Horror is styled as a form of fiction that elicits a feeling of fear, disgust or shock in an audience. Taking pleasure in being scared is fairly common human behaviour. Personally, I enjoy a well-crafted horror story as much, perhaps more, than the next person. This foible is apparently one that transcends our time-period and …
One of my favourite medieval fables is that of Reynard the Fox. Found in manuscripts throughout the Middle Ages, Reynard, the trickster, was an anthropomorphised fox who caused trouble for other animals and sometimes came up against Isengrim, the Wolf, or Tybalt, the Prince of Cats. Reynard in battle, from 'Roman de Renart' (f.73v) in National …
In our cosy modern lives, with our central heating, our mobile phones, and our soft toilet roll, it is often possible to forget how dark the world outside can be. A lot of the darkness in historical folklore has been replaced with sanitised modern retellings. Yet folklore at heart plays on our primal, universally held …
The days are getting shorter, the sky is getting greyer, the air is getting colder… But that means it is woolly hat and scarf weather; it is time to break out the mulled cider and pumpkin soup. It is time to wrap up in a rug with a hot chocolate and some freshly cooked gingerbread; …
Continue reading The Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness
Vampires have always been a minor foible of mine and their colourful and varied history deserves exploring in celebration of Halloween! For most people, when you say ‘vampire’, their mind goes straight to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, written in 1897. There’s a good reason why – the book was a fantastic and has inspired myriad classic …
Curiosity Damsel 