It's a tantalizing legend, that the building that now houses Il Buco in New York City was the macabre inspiration in Poe's life for the setting of The Cask of Amontillado. The places Poe touched in Manhattan and the Bronx can still be found, though in most cases the surroundings are unrecognizable … [Read more...] about Eating Poe: Part Three, Poe’s life New York City, where he found fame, tragedy and madness, and I search Il Buco for The Cask of Amontillado
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
I first read The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe in high school. I was lucky enough to attend a school which gave the option of studying the literature of Poe and Twain in more depth, and I jumped at the chance. My teacher, Gary Harrison loves both authors, but was particularly animated about … [Read more...] about The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
A return to Bardstown, Kentucky: Spending the night in a cell at the Jailer’s Inn, a haunted jail in a town known around the world for its ghosts
The only troubling sound I heard the night I spent in the Jailer’s Inn in Bardstown, Kentucky was the sound of a cell door closing. There are two reasons I found that disturbing. First, the jail was shut down late in the twentieth century, so there are no inmates, and it’s unlikely the staff was … [Read more...] about A return to Bardstown, Kentucky: Spending the night in a cell at the Jailer’s Inn, a haunted jail in a town known around the world for its ghosts
Pondering why landscapes become sacred and the mysteries of the Uffington White Horse, Uffington Castle and White Horse Hill
A month ago I stood atop a long barrow on White Horse Hill, with the grass covered chalk walls of Uffington Castle behind me, the galloping Uffington White Horse below me, and pondered a question for which there is no answer. What makes a landscape sacred? Is sacred the right word? Mystic … [Read more...] about Pondering why landscapes become sacred and the mysteries of the Uffington White Horse, Uffington Castle and White Horse Hill
The hammer of the gods still ring out at Wayland’s Smithy, a long barrow chamber tomb nestled in a secluded grove in Oxfordshire
The chambered tombs and long barrows of Britain have long tickled the imagination, and perhaps none more so than Wayland’s Smithy. Perhaps it’s the stand of beech trees enclosing it which makes it feel more intimate, more hushed. Unlike West Kennet Long Barrow near Avebury, sitting exposed to the … [Read more...] about The hammer of the gods still ring out at Wayland’s Smithy, a long barrow chamber tomb nestled in a secluded grove in Oxfordshire
The dark beauty of botanicals … haunting flora in fine art prints by Cate Davies
I always hated flower photography. Then I saw the floral art of British artist Cate Davies. She turned my head around. We equate flower photography with guys in safari vests sporting huge zoom lenses, stalking the local gardens. Or the garden club member who just got a new macro lens for their … [Read more...] about The dark beauty of botanicals … haunting flora in fine art prints by Cate Davies
Celebrating the Cowslip on May Day morning in the witch’s garden
Cowslip is staple of British folklore, herbalism and literature ... And I serve the Fairy Queen To dew her orbs upon the green. The cowslips tall her pensioners be. In their gold coats spots you see; Those be rubies, fairy favours; In those freckles live their savours. I must go seek … [Read more...] about Celebrating the Cowslip on May Day morning in the witch’s garden
Dearest H: The witch’s gardener mucks into spring
It was a cold, cold winter, and it ended with the rains which are carrying on still. As I’m due to travel next week, I thought it time I got your witch's garden ready for the spring, so I can return to find things well on their way. I've decided to scale back the vegetable garden … [Read more...] about Dearest H: The witch’s gardener mucks into spring
A drunken dirge, a traditional song of heartache and woe, I Courted A Wee Girl, or the False Bride
Scotland doesn't lack in songs about being forsaken in love. But according to Ewan MacColl, who recorded the song I Courted A Wee Girl in 1956, typically the hero shrugs it off. "In this curious little song, however, the jilted lover, after attending his ex-sweetheart's nuptials, just lies down and … [Read more...] about A drunken dirge, a traditional song of heartache and woe, I Courted A Wee Girl, or the False Bride
Thirteen lessons I learned about love this February
This month I focused on love, a topic near to my broken heart. With a heart in that condition it was inevitable that this would be a dark month. So I thought, why not celebrate that? Most of the people I know are going around at the moment with a broken heart, bruised heart or cold heart. I don't … [Read more...] about Thirteen lessons I learned about love this February
