An infamous London witch was Mother Damnable. Her cottage is said to have stood where Camden Town Tube Station is now or possibly across the road on the site now occupied by the World's End pub. Her parents were hanged for witchcraft and it's claimed she murdered two of her husbands, one of whom was found baked in her oven. With her enormous black cat, she terrified the locals, who nevertheless relied on her herbal remedies. On the day of her death, many saw the Devil enter her house. Mother Damnable was found in front of her fire, over which a concoction still bubbled. This liquid was given to her cat - its hair fell out and it soon died. My article: https://www.davidcastleton.net/mother-damnable-witch-camden-town-london-mother-red-cap-black-cap/ #gothic #London #Halloween #folklore #weird #psychogeography #history
Gravity Hills are hills on which - if you put your car into neutral and release the handbrake - you will feel yourself rolling uphill. Various explanations have been put forward for this seeming shattering of the laws of physics. At Hangman's Hill in Epping Forest, it's claimed an executioner's ghost is pulling you uphill with his noose. At a hill near Ballabeg, Isle of Man, it is the fairies who are responsible - they sneak behind cars and push them upwards. A hill on the Isle of Wight is apparently topped with magnetic rock so powerful it can tug your car and all its passengers upwards. The truth is a little less dramatic - you're actually rolling downhill but the hill's surroundings create an optical illusion suggesting you're rolling up. The balance detectors in your inner ear disagreeing with your eyes creates a feeling of disorientation, adding to the weirdness of the experience. #Folklore #Psychogeography #weird #Halloween #paranormal #ghosts #physics
Newcastle's Lit and Phil Library is the UK's largest independent library outside London. It is built across the path of Hadrian's Wall, with some of its stonework visible in the basement. Founded in 1793, the library is said to have 16 ghosts, including a librarian who haunts the basement, a witchfinder general, and a little girl. There have been reports of books falling mysteriously from shelves, disembodied voices telling people to 'ssshh' and strange lights at night. #Newcastle #gothic #ghosts #paranormal #Psychogeography #weird #folklore #history
Mother Shipton's Cave, in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, has a curious habit of turning items to stone. If you hang an object under where a spring seeps over an outcrop of rock, it can turn to stone in just a few weeks. The mineral-rich waters have petrified numerous teddy bears, but also Victorian top hats, broomsticks, socks, shoes, a toy lobster, a cowboy hat of John Wayne's, a handbag of Agatha Christie, Queen Anne's shoes and a Victorian parasol. Local legend claims Mother Shipton - a famous prophetess and enchanter - was born in the cave. #Folklore #weird #geology #psychogeography #Yorkshire #gothic #Halloween #history
Forbidden Corner, North Yorkshire, is a bizarre puzzle spread over four acres that takes visitors two hours or more to solve. You must wander a network of follies, mazes, statues and paths that all seem to lead nowhere, in the hope of arriving at an underground grotto. You will encounter arms poking out of hedges, limbs sticking out of walls, and - if you linger too long in one spot - may find yourself squirted by a statue based on the Manneken Pis in Brussels. The grotto seems to be a circular room full of revolving doors that also lead nowhere, but it - apparently - hides the way out. #weird #Yorkshire #architecture #folklore #gothic #psychogeography #puzzles
