I wake up before dawn and heard the ocean outside. The dunes separate the beach house from the sea itself, but not the smell of the ocean, nor the pounding of the surf, a dull thud, without the crackle and sizzle of the foam. The sky is beginning to lighten, I get dressed and grab […]
The hammer of the gods still ring out at Wayland’s Smithy, a long barrow chamber tomb nestled in a secluded grove in Oxfordshire
The chambered tombs and long barrows of Britain have long tickled the imagination, and perhaps none more so than Wayland’s Smithy. Perhaps it’s the stand of beech trees enclosing it which makes it feel more intimate, more hushed. Unlike West Kennet Long Barrow near Avebury, sitting exposed to the wind and the rain, high on […]
Folk horror from Wiltshire: The Blood Stone at Luccombe Spring, starving out the Vikings at Bratton Camp, the White Horse of Westbury and the nature of folklore
The Luccombe Valley below Salisbury Plain and Bratton Camp, just visible in the upper right. In the foreground are two of the four barrows in the valley, with one of the others being the site of the Bloodstone. While wandering on Salisbury plain one day I came across a hidden valley and as I […]
Old Wardour Castle … a splendidly haunted ruin in the British countryside
“On the south western border of Wiltshire about half between Salisbury and Shaftesbury and in the parish Tisbury stand the ivy crowned remains of the old castle Wardour.” The Antiquary, Volumes 3-4 Front Cover.W. Allen, 1873 Old Wardour Castle was built as an impressive fortified home for Lord Lovell in the late 14th Century. But before the end […]
Top 4 elegantly creepy places to spend the night with ghosts in the midwest
Haunted hotels, bed and breakfasts with ghosts … there are countless places to spend a spooky night across the country. Let’s face it, ghosts don’t appear on schedule and usually not at all. So if you’re spending the night someplace spooky, it should be somewhere full of stories, comfort and ideally, a well stocked bar […]
Top 5 Haunted Massachusetts hotels and bed and breakfasts
Ghost stories are a traditional part of New England evenings, and have been since before the founding of our country. So what can be better than spending an evening in a haunted Massachusetts hotel, inn or bed and breakfast? Let’s be honest … you’re not likely to be disturbed by either the dead or undead in a […]