Some dark superstitions concerned hats. Hanging a hat on a doorknob meant that anybody present would die. Anyone who put on a hat owned by a person in mourning would be in mourning themselves by the year's end. #WyrdWednesday #folklore #gothic #hats #weird

When Lord Byron was told he couldn’t keep a dog in his room at Cambridge University, his response was to acquire a different pet – a bear. As the regulations made no mention of bears, the university had to accept Byron’s unusual roommate. #Bookwormsat #literature #poets #poetry

A Boxing Day custom was 'hunting the Wren', though these hunts made so much noise it's unlikely many wrens were caught. At most times of year, it was unlucky to kill the 'king of the birds' - this may be an example of a taboo act being allowed on special days. #folkloresunday

Some say St James Garlickhythe, City of London, is haunted by Dick Whittington's cat. Whittington was buried at nearby St Michael Paternoster Royal & a mummified cat was found during a search for his grave, but #folklore insists his cat haunts St James's. #FairytaleTuesday #weird

#London legend claims that the Celtic Queen Boudicca is buried beneath Platform 10 of Kings Cross Station and that she made her last stand against the Romans at nearby Battle Bridge on the now-buried River Fleet. #FairytaleTuesday #folklore #weird

Orpheus is a poet of Greek #mythology whose songs could charm wild beasts & make & trees dance. He visited the underworld & even won over Hades. After he was torn apart by followers of Dionysus, his head - still singing - floated down the River Hebrus #BookologyThursday #folklore

Prometheus stole fire from the gods & gave it to humanity, for which he was severely punished. Seen as the author of human arts & sciences, he represented the striving for knowledge. The Romantics saw him as a genius, whose efforts could lead to tragedy. #FolkyFriday #folklore

Narcissus was the subject of a prophecy - that he would only live long if he never knew himself - & a curse: that the one he fell in love with could never love him back. He fell for his own reflection in a pool & melted away from the fire of his passion #FolkloreSunday #folklore

Jack Frost is a figure in English #folklore said to leave fernlike patterns of ice on windows & to nip fingers & toes. The 1st known reference to Jack is in the book 'Round about our Coal Fire', 1732, but he may have roots in older personifications of winter. #FairytaleTuesday

GOTHIC #VALENTINES Mary Shelley is rumoured to have kept Percy Shelley's heart in a silken shroud, carrying it with her for years (his remains were in Rome). After she died the heart was found in her desk wrapped in his poems. It's hard to out goth that! 🎨Embalmed hearts

St Valentine's Keys are exchanged between lovers in Italy in the belief they may 'unlock the giver's heart'. Some also see them as a charm to ward off epilepsy, which was once called 'St Valentine's Malady'. #FairytaleTuesday #gothic #folklore #weird

FOLK DEVILS 'Hell is empty, all the devils are here!' Wonderfully theatrical & evocative marionettes from Prague: Dracula & Folk Devils #WyrdWednesday

PRINTER'S DEVIL cheekily squatting above the entrance to Coffee Lane Yard in York is the Stonegate Devil, a symbol associated with early printing presses. I enjoyed spotting this today.

“Because the world is so full of death and horror, I try again and again to console my heart and pick the flowers that grow in the midst of hell” — Hermann Hesse

"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall" William #Shakespeare, Measure for Measure. #ShakespeareSunday #literature #theatre #books #gothic

Mushroom photography; Yea or Nay?

The elephant & castle is a traditional symbol of strength. It was used on coinage in the 1st century BC. The Romans used war elephants, including in the invasion of Britain. The South London area of Elephant & Castle likely derives its name from a pub. #FairytaleTuesday #history

GHOULISH GARDENS Step inside a 500 year old gothic garden via the mouth of a mythical #monster reclaimed by nature. The Garden of Bomarzo, or The Villa of Wonders is in Viterbo, Lazio; created in the 1600s in the valley below the Castle of Orsini

The Greek sun god Helios driving his chariot across the sky. A fairly minor deity, Helios was maybe best known for having his cattle killed & eaten by Odysseus's men. In later antiquity, he was identified with powerful solar gods like Apollo & Sol. #FolkyFriday #folklore

UNCANNY DOUBLES Life-sized Victorian style twin dolls unsettle tube travellers in London (c/o Darren Brown) #creepydolls