Dark Tales

Varied stories of the dark, mysterious or macabre. Some of my writing focuses on my home county of Lancashire, although I cover stories worldwide

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

My article on how the fairytale gnome traces its origins back through renaissance alchemical theory to Greek mythology https://t.co/UYMCZbFx6l

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

@anti_abi Woke me up in cleveleys, a friend in north shore and another on Preston New road

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

@Stephencheatley Woke me up, genuinely thought it was an explosion

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

@FinnFolklorist The Mary Celeste had also been renamed, it was previously the Amazon

[Folklore Thursday @FolkloreThurs]

On #Gnomes: From Alchemical Theory to a #FairyTale Staple by @DarkTalesBlog for #FolkloreThursday https://t.co/XOBDhR12Vl

[Jussi @FinnFolklorist]

Cath Palug was a monstrous cat in Welsh legend, given birth to in Gwynedd by the pig Henwen of Cornwall; the cat was later to haunt the Isle of Anglesey, and was said to have killed 180 warriors when Sir Kay went to the island to hunt it down.
#FaustianFriday

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

One of the strangest of the so-called 'fearsome critters' of the folklore of the American frontier, the hodag originates in Wisconsin. During the 1890s, a businessman claimed to have captured not one, but two hodags https://t.co/7dYKvu580c

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

Often referred to as Operation Cottage, the disastrous Allied invasion of Kiska during the Second World War resulted in over 300 casualties. The Japanese defenders had abandoned the island two weeks earlier https://t.co/wndnwSTvbW

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

Bear that killed 26-year old jogger in Italy had previously attacked two other people in 2020 https://t.co/yag6kYonnx

[BBC Wildlife @WildlifeMag]

The yew tree’s toxicity may be one of the reasons it was planted in so many churchyards.

Locals would have been put off taking their animals to graze in the churchyard for fear of poisoning.
https://t.co/CAHaeaPVfT

[SelineSigil @SelineSigil9]

What Is a Fairy Fort?
In Ireland, fears about disturbing the fair folk have saved thousands of these mysterious ancient structures. #fairytaleTuesday
https://t.co/cLFD4qYsHO

[Godyssey @GodysseyPodcast]

Atalanta of Arcadia is a noted athlete under the protection of the huntress Artemis, and who joined the Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece. She fought bravely in the Battle of Colchis, where she was injured and healed by Medea alongside Jason. #FairytaleTuesday

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

During the inter-war period, German airships known as zeppelins looked set to dominate international flight. The Hindenburg disaster in 1937 quickly ended that possibility as the world's largest airship was consumed by flames in seconds, killing 36 people https://t.co/4d63Vbxt4t

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

Responsible for as many as 113 deaths, a wolf said to be the notorious Beast of Gevaudan was finally killed by a farmer using silver buckshot. This lead to the common folk belief that a silver bullet is required to kill a werewolf https://t.co/2Kqg23Gxab

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

A Bolivian man has survived 31 days lost in the Amazon jungle, eating insects and fruit and drinking rainwater collected in his shoes https://t.co/G0lxDmePKV

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

@NoContextBrits It's a mortsafe, to prevent resurrectionists (grave robbers) stealing the body

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

In 1900, the lighthouse on the reportedly haunted island of Eilean Mor was found abandoned, its three lighthouse keepers having vanished. The logbook recorded the worst storm in living memory, but calm weather was recorded on nearby islands https://t.co/oxYEXU2qTq

[Dark Tales @DarkTalesBlog]

One of the most famous ghost ships in history, the Mary Celeste was found largely undamaged and with its cargo intact off the Azores in 1872. The crew and lifeboat were missing https://t.co/KvBhTKgk0o

[Folklore Thursday @FolkloreThurs]

#Top5 Mythical #Birds in Legend and Folklore by @ztevetevans for #FolkloreThursday https://t.co/LAgRnCVecJ

[Folklore Thursday @FolkloreThurs]

On #Gnomes: From Alchemical Theory to a #FairyTale Staple by @DarkTalesBlog https://t.co/XOBDhR12Vl