folklore | Moore & Reppion

New Daily Grail post: Alton Towers’ Wicker Man and Ye Olde English Theme Parks of Doom

The Wicker Man and The Beornen Today (January 8th, 2018) UK theme park Alton Towers has made a somewhat unexpected announcement. Spring 2018 will see the opening of a new[…]

Haunted Advent Calendar Day 7

Free Articles from Darklore Volume 9

If you haven’t yet managed to get your hands on a copy of the newly released anthology Darklore Volume 9, you can now read three articles from it completely free[…]

Double #FolkloreThursday post: Hare’s Eggs for Easter, and Invoking the Spirits of Place

Hare’s Eggs at Easter As the Easter weekend draws close, children and adults alike anticipating a chocolate egg binge, the internet is alive with articles on the “true” origins of[…]

New article on Daily Grail: Oh apple tree, We wassail thee

“Wæs þu hæl” is an Anglo Saxon toast meaning “be thou hale” (“be in good health“). The toast, if not the customs which the term has come to be associated[…]

British Ash Tree Folklore, from Fortean Times #297

This short Forum piece was originally published in Fortean Times #297, released in January 2013 (dated February 2013 on the cover). Reposted here for possible #FolkloreThursday interest The common ash[…]

Daily Grail Strange & Norrell articles: V – The Raven King

My fifth and final Strange & Norrell piece for the Daily Grail is now online. It’s called The Raven King. I’ve really enjoyed writing the S&N pieces (almost as much[…]

Daily Grail Strange & Norrell articles: IV – Magic and Madness

Today (the 24th of June) is Fairy Day, so what better way to celebrate than with a new Strange & Norrell piece? My penultimate article of the series, Magic and Madness, is[…]

Daily Grail Strange & Norrell articles: III – Away with the Fairies

Susanna Clarke’s 2004 historical fantasy novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell has been adapted into a seven part television series by Peter Harness, currently airing on BBC One and BBC[…]

Daily Grail Strange & Norrell articles: II – On Fairies and Witchcraft

Susanna Clarke’s 2004 historical fantasy novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell has been adapted into a seven part television series currently airing on the BBC (beginning on BBC America June[…]

Daily Grail Strange & Norrell articles: I – The Language of Birds

In March 2006 Leah and I flew over to Dublin, Ireland for the first time in either of our lives as guests at the third annual Phoenix Convention (or P-Con,[…]

Saint Mark’s Eve

Today is the Eve of the Feast of Saint Mark – a date with a number of strange customs and traditions attached to it. You’ve probably never heard of any[…]

Oak Apple Day: Article on DailyGrail.com

May is an important month in the British folklore calendar, falling as it does midway between spring equinox and summer solstice. It is the month when the rising sap reaches[…]

Lightning Tree Lore in Fortean Times #297

I have a little Forum piece about some of the British folklore surrounding Ash trees in the February issue of Fortean Times. Ashes were once believed to be a magnet[…]

John Reppion’s Cabinet of Curiousities on Yo Liverpool

For the last couple of months I’ve been writing a (semi) regular posts over at Yo Liverpool about weird history, forteana, folklore and other fun stuff related to Liverpool and[…]

Darklore VI reviewed on The Magonia Blog

Every issue of Dark Lore is eagerly anticipated, and the sixth is no disappointment. The twelve essays cover a huge range of the paranormal, the anomalous, and just simply the[…]

Suggested stuff to buy this gift giving season #8 – Darklore Vol 6

Ladies and gentlemen: the sixth instalment of Darklore – a fantastic anthology series covering hidden history, fringe science and general Forteana – is now available for sale. Contents: Cat Vincent[…]

Coming soon… [revised, updated and fixed]

ometimes with Twitter, and Facebook, and Google+, and everything else, we get so used to putting bitesized chunks of information out quickly, as and when, we forget that some of the more major stuff can easily get lost amid more trivial things. So, for the benefit of those of you who might not be addicted to any of the above sites (as well as those who are but just missed any of this info as it zipped past), here are few exciting bits of Moore & Reppion news: … Read the rest