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Twenty years ago this very day, the twins were travelling to market – Willan on foot, Alys perched atop the colt so recently bought from a travelling pedlar. The pony was a pretty thing, glowing chestnut in the early morning light, and Alys was quite besotted with him, constantly reminding her brother that their father had bought the darling mount for her while her brother must walk.

Once upon a time, three sisters lived, of course, in a picturesque cottage on the edge of the woods. Now each of the girls had their own chores to do – Blanche looked after the vegetable garden, Roisin combed the woods for berries, mushrooms, and firewood, while Sorrel visited the seashore to fish and harvest seaweed. In this way, they lived happily for many years with never a cross word between them.

They came to fetch her in the dead of night, seven masked men taking her from the warmth of her feather-filled bed and out into the chill moonlight. She had known, of course, that they were coming yet her pulse quickened now that the moment was come.

I suspect that I am not alone in feeling that the best way to spend a dank February day is curled up under a cosy blanket, clutching a hot mug of tea in one hand & a suitably distracting tome in the other.  So here are some of my favoured titles which may assist you in escaping the dreariness of the season:

Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner

Once upon a time, Hellige was not the hirsute vision of loveliness that we now know & adore, but just another pretty little rich girl.

When not playing in the chateau grounds she was taught by a veritable battalion of tutors, schooled in the vital feminine arts of hairstyling & harpsichord, watercolour & waltz, floristry & fencing.

Thus it was at vast expense that young Hellige was moulded into the finest marriage material and looked upon as a grand investment by a father intent upon using her to advance himself amongst the creme of the aristocracy.

The Queen of Elphame

Often cited in Scottish folklore - Tam Lin, Thomas the Rhymer et al - & described in Scottish witch trials - Andro Man, Isobel Gowdie, Bessie Dunlop.

Fair complexion, red hair, "peerlessly beautiful".  Clad in green or white, riding white horse or accompanied by white deer.

Uses physical attractions to entrance human men (often poets) & bind them to her, usually with their consent & for agreed period.  Also abducts women as nursemaids for her children.

Nicnevin/NicNemhain

I do love digging through dictionaries of curious, rare, obselete & otherwise forgotten words - so many gems to unearth!  Hence I thought I m ight make a record of some of them, both for my own reference & in the hopes that someone else may also find amusement therein.

Let us begin with A...

Addlepated - Eccentric, first recorded in 1614.  A simple conflation of addled (confused) & pate (head).

Aeromancy - Divination according to the condition of the air/atmosphere, first recorded in 1594. 

Malinja was somewhat precocious, learning to fly before she was three years old, & venturing upon on solo hunting expeditions at the age of eight. Oh, so many many years ago!  And many were the kind-hearted souls who stopped to assist the lost young girl, sobbing gently at the roadside. I wish I could say that they lived to regret their charitable instincts, but, alas, they did not live at all.

Although some of the most iconic iterations of the vampire in popular culture were created in England (including Bram Stoker's Dracula himself, of course, but also Christopher Lee's portrayals in the Hammer Horror movies of the 1960s & 70s, & Bauhaus's gothic rock Bela Lugosi's Dead come to mind) there are surprisingly few instances of undead blood-drinkers in British folklore. They are scarce, but not entirely unheard of...

Medieval Menace

Any new themed collection of work is an excuse for yours truly to make a trip to the bookstore.  This time I have been immersed in the realm of Nosferatu's kin, & what follows is - in no particular order - a mixture of "fact" & fiction that has kept me occupied as the nights draw in.

Vampire bat sketch, October 2024