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Folktales
Bardney Abbey
.thumbnail.jpg "Bardney Abbey")
If visiting the home of a Lincolnshire family, someone leaving a door open might be asked the unusual question "Do you come from Bardney?" This is said in a similar tone and meaning to "Were you born in a barn?" elsewhere in the country. The saying has its roots in an old tale about a miraculous occurrence at Bardney Abbey. Read More »
Bearnshaw Tower and Lady Sybil
The 17th century Bearnshaw Tower (or Bernshaw Tower) is said to have collapsed in the 1860's when its foundations were dug away by people hunting for hidden treasure. This pele tower though is best known for its association with a witch, Lady Sybil, who's story below appeared in 'Lancashire Legends' (1873) by John Harland & T T Wilkinson. Read More »
Elphin Irving The Fairie's Cupbearer
Corrie Water is a stream running seven miles from Eskdalemuir to the Water of Milk near Lockerbie. The stream runs through Corrie, an ancient parish annexed to Hutton in 1609. It is here, according to a story by George Douglas in his Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales (1901) that fairies lived. Read More »
Joseph Hempsall's Ghost
Here's an interesting piece of Cambridgeshire folklore I found in a book called "Folktales of the Fen Country". Joseph Hempsall was a true born "Fen Slodger". He lived in a small cottage on the Soham side of Wicken Fen during the late 17th century. Every evening Hempsall would cross the fen, known locally as "Big Bog" to drink with his friends at tavern in Wicken. Read More »
Kersal Cell
The Grade II listed Kersal Cell which dates from 1563 is the second oldest building in Salford and was the home of the English poet John Byrom (also known as John Byrom of Kersal and John Byrom of Manchester) (Born 29 February 1692 – Died 26 September 1763). Read More »
Llyn Cowlyd
On the edge of the Carneddau range of mountains in Snowdonia lays the deepest lake in North Wales, Llyn Cowlyd. The lake has been dammed so it is unnaturally deep, but it has given soundings of 229 feet, and has a mean depth of 109 feet. The lake is almost 2 miles long, and a third of a mile wide, with the adjacent hills dropping steeply to the lakes edges. Read More »
Raven’s Castle
Raven’s Castle is a cluster of rocks on the moors about 6 miles north of Slaidburn and close to the Lancashire border with Yorkshire. John Roby in his ‘Traditions of Lancashire’ (1872) set the following folk tale amongst these rocks. Read More »
Shozenji Temple And The Procession Of Ghosts
In 'Ancient Tales and Folk-lore of Japan' (1918), Richard Gordon Smith gives the following account of the ghosts that are said to haunt Shozenji temple. The temple once stood near Fushimi, which is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto. Read More »
The Lions
The two peaks known as The Lions are one of Vancouver's most recognizable landmarks measuring 5400ft (West Lion) and 5269ft (East Lion). Named Ch'ich'iyúy Elxwíkn (Twin Sisters) by the indigenous Squamish people, the peaks represent two Squamish sisters who marred Haida men and created a peace between the two nations. Read More »
The Mermaid Of Knockdolion
'THE old house of Knockdolion stood near the water of Girvan, with a black stone at the end of it. A mermaid used to come from the water at night, and taking her seat upon this stone, would sing for hours, at the same time combing her long yellow hair. Read More »
The Siege of Lathom
Nothing now remains of the original Lathom House, the last Royalist stronghold in Lancashire, which was besieged by Parliamentarian forces for three months in 1644. Read More »
The Submerged Island
There was supposed to be a submerged island near Port Soderick which appeared every seven years. Train relates the story of one of these appearances as follows:--Many a time and oft had Nora Cain heard her old grandsire relate the tradition of the enchanted island at Port Soderick, while sitting spinning by the turf fire on a winter's evening. Read More »
Whalley Abbey
In 1296, Cistercian monks moved from Stanlow Abbey and founded Whalley Abbey, with the first stone being laid by Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln, Baron of Pontefract, 10th Baron of Halton, Lord of Denbigh and 7th Lord of Bowland (Born 1251 – Died February 1311). Following the dissolution of the monasteries, Whalley Abbey was closed in 1537 and now stands in ruins. Read More »
A Changeling In Nithsdale
In his The Science of Fairy Tales’ (1891), Edwin Sidney Hartland gives the following description of a Changeling in Dumfries and Galloway. ‘In Nithsdale the elf-child displays a superhuman power of work. The mother left it on one occasion in the charge of a servant-girl, who sat bemoaning herself. Read More »
A Man Carried Through The Air By The Fairies
The following folk tale by Edward Hamer appeared in a publication entitled 'Parochial Account of Llanidloes' (1877) and repeated in Elias Owen's 'Welsh Folklore' (1973). Read More »
A Visit to Fairyland
The following fairy folk tale takes place around Llyn Cwellyn, a 215 acre, 120 feet deep glacial lake which has now been dammed to create a reservoir. The tale is taken 'Bedd Gelert: Its Facts, Fairies, and Folk-Lore (1899) by D E Jenkins. Read More »
Alloway
Alloway, the birthplace of Robert Burns, provided inspiration for one of his most famous poems Tam o' Shanter. Read More »
An Underground Woman in Labor
A woman who died at Neu-Bukow in 1841 at the age of 118 told that when she was a child underground people lived in a mountain near her home town. She herself and other children often saw them, but they always ran away from them. One night an underground man knocked at their door and asked the mother to go with him. His wife was in labor. He also asked to borrow a kettle. Read More »
Ballad of Tam Lin
Oh, I forbid you, maidens all
That wear gold on your hair,
To come or go by Carterhaugh,
For young Tam-Lin is there.
There's none that goes by Carterhaugh
But must leave him a wad;
Either gold ring, or green mantles,
Or else their maidenhead.
Now gold rings ye may buy, maidens,
Green mantles ye may spin; Read More »
Ben Bulben
Legendary home of the Irish third century warriors known as the Fianna, Ben Bulben (or Benbulben, Benbulbin, Binn Ghulbain) is a large glacial rock formation in the Darty Mountains. Read More »
Bessie Dunlop, The Witch of Dalry
Bessie Dunlop was known as the witch of Dalry (Ayrshire), she was burned at the stake in 1576 although she was seen as a white witch. Her story is interesting because it outlines some of the folk beliefs at the time. Read More »
Biddenden Maids
Every Easter Monday the village of Biddenden, not far from Staplehurst in Kent, is the scene of old custom, called the Biddenden Maids' Charity. Tea, cheese and bread are given to local widows and pensioners at the Old Workhouse, while the celebrated Biddenden Cakes, baked from flour and water, are distributed among the spectators. Read More »
Bowscale Tarn
Bowscale Tarn is 56 feet deep and during the Victorian era was popular with tourists. According to folklore two immortal fish live in this corrie tarn and depending upon which version of the story you read, they may, or may not have the ability to talk. Read More »
Branwen The Daughter Of Llyr
Branwen The Daughter Of Llyr is part of The Mabinogion. The following is taken from Lady Charlotte Guest's translation which was published in 1877. Read More »
The Buggane
The Buggane is a fearsome supernatural creature from the rich folklore of The Isle of Man. It appears in literature in various forms, usually having the power to shape shift. In one of its forms it is associated with water, and is similar to the Cabbyl-Ushtey the Manx Water Horse. Read More »
