Category Archives: Folklore

July 06

Marc Bloch on Thaumaturgy

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On the 6th of July 1886, French Jewish historian Marc L. B. Bloch was born in Lyon, France. Known as the cofounder of the Annales School of French social history, Bloch is considered a quintessential modernist. Born into an academic Alsacian family, he studied in Berlin and Leipzig, fought in the trenches of the Western […]

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June 16

Marie Laveau: Voodoo, Race and Female Power

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On the 16th of June 1881, Marie Laveau, Louisiana Creole ‘princess’ of Voodoo, died in New Orleans, Louisiana, aged 79. “A nineteenth-century free woman of color, she is a founding figure of the African-American voodoo tradition. Little is known about Marie Laveau and her introduction to voodoo. Originally a devout Catholic, she “miraculously” transformed herself […]

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June 01

Paco Peña: Flamenco and the Question of National Identity in Spain

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On the 1st of June 1942, the Spanish Flamenco composer and guitarist Paco Peña was born in Córdoba, Spain. Regarded as one of the world’s foremost traditional Flamenco players, Peña began his professional career very early in life. He learnt playing the guitar at the age of six, and by twelve he made his first professional appearances. […]

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May 23

A Historical Framing of Bonnie and Clyde

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On the 23rd of 1934, Dallas outlaws and robbers Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow were ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Black Lake, Louisiana. Their exploits captured the attention of the American public during the “public enemy era” between 1931 and 1934 in the Great Depression. Though known today for his […]

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April 12

Jim Gary’s Junk Yard Animals

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On the 12th of April 1990, Jim Gary (1939 – 2006) opened his exhibition Twentieth Century Dinosaurs at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Gary was the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition at the prestigious museum; he became known for his large, colourful creations of dinosaurs […]

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April 10

The Titanic in Myth and Popular Culture

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On the 10th of April 1912, RMS Titanic’s maiden voyage began from Southampton in England to New York City. Five days later, the passenger liner sank within less than 3 hours in the North Atlantic Ocean, after colliding with an iceberg. It caused the deaths of more than 1,500 people in one of the deadliest […]

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March 08

Anne Bonny, Eighteenth-Century Pirate Vixen

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On the 8th of March 1702, notorious Irish female pirate Anne Bonny was born as Anne Cormac, in Kinsale County Cork, the daughter of a servant woman and her solicitor employer. Trustworthy information about her life is scarce, mostly relying on A General History of the Pyrates. The book was written in 1724 and signed […]

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January 08

The Trans-en-Provence UFO Sighting

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“Yesterday, January 8, 1981, I was busy around the house as I am practically every day. I was behind the house, which is built over a restanque (raised level). I was building a concrete shelter for a water pump. Behind my house on the same level is an expanse of flat ground. It is reached […]

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December 31

Andersen’s Little Match Girl

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Here is an aspirational dramatic story about hope, love and generosity, the important matters in life, set in the last day of the calendar year, 31st of December. The Little Match Girl  (Danish: Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne) is a short story by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), first published in 1845. The editor […]

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December 26

Boxing Day Bonanza

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To celebrate festive traditions, here is an excerpt from The Book of Christmas descriptive of the Customs, Ceremonies, Traditions, Superstitions, Fun, Feeling, and Festivities of the Christmas Season (1836) by Victorian poet and critic Thomas Kibble Hervey (1799 – 1859). “Boxing-day is still a great day in London. Upon this anniversary, every street resounds with the clang of […]

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