Author: Kate Cherrell
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The Mowing Devil
The Mowing-Devil, also known as ‘Strange News out of Hartford-shire’ is an English woodcut pamphlet from 1678, telling the moralistic tale of a farmer and…
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Will You Be My Vinegar Valentine?
No declarations of love this year? It could be worse, you could be receiving a pile of vinegar valentines.
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The Big Grave of Little John in Hathersage
While Little John’s existence is disputed, his presence in folklore and in the landscape of Nottingham and Derbyshire is inescapable.
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The Curious Phenomena of Spirit Blush-Writing
When Victorian mediums weren’t delivering messages from the dead and manifesting spirits, some claimed to produce words on their bodies. Introducing, blush-writing.
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The Curious History of Bin Men at Christmas
Tipping your refuse collectors is a long-established festive tradition, and one that used to involve a lot more poo…
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Dancing Around the Druid’s Stone in Bungay
Known as ‘the Devil’s Stone’, ‘the Druid’s Stone’, or even ‘the Giant’s Grave’, this hefty old stone has existed in Bungay for millennia.
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Sacrifice and Skeletons at Clophill Church
In 1963, two teenagers were seen playing with a human skull in the middle of the street…
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The Bealings Phantom Bell Ringer
Now regarded as the work of a poltergeist – or a perturbed servant – the incidents in Suffolk made newspaper headlines, and eventually became the…
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Anna Maria Von Stockhausen: The Undead Witch of Germany
The appeal of Anna Maria Von Stockhausen’s image is a curious, gruesome urge to look at the forbidden.
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St Bartholomew at Corsham: Tombs and Tablets
Alien base rumours aside, there has been a church on this site at Corsham since the 12th century. Although little of this original church remains,…
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Robert Snook: Grave of the Last Highwayman
In the middle of a field, surrounded by enormous cows, sits a tiny white grave encircled in black fencing. This is the grave marker of…
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Thomas Thetcher and Death by Small Beer
Thomas Thetcher, also known as the Hampshire Grenadier, died in 1764 and has become something of a local celebrity and historical curio thanks to both…
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The Everyday Heroes of Postman’s Park
Postman’s Park holds a series of beautiful memorials to Londoners who lost their lives committing heroic acts.
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Margaret ‘Molly’ Leigh, the Staffordshire Witch
The real problem with tales of local witches and evil graves is that you can never truly enjoy them.
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Very Superfishous – Haddock Folklore of the UK
While I didn’t grow up associating seafood with death omens, or positive lucky ones for that matter, many communities did.
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The Wonderful Cat Man of Cambridge
Walter ‘Snowy’ Farr was a busker unlike any other and has been memorialised in a suitably wild statue.
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Record Breakers at St Peters Church, Kington Langley
St Peters is a stunning little church built by public donations, boasting a real ‘record breaker’ in its graveyard.
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Larry the Psychic Donkey
Few sports pundits boasted four hooves and psychic abilities, but Larry was one of a kind.
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A Trip to Portobello Cemetery, Edinburgh
Portobello Cemetery is a relatively modern burial ground on the outskirts of Edinburgh, opened in 1877 and in continual use to modern day.
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Jim Morrison’s Bedroom Shrine
Fans of The Doors created an unofficial – and sometimes unsettling – interactive shrine to their deceased vocalist, Jim Morrison.
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Stone Coffins at The Church of St Laurence at Corringham
St Laurence is a grade II listed church with Saxon origins and is jam-packed with different architectural styles and treasures.
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A Trip to York Cemetery
Opened in 1837, York Cemetery was one of the UK’s earliest Victorian garden cemeteries.
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Hidden in Plain Sight: Derby Train Station War Memorial
The plaque found on Platform 1 at Derby Station is dedicated to the staff of the Midland Railway St Mary’s Goods Depot who lost their…
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The Deid Bell of Ratho Kirk
Used across Scotland and northern England, A ‘Deid Bell’ (Scots) went by many names, including a death, mort, skillet, passing or mort bell and was…
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The Woman Who Jumped and Lived
In 1885, Sarah Ann Henley was 22 years old and working as a barmaid at the Rising Sun pub in Ashton.
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Corgis and Toothache at St Peter, Normanby Le Wold
Normanby means ‘The Norsemen’s Village’, first recorded in the Domesday book as ‘Normanesbi’.
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The Fays: Psychic Tokens and Spiritualist Identity Theft
In the late 19th century, two fields really took off – personal merchandising and token collecting.
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It’s Raining Fish! Fish-falls and Other Curious Phenomena
You know the song ‘its raining men’? Well, you just wait until you hear ‘Quickly, get indoors, its raining fish.’
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St Peter at Markby – The Only Thatched Church in Lincolnshire
Thatch the way, a-ha a-ha, I like it… There are very few thatched churches remaining in England, and only one remaining in the whole of…
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Visiting the Rudston Monolith
Rudston is a tiny village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, with a population that barely exceeds 400. Yet, in its churchyard, sits Britain’s tallest…
Burials & Beyond 