Category: History
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.’
-
Maud Heath’s Causeway
The area known as ‘Maud Heath’s Causeway’ was named after a benevolent local woman who passed away centuries before.
-
Walt Disney’s Ancestral Knights at Kingerby
The finest treasures are often found in the most unexpected places.
-
The Weird World of Mummy Parties
In the 19th century, ‘Mummy Mania’ spread through the western world like a colonial Tamagotchi.
-
Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus
We’re all used to ‘Hocus Pocus’ as a term used to command magic and mysterious forces. But where on earth did this phrase come from?
-
The Stone Spheres of Costa Rica
The stone spheres of Costa Rica are one of the most fascinating and enduring mysteries in Central American history.
-
Whitby’s Hidden Horse Steps
Tucked away in Whitby’s residential streets are small sets of steps that go to nowhere.
-
The Bloody Ceilings of Kyoto, Japan
In Japan’s Kyoto prefecture, five serene temples which harbour bloody secrets within their walls can be found.
-
The Roadside Grave of Betsy Smith, Kenilworth
The dead are everywhere. You can’t avoid them. Under city buildings and railway lines, gardens and churches. As centuries pass, memorials are removed, with the…
-
The Lost Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
The lost mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Bodrum, Turkey was one of the most visually impressive burial monuments the world had ever seen
-
Whitby’s Hidden Quaker Burial Ground
Whitby’s Quaker burial ground is impressively well hidden. To most passers-by, it looks like a garden extension to some of the more grander Georgian houses…
-
“I did not give them willingly”: The Friesthorpe Window
A small rural church in Friesthorpe, Lincolnshire holds one of the most poignant memorials to the sacrifices of war in the form of a beautiful…
-
Ye Olde Eco-Burial: The Trapdoor Coffin
In the 16th and 17th centuries, plenty of rural parishes in Scotland utilised a communal coffin of sorts called a ‘common mortkist’, ‘bier’ or ‘parish…
-
The Tiny Grave of Tom Thumb
According to local legend, the Tom Thumb of Tattershall measured just over 18 inches tall and had reached the grand old age of 101 upon…
-
Nanette Stocker, the Smallest Woman in the Kingdom
Nanette (incorrectly recorded as ‘Nanetta’ on her stone) is a forgotten music hall star and little person who died with a huge following.
-
Avast! Here be a Pirate Cemetery
Sainte-Marie was was a haven for pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries. Swashbucklers had to be buried somewhere…
-
A Trip to Avebury Church: Henge Not Included
Sitting in the metaphorical shadow of Avebury’s mystical stone circle is the little modest structure of St James’ Church.
-
Andrew Hyslop; Covenanter, Martyr.
One postcard lead to a story of a murdered covenanter who ended his days in a field in Dumfriesshire
-
Lancaster Priory and the Headless White Lady
Lancaster Priory and the Parish Church of Lancaster are located right next to a medieval castle, on top of a hill overlooking the city.
-
Aliens Over Nuremberg
At daybreak on April 14th, 1561, residents of Nuremberg Germany woke up to an alien aerial battle raging above their heads.
-
Druids and Magic, Oh My! A Trip to Avebury Stone Circle
Avebury is a tiny village near Marlborough in Wiltshire and is surrounded by Europe’s largest Neolithic stone circle.
-
The Grave of the Potato King: Friedrich Der Große
Friedrich Der Große’s grave is rather unusual, and not just for that of a royal. Why? There are always potatoes nearby.
-
The Stowmarket Guncotton Explosion of 1871
The Stowmarket Guncotton Explosion occurred on a Friday afternoon, on 11thAugust 1871. The explosion killed 28 and injured a further 70.
-
The Funeral of Fireman Wale
Fire Constable Arthur Wale lost his life aged 46 in the Derham Boot Factory fire of 1906…
-
Collection Feature: Funeral Fans
Cardboard fans, whether folding or attached to a handle, were a particularly popular means of advertisement from the 1920s-60s.
-
Annie Fairlamb Mellon: The Geordie Medium.
Annie Fairlamb Mellon was one of the UK’s greatest materialisation mediums and is so rarely celebrated for her weird and wonderful claims.
-
Death By Coffin!
“Killed by a Coffin at Kensal Green Cemetery…”
-
Cleethorpes Cemetery: Seafarers and Odd Fellows
Sitting in 31 acres, just off Beacon Avenue, Cleethorpes Cemetery opened in 1877 and is one of four cemeteries serving the Grimsby and Cleethorpes area.
Burials & Beyond 