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Tag: Mysterious
Supernatural Wales
Wales is a land that has an abundance of folklore, legends, customs and supernatural occurrences, both in out of the way ruins and within it’s busy towns and cities.
Whilst Halloween in the UK has been influenced by American customs, Wales still has a few customs and traditions of it’s own.
Welsh Halloween Customs
T. H. THOMAS
Image caption,An illustration depicting a Welsh witch, also known as a Gwrach
A BBC article from a few years back, about Welsh Halloween traditions.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46019969
Many places in Wales are hosting special events over Halloween including tours and ghost hunts.
If you want to explore places yourself, please be careful, be respectful and get the landowners permission.
Enjoy.
The Most Haunted Places in Wales.
Information taken from the Paranormal Database reveals the spookiest places in Wales.
https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/19635365.new-study-reveals-spookiest-places-wales/
Spookiest Welsh Town
Newport is apparently the scariest and most haunted Welsh Town.
Supernatural Cardiff
Cardiff Castle.
On the other hand Cardiff is also supposed to be the most haunted and spookiest place in Wales.
https://nation.cymru/news/cardiff-the-most-haunted-place-in-wales-according-to-paranormal-database/
Haunted lighthouse.
The Point of Ayr Lighthouse, near Prestatyn, North Wales, is said to be haunted by a former keeper.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/nostalgia/haunted-talacre-lighthouse-guarded-keeper-21827087
Beddgelert.
Would you stay at the Royal Goat Hotel? (Image: Daily Post Wales)
The legend of Gelert, the hound, is attached to this village. It’s an interesting story, though all is not quite what it seems.
https://www.mylondon.news/whats-on/beautiful-welsh-village-thats-rumoured-21671334
Haunted Silver Mine
The ghosts of Llywernog Silver Mines have been investigated by a team from Haunted Hunts.
Gwrych Castle
An aerial shot of Gwrych Castle before the temporary roofs were installed (Image: Chambers Conservation Ltd). Walesonline.
Made famous by I’m a Celebrity, this castle is said to be haunted by a number of spectres including a poltergeist butler.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/im-celebritys-gwrych-castle-haunted-21836311
Some Haunted Welsh Pubs to Visit.
Menai bridge and Caernarfon.
Two pubs with the same name, The Anglesey Arms are both said to be haunted.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/spooky-connection-between-two-north-21824466
Cardiff.
A pub manager fears the boozer’s resident spook nicknamed ‘Lady Lansdowne’ may leave staff too scared to come into work. Walesonline.
Spooky goings on at The Lansdowne Pub in Cardiff.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/watch-pub-manager-spooked-ghost-21538199
Carmarthen.
Is there a ghost at Cwrw, Carmarthen ?
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/landlord-spooked-video-footage-shows-21836178
Gors Fawr Stone Circle.
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Folklore
A few interesting articles on folklore and traditions. The UK has a wealth of folklore, myths, legends, traditions and customs. Some are widespread, others confined to a specific place.
People are familiar with celebrations like Christmas and Easter, yet up and down the country there are many events that take place throughout the year.
If you do visit any of the places I mention, please be respectful, don’t damage anything, don’t litter and ask permission if it’s private property. Some places have tours so worth checking what’s going on.
Enjoy.
Caynton Caves.
The opening to the cave
The caves are on the Historic England data base and are thought to be 18th/19th century in date. They were probably a grotto. So not a new discovery. Caves though attract a lot of folklore so no surprise that these particular ones have been connected with the Knights Templars.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/youtuber-discovers-knights-templar-cave-21787426
Hertfordshire Puddingstone.
Image caption,The stone’s discovery has been called “fascinating” by Hertfordshire County Council
A piece of rock, known as Puddingstone, found during construction of a bypass, has been placed in the village of Little Hadham. There are folklore traditions associated with this particular type of rock.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-58663801
John Dees Mirror
John Dee was an adviser to Elizabeth I and was rumoured to have dabbled in the black arts. His Obsidian mirror is now thought to have originally come from Mesoamerica.
The Pendle Witches.
The tragic story of the Pendle witches in Lancashire.
Victorian Death Traditions .
The Victorians had a lot of traditions around death, however I’m a bit dubious about some of these. Myths have sprung up about certainly practices that are not quite true.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/creepy-victorian-death-traditions-sin-25184077
Plant lore.
Some unusual plants some of which have folklore and traditions attached to them.
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/weird-plants.html
Monster legends including Loch Ness.
A new book, Scottish Legends: 55 Mythical Monsters by Dr Aaron Mullins, delves into the myths and legends of Scotland. Loch Ness if of course included.
Brecon Folklore.
The Brecons are a beautiful place to visit and are steeped in legend and folklore. One of the most famous stories concerns the Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach, a fairy who married a mortal.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/travel/beauty-spot-brecon-beacons-steeped-21708221
Conkers.
I can remember playing conkers as a child, It’s not as popular as it once was, though it has nothing to do with health and safety gone bad as some would like to think. Things change. Who knows it might become popular again.
Well Dressing.
Villages Saddleworth have continued the old tradition of Well Dressing this year.
Scottish Halloween Traditions.
Halloween is considered to be an American import yet the traditions and folklore ofHalloween are very old, especially in places like Scotland, Ireland and to a lesser extent in Wales and Cornwall, although at one point they were probably more widespread across the UK generally.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/family-kids/scottish-halloween-traditions-you-need-25158375
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The Strange and Unusual
Some interesting, unusual and maybe a little strange, stories that have caught my eye.
From doorbell ringing slugs to a 19th century Astronomer with a pyramid grave, the UK certainly has some interesting and sometimes bizarre stories to tell.
Enjoy.
Slug Rings Doorbell.
An amusing story of a slug ringing someones doorbell.
A spider decided to make it’s home in front of mine. It looked like a giant spider was attacking the flats opposite.
Unexplained Portsmouth.
Portchester Castle. Picture: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
From the disappearance of Lionel ‘Buster’ Crabb to UFOs and unsolved murders, Portsmouth has it’s fair share of mysteries.
https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/6-of-portsmouths-most-shocking-unsolved-mysteries-3394320
Lightning Folklore.
Some folklore and stories concerning lightning.
I was camping during a violent storm in Ashdown Forest and a tree next to the campsite got struck by lightning. I have never been so frightened.
Mystery Vehicle in Devon.
Local people have been speculating on the origins of this unusual vehicle. I think the suggestion it’s aliens is someone having a bit of fun.
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/mystery-alien-vehicle-zips-through-6031869
John Dee’s Mirror.
John Dee’s Obsidian mirror may have Aztec origins.
A very interesting article about mirrors and they’re mystical and occult history.
I would recommend going to see this and other items that belonged to John Dee in the British Museum.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-aztec-origins-of-a-mysterious-elizabethan-mirror
British Big Cats.
A Countryfile podcast on mystery big cats in the Cotswolds.
I grew up not far from the haunt of the Beast of Bluebell Hill although I never saw anything myself.
However I do know a few people who have seen big cats at Bluebell Hill and in other parts of the country.
https://www.countryfile.com/podcast/mystery-big-cats-cotswolds/
Another Welsh Dinosaur.
A dinosaur fossil, found in the 1950’s in Wales, has been discovered to be a new species and has been named Pendraig milnerae.
The Natural History Museum, Wales in Cardiff, is a great place to visit. It has a Dinosaur gallery plus a model and fossil remains of Dracoraptor hanigani, which was found in 2014 not far from Cardiff, as well as other fossils found in Wales.
Ladybird Invasion.
Basically the weather is on the turn, Winter is coming and ladybirds are looking for a nice place to hibernate, which just so happens to be human dwellings.
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/uk-ladybird-infestation-2021-hits-21811595
Washed up Sea Creatures.
By-the-wind-sailors a colonial hydroid, have been washing up on Welsh beaches. The Autumn and Winter storms often wash them ashore around the British coast.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/strange-looking-by-wind-sailor-21805537
Letters Blaming Satan for Covid, Posted Through Residents Doors.
Residents in Birmingham are receiving letters claiming Satan is responsible for the Covid Pandemic.
Mystery Wooden Head in Norfolk.
Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of a carved wooden head said to be associated with Witchcraft, that was stolen in 1967.
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/weird-norfolk-witchcraft-mystery-field-dalling-8392226
Gold Necklace Discovered During Fireplace Renovation in Wales.
The necklace could have been deliberately placed by the fireplace to protect the cottage from bad luck.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/buried-gold-necklace-protected-north-21780475
The Irish Cave Where Halloween Was Born.
PHOTOGRAPH BY PHOTOGRAPH RONAN O’CONNELL
Supposedly Halloween has it’s roots in Iron Age Ireland. I’m sceptical, Iron Age tribes weren’t restricted to Ireland and what sparse evidence we have suggests similar festivals over a wide area of Europe.
The 19th Century Grave of Charles Piazzi Smyth, Astronmer Royal For Scotland.
Charles Piazzi Smyth had some interesting ideas about the Egyptian Pyramids, hence his Pyramid tomb in St John’s Sharow Churchyard, Ripon.
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UFOs UK
More mystery lights, UFOs and a bit of Alien news from around the UK.
UFO Writer John Hanson
A UFO investigator in Warwickshire has set up a UFO museum.
https://www.stratford-herald.com/news/warwickshire-investigator-searching-for-ufo-answers-9216996/
Atlas V
SIMON WOODLEY
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No. It’s the exhaust product of an orbital manoeuvring system, as seen above South Shields
The Atlas V launch caused a flurry of news articles about strange lights in the sky.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-58719814
Mystery light in the sky seen over Greater Manchester.
And some over Deeside.
https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/19604043.mysterious-lights-sky-seen-flint-morning/
Merrivale Stone Row
Standing stones and Aliens.
https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/dartmoors-cider-making-stonehenge-site-5939126
Preston’s first UFO conference.
Last but not least some UFO investigators in the West Midlands.
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Keep Looking Up
A look at various news stories of “mystery lights” across the UK.
(Richie Davidson/Shutterstock )
Red Ufo seen in the skies above Kent.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/glowing-red-ufo-fiery-trail-24870019
A Dorset prison was apparently visited by a Ufo which gave prisoners a rash.
Guardian article about Ufos.
More crop circle news.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/england-crop-circles-farmers-aliens-b1915799.html
Strange lights spotted over Liverpool.
Disc shaped lights over Kent.
Ufo documentary filmed in Norfolk and Suffolk.
https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/norfolk/news/ufo-documentary-filmed-in-norfolk-and-suffolk/
New Brighton Ufo mystery. Or not.
https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/19554862.haunted-wirral-new-brighton-ufo-mystery/
Penguins are not Aliens.
The Wakefield Crop Circle which has suddenly appeared near Sandal Castle (Image: Steel City Drone Pilot)
A star shaped crop circle in Yorkshire.
Student films ‘ufo’ over Glasgow.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/brit-convinced-hes-filmed-ufo-24891376
An alien boyfriend.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/abbie-bela
Violet light baffle Angus residents.
Mysterious blue lights over Leeds photographed from Meanwood (Image: Emma Shaw)
Mystery light over Leeds.
https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/news/leeds-news/northern-lights-leeds-mysterious-blue-21593964
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The Strange and Unusual in the News
The UK media and public has always been partial to the odd and unusual. It’s why Ufo stories are more popular than articles about Astronomy, even though the Universe is amazing, full of bizarre and interesting objects.
People like a mystery hence the news articles in national and local papers about ghosts, bigfoot, sea serpents, weird happenings and Ufos to name just a few. It’s not a recent phenomena either. Spring Heeled Jack from the Victorian period springs to mind.
Humans like to tell stories. Any unusual happenings, will be told and retold, with added embellishments, and maybe that’s how folklore, myths and legends are born. Which of course continues to this day.
Bela Lugosi as Dracula.
St Mary’s Church in Whitby has put up a sign asking visitors not to ask staff where Dracula’s grave is.
A walker found a fish trapped inside a Jellyfish on a beach near Padstow in Cornwall.
https://www.livescience.com/fish-trapped-inside-jellyfish.html
Coastguards ordered people out of the sea at Boscombe Beach in Bournemouth, after spotting a large animal. Often Shark sightings in the UK are of Basking Sharks, which eat plankton and are harmless as are other species of shark in the UK. Bit of an over reaction.
Delving into the mysterious with the legend of the Black Shuck which supposdly haunts the Cambridgeshire fens and is said to have inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Black Shuck is said to haunt other areas of East Anglia and Black Demon Dog legends are part of the folklore in other parts of the UK too.
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/black-shuck-haunted-ghost-story-20848831
UK canine legends from Black Shuck, shape shifters, Guardian spirits and Werewolves.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/uks-most-terrifying-canine-legends-24346974
A black fox has been spotted on Sheringham Golf course, Norfolk with some drawing parallels to the Black Shuck legend.
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/rare-black-fox-spotted-on-sheringham-cliffs-8097500
Old woodcut of a Mermaid.
Is there a yeti in the Brecks ? Norfolk author includes local legends in mythical beasts book including a Mermaid and a manbeast.
https://www.edp24.co.uk/lifestyle/norfolk-psykey-films-founder-first-book-8176136
Werewolf woodcut.
Man spends 30yrs hunting werewolves after sighting one in Yorkshire in the 90s.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/mans-30-year-werewolf-hunt-23890100
Hawkmoth Caterpillars cause a stir in Manchester.
As do the Hawkmoths themselves.
Vintage sea monster illustration.
Sea Monsters and their inspiration. NHM article about the real animals behind sea monster sightings.
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/sea-monsters-inspiration-serpents-mermaids-the-kraken.html
Can’t forget the Loch Ness Monster. Nessie enthusiast claims they have evidence of the size and appearance of the monster.
A dogman is reported to have been seen multiple times in different places by the same person.
Bigfoot.
British Big Foot sightings. Back in the 90s someone claimed to have seen an Ape on Bluebell Hill, near the Medway Towns in Kent. Bluebell Hill is better known for it’s hitchhiking ghost.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/british-bigfoot-hunter-shares-fifteen-24176886
Pterosaurs chilling at the beach.
Beware of rogue Pterosaurs on your bird feeder.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/uk-ideal-resting-stop-5ft-23918037
Carved wooden creature, All Saints, Barrow, Suffolk.
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UK Big Cats
Big cats, usually black, have been spotted in the UK for decades. I can remember reports from the 1980s where I grew up, in the Medway towns. It was known as the Beast of Bluebell Hill.
There are various hypotheses concerning Big Cat sightings.
- They are ghosts.
- Folklore.
- Something to do with Aliens.
- Escaped exotic pets.
- Other animals misidentified.
- Hallucinations.
Exotic animals have escaped from Zoos and private collections over the years. Some have suggested that escaped or released big cats are breeding in the UK countryside.
Many reports may very well be other animals such as dogs, misidentified. People getting a brief glimpse perhaps.
In some cases reports have been taken very seriously with authorities issuing warnings and searches made for the animal.
Here’s a few Big Cat news stories from the UK reported over the last few months.
19th century Tiger illustration.
London Police Reveal Big Cat Reports since 2015.
https://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/19498622.london-police-reveal-big-cat-reports-since-2015/
Big Cat sightings in South London.
https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/19478525.big-cat-sightings-reported-south-london/
Big Cats in Worcestershire.
https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/19484696.big-cat-sightings-spotted-across-worcestershire/
Big Cats loose in Hampshire.
https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/19467145.big-cats-still-loose-hampshire/
Also in Oxfordshire
https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/19487000.big-cats-still-loose-oxfordshire/
Dorset has some too.
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/19483239.big-cats-still-loose-dorset/
A Lion amongst other Big Cats spotted in Sussex.
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/19449309.police-reveal-big-cat-reports-including-lion-sussex/
Big cat Spotted in Chester.
https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/big-cat-spotted-chester-fcs-21164421
‘Scary’ moment woman saw big cat ‘watching her’ in garden.
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/scary-moment-woman-saw-big-5647333
Man sees large black cat with ‘yellow eyes’ while driving along the M56 near Chester Services
Big Cat sighting on Anglesey.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/puma-spotted-anglesey-nature-reserve-21074840
Big Cat seen in a Glasgow Park.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/terrified-woman-says-growling-black-24588451
Holywell Black Cat, North Wales.
https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/19419839.holywell-big-cat-caught-video/
19th century engraving.
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