Category: Animals
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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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Larry the Psychic Donkey
Few sports pundits boasted four hooves and psychic abilities, but Larry was one of a kind.
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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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She’s got the Eye (and teeth) of the Tiger: Hannah Twynnoy’s Grave
Hannah Twynnoy is best known for being the first person to be killed by a tiger in Britain.
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Death of a Wombat
In the latter part of the 19th century, some artists developed an obsession with keeping exotic Australian animals as pets.
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The Petrol Station Pet Cemetery
Probably the last place one would expect to find a pretty little pet cemetery is a garage forecourt, but such a site existed in Kent…
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The Wonderful World of Winged Cats
The UK has several recorded accounts of ‘winged cats’, first originating in the 19th century.
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The Whale Graveyard in the Desert
By the side of the Pan-American Highway is the Atacama desert, a cool and arid region in northern Chile. The nearest water source is nearly…
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Two Tone: Funeral for a Fish
He was known as a “marriage wrecker”. People would dedicate every spare moment of their lives trying to catch his eye. He was huge, powerful,…
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The Ghost Dog of Tingewick
Spectral spaniel or fake Fido? You decide…
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London’s Secret Victorian Pet Cemetery
Hyde Park’s hidden pet cemetery’s once described as ‘the most horrible spectacle in Britain.’
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D.C. The Demon Cat
The snappily named ‘Demon Cat’, or ‘D.C.’ for short, is one of several reported ghosts that haunt the sprawling government buildings in Washington D. C
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The Lion Tombstones of Iran
Known as šir-e sangi in Persian or bardšir in Bakhtiari, the ‘stone lions’ are memorials formed in a simple shape, marking the graves of regional…
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Peppy The Polar Bear: Sweet Treats and Taxidermy
This unassuming clear mint had one of the most bizarre taxidermy-based advertising campaigns of the 20th century.
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Judy The Donkey: Grave Stories
In central Liverpool, in a sleepy corner of a sprawling park, sits the headstone of Judy the donkey. Worker, hero, icon.
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The Lambton Worm: Here Be Dragons
Heard the one about the boy who skipped church and summoned the Devil?
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Mary Toft: The Woman Who Birthed Rabbits
In 1726, when the rest of the country were dealing with periodic harvest failures, Mary Toft sat at home and gave birth to rabbits.
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Nancy Luce, The Chicken Lady
For company, Nancy may not have had humans, but she had her chickens…
Burials & Beyond 