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 … [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
Journal
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 … [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 … [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
Celebrating the Cowslip on May Day morning in the witch’s garden
Cowslip is a staple of British folklore, herbalism and literature ... And I serve the Fairy Queen To dew her orbs upon the green. The cowslips tall … [Read more...] about Celebrating the Cowslip on May Day morning in the witch’s garden
Dearest Éilis: The witch’s gardener mucks into spring 2018
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 … [Read more...] about Dearest Éilis: The witch’s gardener mucks into spring 2018
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 … [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
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 … [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 … [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
On pagan sexuality, getting laid in the seventies, the great god Pan, the Marquis de Sade and the mating habits of goats
Top: Statue of Pan, The Eagles Nest, Northport, Long Island Your body is the church where Nature asks to be reverenced. Marquis de Sade I credit my … [Read more...] about On pagan sexuality, getting laid in the seventies, the great god Pan, the Marquis de Sade and the mating habits of goats
An Irish folk tale, Maid of Mullaghmore and memories of Muckross Head, county Donegal
I once spent about a week hanging out with Caoimhin Mac Aoidh, noted Donegal fiddler and historian, particularly on all things Donegal fiddle. He … [Read more...] about An Irish folk tale, Maid of Mullaghmore and memories of Muckross Head, county Donegal
Why do lovers leap? Native American myths and a lookout from Rock City, high above Chattanooga, Tennessee
Mark Twain wrote in the nineteenth century that there were fifty locations along the Mississippi River that claimed the title of lover's leap. In … [Read more...] about Why do lovers leap? Native American myths and a lookout from Rock City, high above Chattanooga, Tennessee
Old Sarum ley line with Salisbury Cathedral and Clearbury Ring, from Old Sarum’s ramparts
The Old Sarum Ley was identified by Sir Norman Lockyear, and runs from north of Stonehenge to the western bank of Frankenbury Camp, near Fordinbridge, … [Read more...] about Old Sarum ley line with Salisbury Cathedral and Clearbury Ring, from Old Sarum’s ramparts
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 … [Read more...] about Sunrise through the trees and the Southwest entrance stones to Avebury Circle and Henge
Adam and Eve Longstones on a Misty Day
The longstones, known locally as Adam and Eve likely was the terminus for the Beckhampton Avenue, which was believed to have extended from the Avebury … [Read more...] about Adam and Eve Longstones on a Misty Day
Pickled, buried in lead beneath their death masks in the crypt at Farleigh Hungerford Castle
A collection of eight lead coffins can be found in the crypt of Farleigh Hungerford Castle in Somerset. Bodies were essentially pickled and put into … [Read more...] about Pickled, buried in lead beneath their death masks in the crypt at Farleigh Hungerford Castle
On paganism and the naming of gods … “Will the real god please stand up?”
Top: Jan Van Eyck, The Arnolfini Wedding Today I found myself listless, without direction. My sails were up, but there was no wind. The albatross was … [Read more...] about On paganism and the naming of gods … “Will the real god please stand up?”
