It’s #FolkloreThursday today, folks. So hop on Twitter and check out some of the most interesting, cool and downright creepy myths and legends from around the world! To get your started, we’ve picked 11 of our favorite examples, but there are many, many more where those came from!
For today’s #FolkloreThursday on objects, here is a medieval depiction of a witch and her trusty broomstick drawn in the 15th century
Traité d’astrologie @laBnF – Allemand 106#Folklore #witches #medieval #manuscript @FolkloreThurs pic.twitter.com/Zdkqi463jQ
— History with Cats (@Hstry_with_Cats) September 27, 2018
The Rauoskinna (translated ‘Red Skin’) is a legendary book of black magic containing the darkest spells known to man, said to be buried with its author Gottskalk Nikulausson the Cruel, Bishop of Holar, Iceland in the 1500s. The dark arts became his obsession #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/YPcP771fVi
— Jess Pagan (@paganpages) September 27, 2018
The dybbuk box is a wine cabinet said to be haunted by a dybbuk. A dybbuk is a restless, usually malicious, spirit believed to be able to haunt and even possess the living. #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/rqz4eLEYrc
— Ross Smeltzer (@TreesDark) September 27, 2018
A mermaid fell in love with a captain & calmed the storm that would’ve wrecked his ship. Neptune, angry she used her powers thus, banished her to the depths of the sea. Her tears still wash ashore as sea glass, which is why it’s sometimes known as Mermaid Tears #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/47KKnCTAcR
— Erika Ishii (@erikaishii) September 27, 2018
Obsidian Mirror in the British Museum: Brought to Europe after the Conquest of Mexico. Acquired by Elizabethan magician, astrologer and mathematician Doctor Dee for use in his magical pursuits as a shew stone (a stone used for scrying) during late 16thC. #folkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/e5XuOLHRO8
— Richard Jerrett (@r_jerrett_uk) September 27, 2018
Crystal gazing was practiced by ancient civilizations in North and South America, Egypt, Persian, China. Pliny the Elder tells of Celtic Druids of Gaul, Britain, &Ireland. Burne-Jones uses spheres as the home of unrealized worlds and possibilities.@FolkloreThurs #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/J11Q4mstUi
— William Morris Tile (@MorrisTile) September 27, 2018
Crystal gazing was practiced by ancient civilizations in North and South America, Egypt, Persian, China. Pliny the Elder tells of Celtic Druids of Gaul, Britain, &Ireland. Burne-Jones uses spheres as the home of unrealized worlds and possibilities.@FolkloreThurs #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/J11Q4mstUi
— William Morris Tile (@MorrisTile) September 27, 2018
A hag stone, witch stone or adder stone is a stone with a natural hole all the way through. They are used as amulets for protection, fertility and to ward off snakes, and were mentioned as a druidic tool by Pliny the Elder. Pic credit Unukorno, WikimediaCommons. #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/esKZazL1aE
— Mabh (@Mabherick) September 27, 2018
Will-o’-the-wisp, from the latin “Foolish Fire” is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. It resembles a flickering lamp and is said to recede if approached, drawing travellers from the safe paths. #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/3yxfFHiEXm
— Midnight Motion Pictures (@MidnightMPHQ) September 27, 2018
1. 7 yrs bad luck from a broken mirror derives from Romans; ppl thought the mirrored reflection was an image of the soul, and believed souls took 7 yrs to renew. If the mirror was broken so was the soul, and it was an omen of that person’s death #folklorethursday
?JW Waterhouse pic.twitter.com/ZWg4sk3mno
— Flamenco Nut ❄️ (@flamencobug) September 27, 2018
In Finnish mythology, the Sampo was a magical artifact constructed by Ilmarinen that brought riches and good fortune to its holder. J.R.R Tolkien’s ‘Gandalf’ was inspired by the demigod Väinämöinen from the Kalevala (pictured).
– The Defense of the Sampo 1896#FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/AfYKArCJBu— Darren Butler (@DarrenB502) September 27, 2018
Featured Image Via Audiojungle