Happy Halloween! Will
you be dressing up today for work or play?
Perhaps escorting little ones around for treats? Telling spooky stories or watching horror
movies? Well, as we’ve discussed before,
Halloween might not have been a typical celebration in nineteenth century
England, but that didn’t mean the lads and lasses back then didn’t enjoy a good
scare!
Every town, it seemed, boasted its local ghost or grisly
creature. Black dogs, either evil or
kindly, were popular. Take the story of
the Mauthe Doog, from Peel on the Isle of Man.
The large, curly-coated spaniel was said to haunt Peel Castle, to the
point that it would come into the guard room each night and settle by the
fire. The tale was immortalized by Sir
Walter Scott in Peveril of the Peak
in 1823, only he made out the dog to be a large mastiff. Either way, hundreds of tourists flocked to
the castle for a chance to see the fearsome pet.
Most of the great houses had resident specters. At Arundel Castle, the Blue Man haunts the
library, looking for a good book. (Does
it never end?) Residents of Kenilworth
Castle have spotted the ghost of a little boy in the stables as well as ghost horses
and, ahem, ghost chickens!
Be careful out there tonight.
3 comments:
I've driven outside of Arundel Castle--we didn't get to go in because it was late, but it was super cool to be with my English friends and just stop by a castle while traveling.
Ghost chickens? That's a new one, heh! Happy Halloween!
Stephsco, I envy you! That sounds like a great drive and a great view!
Happy Halloween to you too, Leandra!
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