end according to their wishes. #folkyfriday https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Three_Miners_in_Kuttenberg_Mountain

🌿 #FolkyFriday explores the magical #WishingChairs of Ireland and England! From Bundoran’s legendary seat where wishes are said to come true, to the basalt columns of Giant’s Causeway, these ancient stones are believed to grant wishes if approached with respect. Make a silent wish, tap twice.🍀

At the island of Chiloe in Chile you might see the ghost ship The Caleuche. It is a beautiful ship surrounded by the sounds of a party and is said to carry the souls of all who died by drowning. www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/4434... #art #illustration #PhantomsFriday #folklore #FolkyFriday