Tag: Curiosities
-
We Need to Talk about Linwood: The Lyndewode Brasses
Home of impressive memorial brasses, Linwood truly is a Lincolnshire hidden gem.
-
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.
-
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…
-
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.
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.
-
Larry the Psychic Donkey
Few sports pundits boasted four hooves and psychic abilities, but Larry was one of a kind.
-
Jim Morrison’s Bedroom Shrine
Fans of The Doors created an unofficial – and sometimes unsettling – interactive shrine to their deceased vocalist, Jim Morrison.
-
Corgis and Toothache at St Peter, Normanby Le Wold
Normanby means ‘The Norsemen’s Village’, first recorded in the Domesday book as ‘Normanesbi’.
-
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.’
-
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…
-
The Strange Tale of the Gold Leaf Lady
In 1988, a Floridian housewife began producing patches of gold leaf across her face and body…
-
Death of a Wombat
In the latter part of the 19th century, some artists developed an obsession with keeping exotic Australian animals as pets.
-
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 Whitby Wishing Chair
On the Western outskirts of Whitby, sits an inconsequential little stone seat.
-
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…
-
The Rocky Horror Coffin Clock
It’s astounding. Time is fleeting. Madness takes its toll…
-
The Body in the Catacombs
A labyrinth of tunnels and passageways snake and criss-cross for miles beneath the French capital, with countless inhabitants of their own.
-
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 Wonderful World of Winged Cats
The UK has several recorded accounts of ‘winged cats’, first originating in the 19th century.
-
What’s in the Box? Oliver Plunkett’s Head
It’s about time we revisited some famous severed heads, as I’m sure you’ll agree, its been far too long.
-
Cursed Jewels: The Hope Diamond
If its history and legends are to be believed, the Hope Diamond is not only priceless, but CURSED.
-
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…
-
Walter Summerford: The Unluckiest Man in the World
Not only was he struck by lightning multiple times in his life, but once more after his death for good measure.
-
The Last Witch of Scotland
What may seem to be a simple piece of masonry is in fact the memorial to the most brutal and hysterical of executions.
-
The Grave that Keeps Growing
A tomb in Uzbekistan is able to boast the unusual claim of housing not only a prophet, but a prophet that keeps getting bigger in…
-
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,…
-
The Hardy Tree
The Hardy Tree is a centuries-old ash tree surrounded by a radiating circle of densely-packed headstones. But why was it created?
Burials & Beyond 