Beachcombing's Bizarre History Blog

There are several reports from early twentieth-century Ireland of crowds of boys chasing leprechauns. This is the best attested of what we might call ‘leprechaun riots’ (named for ghost riots): Belief in the fairies, the ‘good people’ is still prevalent in many of the country districts in Ireland. During the past few days the superstition has been revived in […]

This is a great story which appears with the heading, ‘Scotch Ghost Story’. We are in Glasgow. Beach has no doubt though that it is a Victorian urban legend. Let’s face it, the tale is so satisfying that if it ever actually happened it would have been abstracted and told to everyone who would listen. […]

In Beach’s long and passionate searches through the annals of snowballing, he has come across many descriptions of mass snowball fights. However, this, from February 1865, is perhaps his favourite. It combines reckless youth, police brutality (to not from), and significant property damage: in short it is the essence of the Victorian snow-balling. Glasgow has […]