Mention ‘mermaids’ to most people and they might think of Ariel, the red-headed Little Mermaid of Disney’s 1989 classic. Or, if they’re old enough, they might think of Daryl Hannah in Splash! Or maybe they’ve been keeping up with the casting news for Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Congratulations to Halle Bailey for […]
folklore
Are selkies as dangerous as mermaids and sirens?
Selkies appear alongside mermaids and sirens as sea dwelling folk that humans might encounter. But are the selkies as dangerous as their singing counterparts? At the most basic level, selkies are shapeshifters. They take the form of seals in the sea and humans on land. Tales of the selkie appear most often in the Orkney […]
How To Make A Fairy Friendly Garden
The notion of fairies at the bottom of the garden is nothing new. It’s partly inspired by the now infamous Cottingley fairies, created by a pair of bored sisters using a camera and fairy illustrations. The notorious fake photos of the Cottingley fairies sold for £20,000 in October 2018. But the lure of fairies in […]
Who are the Rothley fairies and what happens if you cross them?
Lots of places in Britain and Ireland feature stories of fairies that contradict the stereotypical view of them as benevolent wish granters. In the cold and sometimes unforgiving north of England, they can be particularly vindictive. We’ve discussed Northumbrian fairies before, but this time we’re going to explore two tales of the Rothley fairies. The […]
What happened when a Northumberland midwife met the fairies?
Fairies appear in a lot of the folklore of the United Kingdom. But they crop up a lot in tales from Northumberland. It’s hardly surprising – this is a wild and often mysterious part of the country. It borders Scotland and its turbulent history marks it as a contested county. Where better for fairies to […]
Beetles Folklore: Scarabs, Stags, and the Deathwatch
With the dawning of spring in the northern hemisphere, we’ve been looking at the folklore of insects. Bees and butterflies are finally out and about, doing their pollinating thing. And last week, we looked at a beloved garden critter, the ladybird. Turns out ladybirds are actually beetles, so this week – we’re looking at beetles […]
