David Castleton (Author)

A bowl and a shaker of salt with some spilt on a black surface

Superstition states that if you spill salt during a meal, you should throw some over your shoulder to avoid bad luck or to keep evil at bay. This possibly links back to a time when salt was very expensive so it was considered bad luck to waste it. #FolkyFriday #folklore #history #food

#LegendaryWednesday
In return for using his sorcery to enable Uther Pendragon to seduce Igraine, Merlin took the baby conceived through their liaison - Arthur - and oversaw his upbringing and education.

The figure of Satan - illuminated by a ray of light - plummets through space, in a drawing by Gustave Dore.

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

'Whitechapel Bell Foundry' (from 'Odd Jobs', 1935) by Pearl Binder

#BookSky

England’s Top 10 Gibbets, Gallows & Places of Execution - David Castleton Blog - The Serpent's Pen The remains of gibbets & gallows scattered across England are linked to legends of pirates, ghostly highwaymen, skulls in attics, cursed chairs, guillotines

@david-castleton.bsky.social
Interesting read.
www.davidcastleton.net/gibbets-gall...

Many thanks, Sarah, glad you enjoyed it. :)

A barbed-wire fence stretching into Dozmary Pool - a dark, wide lake beneath an overcast sky.

Dozmary Pool, on Bodmin Moor, #Cornwall, is said to have been the abode of the Lady of the Lake of Arthurian #mythology. It was also said to be home to a grim giant or damned soul who could be heard howling on stormy nights. My article: www.davidcastleton.net/dozmary-pool... #WyrdWednesday #folklore

Two crossed metal keys lying on a map showing the west coast of North and Central America.

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 in #medieval times was called 'St Valentine's Malady'. #FairytaleTuesday #gothic #folklore #weird

In Moscow, 16.04.2016, celebrated the 117th birthday of the tram. A column of vintage cars parade proceeded from Shabolovka to the Chistye Prudy, where he hosts the exhibition of rarities. On display were the 15 tram cars from different eras, including horse-drawn competition of the XIX century. Camera: Canon EOS 55 + Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF 70-210mm Film: Kodak Professional TRI-X 400 FILM (expiry date is not known, but certainly more than 10 years) Photo taken: 16/04/2016 Scanner: Epson Stylus Photo RX500

In Moscow, 16.04.2016, celebrated the 117th birthday of the tram. A column of vintage cars parade proceeded from Shabolovka to the Chistye Prudy, where he hosts the exhibition of rarities. On display were the 15 tram cars from different eras, including horse-drawn competition of the XIX century. Camera: Canon EOS 55 + Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF 70-210mm Film: Kodak Professional TRI-X 400 FILM (expiry date is not known, but certainly more than 10 years) Photo taken: 16/04/2016 Scanner: Epson Stylus Photo RX500

In Moscow, 16.04.2016, celebrated the 117th birthday of the tram. A column of vintage cars parade proceeded from Shabolovka to the Chistye Prudy, where he hosts the exhibition of rarities. On display were the 15 tram cars from different eras, including horse-drawn competition of the XIX century. Camera: Canon EOS 55 + Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF 70-210mm Film: Kodak Professional TRI-X 400 FILM (expiry date is not known, but certainly more than 10 years) Photo taken: 16/04/2016 Scanner: Epson Stylus Photo RX500

In Moscow, 16.04.2016, celebrated the 117th birthday of the tram. A column of vintage cars parade proceeded from Shabolovka to the Chistye Prudy, where he hosts the exhibition of rarities. On display were the 15 tram cars from different eras, including horse-drawn competition of the XIX century. Camera: Canon EOS 55 + Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF 70-210mm Film: Kodak Professional TRI-X 400 FILM (expiry date is not known, but certainly more than 10 years) Photo taken: 16/04/2016 Scanner: Epson Stylus Photo RX500

Moscow Tram Festival in Moscow 2016 (TRI-X 400).
Camera: Canon EOS 55
Lens: Canon Zoom Lens EF 70-210mm
Film: Kodak Professional TRI-X 400 FILM
16/04/2016

#filmphotography #blackandwhite #trix400film #trix400 #35mm #believeinfilm #streetphotography #believeinfilm #film #blackandwhitephoto #bwfilm

Loch Morar, framed by wooded mountains.

In addition to Loch Ness, several other Scottish lakes claim monsters. In Loch Morar lurks Morag. The first sighting is said to date to 1887. Two men in a boat attacked by Morag described her as brown, 25-30-feet long & with three dorsal humps. #SwampSunday #folklore #Scotland #weird #cryptoids

Painting showing five men enjoying a good time in a classical setting. One is playing a lute; there are bagpipes on the floor.

"Frame your mind to mirth and merriment, which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life." #Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew. #ShakespeareSunday #literature #books #theatre

It's by William Blake, a great poet, artist and thinker. If you're unfamiliar with his work, I'd recommend looking him up. :)

Picture of Hecate by William Blake. It is night and the goddess - depicted as a young dark-haired woman - sits in front of two naked figures, surrounded by a horse, owl and bat.

The Greek goddess Hecate was associated with crossroads & boundaries. Some felt she had the power to unlock gates between realms. The poet Theocritus stated she could unlock the gates of death. Virgil described the entrance to Hades as 'Hecate's Grove'. #BookWormSat #folklore #mythology #art

Three small, tree-covered hills in a heath-like landscape

In Frensham, Surrey, are 3 hills called the Devil's Jumps. #Folklore claims the Devil stole a cauldron from a local witch, who set off on her broomstick in pursuit. As he ran away, the Fiend made three huge leaps, throwing up mounds of dirt that became the hills. #FolkyFriday #gothic #weird

Cartoon of St Swithun in bishops robes in front of a weather map of Britain.

It's said that if it rains on St Swithun's Day (15th July) it will rain for the next 40 days. #Folklore claims comes from him asking to be buried outside where the raindrops would fall on his tomb. When moved indoors in 971, he expressed his displeasure with a torrential downpour. #WyrdWednesday

An 19th century image of Jack Frost - depicted as a general during the American Civil War - covered in spikes of ice and riding a spiky horse.

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 #history #weird

It's not quite that terrifying.

It's from Wikipedia.

Wooden pier - with a small boat tied to it - jutting out into the marshy shallows of the St Johns River. Dusk is approaching, and on the other side of the river trees are silhouetted against the sky.

A monster has been spotted several times in and around the St Johns River, #Florida. Descriptions have ranged from a brontosaurus to a big manatee-type creature to a dragon-like animal with a head resembling a snail's with giant horns. #SwampSunday #folklore #weird #cryptozoology

Painting of Narcissus leaning over some rocks and staring at his own reflection in a pool.

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 #mythology #art

Black-and-white photo of a misty graveyard with uneven ground and bare trees

"By heaven, I will tear thee joint from joint
And strew this hungry churchyard with thy limbs
The time and my intents are savage, wild,
More fierce and inexorable far
Than empty tigers or the roaring sea."

#Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet. #ShakespeareSunday #graveyard #gothic #literature #books

James Joyce at the age of 36. He is wearing a buttoned-up dark coat and glasses and his hair is swept back. He is looking sideways.

Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce begins and ends with the same sentence. So, after making the colossal effort to slog through the gargantuan, barely comprehensible tome, you end up right back where you started - something that probably amused Joyce immensely. #BookWormSat #literature #books #weird

1817 painting of Prometheus holding a smoking torch aloft in a heroic pose. A human figure - of dark rock or clay, lacking life and animation - sits slumped next to him.

Prometheus stole fire from the Greek 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 lone genius, whose efforts could lead to tragedy. #FolkyFriday #folklore #mythology

It's all symbolic, I guess - quite a lot of myths with a god or hero getting torn apart, like with Osiris.

Well, it was his followers, not him. Some say it was because Orpheus refused to worship any god other than Apollo, despite Dionysus giving him his talent.

Painting of Orpheus in Hades - crowned with laurel and playing his lyre - against a sheer and gloomy cliff face.

Orpheus is a poet of Greek #mythology whose songs could charm wild beasts & make rocks & 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 #poets

Though the King Arthur mythology is complex and wonderful :)

London statue depicting Boudicca grasping a spear and riding in a chariot pulled by two rearing horses.

#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 #psychogeography

Photo of Virginia Woolf, aged 20, from 1902. She is wearing a white blouse and her hair is pinned back.

"It is far harder to kill a phantom than a reality." Virginia Woolf. #BookwormSat #literature #books #writing #reading #authors