New History Books: Three Days February 19, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : New History BooksThe Witch Bottle Spell February 19, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern
Location: The witch bottle spell seems to have been used against witchcraft throughout much of early modern and modern Europe. Aim: To free a human victim from a witch’s spell by attacking the witch. Ingredients: A bottle, fire, and then various other objects including urine, nails, pins, salt and thatch. Method Ridgewell, Essex (Anon 1859) […]
New History Books: Lost City February 18, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : New History BooksRadio Before Radio February 18, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern
Many moons ago Beach ran an article on telephony, the use of telephones as a kind of primitive music radio. Essentially telephone owners would subscribe to a ‘channel’ and would then phone into said channel to listen to shows: those of us old enough to remember the speaking clock or telephone weather forecasts were listening to […]
Irish Fairies in the 1930s: Marrie Walsh February 17, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern
How long did fairy beliefs survive in different parts of Ireland? And how well did these beliefs survive? In some senses the question should be easy to answer. After all, Ireland has the most detailed folklore records in the world. But unfortunately Irish folklorists were, after independence, more interested in folklore tales and tale types […]
Victorian Urban Legend: Familiar Robbers February 16, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern
This is a cute story from the States, picked up by an Irish newspaper in 1873. Whether this story is true or false we do not know; but it is said here that recently in the parish of St. Martin, Iberia, or somewhere down that way, an old widow lady, whose children had all married […]
Daily History Picture: Maastricht Rebels February 16, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures
Six Tory MPs: 1992 (?) fronted by Teresa Gorman, one of the UK’s more eccentric MPs in the later 20C.
Daily History Picture: Woodstock Responsible February 15, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical PicturesDaily History Picture: Naval Bombardment February 14, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical PicturesPoker Wallet February 14, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern
This poker story comes from an extremely rare poker book that has, unfortunately, never been scanned and put online, John Lillard’s Poker Tales. It is perhaps the best collection of poker anecdotes the world has seen and dates to 1896: A certain very well known New Jersey politician – an old man, whose fame extends […]
Daily History Picture: Soviet Monstrosity February 13, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures
The Palace of the Soviets, begun in 1937 and never finished thanks to the war: it now has a cathedral on top of it which says it all…
Dumb Duels #6: Spanish Duel February 13, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern
Beach lived for three glorious years in Spain and there is something very Hispanic about the following Spanish duel. Honour, pain and everyone taking themselves a little too seriously. Two officers have decided to fight. The duellists are fencing experts of unusually high standard, and the bitterness between the two men was so great that […]
New History Books: Art of the Affair February 12, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : New History Books
Catherine Lacey and Forsyth Harmon, Art of the Affair An ‘illustrated history’: could be very good or rather bad…
The Invisible Bean Spell February 12, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern
Location: the spell is described by the English writer John Aubrey in the 1680s. He alleges though that it was from ‘[t]he Jewes’. Aim: to grow a number of magic beans that will render the eater briefly invisible. Ingredients: some black beans, a decapitated human head, a young child. Method Aubrey’s Spell (Aubrey 1881, 102-3) […]