Author Archives: Angelique

The Vampires

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The Vampires-By Angelique Duncan

The Vampires

Many of us know of the Vampires. Cloaked undead revenants that have returned from the dead to suck the blood of their victims and spread misfortune to those they infect. They roam through the night searching for their victims in flight as a Vampire bat shifting into human form to seduce their victim for that bite upon the neck. Swiftly they return to their coffin before daybreaks and the sun rises. Where did they come from? Did or do they exist? Or are they the stuff of imagination and hysteria to explain what was misunderstood and couldn’t be given explanation?

Through out history there have been documented cases of bizarre murders and bloodlettings that have been officially classified as the work of Vampires. Individuals who committed heinous and brutal killings have been either identified in records as, or self proclaimed as Vampires. Up into modern decades, serial killers have mimicked Vampire style murder.

Vampire is a word of Slavic origin. In Turkey the translation is literally witch. Often they are referred to as revenants. Stories of Vampires, under different names, first appeared in Slavic regions in the 11th century and in European history after the 1400’s. The term Vampire began to appear in the English language around the 1700’s. It was used to describe those who it was believed had escaped from the grave after burial. Stories have been recorded and passed down of graves that had been unearthed and the remains moved or in other positions than they were left in that led people to suspect that Vampires would leave their graves by night and return to them by day.

A possible explanation for the unearthed graves of earlier times is that graveyards were not as secure as they are today making it easy for grave robbers to dig up graves to riffle for jewelry and valuables. Some in the scientific and medical community would dig up graves for the opportunity to work with human remains as cutting cadavers was considered a morbid practice and not approved of. A more gruesome explanation for the altered positioning of bodies might have been the result of patients who were buried too soon and had not completely expired at the time of burial. The disturbed coffins were the result of their desperate attempt to release themselves form untimely burial.

Though some believed that the explanation was that the deceased had become a Vampire. Efforts where made to contain the undead from returning by loading rocks upon the gravesite. Another early practice was staking corpses that were believed to be Vampires into their coffins so that they could not leave the grave at night. This may be where the belief that Vampires can only be stopped by a wooden stake through the heart stems from.

The superstitious held that that Vampires would return to the home or family they came from to settle scores or execute revenge on those closest to them. It was further believed that Vampires would retain their sexual appetite, seeking their spouses to continue their relations after death or to infect the spouse to take them with them to the grave. If a member of a household had died from disease and shortly there after other family members had fallen ill, it was believed that the member who died first had returned and infected the home. It thought as well that a household who recently experienced a death suffered from misfortune, it was a curse left by a Vampire. Today many believe that households that suffered mass deaths from a particular disease did not occurred from corpses returning from the grave, but from a lack of sanitation and proper understanding of the containment of infectious disease.

Early descriptions of Vampires were that they were pale, bloated and swollen with sunken eyes. It was thought that they drank the blood of live humans to nourish themselves after death. Those who had been bitten would suffer the same fate, to become a Vampire. These physical descriptions of vampires may have been based on people of earlier decades limited knowledge of decomposition of the body after death.

Corpses would be buried in unsealed wooden boxes and often not as deep or well covered as modern burial practices. As the body decays the stop in blood flow to the capillaries ceases, causing the skin to turn pale. The stop of oxygen flowing through the blood stream causes skin to have a gray or bluish tint. The under the eye cavity begins to sink and become purplish. Decomposition of intestines at a greater rate than the rest of the body causes bloating and in some cases can push blood up the intestines to the mouth. Bodies buried in winter tend to decompose slower and if buried right before a frost of freeze, a body will “preserve” given the appearance that the dead is not decomposing. All these elements would make for the common descriptions of undead, blood feasting revenant. The bloating would be mistaken for being well fed, and the blood seeping from the mouth evidence that the subject had been sucking blood.

Folklore tells that not all Vampires dwelled in graveyards. It was believed that some existed among the living. Those with strange unexplained appearance and behaviors was suspect of being infected as a Vampire. Accounts of people who were accused of Vampirism may have been suffering from medical disorders that were not well understood that fit the descriptions given of Vampires. Possible diseases that could have been mistaken for Vampirism were rabies, severe anemia and Photosensitivity.

Another disease associated with possible Vampirism is anemia, a condition in which the blood lacks iron. Those who suffer from anemia can become pale often with dark circles under the eyes and marbling of the skin. In some severe cases, anemia can cause gastrointestinal bleeding, left untreated can cause one to spit up blood. An early treatment for anemia was the consumption of blood to replace the needed iron.

Photosensitivity is a condition that causes an inability for an individual to go out in sunlight without ones skin blistering or burning. The lack of vitamin D would cause folks affected to be pale lacking pigment. This would add to the belief that a person affected with vampirism could only maneuverer at night.

A commonly held belief was that Vampires were shape shifters who could transform into nocturnal animals, often the animals associated, as Vampires were owls and wolves. It would not be until 1897 that the belief that Vampires shifted into bats would become a part of the folklore. The idea came from Bram Stokers tale of Count Dracula. Although Europe does have a bat population, the iconic blood feasting bats used in Vampire mythologies was not discovered until explorers identified them in Central America. The bats were named after the undead creatures of the night and Stoker evidently felt it would be a good fit for the character of his book. The link between Vampires and Vampire bats has been in place ever since*.

Cultures have had a fascination with the Vampire for centuries. The mythology of Vampires has been driven by ancient folklore, written history, fiction writers and moviemakers, who keep the legends alive. In the modern era Vampirism has become a fashionable fad. Less the gruesome bloated monsters of their origins, Vampires have become romanticized as something attractive and mysterious. The modern Vampire is sleek, debonair and seductive.

The existence of the Vampires has never been proved or disproved. Perhaps they lie waiting in their graves to rise again. Maybe they walk amongst us disguised as everyday people. Who knows if the bat that flies across the midnight sky is just a common bat or a mythological shape-shifting Vampire looking for blood.

* Although vampire bats have been referenced in this entry in association with Vampires please do not fear or discriminate against them. For more information and facts about vampire bats as a species visit BatWorlds to learn more about them. http://www.batworlds.com/vampire-bat/

Artwork “Dissolution” appears courtesy of Chad Savageand may be purchased through his Etsy shop.

Artwork “Emeraude Feels Festive” appears courtesy of Art By Saradaand may be purchased through the HAB catalog.

Angelique Duncan is proprietor of Twilight Faerie Nostalgic and Capricious Objects. Check out her artist page to find links to her shops and vintage inspired traditional holiday art. Visit again next month for more traditions and folklore.

Repost-Imbolc, The Groundhog and the Witch

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****DATELINE 2015-GROUND HOG SEES HIS SHADOW-SIX MORE WEEKS OF WINTER FORECASTED!****
Imbolc, The Groundhog and the Witch-By Angelique Duncan

Everyone knows February brings Valentines Day and the month of romance and love. Most are familiar with stories of Cupid and his arrows, St Valentine and his notes to his beloved, and big heart shaped boxes filled with chocolates. February also brings that other holiday, Ground Hog Day.

For the most part the modern celebration of Ground Hog Day is acknowledged by quippy comments made by a meteorologist on some network morning show. Nearly lost to obscurity however is an interesting and varied history to the Ground Hog and his day.

Ground Hog Day is February 2nd. This date is also, according to the lunar calendar Midwinter, the half way point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. The days begin to grow a bit longer and warmer, the sun becomes ever more prevalent. For ancient civilizations this was a time of hope. Hope that they would endure the second half of winter and reap the benefits of the coming spring. For agricultural folks the sun was crucial to livelihood and for their survival. Imbolc or Brighde day was a time to celebrate the breaking of the light of the sun from the darkness of winter. The seasons were ruled by the moon and the sun represented and relegated by their assigned deities.

One Celtic folklore tells the tale of Cailleach, the witch hag of winter, who reigned over the land from Samhain on October 31st until Bealtane on May 1st, but she became greedy and wanted her reign to last longer. She captured her antithesis Brighde, the sun maiden deity, who ruled the summer months. According to the folklore, the winter hag kidnapped the sun goddess and took her to her wintery cave threatening that she would not let her go as to make winter last longer than it’s normal course. If on February 2nd, the date of Imbolc. Cailleach decided to keep the sun maiden locked up she would make the skies clear and bright so that she could venture into the woods to gather supplies for the longer winter. If she had relinquished the idea of a delayed spring she would sleep in and the weather would remain the overcast of winter, thus allowing the Sun Goddess to return to bring the warmth of the sun at it’s due time.

Huntsmen and Farmers knowing of the winter witch and her greed for a longer reign of seasons would observe the reactions of burrowing animals at Midwinter. They knew the forest animals would be keen to the movements of Caileach. If the badger known as the “sacred bear” and wolverines emerged from their borrows, saw their own shadows cast from the sun created by the witch and exhibited fear then the witch was gathering supplies and had planned to prolong the cold season. However if the animals were behaving in their normal winter routines, they knew that the witch had abandoned her lofty plans and was sleeping in her cave. The sun goddess was safe, ensuring spring and the coming summer would arrive on schedule.

The Scottish carried the mythology of the winter witch as they migrated to Germany and other European regions. To keep the folklore alive they honored the brock or badger as the monitor of the witches weather related plans and the tradition became imbedded in German and Dutch cultures. However as times changed and Christianity spread over Europe the celebrations of the ancient Celtics and other nature religions were phased out for Christian interpretations of Imbolc and Brighde Day. The similar Christian rituals of Candlemass and St. Bridgid’s Day replaced these rites giving less emphasis on the lunar calendar cycles and weather with an emphasis on purification and the light of Christ. With the growth of Christianity came new calendar systems and the persecution of non-believers and pagans, the story began to change. The winter witch was no longer acceptable in practice and began to fade.

As migrations led Germans to North America the tradition was carried forth. With a lack of the familiar forest creatures of Europe, the Ground Hog replaced the “sacred bear” or brock as the chosen mammal to predict the onset or delay of the seasons. The winter witch has been all but completely lost from the American and Canadian traditions of what is now known as Ground Hog Day. The most commonly relayed story of why the Ground Hog predicts the weather is that allegedly dispute arose when the calendar changed from the lunar solar to the Julian calendar as to when spring would begin, either on February 2nd, Imbolc or March 21st known as Ostara. When ultimately the change was made to the Christian-Western Gregorian calendar the disputes over the arrival of spring were still unsettled. Some thought it best to let the badger decide, with no mention of Cailleach, just a badger and his shadow.

In modern history Ground Hog Day is more of a quaint tale about borrowing animals prognosticating the weather or the punch line of cynical and sometimes cruel humor. The most notable modern Ground Hog event is in Punxsutawney Pennsylvania started in the 1930’s. The event was initiated as a way of preserving German dialect and heritage. The Ground Hog became the symbol for the annual event. Although hundreds of tourist flock to see and take pictures of the famous Ground Hog named Phil to await his weather forecast, the celebration has less to do with the animal himself and more to do with speeches, beer drinking and entertainment.

So given the folklore of Imbolc, the Ground Hog and the Witch, when the famous Punxsutawney Phil is pulled from his nest at the famed Gobblers Knob in Pennsylvania and becomes startled, perhaps it isn’t from the cameras and lights, or even that he saw his shadow, maybe it is that he sensed the Winter Witch wandering the woods fetching supplies for her extended cold winter reign.

Angelique Duncan is proprietor of Twilight Faerie Nostalgic and Capricious Objects. Check out her artist page to find links to her shops and vintage inspired traditional holiday art. Visit again next month for more traditions and folklore.

A Very Fragrant Letter

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A Very Fragrant Letter
-By Debbi Decker

Valentine’s Day is close at hand. And while I normally write about the dark and spooky side of life, I thought I would take a small detour from the norm.

Did you know you can send a love letter using flowers? The younger Victorians did. Because of the many restrictions, rules and regs passed onto them by their elders, a young Victorian of courting age had to become pretty creative in order to get his or her message across. From the use of fans to flowers, they came up with various codes to express sentiments and to send messages.

I can just imagine the practice of fluttering a fan in modern times. Woman waves fan at man. Man gets excited and quickly tells his friend “Dude, she totally wants me”. Friend replies “No dude, its 90 degrees out. She’s probably having a heat stroke!”

Sadly, a woman using a fan to send a message has gone by the wayside. But, another practice is still alive and well, and that is the Tussie Mussie, or small groups of flowers wrapped in a doily and given to a loved one. A fragrant message of love and hope. For the most part. Some flowers were used solely for sending a message of rejection.

The Victorians assigned meanings to various flowers as well as gestures pertaining to the giving or receiving of those flowers. Passing a flower to another using a right hand signified “yes”, while using the left hand signified “no”. Tussie Mussies were given by young men to young girls they were interested in. If the flowers were held close to the heart, the feeling of affection was returned. If held downward, it meant rejection. I can only imagine how carefully a bouquet was constructed and with what high hopes and baited breath it was given.

Want to send a different sort of Valentine this year? Why not create a Tussie Mussie using the Victorian language of flowers. Have someone you want to give your heart to? Give them red Chrysanthemums and yellow Zinnias which mean daily remembrance and I love you. A gathering of Ferns, Forget Me Not and Gardenia mean fascination, true love, faithfulness and purity. A pot of Gardenias alone means purity, sweet love and you are lovely. You are only limited by your imagination and the availability of flowers at your local florist. Tell the recipient of your flowers that there is a special hidden meaning in the bouquet. Tell them the names of the flowers and what they mean or write them meaning of a card to give with your gift.

Googling the meaning of flowers will give you lots of information to work with. Be creative. Roses are wonderful but there’s a whole world of flowers out there. It will take a bit of planning and perhaps calling your local florists for the kinds of flowers available but worth the effort. And ladies, guys love to get flowers just as much as we do. They just don’t want that little secret out in the open!

Oh, and if you have someone in your life that you want to break away from, believe it or not, there are florists out there that specialize in sending dead flowers. Or you can always ask your florist for any flowers “past their prime”. They might look at you strangely, but I am sure they would accommodate you!

Debbi Decker is proprietor of Crazed Poppet Creations Art & Assemblage Emporium. Check out her artist page to find links to her shop and blog to read more of her writings. Visit again next month for the telling of hauntings and ghostly tales by Debbi Decker.

Valentines 2015

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  Happy Valentines Day 2015!

Looking for unique Valentines and dark art? Search HAB Valentine on Etsy, visit HAB artist websites and find handmade Halloween, holiday art and curiosities year round through the HAB shopping catalog!

The Full Moon and the Wolves

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Copyright Angelique Duncan


The Full Moon and the Wolves
-By Angelique Duncan

The full moon of January is the Wolf Moon. It was titled by Native Americans who named each moon in the calendar for attributes that occurred in nature during that lunar cycle. While other animals take shelter and hibernate during the harsh cold of January, the wolves remain active, searching for food. It was considered very dangerous to go out during a full Wolf Moon for fear of wolf attacks. The January Wolf Moon was given its namesake for the baying of wolves that could be heard over the silence of Winter.

Wolves in mythology have been seen as leaders of the animal realm. Revered for their intelligence and tremendous hunting skills, relentless loyalty to protect their pack, nurturing instinct to their young and feared for their strength and ferocity in attack. The wolf in Native American, as well as Norse, Germanic and Slavic cultures was seen as a magnificent warrior, either to be respected or to be feared.

Many Native American tribes believed that if one were to wear a wolf pelt in battle they would channel the wolves fighting instinct and technique to be as the wolf. Those who wore animal pelts in battle were known as “Skin Walkers”, guided by their animal spirit.

The concept of “Skin Walkers” that existed in other cultures may be where the legends of the Werewolf beginnings. Although there are many possible origins and mythologies surround the half man half wolf legend. None seem to be confirmed and the history is cloudy. The stories exist in European regions of wolf warriors, half wolf- half man predators, werewolves and changelings, however recorded historical documents prior to the 13th century have either been destroyed, lost or suppressed from the public sphere of history. As Christianity spread across Europe much of what had been believed to have been recorded in Pagan histories was either left out or re-written by the church and became the stuff of myths and rumors.

Some of the earliest recorded wolf legends go back to the Greek mythology of Lycaon, who was changed into a wolf as punishment for eating his child. The Romans had many myths linked to wolves as both nurturing mother spirits and as predators’.

The wolves are a prominent figure in Norse mythology, most originating from the story of Fenrir. Fenrir was one of three sons of Loki. It was feared he would devour the rehlm and was captured. However he continued to grow huge in captivity. As the legend goes, dwarves where commissioned to create a special chain to bind him to a boulder were a sword was placed in Fenrirs jaw to keep him form attacking. From his frothing saliva a river was formed.

Stories of Werewolf like beings appear in legends from Germanic Pagans and Slavic regions as well in Norse mythology. Like the “Skin Walkers” of the Native American tales, stories are told of vicious Wolf Warriors. Men who would wear the skins of wolves and transform into wolf creatures who were animalistic in their fighting, and said to be stronger and resilient to pain. It is written that they were nearly impossible to take down in battle as if immortal.

In Irish folklore stories are passed down of the Laignach Faeland. They were half man half wolf beast who acted as mercenaries for hire. They would fight for a bounty of the flesh of small children and babies. Much fear and destruction was associated with the Laignach Faeland. They were large, fierce warriors who were unrelenting in battle.

Through out the history of Europe during the 14th through 16th centuries reports were made of Werewolf or shape-shifter attacks. The accusations were of wolf creatures that hunted humans. The victims were brutally attacked, often dis-membered, gutted and left for dead. In some instances the blood had been drained from their bodies. No wolf creatures were ever identified or confirmed and the predators never caught in these mysterious deaths.

During the witch trials in France of the 14th to 15th centuries accusations were made of shape shifting witches. Allegations were also made of witches consorting with Werewolves. In Hungary trials were set against Werewolves as late as the 18th century. It was believed that Werewolves, Witches and Vampires were responsible for bazaar deaths of humans and the mass disappearance of livestock.

In many early Werewolf legends it is believed that the wolf shape-shifting and transformation happened most prevalently during the Winter Solstice and during Ostera or Easter during a full moon. Mythologies from France, Italy and Germany stated that one could be metamorphosed into a wolf by sleeping outside in ta full moon on a designated Wednesday or Friday during the Summer months. It was believed that one would transform into a Werewolf by becoming naked and wearing a wolf skin pelt or belt. Some believed drinking rainwater collected in the track of a wolf would bring on Werewolf changes. Legends were spread that drinking water from enchanted steams during a full moon or a beer specially made from enchanted spring water would cause the affliction of wolf transformation. Some stories tell of witch spells that were cast to change the victim.

The commonly accepted way to stop a Werewolf is by use of a silver bullet or silver weapon. This comes from 18th century folklore of Germany and was reinforced by 19th century literature. The notion became popular and has remained part of Werewolf lore. Early beliefs were that scolding an infected victim or running it to the point of exhaustion could stop a Werewolf. Others believed that looking the beast in the eye and repeating their Christian given name three times would exorcise the wolf out of the infected. Some held that the only cure to Werewolf-ism was to fully convert to Christianity.

There are scientific explanations that could explain what may have been confused for shape shifting by an uneducated populace of the earlier centuries. Such conditions would include hypertrichosis, a condition in which one experiences abnormal thick hair growth that covers the body. Some victims of the condition experience adult onset, which would give the illusion that they are changing into an animal from their human form since they did not have the hair growth in childhood. Another misunderstood medical condition was photosensitivity in which one cannot go out into sunlight. A full moon would offer someone suffering from the condition an ability to move at night with out harm and bolster beliefs of nocturnal animal behaviors attributed to humans. Infection with rabies may be another condition that would have been confused with possession by wolf. The symptoms of a bite received from a rabies infected animal could have been confused for transformation by one who did not have an understanding of the disease.

We do not know if Werewolves existed or still do. The evidence is not conclusive or well documented to make the case either way. However the legends and stories do exists and are a part of our modern culture. Wolves are a deep seeded component of the history of such great cultures as the Norse, the Italians as well as France and Germany and an important animal in Native American beliefs.

Be warned, the next Wolf Moon occurs January 5th 2015. If you happen to about outside and you here the distant howl of a wolf take heed. It could be a transformed Werewolf, the ancient cry of a forgotten Wolf Warrior or the ghost of a noble animal Wolf Spirit calling for his pack.

Illustration “Full Wolf Moon” appears courtesy of Michelle Angelique Duncan-Twilight Faerie.

Angelique Duncan is proprietor of Twilight Faerie Nostalgic and Capricious Objects. Check out her artist page to find links to her shops and vintage inspired traditional holiday art. Visit again next month for more traditions and folklore.