Tag: History
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The Weird World of Mummy Parties
In the 19th century, ‘Mummy Mania’ spread through the western world like a colonial Tamagotchi.
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Flayed Saints, Weeping Graves and Robin Hood at St Bartholomew the Great, London
St Bartholomew was founded in 1123 by Rahere (just the one name, like Beyonce…), a courtier of King Henry I.
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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?
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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.
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Whitby’s Hidden Horse Steps
Tucked away in Whitby’s residential streets are small sets of steps that go to nowhere.
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A Trip to Bunhill Fields Burial Ground
Bunhill Fields is a relic of London’s overcrowded inner-city burial grounds.
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The Whitby Wishing Chair
On the Western outskirts of Whitby, sits an inconsequential little stone seat.
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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 Bloody Ceilings of Kyoto, Japan
In Japan’s Kyoto prefecture, five serene temples which harbour bloody secrets within their walls can be found.
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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.
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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…
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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.
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Georges Rodenbach: The Grave Escape
Coming outta his grave and he’s been doin’ just fine…
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Peter the Wild Boy
In 1725, a group of hunters were making their way through Hertswold Forest in Hanover, Germany. Fighting through the dense woodland, the party came upon…
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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.
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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.
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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…
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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
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Treasures of St Mary’s Church, Barton
I must sound like a broken record, but I truly believe that every church has a fascinating history, or a weird little artefact hidden inside,…
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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?
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The Hangman’s Locket
As much as the Victorians revelled in beauty and sentimentality, they really were a bunch of morbid sods at heart.
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Ghosts on Film: Hampton Court Palace
See them walking hand in hand across the bridge at midnight…
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“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…
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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…
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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.
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A Preacher and a Horse Walk into a Bar
I don’t know about you, but when I think about Methodism, the first thing that springs to mind is a horse skeleton.
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“I decided to hide Charlie Chaplin’s body and solve my problems…”
On 12th December 1978, Roman Wardas, a 24-year old Polish refugee took to the stand in Switzerland, accused of stealing Chaplin’s body.
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Andrew Hyslop; Covenanter, Martyr.
One postcard lead to a story of a murdered covenanter who ended his days in a field in Dumfriesshire
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Aliens Over Nuremberg
At daybreak on April 14th, 1561, residents of Nuremberg Germany woke up to an alien aerial battle raging above their heads.
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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.
Burials & Beyond 