I am a Finnish-born writer-journalist and photographer who, for the past 12 years, has lived in and around Dunster, traditionally described as one of the best-preserved medieval villages in the UK. The title of Dunster being “Britain’s most haunted place” came about after the British media got wind of my book launch in September 2023. I was brought up in a family where my mother, aunt, and grandmother strongly believed they had had otherworldly encounters. With such a background and armed with an MA in English Literature, Cultural History, Comparative Religions, and Journalism, it is no wonder that the first book I wrote focuses on these “long-term” interests of mine.
I wrote
Witches, Giants and a Ghost Cat: A travel guide to the mystery tales of Dunster
This is just a great read. It is well-researched, thoroughly interesting, and a perfect source for those who wish to have a more thorough look into English protection signs and hidden objects.
This was one of the first books I read when I started research for my book and since reading it, I cannot help but look for carved signs and burn marks everywhere I go. As academic research into protective signs is still fairly new, and the general public is not aware of what the signs and hidden objects actually were used for, unfortunately many of these protective signs and objects have ended up in skips during renovations.
Belief in magic and particularly the power of witchcraft was once a deep and enduring presence in popular culture.
"Diving into Brian Hoggard's Magical House Protection is a remarkable experience... [It] provides an immersive and fascinating read."-Fortean Times
People created and concealed many objects to protect themselves from harmful magic. Detailed are the principal forms of magical house protection in Britain and beyond from the fourteenth century to the present day. Witch-bottles, dried cats, horse skulls, written charms, protection marks and concealed shoes were all used widely as methods of repelling, diverting or trapping negative energies. Many of these practices…
This is a good, overall history of witchcraft spanning from ancient civilisations to the birth and practises of the present-day Wicca.
It is well-written, highly informative, and contains a great number of interesting historical illustrations.
It is also a beneficial read for those who wish to understand how people in different eras viewed the world around them and how these beliefs and fears transformed into actions that moulded the society in English villages like Dunster which I based my book on.
I have now read this book twice, from cover to cover, and just flicking through it again for the purpose of writing this recommendation makes me want to read it again. A definite keeper!
Witchcraft unravels the myth from the mystery, the facts from the legends, in this bewitching introduction to witchcraft's lesser-known history.
Spanning several centuries and comprising unbelievable facts and little-known legends, meet all the witches of your imagination and learn why, where and how it all began.
Uncover the meanings of their rituals and rites, their lore, and their craft
Discover the significance of their sabbats and covens, their chalices and wands, their robes and their religion.
Unlock the secrets of the legendary witches of mythology and folk talesand find out how these early stories influenced the persecutions and witch hunts…
An Italian Feast celebrates the cuisines of the Italian provinces from Como to Palermo. A culinary guide and book of ready reference meant to be the most comprehensive book on Italian cuisine, and it includes over 800 recipes from the 109 provinces of Italy's 20 regions.
This book, originally published in 1903, recounts the tales F.J. Snell collected in Exmoor during his lifetime. The author’s intention was to supply “a general account of Exmoor,” and that it does in its own charmingly old-fashioned writing style.
The most interesting part for lovers of folktales is the "Folklore" chapter, where F.J.Snell talks about pixies, fairies, witches, and the exorcism of spirits and ghosts. It also contains fascinating “recipes” for local charms and cures such as instructions on how to cure a child’s whooping cough by touching him with a human corpse or hanging a toad’s leg around one’s neck.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and…
This title drew me in right away, and the contents did not disappoint. This is a well-written and thoroughly researched book with interesting first-hand accounts of ghost hunts by an English author who, as a child, lived in a haunted house, yet has never actually seen a ghost.
The approach to the subject is also right up my alley: why do people fear the supernatural, and why are some cultures and people more likely to encounter ghosts than others?
Ghost stories are fascinating in their own right, but exploring how people in different times and places reacted to these encounters is even more interesting.
A natural history of the supernatural from Roger Clarke, lifelong investigator into England's creepiest real-life ghost stories
'Is there anybody out there?' No matter how rationally we order our lives, few of us are completely immune to the suggestion of the uncanny and the fear of the dark. The subject of whether ghosts exist has fascinated some of the finest minds in history and it remains a subject of overwhelming interest today.
This is the first comprehensive, authoritative and readable history of the evolution of the ghost in the west, examining as every good natural history should, the behaviour of…
Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS
By
Amy Carney,
When I was writing this book, several of my friends jokingly called it the Nazi baby book, with one insisting it would make a great title. Nazi Babies – admittedly, that is a catchy title, but that’s not exactly what my book is about. SS babies would be slightly more…
The concept of this book is simple but extremely effective in shedding light on the superstitions the Cornish country folk still held in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The author has collected old newspaper clippings, which reveal a fascinating variety of reports on how people tried to protect their belongings, dwellings, and themselves from illnesses and misfortunes caused by spells or “ill-wishes”. The reports talk of ‘witch bottles’ and pierced animal hearts being used to counter-act spells, and how the practitioners of magic, the cunning folk, were frequently taken to court when the purchased cures did not work.
The reports also shed light on the undoubtedly hard lives of those who were believed to be witches. There are several reports of “witch scratchings” ending up in courts when the supposed witches claimed compensation for the injuries caused by villagers trying to draw their blood to counteract spells.
I wrote this book with a dual purpose in mind: it can be read as a collection of fascinating old English superstitions, beliefs, and history, as well as a self-guided ghost walk guide of Dunster. During the full year of research, I collected over 60 ghost stories ranging from recent encounters with 16th-century civil war soldiers, monks, grey ladies, ghost dogs, and possessed furniture, to a 11th century ghost horse, Grisel Gris, haunting Dunster Castle.
I found the old superstitions perhaps the most intriguing to work on—especially when I found a great number of protection signs in Dunster’s centuries-old buildings. The stories are truly fascinating and, as they are not overtly scary, can be enjoyed by readers of all ages.
A spy school for girls amidst Jane Austen’s high society.
Daughters of the Beau Monde who don’t fit London society’s strict mold are banished to Stranje House, where the headmistress trains these unusually gifted girls to enter the dangerous world of spies in the Napoleonic wars. #1 NYT bestselling author…
Four years old and homeless, William Walters boarded one of the last American Orphan Trains in 1930 and embarked on an astonishing quest through nine decades of U.S. and world history.
For 75 years, the Orphan Trains had transported 250,000 children from the streets and orphanages of the East Coast…
