It’s 1901. Author Arthur Conan Doyle is on holiday when he first hears whispers of a chilling local legend – spectral hounds said to tear across the wilds of Dartmoor under cover of darkness.
A tale of an evil squire. A cursed family. And a pack of demonic dogs haunting the moors.
We’re delving into the story of how this eerie West Country folklore inspired one of the greatest gothic thrillers of all time: The Hound of the Baskervilles – and why its creation posed a huge dilemma for Doyle and his most famous character, Sherlock Holmes.
Joining Michelle is dark heritage expert Dr Romany Reagan to dig into folklore, fear, and the beasts that stalk our minds.
By Romany Reagan
Written accounts of witchcraft, witch trials, cunning folk, and folk magic were largely recorded by the Church, with all the prejudices associated with a one-sided narrative. Given these practices were handed down generation to generation through oral histories as a form of intangible heritage, only the Church’s ‘official’ version of these practices has traditionally survived as our record. Luckily for researchers, instructions for creating witch bottles were written down and tangible items such a old shoes and written curses were tucked into walls kept safe from destruction in their hidden places. Stepping away from the ‘official’ texts to these scraps and personal finds can help us learn from another perspective about these practices, offering a fascinating look at the fears—and sometimes wrathful vengeances—secreted away in hearths and walls by our ancestors.
The following is an excerpt from a talk I gave at the Museum of the Home (formerly the Geffrye Museum) in November 2019, ‘Witch Bottles & Worn Shoes: Home Protection Folklore Practices’.
Continue reading Witch Bottles & Hidden Curses: Objects of Protection; Objects of Vengeance →
Folklore, legends, myths, and lost histories from the British Isles – collected by Dr Romany Reagan
Blackthorn & Stone 