You can find several of these photos in my Etsy shop, A Wyrd Of Her Own. More prints will be added to the shop soon.
The Photos I’m Most Proud Of Taking In 2022 – Part I
Tag: Folklore
Cunning Folk Magazine : The Air Issue
I was depressed and suicidal when the debut issue of Cunning Folk emerged a few years ago. I wanted it badly. But I didn't buy it. It was around £15 or so, with the postage and packing and the ever-so-miserable voice in my ever-so-heavy head said I couldn't afford it. I watched, from a distance, as this new… Continue reading Cunning Folk Magazine : The Air Issue
Go Not Near Her She Is Of Witching Way – Things From The Pages Of My Notebook
For weeks and weeks and weeks, I’ve been hounding myself to go back through my notebooks and copy out everything significant. I finally got around to doing it today but only managed to plough through three of five. I’m going to make an attempt (so no promises!) to try and do a ‘Things From The Pages… Continue reading Go Not Near Her She Is Of Witching Way – Things From The Pages Of My Notebook
The Darkest Days – Mari Lwyd
I have only ever been to Wales once. It was well over fifteen years ago, but I can still remember being silenced by the tameless landscapes, the true dark of the sky, the uncanny feeling of it being a place of otherness. I’ve been meaning to go back for ages, and now, after reading into… Continue reading The Darkest Days – Mari Lwyd
The Darkest Days – Robin Redbreast
I’m usually dashing here, there and everywhere, rarely taking a moment to breathe…but on the odd occasion that I spot a robin outside, I come to a sudden standstill and squeal to whoever else is in the house, ‘there’s a robin in the garden, quick, come look!’ I’ll stay rooted to the spot, face and… Continue reading The Darkest Days – Robin Redbreast
The Darkest Days – The Wendigo
It's been about seven or eight years since I first wrote about the Wendigo and my curiosity about this intriguing cannibalistic spirit of the cold north shows no sign of diminishing. I initially wrote a poem called My Father The Wendigo, which then inspired a song, which then inspired a short story. However, despite being… Continue reading The Darkest Days – The Wendigo
The Darkest Days – Yuki Onna
More or less everything I create is centered around my sacred North. So it felt most strange today to be portraying Yuki Onna, a Japanese spirit of the snow. Strange, but ever so special. My knowledge of Japanese folklore is poor at the best of times, so it was thrilling to dig around a little… Continue reading The Darkest Days – Yuki Onna
The Darkest Days – The Yule Candle
As the days grow colder and the nights longer, the dead gather closer. During this most haunted time, candles are lit to drive away evil spirits and lure back the sun. In ages past, it was considered extremely unlucky to light the Yule candle before dusk on Christmas Eve. It had to be lit just… Continue reading The Darkest Days – The Yule Candle
The Darkest Days – Grýla
The Icelandic, child-eating ogress Grýla is, I think, one of the most fascinating figures in northern folklore. It's been about twelve or thirteen years since I first heard her name and became attached to the ancient mountain dweller. Though despite thinking about her on a pretty regular basis, there's still so much I need to… Continue reading The Darkest Days – Grýla
Thinking In The Dark : Blackberries
I gathered in the first of the blackberries today – an impressive handful of six weighty berries were very gently placed in the front pocket of my rucksack. (It’s still a bit early for them to be coming out, so I considered myself very fortunate to have gathered six.) I’ve been thinking about blackberries a… Continue reading Thinking In The Dark : Blackberries
Celebrating the strange and the shadowy, the damned and unseen 