Tag Archives: Folklore

Magical Skins: The Selkie’s Transformation

As soon as the seal was clear of the water, it reared up and its skin slipped down to the sand. What had been a seal was a white-skinned boy George Mackay Brown ‘Pictures in the Cave’ In response to … Continue reading

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CFPs and Talks

This an admin-esque post just drawing people’s attention to some CFPs and a talk that might be of interest to our followers. Firstly, there is a CFP for the Victorian Popular Fiction Association which will be holding its conference from … Continue reading

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‘Witches’ Brew’ at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, February 2016

It’s not just vampires, werewolves and zombies that draw our interest at OGOM. We are equal opportunity supernatural entities and Sam has certainly been flying the flag for witches. (She has blogged about the ‘The Emergence of the Sympathetic Witch’, … Continue reading

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CFP: Reflected Shadows: Folklore and the Gothic, 15-17 April 2016, Kingston University

Very last minute, I know–but still time! This looks a great conference, and I must try and get my proposal done. Still time to offer a paper for “Reflected Shadows: Folklore and the Gothic” (15-17 April 2016 at Kingston University). … Continue reading

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Have Yourself A Gothic Little Christmas from OGOM

OGOM wishes you a gothic little Christmas! Have yourself a gothic little Christmas Let your heart be light From now on, our troubles will be out of sight Have yourself a gothic little Christmas Make the Yuletide dark From now … Continue reading

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The Publication of Grimm’s Fairy Tales

On this date (20 December) in 1812, the Grimm brothers published the first edition of their Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales). Richard Cavendish writes about it here.

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Black Dogs and Hell Hounds

Ted Hughes described this time of year as ‘The month of the drowned dog’ in his evocative poem ‘November’ where after long rain ‘the land  was sodden as the bed of an ancient lake/ Treed with iron and was bird … Continue reading

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Britain’s Medieval Vampires – Review

Last night I caught up with ‘Britain’s Medieval Vampires’ on Channel 4. The programme looked at a number of ‘deviant’ burials which had occurred in the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain and related them to a 12th-century text, the ‘Life and … Continue reading

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How Did I Choose Me My Witchcraft Kin? My Past and Future in Witches

‘My Nannie says I’m a child of sin. How did I choose me my witchcraft kin?’ (Waterhouse, ‘The Magic Circle’, 1886, thanks to Janette for this) I found myself in the north of England at the weekend for the Gothic … Continue reading

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Witch-Finding, Marina Warner

Set your alarms for 10.00pm tonight (or head to BBC iPlayer tomorrow) in order to hear Marina Warner’s edition of Radio 3’s Free Thinking, ‘Witch-Finding’. The show includes Catherine Spooner talking about the history of witchcraft trials. If you are … Continue reading

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