Superstitions Across the World

 

  I talked about superstitions during 31 Days of Hallowe'en (Day Four). While I mentioned common ones, I didn't really talk about country or culturally specific ones. I plan to rectify that today.

Scotland

  There are Scottish superstitions which it is hard to find an origin for, such as 3 swans flying together foretelling a national disaster. Also red and green must not be worn together, It is unlucky to stand with your back to the edge of the door, post love letters on Christmas Day or throw vegetables onto the fire. The most sinister one is carrying a spade through the house meaning a grave will soon be dug.

Ireland

  I don't know why you'd do this, unless material is scarce, but it is considered unlucky to use broken tombstones for the walls of a cottage. There are superstitions all over the world involving the dead. Respecting them and their burial sites is probably the most common one.

Malta

  It was the custom for churches to have two clock faces, one showing the correct time and the other a false one. This was to confuse the Devil about the time of the service. I' sure it confused some of us mere mortals too.

Ibiza

 A little of the old religion coming through, priests are not allowed to board fishing boats. This is likely out of respect for the pre-Christian sea-gods. People who rely on fishing do not really want to annoy them.

Iceland

 Women need to be careful! If you are unmarried, you should not sit at the corner of the table or between two brothers, this means you will spend seven years single. It is not clear why but some believe sitting between two men confuses fate (or whomever brings you love) into thinking you are already attached and sitting at a corner of the table means a wooden leg between your legs. Make as many innuendos as you wish about that but the wood for the handle of a broomstick was seen as a metaphor for the Devil's manhood, hence witches riding them....that escalated quickly! Also a pregnant woman drinking from a cracked cup risks her child having a harelip. 

Holland

  People with red hair bring misfortune. Not an unreasonable superstition for a land once invaded by the Danes.

China

  Any death by accident or foul play is to be feared as the ghost may seek revenge on the seventh night.

Nigeria

  Sweeping a house at night is bad luck, they do it in the morning. It is also lucky to sweep after someone leaves. If a male is hit on the head with a broom he will become impotent unless he retaliates seven times with the same broom. I'm guessing you'll rarely have a Nigerian house missing a broom.

Japan

  A comb picked up with the teeth facing the body is unlucky. Killing a spider in the morning is destroying a human soul. Most cats bring bad luck.

  There are also superstitions specific to race and religion

  

Jews

  A Jewish child must not be watched when it sleeps, likely because of the similarity to the death vigil. It must also not be shown it's reflection until it has grown it's first tooth.

Gypsies

   It is dangerous to eat food that is stepped over or drink from a stream a woman has walked over. All caravans must be burnt after their owners die.

Of course there are probably others and it is not always clear how or why these superstitions started but some people are very superstitious, some people are a little superstitious and some only believe one or two. Some people are so superstitious that when they hear a new superstition they suddenly add it to their own superstitions.

  If you are not superstitious at all and believe it all nonsense, go out, but a cheap mirror and break it. I dare you!

Source Material: The Reader's Digest Book of Strange Stories Amazing Facts

  

The Darkside of Christmas

   Christmas is a time to be happy and merry and full of joy (as I understand it). Christmas is essentially a Christian celebration celebrating the birth of Jesus, the clue is in the name. However many of the Christian traditions seem to have all but disappeared. We have religious songs, some people do still go to church on Christmas day and we celebrate advent without knowing what it's actually about, but most Christmas traditions these days are from the Pagan celebration of Yuletide which have survived. Christmas is celebrated in December because early Christians were trying to replace the Pagan celebrations with Christian ones. They were most successful with Christmas of course, but it wasn't the only one. Easter they tried to replace with the crucifixion and resurrection, that didn't really take. Christmas still has a lot of religious aspects, not least the name, but there are people who refer to it as Yuletide, keeping with Pagan tradition.  Often Pagans are seen as satanic and dark witches but that is a misconception. It is not Pagan traditions however, that make up the dark things associated with 'the most wonderful time of the year'.

Krampus

  Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure from Central European folklore. he is described as 'half-goat, half-demon' and is a companion of Saint Nicholas. While Saint Nicholas was a real person, the only stories about him are legends. In many places, he is the patron saint of children and a legend is that he once secretly dropped money through the window of a house at night to allow the three daughters of an impoverished man to escape a future of prostitution and instead be able to marry. He is now called Santa Claus or Father Christmas. While in Western Europe and America he gives presents to good children and coal to bad ones, in Central Europe bad children are taken by Krampus to hell.

  There are variations of course, sometimes he simply punishes the children by thrashing them with a whip of some kind, in others he carries the children off to kill them. Either way, while Saint Nicholas gives rewards of gifts to good children, bad children are given a terrible fate by Krampus.*

The Nutcracker

  The Nutcracker is about a young girl named Clara, who receives a nutcracker for Christmas and discovers at night that he is alive and battling a mouse king. When the mouse king is defeated, the Nutcracker transforms into a handsome prince and takes Clara to his kingdom. It is implied she and the prince stay together and are happy.

  Sometimes it is a dream or alternate reality but one thing that stays the same from the original story is that Clara is a child. This makes her relationship with the nutcracker a little inappropriate. While young girls sometimes dream of meeting a handsome prince, actually being with one at such a young age would be inadvisable to say the least. In the original story, Clara is only seven and marries the Nutcracker within a year. Also, they can't be together in the real world so Clara leaves all her friends and family to live in the doll world.

  This may sound like a story of true love but at seven, should she really be making that decision? Child marriage is a little dark even with her being transported to the land of the dolls.

Christmas Eve 

  

  Christmas Eve, similarly to All Hallows Eve, is a night when spirits roam the earth. Restless ghosts walk the earth on Christmas Eve. It makes sense. In 'A Christmas Carol' Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet To Come on Christmas Eve. If you are brave enough to venture to a graveyard on Christmas Eve and dig a hole (far from the graves don't dig people up) you are supposed to find gold. However upon leaving you a likely to see ghosts passing by and may even hear animals speaking like a human. You know, in the dark, on your own, near a graveyard. Just saying.

Good and Bad Luck

  There is dispute over what is good luck and bad luck during Christmas. Of course, finding the sixpence in a Christmas pudding is good luck, just try not to break your teeth or choke on it. It's supposed to be bad luck to sing Christmas songs pre December 1st post January 6th. January 6th is actually the last day of Christmas so is the day you're supposed to take all your decorations down. If we're being technical, you're not supposed to put anything up, including the tree, until Christmas Eve. Things such as holly and fir trees are good luck as they represent life and rebirth due in spring. When so many plants seem to be dead bringing live ones into the home dates back to Ancient Egyptian custom when they would bring palm leaves into the home in the winter. Mistletoe is a tricky one. some believe it's good luck some bad, whether you plan to kiss under it or not. The only ones I observe with any regularity and superstition are the Christmas songs and taking down the decorations on the twelfth night. All the conflicting ideas on other things is too confusing.

Father Christmas

  Santa Claus, Kris Kringle, Pére Noel, St Nick, whatever you call him, the jolly man in red has become a big part of Christmas. While there is discussion about where he came from originally, he's actually a collection of lots of different characters and folklore. With so many different people from different countries and cultures travelling to and settling in the New World, the Americas put it all in a melting pot, so to speak, and Santa Claus was born. 

  In 1822 "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" was published and it gave us the description of Santa that we all know today. Prior to this, many of the depictions of a St Nicholas type was fairly lean. Now Santa is a portly man in red, thanks in no small part to the Coca-Cola illustration.

  England's Father Christmas is the one who lived in the north pole and was originally dressed in green. While most if not all of the Santa-like depictions are happy and benevolent elves, the Santa of Finland started off a lot darker.

  Before Christmas, we had the winter celebration of Yule. Of course, yuletide traditions have lasted and make up more of the Christmas season than the religious side these days. In Finland, evil spirits would visit houses during Yule and demand gifts and leftovers from the feasts and celebrations. In the 19th century, the evil Yule Goat was combined with the Coca-Cola Santa to become a benevolent figure and give gifts rather than take them. In Finland, rather than coming down the chimney the Santa rings the bell and asks if good children live in the house. If they do, he leaves them gifts. Of course, there is a little darkness to Santa now. Does he really watch us and our children sleep? Creepy.

  Enjoy the most wonderful time of the year when people come down our chimney when we're asleep....yeah. 

* In season 3 of the TV series Grimm, Krampus kidnaps teenagers who have been stealing, hangs them in baskets from the highest tree at the highest point and keeps them there before consuming them on 21st December, the eve of the winter solstice. He leaves lumps of coal in the areas he abducts the kids from. At midnight he disappears until the following year.

Krampus Parade in Munich, Germany

31 Days of Hallowe'en: Day Thirty-One, All Hallows Eve

 Day 31 All Hallows Eve: Dracula

Who has not heard of the famous Transylvanian Count? Bram Stoker's 1897 novel has become the one against which all vampire stories are measured. There have been over 200 film adaptations which even diehard fans seem to struggle to see in their entirety. Add in all the the adaptations and even a lifetime may not be quite long enough to see, hear and read everything. From Max Shreck (or Bela Lugosi if you like) to Claes Bang, the role of Dracula is one many people have managed to add to their CV. Of course, with so many adaptations (stage, screen and of course radio) few people read the book anymore. However the book, is a good way to get to know the characters. The book itself, is essentially diary entries of the main characters with a few letters and newspaper articles. 

  The book starts with the diary of Jonathon Harker. He leaves his fiancée, Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray in England with her best friend Lucy, while he travels to Transylvania to provide legal support for the Count for a real estate transaction. The Count is moving to England. Jonathon writes every day of his strange friendship with the Count and the mysteries of the castle he is staying in. The Count's vampiric tendencies, the three vampire brides in his castle and the fact that he never intends to let Jonathon leave alive become clear the longer Jonathon stays. Back in England his fiancée is missing him while her best friend is choosing a suitor between the three men courting her. Eventually the Count arrives in England and wreaks havoc in the lives of all. Luckily for the characters, The man Abraham Van Helsing (named after Bram Stoker) is there. He knows about vampires, the Count and how to fight against them. The count's ultimate goal is slowly revealed, he wants Mina as his bride.

  While a long read it is gripping. Unlike the tales of blood and gore we find in modern horror stories, Dracula is more subtle, showing a way in which vampires survive within society. The Count can walk among others during the day, his powers are just weaker than at night. Also, people are not found drained of blood with the blood all over the room or their throats ripped out, they wither away from an unknown disease. While they do have puncture marks in their necks and turn pale from loss of blood, unless people know about vampires, you'd just know someone had died from an untreatable, incurable illness. No one is going to be blamed for someone becoming ill and dying. We never see anything from the perspective of he Count. He has no need or desire to keep  journal so everything is seen through the eyes of the other characters. The way the reader themselves would see it. 

  Dracula is not the only story of a vampire but it is the most famous. He has almost become the original vampire, all others are secondary. It does seem that, within his own story, he is the most powerful. While we have been bombarded with different vampires and vampire lore, Dracula is still the one that is most often referenced. In some other vampire stories vampires claim him as real, others dismiss him as myth. He appears many times in media, he even appeared in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. One thing that never seems to change with Dracula, however people fight him, he always comes back. 

   

  What people seem to forget about Count Dracula, is that he was actually based on a real person.

  Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler, was the ruler of Wallachia (now part of Romania). There were many stories about Vlad's cruel and gruesome treatment of his enemies. When visitors from Turkey refused to remove their turbans in his presence, he had the turbans nailed to their foreheads. When he captured prisoners he had them executed and impaled, earning him his nickname. He also massacred many people. Vlad's father was referred to as Vlad Dracul, Dracul meaning dragon. Vlad III was often referred to as Dracula during his reign. Dracul in modern Romanian, mean devil. In literature, Vlad is often referred to as Dracul, translated as the son of the devil, adding to his reputation. Stories of his cruelty were popular after his death. Stories of his cruelty and apparent bloodlust, made him the perfect inspiration for Bram Stoker's title character. The bloodthirsty ruler becomes the bloodthirsty Count. Some adaptations of Dracula have him constantly adapting for the times. In modern times he is often a doctor, giving him access to blood banks.

  As I said before, Dracula has made the inevitable transition form page to screen. Film and TV adaptations are in abundance. I myself saw the ballet. I loved the ballet it was brilliant. Of course my poor mother spent most of it scared but it made me appreciate more her taking me to it. Shows another side of ballet for the sceptics who think is all, pointing, jumps and essentially boring. I have never seen a play or indeed heard a radio adaptation, but am working my way through the better known films.

  The first Dracula film was, essentially, the 1922 silent film, Nosferatu. 

  Unable to get the rights to Dracula, the studio changed the name and appearance of the title character. The names of supporting characters were also changed. As the story was still practically the same as Dracula however, the studio was sued by Bram Stoker's widow and was forced to declare bankruptcy to avoid paying.

  The first film to actually have the title of the character is one of the most famous. In this adaptation, in 1931, the Count was played by Beal Lugosi.

  This film was actually based on a stage adaptation which was endorsed by the Stoker estate Bela Lugosi was actually reprising his stage role. This is, as I said, one of the most famous adaptations. It is credited with initiating the Universal horror film series of the 30s and 40s. 

  In 1958, a very famous studio called Hammer, released an adaptation starring Christopher Lee.

  Van Helsing was, of course, played by Peter Cushing. A more cinematic Gothic interpretation, it took many liberties with the plot. However the performance of Lee and Cushing not only were credited with making it very memorable, it fixed Lee with the image of the count in popular culture. Dracula became a Hammer series and both Lee and Cushing reprised their roles in The Brides of Dracula (1960), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), Scars of Dracula (1970), Dracula AD 1972 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973). Peter Cushing reprised his role as Van Helsing in The Legend of the 7 Golden vampires in 1974 which did not feature Christopher Lee. Lee reprised his role in 1970 with Herbert Lom as Van Helsing, this was not a Hammer film and was made on a small budget. 

  In 1979, Dracula took on a more sensual role played by Frank Langella. 

 A rather sexually charged film (in the 70s!) it switched the characters of Lucy and Mina and Laurence Olivier (apparently Mina's father in this one) took on the role of Van Helsing. This is a very good version of the film. The special effects were well done (although Mina as a vampire seems a little overdone) and the climax is one of the more exciting ones.

  Also in 1979, a clever horror comedy called Love At First Bite was released, starring George Hamilton.

Only Dracula and Renfield are the familiar characters, this film followed Dracula to New York as he tries to find his reincarnated true love. Van Helsing's unskilled, bumbling grandson brings a lot of the jokes and, even though often seen as a just a disco Dracula, is a funny comedy that many sill enjoy.

  One that is fairly well-known is Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film. It started with the cast reading the book together (reading their characters' parts) which took two days. They then, as requested, went to Coppola with anything not in the script that they felt was needed. Coppola said later they all succeeded in making their parts bigger. In this version, Dracula was played by Gary Oldman.

  Often credited as being very faithful to the book, titled Bram Stoker's Dracula, it also included a back story and subplot. Most notable in this version is Dracula changing appearance. He starts off looking very old and gradually looking younger as the film progresses. This version boasted a stellar cast with Keanu Reeves as Jonathon, Winona Ryder as Mina, Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing, Richard E Grant as Dr Jack Seward, Cary Elwes as Arthur Holmwood and Sadie Frost as Lucy. Monica Belluci also appeared as one of Dracula's brides, a role she is well known for. Unlike many other film adaptations, all the principal characters appear and Lucy has all three suitors. It portrayed Dracula as a more sympathetic character, more a tragic hero than a malevolent creature. Dark and gothic, it includes several sexual references including two love scenes. 

  In 2000 a Dracula film that has largely been forgotten came out starring Gerard Butler.

 Often, unfairly I feel, passed over, Dracula 2001 saw a gang of thieves unwittingly freeing the Count and letting him loose in New Orleans. In a way he almost recreates his persona, acquiring the three brides while trying to find his favourite, who in this version is a descendant of Van Helsing. The story of who Dracula actually is, is revealed towards the end and explains his aversion to both religious artefacts and silver. A good film in many ways, featuring Christopher Plummer, Johnny Lee Miller, Justine Waddel, Omar Epps and Jeri Ryan. A better film that perhaps it gets credit for, it was followed by a nonsensical sequel devoid of any of the original cast that found a following of the late night cable film lovers.

  There are many other Dracula films of course, including Blackula, which I suspect is a little non-PC these days, and one that apparently goes heavy on the kung fu. There was a time of course that Hollywood loved a bit of kung fu. In the universal films at least, Dracula became a movie monster along with Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman. 

  In 2006, the BBC treated us to a very erotic version at Christmas. This starred Marc Warren.

  A good story with a brilliant cast, it tends to be most remembered for the very erotic love scene between Dracula and Lucy. Sophia Myles played Lucy and both her and Warren did a lot of the promotional material for this seasonal treat. Of course, in keeping with tradition, the apparent defeat of Dracula didn't quite stick.

  Dracula as a novel and character, is one that in a lot of ways, now resemble little of what they were originally. Of course the novel is still out there for anyone who wants to get to know it. However Dracula has become such a big part of popular culture, precious few actually read the book anymore. Dracula is very unlikely to be forgotten or fade into obscurity, even if he will be remembered very differently than he was portrayed so long ago by Bram Stoker. I plan to read the book again, I have read it before, it will reach it's 200th birthday in the not too distant future. With luck, it will reignite the original story's popularity a little. In  the mean time, grab some garlic, put on a costume, heat up some popcorn and have a happy, haunted All Hallow's Eve. 

31 Days of Hallowe'en: Day Thirty

 Day 30:Vincent Price

(1911-1993)

Vincent Malloy is seven years old

He's always polite and does what he's told

For a boy his age, he's considerate and nice

But he wants to be just like Vincent Price

  Vincent Leonard Price Jr is one of best known horror actors of all time. On a par with Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff, he worked with both during his career. Known for his roles in horror he started as a character actor and one of his favourite roles was actually a comedic one in the film Champagne for Caesar. His first horror role was in the Boris Karloff film Tower of London (1939). 

   Price is probably best known for his roles in House of Wax, The Fly and The Abominable Dr Phibes. From 1953-1973 Price was a regular leading man in many horror films.  He actually appeared with Christopher Lee in the film The Oblong Box, an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe story. He appeared with Lee's regular onscreen partner Peter Cushing in Dr Phibes Rises Again, the sequel to The Abominable Dr Phibes and Madhouse, a weird film but which saw Price and Cushing spending a lot of screen time together. In Dr Phibes rises again, Peter Cushing only makes a cameo but I'm going to count it as a Price and Cushing film. The three famous horror actors only appeared in two films together. 

  In 1970 the three starred in science fiction conspiracy thriller, Scream and Scream Again. In 1983 they starred in comedy horror House of the Long Shadows. While we would expect more films starring three of the kings of the horror genre, we sadly only have those two. However Price, Lee and Cushing all in the same horror film may have been too much for us mere mortals so maybe they did us a favour. I do really want to see The Oblong box now. Christopher Lee's voice and Vincent Price's, with their screen presence? Stuff of dreams, and probably nightmares. 

  Vincent Price did voiceovers for many things. Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris a notable one. Although it was brief and they removed it far too soon, when the ride was refurbished they put it back along with some recordings they had not used originally. His laugh however, was always used. Vincent Price recorded a monologue as the opening of Alice Cooper's song Black Widow in 1975. Vincent Price also narrated the 1982 short film Vincent. The film is about a young boy called Vincent Malloy who likes to imagine he is Vincent Price. It is a stop-motion animation by Tim Burton. Vincent Price was Tim Burton's idol and the film started a friendship between the two which would last until Price's death in 1993. Price worked with Burton again in his last role in Edward Scissorhands. One of Price's last major roles was one of his favourites, the voice of Professor Ratigan in the Disney film The Great Mouse Detective in 1986.

 

  Vincent Price died from lung cancer at the age of 82. Nearly 20 years later his films are still loved, praised and in high demand. While he may always be remembered of a master of the macabre, he did so much more than horror films. Like other kings of horror, including Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Boris Karloff, there is something we can say without a shadow of doubt. There will never be another Vincent Price.

31 Days of Halowe'en: Day Twenty-Nine

 Day 29: The Invisible Man

    In 1897, Pearsons Weekly, published a serialisation of The Invisible Man by HG Wells. A scientist named Griffin, manages to find a way to turn himself invisible but fails to find a way to reverse it. In 1933 it was made into a film starring Claude Rains the it took off. Sequels, rewrites, variations on a theme for the next 100 years. In 2020 another Invisible Man film appeared. The first film since 1933 actually with the title, The Invisible Man. Of course it was also adapted for television, stage and radio. The Character has appeared in so many things it's easy to lose track. The Invisible Man almost became a movie monster. 

  Appearing in many films the original story is all but lost in translation these days. In the original, the procedure to turn himself invisible and his experiences following it are known only by the protagonist to start with. In the 1933 film both things unhinge him and he is somewhat of a sympathetic character. His crimes aren't due to malicious intent and are more a means of survival coupled with his deteriorating mental health. In the book he is possibly a sociopath or psychopath before his invisibility.

  In more modern incarnations his experiments are usually known to more people or he has been invisible for some time and has adapted as far as he can. While some adaptations have kept the deteriorating mental health as a part of his character others completely omit that part of the character. Sometimes he, much like a superhero, uses his ability to do good and in others, lives a relatively quiet life until he is called upon by others who need him for some reason. In many films he, at least at some point, seeks a cure and a way to become visible again. Sometimes he gives up and sometimes his quest is not mentioned but it always seems to be his ultimate goal.

  H.G. Wells, the author, was a prolific writer in many genres but is best remembered for his science fiction novels. Along with The Invisible Man, he best known works are probably, The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau and The War of the Worlds. 

   I personally have never read the book, perhaps I should one day. I have seen the 1933 film (I actually own it) I think I saw Hollow Man once but I can't remember. I haven't seen any other adaptations. I know there have been a couple of The Invisible Woman films but I think apart from the 1933 film the only film I have seen featuring the Invisible Man is The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Now that was a good film! In the film we also have the characters Allan Quatermain (King Soloman's Mines), Captain Nemo (20,000 Leagues Under The Sea), Wilhelmina Harker (Dracula), Dorian Gray (The Picture of Dorian Gray),  Tom Sawyer (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer), Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde (The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde) and Professor James Moriarty(Sherlock Holmes). The invisible man's name in the film was Frank Skinner.

  All in all the original Invisible Man from H.G. Wells 1897 novel seems to have slipped through the cracks and the incarnations of the character from adaptations and popular culture have taken over. I cannot comment on the 2020 film as I haven't seen it. I do hear it is loosely based on the novel so I highly doubt that it is in anyway a faithful adaptation, even an updated version. I do think that unless you have read the book, we don't have a real grasp on who he is or what exactly happens. I really should read the book and perhaps in the future I will. In the mean time I think I shall stick to the 1933 film (I am something of a Claude Rains fan). For the rest of you, there are at least 16 films based on it, 9 Tv series and 2 radio adaptations. By all means check one, or all of them out. Be all good and read the book, be sure to let me know how, whatever you watch/listen to/read goes. And if the doorbell rings and there's no-one there....maybe don't open the door too wide.

  

31 Days of Hallowe'en: Day Twenty-Eight

 Day 28: Burke and Hare

  In the 19th Century, Edinburgh, Scotland was a leading European centre of anatomical study. One of the things medical students have done for centuries and still do today as part of their training, is to dissect the human body. These days people donate their bodies to medical science but in the 19th century, the only bodies allowed to be used for for study were criminals who had been executed or died in prison. The supply of cadavers could not keep up with demand which led to the gruesome business of bodysnatching.

  In the dead of night body snatchers would break into graveyards, dig up freshly buried corpses and sell them to medical schools. With such a high demand the trade flourished After a while families became concerned, patrols were set up and watchtowers and mortsafes were built. While this at first sight was a good thing as it made bodysnatching more difficult, it pushed up the prices body snatchers could charge for the bodies they stole. This made the trade even more profitable.

  William Burke and William Hare were friends, Hare ran a boarding house in which Burke and his wife rented living space. One morning Hare found one of his tenants dead with outstanding rent, he turned to Burke and the two of them concealed the body and put a heavy weight in a coffin to make it look like the lodger had received a proper burial, it was a risky move but they got away with it. They sold the body to Dr Knox for £7 10s. As they left they were told that the anatomists would be happy to see them again if they had another body to dispose of. They had found a willing buyer and so decided to go into the trade of selling bodies but instead of bodysnatching they decided it would be easier and more profitable to kill.

  Burke and Hare selected their victims from the poorest members of the city. Often homeless and with no-one to miss them if they disappeared.  They would befriend them, get them drunk and then, in the dead of night, kill them. Owning a boarding house was of benefit to Burke and Hare, the place would often house the poor and places like it often had a high turnover of guests and new faces coming in and out regularly, no-one would question any residents disappearing. Over a period of ten months in 1828, Burke and Hare murdered 16 people, men, women and children, and sold the bodies to Dr Knox. The murders were done with such efficiency and stealth that details of the victims is scarce and vague. The steady supply of cadavers made Dr Knox's lectures extremely popular, however things took a turn when the students started to recognise the bodies they were dissecting.

  Soon after the disappearance of Mary Docherty, an Irish beggar, one of Hare's tenants noticed Burke and Hare acting suspiciously. He saw the pair leaving the house carrying an unusually heavy tea chest, he immediately alerted the police. A couple at the boarding house also had apparently seen Mary Dochety and after seeing Burke acting oddly,  secretly entered his room and saw the body of Mary under the bed. By the time they had alerted the police however, the body had been sold to Dr Knox, so the police did not find a body at the boarding house. The police had been suspicious of Dr Knox's medical practices for quite some time, their inquiry and an anonymous tip off, possibly from one on Knox's medical students, took them to his medical school where they discovered the body of Mary Docherty, their investigations led them straight to Burke and Hare.

  There was a public outcry and a call for Burke, Hare and Dr Knox to be hanged. However forensic testing was still in it's infancy at the time and Burke and Hare's method of murder was to asphyxiate their victims leaving little to no marks and no proof of murder. It also meant it was difficult for cause of death to be determined.  The police had very little to hold them on as they had no evidence, then a deal was made with Hare. If he would turn king's evidence on Burke, he would be given immunity. The public were not happy with this nor were they happy with Hare's wife Margaret being acquitted as was Burke's wife. After giving evidence Hare, with the assistance of police,  fled the city. No-one is certain what became of him.

  There is much debate over how much Dr Knox really knew about Burke and Hare's activities, many surgeons at the time did not ask questions when being provided with bodies. How he responded to the concerns of his students suggests he didn't really care. When one of his subjects was identified with no room for error, he immediately detached the head and club foot to prevent further identification. He also never alerted the authorities, even though the identified body on his table had not been ill nor a criminal. He was never charged with a crime and never spoke of his involvement with the pair. However his reputation took a serious hit and his peers gradually excluded him from university life.

  With Hare's testimony against him Burke was found guilty of murder and hanged in front of 25,000 people for his crimes. His body ended up in the same place as his victims, on an operating table to be dissected. His skeleton was preserved and is still on display today at the Anatomical Museum at Edinburgh University. His skin was tanned and used as binding for a pocket book which is on display at nearby Edinburgh Surgeon's Hall Museum along with his death mask.

    The horrific revelations in the press and the public outrage and shock that followed the crimes led to Parliament bringing out The Anatomy Act in 1832. This legalised the use of dead bodies left unclaimed by family members. This act laid to rest the gruesome trade of body snatching. However the evil deeds of Burke and Hare still haunt the dark streets of Edinburgh.

31 Days of Halowe'en: Day Twenty-Seven

 Day 27: The Beasts of Britain

  For years all over the United Kingdom there have been sighting of big cats. There are also wild cats and reports of livestock being slaughtered. There have been sightings of pumas, jaguars and unidentified big cats. Some people have even apparently encountered them. A boy who was scratched by one when told by his mother a cat couldn't have scratched him as badly as he had been responded "no it was a big cat Mummy it was as big as a dog". Whether this was a wildcat or big cat no-one knows for sure.

  

  There are so-called "experts" who dispute any sightings saying that big cats such as Jaguars would not be able to survive in the wild in Britain, then one gets caught on camera and all their explanations and theories are called into question. While there are wildcats native to Britain there are no big cats, yet they are sighted more frequently than is reported. 

  There are three "Beasts" of Britain that come from folklore of 'Phantom Cats' that many believe are big cats. 

1. The Beast of Bodmin: believed to be a puma
2. The Beast of Buchan: believed to be a lynx
3. The Beast of Exmoor: believed to be several cats including a leopard and panther

  There are people who say that it's impossible for them to be big cats but impossible is a strong word, improbable perhaps, but not impossible. The explanations of course are feasible. A wild cat mistaken for a big cat, a cross breed of domestic and wild cat. Exaggeration of the sighting of a domestic or wild cat. All are feasible and plausible but when a camera then snaps a picture of an apparently healthy pregnant jaguar the cracks in the "experts" opinion start to be more visible.

  It is highly likely that there are some big cats roaming around Britain. When the Dangerous Wild Animals Act passed in 1976, people in Britain owning animals such as wild cats and big cats had to get rid of them. It could be expensive and difficult to get a tiger (for example) off your hands, therefore a simpler and cheaper way is to simply let it out to fend for itself. Also if you own an animal which it is essentially illegal to own, if it escapes you're not exactly going to report it are you? A lot of people believe that the big cats roaming our land are ones that were let out in 1976 and have managed to survive, perhaps even breed to an extent. 

  While sightings of "beasts" have gone on from long before 1976, often due to folktales, they have not waned as much as perhaps you would expect in this "age of enlightenment". Experts are so often proved wrong and there is still so much about this world we do not understand, it does not take too large a stretch of the imagination to believe that we may share our shore with that of animals not native to our land. Wild boar were illegally reintroduced to our forests not too long ago and are thriving. Grey squirrels are not native to Britain and have all but eradicated out native red squirrels. Who's to say we do not have a few big cats happily living on our moors?

   As long as these sightings keep happening, we really cannot be sure. We also cannot be sure if the supernatural is not at work and these beasts are the beasts of old. It may be the fabled beasts still haunt our moors, it may be that big cats are merely keeping these legends alive. For every theory there are a few more, for every explanation there is an argument and for every opinion there is another. Supernatural beings or not, I do not find it so wholly unbelievable, that we do not walk these lands unaccompanied. 

31 Days of Hallowe'en: Day Twenty-Six

 Day 26: The Real Annabelle

   Annabelle is housed at the occult museum originally owned by Ed and Lorraine Warren. She is in a box with a warning for guests not to touch. Unassuming to look at Annabelle has a dark history.

  Annabelle is a Raggedy Ann doll who was purchased as a gift by the mother of a student nurse in 1970 for her, Donna's, 28th birthday. Donna was very happy with the gift and took it back to the apartment she shared with her friend, Angie. At first everything was fine, Annabelle was like an accessory in the house. After time though, Donna and Angie noticed that Annabelle seemed to move around the room of her own accord. Donna would seat Annabelle in the living room before she left in the morning and return to find her in the bedroom with the door closed. The two women started finding parchment paper around their house which had written on it "Help me". One day, Angie's boyfriend, Lou, was alone in the house. There are two stories about what happened, one is that he heard noises coming from Donna's bedroom like someone breaking in and upon investigating found nothing but Annabelle who was face down on the floor. The other story is that Lou awoke from a nap to find himself being attacked by the doll. Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his chest and found bloody claw marks on it. Two days later the marks vanished. Worried about Lou's traumatic experience and the other odd things happening around the doll, Donna and Angie asked for help from a medium. The medium held a séance and discovered that the doll was inhabited by the spirit of seven year old Annabelle Higgins, a girl whose body had been discovered on the site the apartment building had been built on during construction. The medium claimed the spirit was benevolent and just wanted to be loved. Felling bad for the girl Donna and Angie gave her permission to stay in the doll.

  Eventually, the girls wanted Annabelle's spirit to leave and asked for help from a priest. He contacted his superior who contacted the Warrens. The Warrens believed that the girls were making a big mistake in feeling sympathy for the doll. They believed that it was actually a demonic spirit looking for a human host. They believed spirits attached themselves to and possessed people, not objects. Demonic entities however did possess objects in the hope of finding a human host. The Warrens identified the events as evidence of demonic possession and asked the priest who contacted them to perform an exorcism outside of the apartment building and then took Annabelle into their possession to house in their occult museum. 

  The Warrens immediately experienced paranormal activity with Annabelle, the brakes on their car experienced problems as they drove home, Ed pulled out holy water and doused the doll, at which point the problems with the brakes disappeared. At home the doll would move about and even when put outside the house would return. The Warrens believed they needed to lock Annabelle up. A special box was made and inscribed with the Lord's Prayer and St Michael's Prayer. Ed would periodically say a binding spell over the case to make sure Annabelle, and the spirit, stayed inside. 

  Annabelle may not have moved but the spirit seems to still be around. A priest examined Annabelle and discounted her demonic power. When Ed warned the priest not to mock her he laughed. On his way home he was involved in a near fatal car crash that totalled his new car. He claimed to have seen Annabelle in his rear-view mirror just before the crash. Years later, another visitor tapped on the glass and laughed at how people could be scared by it. On his way home he lost control of his motorbike and crashed. He was killed instantly and his girlfriend barely survived. She claimed they had both been laughing about Annabelle just before the crash. 

  None of the people in the story of Annabelle told by the Warrens have ever been identified, nor have any of them come forward with their story. It may be that  Annabelle is nothing more than a normal Raggedy Ann doll. It may be that she is possessed. no-one has been willing to let her out to test the theory. Whether or not the stories are true, Annabelle has remained in her glass box for many years and will likely never be removed. I personally, do not want to tempt fate or mess with things I don't understand, so I don't think I'll try anything with Annabelle and I really hope she doesn't mind me writing about her. As far as I know, she had no problem with the film. I haven't researched this however so feel free to correct me either in the comments or via The Darkside Facebook page. Either way, Annabelle has become famous. A Raggedy Ann doll with a dark history...makes me rethink my desire to have one.

31 Days of Hallowe'en: Day Twenty-Five

 Day 25: Robert The Haunted Doll

  Let's face it, dolls can be scary! Like clowns and ventriloquist dummies, I think it is the frozen expression (though that baby expressions doll freaks me out). I never had a huge problem with dolls as a kid, I had a few barbies and Disney dolls. I never really was into bigger dolls though. I was given a doll at Christmas but I don't think I even played with her for a day before I completely lost interest. Now though, a lot of dolls freak me out. However no doll freaks me out like a haunted doll. There are a few haunted dolls out there.

  The most famous is probably Annabelle (who I will talk about in the next post) she even had a film made about her. Of course Hollywood used a much freakier looking doll in the film than the Annabelle in real life. She is not the only haunted doll though, there is Mandy who follows people with her eyes and makes things disappear. There's Okiku who is possessed by the spirit of her young owner who died not long after receiving her. She is pretty cool, her hair grows. There is Letta, who moves around on her own and there is Pupa, another possessed doll.

  There is no shortage of haunted doll stories and even alleged haunted dolls available to buy on ebay. One that is almost as famous if not as famous as Annabelle is Robert.

  Robert is 111 years old and lives at the East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida. He has supernatural abilities and is said to be responsible for car crashes, broken bones, job loss, divorce and many other misfortunes.

  Robert was originally owned by Robert Eugene Otto, and eccentric artist who was part of the prominent Key West family. Otto's Grandfather bought the doll as a Christmas gift in 1904. He was made by the Steiff company (who make the bears and actually made the first teddy bears). Otto had what people would call an unhealthy relationship with Robert. He brought the doll everywhere and talked about it as though it was alive. While not necessary unusual behaviour for a child it was seen as a little strange. 

  The legend says that Otto soon started blaming Robert for his childhood mishaps. It could have been laughed off as childish imagination but then adults starting noticing things. When Otto grew up he positioned Robert as though he was looking out of an upstairs window. Local children swore that the doll would move. sometimes they would see him move sometimes he would periodically appear and disappear at the window. Children avoided the house after that. When Otto died Robert was left in the house and when someone else moved in , visitors said they could hear footsteps and giggling. People saw him move and it was said his facial expression would change if anyone bad mouthed Otto in front of him. After 20 years of antics, Robert's new owner donated him to a museum.

  It was discovered that the Steiff company had not planned to sell Robert, he was made as part of a window display, he was essentially made to be a prop. Since Robert has been at the museum though he has become hugely popular. People come from all over the world to meet him and he is even sent letters. It is apparently bad luck if you don't respect Robert, people have blamed misfortune on their failure to respect him and some of the letters are people asking for forgiveness. If you want a photo with Robert you are supposed to ask him first. Many people who have visited the museum claim to have seen him move.

  Robert has been on Tv shows, has had a film made about him, he is on a ghost tour and has social media accounts. He is sent sweets as he apparently has a sweet tooth. His caretaker checks him every year to make sure he isn't damaged. His caretaker also sometimes responds to Robert's letters and emails on his behalf, especially if they're sent by children. 

  Robert is one of the scariest haunted dolls, his care worn face and almost caricature-esque soft toy disconcerting to look at for too long. If you do visit Robert, I would love to hear about anything that happens but do respect him. He's an old man with a chequered history after all.

31 Days of Hallowe'en: Day Twenty-Four

 Day 24: The Night the Devil Walked In Devon

   On 9th February 1885, the residents of East and South Devon, England, woke to find someone or something had left a 100 mile trail of hoofprints in the freshly fallen snow. They seemed to have been made by a creature walking upright on two legs with cloven hooves. The prints ended at one end of a drainpipe and began again at the other end, the creature apparently having crawled though. The drainpipe was 4inches in diameter. At another point, the cloven hooves continued over the roof of the barn. Inside the barn, a cow was found in the hay loft. There was absolutely no way it could have gotten up there, it couldn't have climbed the ladder and there was no other way up there. Other obstacles seemed to have just been walked over as if they weren't there or that height had no meaning.

  The prints themselves were 4 inches long, 3 inches across and between 8 and 16 inches apart, mostly in single file. There were many theories on how they occurred put forward, hopping mice, a kangaroo, badgers, even the trailing shackles of an experimental balloon. The problems with these explanations were numerous. For one, Kangaroos do not leave hoofprints, jump on buildings or take journeys through Devon at night. There was a theory that Kangaroos had escaped from somewhere but it was later found to be a false report made up to assuage the fears of parishioners. The wood mice is more likely as hopping mice can leave a trail that looks like hoofprints, however it does not explain where some of the hoofprints led and why they seemed to stop and start pretty abruptly. The badger  theory is problematic as badgers don't tend to leave footprints that look like a creature walking on two legs. They do have four after all. The balloon one is bizarre. Why would the balloon change it's height, leave such similar prints and not be seen? Though the wood mice theory is the most likely, it seems a little unlikely and does not explain the cow in the hayloft, no-one could explain that. Some people also reported that the footprints looked like they had been made by hooves that were hot. A sort of panic soon spread. There was talk of a terrifying creature leaving the trail and a hunt was launched but no such creature was found. 

  The incident was reported in The Illustrated London News and Bell's Life in Sydney. While there were other reports of similar incidents in other parts of the world, none were close to being on the same scale. When similar reports were made after this incident, they were very often found to be false or a hoax. In the end no clear and fully accepted explanations were ever given for the strange events on the night of 8th February 1885. In many homes, children hid in closets and under blankets when they heard what the hushed voices of the adults around the fireplace said. That the Devil had walked in Devon that night.

31 Days of Halowe'en: Day Twenty-Three

Day 23: Spring Heeled Jack

   Spring Heeled Jack was an entity that held the nation in a grip of terror for over 60 years. From 1837 onwards he terrorized the city of London and was never caught. While he is described as a character of folklore and an urban legend, he was sighted many times and even physically attacked people. Many people believed him to either be a demon from hell or the Devil himself. 

   While descriptions of Spring Heeled Jack varied, most described him as wearing a helmet and tight fitting white garment like an oilskin. He had eyes like fire and horribly clawed hands. Some say that he could change his appearance to deceive people and lure them to him, hence the slightly differing descriptions. 

    In October 1837 a girl by the name of Mary Stevens was walking to Lavender Hill, where she was working as a servant, after visiting her parents in Battersea. On her way through Clapham Common, a strange figure leapt at her from a dark alley. After immobilising her with a tight grip of his arms, he began to kiss her face, while ripping her clothes and touching her flesh with his claws, which were, according to her deposition, "cold and clammy as those of a corpse". In panic, the girl screamed, making the attacker quickly flee from the scene. The commotion brought several residents who immediately launched a search for the aggressor, but he could not be found.

  The next day, the leaping character is said to have chosen a very different victim near Mary Stevens' home, inaugurating a method that would reappear in later reports: he jumped in the way of a passing carriage, causing the coachman to lose control, crash, and severely injure himself. Several witnesses claimed that he escaped by jumping over a 9 ft (2.7 m) high wall while cackling with a high-pitched, ringing laughter. News quickly spread of this seemingly demonic figure and his ability to leap over high walls led to the press and public dubbing him "Spring Heeled Jack".

  Over time many people, mostly servant girls who were often obliged to walk home at night, complained of attacks from Spring Heeled Jack. Victims were reportedly terrified and often injured by his claws. There was a public outcry for something to be done but all hunts for Jack proved fruitless. It was reported that when encountered he would escape either by leaping over high walls or simply laughing and melting away. He was even sighted in Sussex, chasing and terrifying a gardener, he left over the high garden wall. 

  Some were sceptical but with so many reports and physical injuries occurring even skeptics started to wonder if perhaps this terrifying apparently superhuman being existed. One skeptical girl who thought the stories false became a victim herself.

  Jane Alsop knew better than to listen to the stories but on the night of 19 February 1838, she answered the door of her father's house to a man claiming to be a police officer, who told her to bring a light, claiming "we have caught Spring-Heeled Jack here in the lane". Thinking perhaps she had been wrong and the stories were true, she brought the person a candle, and noticed that he wore a large cloak. The moment she had handed him the candle, however, he threw off the cloak and "presented a most hideous and frightful appearance", vomiting blue and white flame from his mouth while his eyes resembled "red balls of fire". Miss Alsop reported that he wore a large helmet and that his clothing, which appeared to be very tight-fitting, resembled white oilskin. Without saying a word he caught hold of her and began tearing her gown with his claws which she was certain were "of some metallic substance". She screamed for help, and managed to get away from him and ran towards the house. He caught her on the steps and tore her neck and arms with his claws. She was rescued by one of her sisters, after which her assailant fled.

  Nine days after the attack on Miss Alsop, on 28 February 1838, 18-year-old Lucy Scales and her sister were returning home after visiting their brother. Lucy stated in her deposition to the police that as she and her sister were passing along Green Dragon Alley, they observed a person standing in an angle of the passage. She was walking in front of her sister at the time, and just as she came up to the person, who was wearing a large cloak, he spurted "a quantity of blue flame" in her face, which deprived her of her sight, and so alarmed her, that she instantly dropped to the ground, and was seized with violent fits which continued for several hours. Her brother added that on the evening in question, he had heard the loud screams of one of his sisters moments after they had left his house and on running up Green Dragon Alley he found his sister Lucy on the ground in a fit, with her sister attempting to hold and support her. She was taken home, and he then learned from his other sister what had happened. She described Lucy's assailant as being of tall, thin, and gentlemanly appearance, covered in a large cloak, and carrying a small lamp or bull's eye lantern similar to those used by the police. The individual did not speak nor did he try to lay hands on them, but instead walked quickly away. Every effort was made by the police to discover the author of these and similar outrages, and several persons were questioned, but were set free.

  Spring Heeled Jack's popularity as a figure of folklore increased while sightings waned. He became the subject of Penny Dreadfuls, plays and even a character in Punch and Judy shows. People began to feel a little safer as reported sightings continued to fall. Then in 1843, a wave of sightings swept the country.

                                                         

  Northamptonshire reported "the Devil himself, with horns and eyes of flame". East Anglia reported that attacks on mail coach drivers became common. A man in Devon was arrested after donning a costume to resemble Spring Heeled Jack to attack women. In 1855, footprints of the Devil appeared in Devon. (See next post). In the 1870s, sightings of Jack were reported in several different places including Peckham and Sheffield. Many reports followed then in August 1877, quite a notable one happened.

  A group of soldiers in Aldershot's barracks reported a sentry on duty at the North Camp peered into the darkness, his attention attracted by a peculiar figure "advancing towards him." The soldier issued a challenge, which went unheeded, and the figure came up beside him and delivered several slaps to his face. A guard shot at him, with no visible effect; some sources claim that the soldier may have fired blanks at him, others that he missed or fired warning shots. The strange figure then disappeared into the surrounding darkness "with astonishing bounds." While some believe this was a prank, no-one was charged with an offense and all the soldiers believed it couldn't have been a normal person.

  In Autumn 1877 Spring Heeled Jack was sighted and cornered in Lincolnshire but simply leapt away. In 1888 in Liverpool, he was sighted on rooftops and, in 1904, sighted again. On his final reported sighting he was again cornered but did not leap away. Instead, he laughed and melted away into the darkness. This time for good? 

 

 Spring Heeled Jack seamlessly fell into folklore, urban legend and fiction. Used as a bogey man for naughty children and a character in many works of fiction, the character eventually morphed into a benevolent character that acted as a precursor for pulp fiction and comic book superheroes. No-one was ever accused of being Spring Heeled Jack or claimed to be him. Many sceptics who saw him demonstrate his superhuman jumping abilities became convinced he was something paranormal.

  There are some sceptical people who believe the urban legend of Spring Heeled Jack was exaggerated and altered through mass hysteria. There may have been a person or persons who played elaborate pranks which seemed more supernatural or terrifying than they actually were and, when the reports became widespread and well-know, mass hysteria kicked in. If it was mass hysteria, it managed to last for a whole generation and reach from London to the North of England.

  There are many paranormal theories about what Spring Heeled Jack actually was. From what was reported he certainly wasn't human. One theory is that he was an extra-terrestrial entity with a non-human appearance with superhuman agility deriving from life on a high gravity world. Many think he was a demon either summoned by practises of the occult or just coming of his own will, possibly to incite spiritual unrest.

  Many people say Spring Heeled Jack is just an urban legend, one of many supernatural entities found in folklore around the world. Others say there is far too much evidence that he was real and it is quite an achievement for an urban legend to terrify a whole country for 60 years. Whomever or whatever Spring Heeled Jack was, he seems to gave gone, at least for now. The mystery of Spring Heeled Jack may never be solved but one thing is for sure, we cannot be sure he is really gone for good and it may lead to some people being forced to eat their words if he ever returns.