The Luccombe Valley below Salisbury Plain and Bratton Camp, just visible in the upper right. In the foreground are two of the four barrows in the valley, with one of the others being the site of the Bloodstone. While wandering on Salisbury plain one day I came across a hidden valley and … [Read more...] about Folk horror from Wiltshire: The Blood Stone at Luccombe Spring, starving out the Vikings at Bratton Camp, the White Horse of Westbury and the nature of folklore
Europe
On the mystery of a white horse carved into the slopes of Bratton Downs … the White Horse of Westbury
Looking down on the White Horse of Westbury from atop Salisbury Plain Nobody really knows when or why a chalk horse was carved onto the side of Bratton Downs, below the iron age Bratton Camp. The current version has evolved over the past two centuries into its rather literal shape today. An 18th … [Read more...] about On the mystery of a white horse carved into the slopes of Bratton Downs … the White Horse of Westbury
On the abandoned village of Port, in Donegal Ireland … wind swept, wet and wild, the folklore of Irish music and the ideal place to go drowning
Top: The Glengesh Pass, Donegal, Ireland The top of Glengesh Pass in Donegal, Ireland is breathtaking. You’re in one of the most remote corners of the country here, sparsely populated, windswept and wild. You’re as likely to hear Gaelic spoken as English, for life hasn’t changed a whole lot over … [Read more...] about On the abandoned village of Port, in Donegal Ireland … wind swept, wet and wild, the folklore of Irish music and the ideal place to go drowning
Old Wardour Castle … a splendidly haunted ruin in the British countryside
Top: Old Wardour Castle, Tisbury, Wiltshire “On the south western border of Wiltshire about half between Salisbury and Shaftesbury and in the parish Tisbury stand the ivy crowned remains of the old castle Wardour.” The Antiquary, Volumes 3-4 Front Cover.W. Allen, 1873 Old Wardour Castle was … [Read more...] about Old Wardour Castle … a splendidly haunted ruin in the British countryside
A megalithic darkness descending on Stanton Drew stone circles and cove
"There among the stones they committed unspeakable acts. On the stones, against the stones. Their cloaks barriers to the storm of nature that raged around them, they were thrown aside and as two beasts they met in the circle in rut, in heat, in pure primal desire. It was a ritual of sorts, a wedding … [Read more...] about A megalithic darkness descending on Stanton Drew stone circles and cove
Ghost stories and supernatural occurrences from Avebury circle and henge
Entrance to the Avebury henge Hair stands high on the cat's back like a ridge of threatening hills. Sheepdogs howl, make tracks and growl --- their tails hanging low. And young children falter in their games at the altar of life's hide-and-seek between tall pillars, where Sunday-night … [Read more...] about Ghost stories and supernatural occurrences from Avebury circle and henge
Traveling back in time to explore the hauntings in Parsonage Woods, and the ghosts of Castle Combe
If you’re looking for the picture book English village, it’s hard to find better, at least in Wiltshire. Lacock is a bit more refined, with about twice the traffic from what I’ve seen. Then again, I’ve never been to Castle Combe in the summer. It was a winter stop. Technically we were there for a … [Read more...] about Traveling back in time to explore the hauntings in Parsonage Woods, and the ghosts of Castle Combe
Sunrise through the trees and the Southwest entrance stones to Avebury Circle and Henge
People are always going on about celestial alignments with the neolithic stone circles of Britain, Ireland and beyond. But it's a simple fact, these are, more or less, circles. Stand in the middle and eventually there well be a solar or other celestial alignment for every stone. The solstices, the … [Read more...] about Sunrise through the trees and the Southwest entrance stones to Avebury Circle and Henge
Capturing a dream in the snow at Avebury
A lady stands upon the henge at Avebury in the snow, looking off into the distance where a man walks away. It’s impossible not to see the story there. She’s watching him leave, across a snowy, barren landscape, and it’s the hardest walk the man has ever undertaken. He doesn’t want to go, she doesn’t … [Read more...] about Capturing a dream in the snow at Avebury
At Monkton Farleigh, the ghost of a very thirsty monk
There once stood a priory in the village of Monkton Farleigh, in Wiltshire. This small village is blessed, or cursed with a handful of hauntings. The building above, built in the eleventh century was a conduit for water to run to the priory, which now sits in ruins near the site. It is said that … [Read more...] about At Monkton Farleigh, the ghost of a very thirsty monk
