Sweet William’s Ghost: A Deadly Ballad

A dead lover returns to his still-alive fiance in the form of an apparition. He asks her to free him of their engagement or he's bound for hell (dramatic much?). That's essentially the gist of this English Ballad, which has many lyrical and musical variations. Of course, there's a push and pull between the ghost... Continue Reading →

The Fox Sisters

With Halloween upon us, it is fitting to focus on spiritualism and the occult for this blog post. This week, I'll be focusing on the Fox Sisters, who are the epitome of the saying, "Trick or Treat." These three girls, Leah, Margaret, and Catherine Fox, helped to found spiritualism, which is the belief that spirits... Continue Reading →

The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall

Who's the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall? Legend says she's the ghost of Lady Dorothy Walpole, who was the sister of the first Prime Minister of Britain, Robert Walpole. She was the wife of Charles Townshend, but problems were prevalent in their marriage. Charles had a heavy hand, and he was not shy about slapping... Continue Reading →

The Black Lady of Bradley Woods

Tucked away in Lincolnshire, England is the small village of Bradley. This village might at first seem obscure, when studying a map of England, but the surrounding woods boasts of an old legend.  A woman clothed in black; pale, stricken, her eyes teary. She's young and pretty. Rather harmless, other than the fact that she... Continue Reading →

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