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
Haunted Hikes
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
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
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
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
Lucifer’s neolithic home, Devil’s Den stands vigil near the Avebury circle complex
Devil's Den Dolmen. Click here to view more images or order fine art prints from the Avebury World Heritage Site It is naturally the subject of many legends in the district, and few, we imagine, of the people about would care to find themselves too close to it at the solemn hours of midnight, … [Read more...] about Lucifer’s neolithic home, Devil’s Den stands vigil near the Avebury circle complex
Hiking Rockefeller State Park Preserve: Looking for Spook Rock, Hulda the witch and the non-headless horseman origins of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow
At last she came to a little house, and an old woman was peeping out of it, but she had such great teeth that the girl was terrified and about to run away, only the old woman called her back. "What are you afraid of, my dear child? Come and live with me, and if you do the house-work well and … [Read more...] about Hiking Rockefeller State Park Preserve: Looking for Spook Rock, Hulda the witch and the non-headless horseman origins of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow
A Salem Walking Tour in Three Miles
Salem is a walking town, with Essex Street acting as the main pedestrian artery. If you're spending the night in Salem, haunted hotels are the way to go. This walking tour assumes you're staying at either the Hawthorne Hotel, or the Salem Inn, which lie at opposites ends of this walk. Both are … [Read more...] about A Salem Walking Tour in Three Miles
Urban Legends: Mysteries as dark as the night from a Sleepy Hollow Road in Kentucky
Sleepy Hollow Road, Prospect, Kentucky. For more images of Sleepy Hollow Road, click here Since teenagers started driving, one of the rites of passages, at least for those who live near real country dark, are nocturnal drives down creepy old roads. It's my personal theory that the golden age of … [Read more...] about Urban Legends: Mysteries as dark as the night from a Sleepy Hollow Road in Kentucky
The death, resurrection and retribution of Zona Heaster Shue, The Greenbrier Ghost
Zona Heaster Shue was born in the mountains of West Virginia. Raised around Richlands, as far as we know, Zona never left Greenbrier county in her too short lifetime. Even now, Greenbrier county is far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life, with a population of about 34,000, spread out … [Read more...] about The death, resurrection and retribution of Zona Heaster Shue, The Greenbrier Ghost
Haunted Gettysburg: True ghost stories from Little Round Top, then and now
44th New York Infantry Monument and 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Little Round Top, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA. "But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled … [Read more...] about Haunted Gettysburg: True ghost stories from Little Round Top, then and now
The Pursuit of Ichabod Crane, from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving
Writing in an introduction from a reprinting of the story in 1996, Henry Steiner, Village Historian of Sleepy Hollow states that "At the close of his narrative, Irving anticipates a time when change will have so completely altered Sleepy Hollow that cramped historians will doubt that it once existed … [Read more...] about The Pursuit of Ichabod Crane, from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving
The Legends and Myths of Mount Misery and Sweet Hollow Road, Part III. Mary takes another swing with her bloody hatchet on the big screen
Sweet Hollow Road. The legends and stories of a woman named Mary are found scattered all over Sweet Hollow Road and Mount Misery. I've spoken to people who were teens in the sixties, and some of the stories were around then, and undoubtedly, some are much, much older. There's Mary's grave in Sweet … [Read more...] about The Legends and Myths of Mount Misery and Sweet Hollow Road, Part III. Mary takes another swing with her bloody hatchet on the big screen
