Many of the locations of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' can still be seen today. Scrooge's counting house is thought to be in Newman's Court, in the City of London. "The ancient tower of a church" is described, whose "gruff old bell was always slyly peeping down at Scrooge out of a #gothic window." That church has been identified as St Michael's Cornhill, which looms over Newman's Court. In addition, Bob Cratchit heads home via nearby Cornhill, where he "went down a slide" on the ice "at the end of a line of boys, twenty times, in honour of it being Christmas Eve." Scrooge's "usual melancholy tavern" where he takes his "melancholy dinner" is thought to be Simpson's Tavern in nearby Ball Court, which has been trading since 1757. The door knocker which turns into the ghostly head of Jacob Marley was apparently inspired by one in Craven Street, near Charing Cross, where Dickens worked as a boy in a shoe-blacking factory. #Christmas #literature #history #folklore #Yule #books #London
There are so many tales about miraculously recovered church bells in German #folklore that I suspect some of them might be a cover for:
"Nope, we certainly did not buy these fancy bells slightly used from these dodgy merchants who probably nicked them from a church a few provinces away!"
As there seems to have been another uptick in participation here, a quick summary #introduction (fuller one is pinned). I'm a UK-based (Londoner now living on #isleofwight) folklorist. Started off interested in #folksong, spread to wider interest in #folk #folklore.
Currently on the Council of the Folklore Society, Associate Editor of its journal Folklore, & on the editorial board of #FolkMusic Journal. Until end of year I'm Research Fellow on #FolkloreWithoutBorders research network on EDI in British folkloristics.
I've written on #ghostlore, folklore about #rats, #cannibalism at sea, tongue twisters, popular representation of folkloristics. Increasingly working on folklore's history. Shiny research profile here: researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk/e…
In Welsh myths, pigs originally came from the Otherworld, a gift from the fairy king Arawn. The Welsh point to all the many different kinds of marvelous food one can turn pigs into (bacon, sausages, pork chops, etc.) as proof that pigs are magical creatures. 🎨 Kallerna
In Wales, if you want a bwca or bwbachod (a goblin who cleans your home), then leave out a cup of cream each night (or better yet, a cup of ale). However, bwcas hate teetotalers. If you refuse to drink alcohol, they may kick you or throw your plates at you. 🎨 Tony DiTerlizzi
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In #JapaneseFolklore there's a #yokai known as yama uba, which translates as mountain hag. These strange old witches live alone in remote areas. They can appear as kind old ladies offering travellers a place to stay, only to eat them alive during the night. Some believe that yama uba are the haunting spirits of old women who were abandoned in the woods or mountains by families during food shortages when there wasn't enough to feed everyone. #folklore #ukiyoe 🎨1.Matthew Meyer 2.Katsukawa Shunsho
