# gothicadvent creepy christmas victorian folklore history isleofwight otd art mementomori ukiyoe renaissanceinvention woodcutwednesday

I am the Hot Dog Fairy. I steal wieners from humans who insist on barbecuing in the middle of winter. I usher in the season of Silent Nitrates.

https://t.co/FZMZFNtcuf

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2020-12-10

After 800 years, The Impudent Edda finally picks up where its medieval forebears left off, bringing The Edda Trilogy to its inevitable and fateful conclusion: in an alleyway behind a dive bar in Boston. https://t.co/Ai0xP9Fsyr

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2020-12-09

Some delightful Victorian Christmas cards to fill your heart with terror this festive season.

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2020-12-09

Good Morning Scotland has it's very own Krampus going by the name of 'Crom Dubh na Nollaig' (The Dark Crooked one of Christmas). As proof of his existence children were told the howling winds coming down the chimney was him screaming!! 🗣🎄🔥

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2020-12-09

An old English superstition stated that a wild bird flying into the house was an omen of death. So when birds began appearing on new-fangled cards in the era, some people wouldn't have them in their homes.

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2020-12-03

Some of the witches of the brilliant for Her art...oh, her art. 😍

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2020-12-03

At this time of year the soul stealer and sin eater will meet in the centre of Newport at midnight; they play a game of chance for the immortal spirit of those that stumble by.

Who wants to hear a story of that encounter?

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2020-12-03

Scholars have connected the Yule period to the Wild Hunt (a ghostly procession in the winter sky), the god Odin (who is attested in Germanic areas as leading the Wild Hunt and bears the name Jólnir), and increased supernatural activity.

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2020-12-02

Eberhard Kieser was born 1583.

Among his work is the book Icones Mortis Sexaginta Imaginibus, which included work from Hans Holbein's "Dance of Death" series. The below woodcuts are from the 1648 edition.

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2020-12-02

Beware the Jolakotturinn (Yule Cat). I live in Iceland's frosty clime. I eat those who do not buy new clothes during Yuletide, purchase socks or be devoured. In the summer I frequent Florida's beaches.

https://t.co/DGdFfi4hDw

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2020-12-02

In several European countries, there are legends claiming that anyone born on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or one of the 12 Nights of Christmas, will be a werewolf. In some versions, baby boys will be werewolves & girls will be witches.

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2020-12-02

The toadstone, (aka bufonite, Latin bufo, "toad"), is a mythical stone thought to be found in the head of a toad & an antidote to poison. 🐸
Supposedly formed in the heads of frogs, toadstones are really fossilized teeth from ray-finned fish in the Jurassic era.

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2020-11-25

I am the moon rabbit, I live on the moon pounding the elixir of immortality in my mortar and pestle. I quite fancy rice cakes, but will nibble on anything green.

Art: 1. Shoson Ohara, 3. Hokugen. My photo of rabbit statue from Meigetsuin temple, Kamakura. https://t.co/YrLN1abH3k

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2020-11-25

I am a Lempo (aka will-o-wisp). I live in Scandanavia's lush forests. I entice humans with the promise of treasure, but ultimately lead them into danger. As insubstantial as I am, I eat light, whipped cream is my favorite. Add a cherry and I might spare you harm.
https://t.co/84T21QDlU0

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2020-11-25

Travels with Ptolemy!

1540 hand-colored Cosmography with a side order of (putative) cannibalism.
One of my favorite woodcuts in

Join our free Virtual Tour on Friday, 2 pm Central!
https://t.co/shgIkqc8uH

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2020-11-18

A ‘gret & konnyng man in astronomye’ & ‘renowned in all the world’, Roger Bolingbroke was one of three scholars implicated in the conspiracy to bring about the death of Henry VI. Accused of treason & sorcery, he was hanged, drawn & quartered at Tyburn 1441.

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2020-11-18

Historians have uncovered evidence that pirates practiced gay marriage, which they called matelotage. Male partners would exchange gold rings & vow to share everything they plundered, & also fulfill each other's physical/romantic needs.

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2020-11-18

the winter ghost story pre-dates the modern Christmas, with short days & long nights this was always a time when the dead feel close. But was the Victorian love of Christmas ghosts helped by the flicker of shadowy new gaslights giving off hallucinogenic vapours?

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2020-11-12

Outstanding artwork by Paul Kidby, an English artist best known for his art based on Terry Pratchett's "Discworld". https://t.co/MSGhs80Gj0

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2020-11-11

According to some Scandinavian folktales witches could create 'troll cats' from human hair and nails. It's said that they looked like a ball, a rabbit, a hare or a regular cat. They stole milk and cream and brought it back to the witch that had created them.

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2020-11-04