David Castleton (Author)

My new book 'Atlas Gothica' (Hachette) is out now! A guide to 50 Gothic destinations around the world, including vampire-plagued graveyards, mummy-stuffed catacombs, haunted English libraries, Dracula's Whitby & more. Get it here: mybook.to/atlasgothica #gothic #folklore #history #weird #mythology

Medea by Evelyn de Morgan (1889). Medea was an Ancient Greek sorcerer, practitioner of magical medicine and high priestess of the goddess Hecate. When her husband abandoned her, she murdered his new wife with a poisoned robe. #MythologyMonday #folklore #art #arthistory #mythology #weird #gothic

My new book Atlas Gothica (Hachette) - a perfect read as #Halloween approaches & the nights draw in. 50 #gothic destinations around the world, including vampiric graveyards, haunted libraries, magical museums & Dracula's Whitby. Grab it here: mybook.to/atlasgothica #folklore #history #books #weird

In Hexham, Northumberland, in 1971, two carved stone heads were unearthed. People who kept the heads in their houses experienced poltergeist-like phenomena & glimpsed a figure described as half-man, half-beast. Though disputed, the heads were thought to be of Celtic origin. #SpookySunday #folklore

This building was the terminus of the London Necropolis Railway, which shipped mourners & coffins (tickets had to be purchased for both) out to Surrey's Brookwood Cemetery. Trains & waiting rooms were segregated on class lines & a steam-powered lift took coffins up to the platforms. #gothic #history

The town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, was once haunted by a 'Mothman' - a flying, red-eyed humanoid. Seen as an angel of death or harbinger of doom, Mothman was blamed for a bridge collapse. Read more in my book Atlas Gothica: mybook.to/atlasgothica #folklore #history #gothic #Halloween #weird

Trick or treating may have evolved from 'souling', a custom in which poor people would go around the neighbouring houses on holy days asking for food and drink. Many soulers were masked - a way to, literally, save face when asking for charity. #MythologyMonday #history #folklore #Halloween #gothic

#SpookySunday 'The drowned man's ghost tries to claim a new victim for the sea' by Danish artist Thorvald Niss (1842-1905)

Ornate Saxon cross shaft, in All Saints' Churchyard, Bakewell, Derbyshire. I doubt the smiley face at the top was intended to look that way. #folklore #history #churches #architecture #gothic #medieval #weird #Derbyshire

Peak Cavern, #Derbyshire - also called the Devil's Arse - leads to a cave network with infernally named features like Pluto's Dining Room, the Devil's Staircase & Inner Styx. Its more vulgar name probably comes from its gaping entrance & the flatulent noises of draining floodwater. #folklore #gothic

Mother Shipton was a #Yorkshire witch & prophetess said to have predicted the Reformation, Anne Boleyn's beheading & iron ships & railways. Her cave had a spring that turned objects to stone. Read about her in my book Atlas Gothica: mybook.to/atlasgothica #folklore #gothic #Halloween #history #weird

An infamous London witch was Mother Damnable, whose cottage allegedly stood on the site of Camden Town Tube Station. She's said to have poisoned one lover & baked another in an oven. On the day of her death, locals witnessed the Devil strolling into her house. #WyrdWednesday #folklore #Halloween

IGNIS FATUUS or Will o’ the Wisp. A corpse candle that haunts pathways with a flickering light. This phenomenon is used in Bram Stoker's #Dracula; a flickering blue flame is seen by Harker on his carriage journey through the wolf-infested forest to Castle Dracula #31daysofHalloween #Spooktober

The Cumbrian village of Dent once had its own #vampire. After dying at the suspiciously advanced age of 94, a man was spotted returning to his old house & feasting on sheep's blood. A metal stake was driven through him, part of which can be seen embedded in his tombstone. #FairytaleTuesday #folklore

The poet & artist William Blake claimed to have witnessed a fairy funeral in his garden: "I saw a procession of creatures ... bearing a body laid out on a roseleaf, which they buried with sings & then disappeared" #MythologyMonday #folklore #gothic #poets #weird #Romanticism #art #arthistory #poetry

South Yorkshire's Stocksbridge Bypass is allegedly haunted by a monk-like figure who appears suddenly in front of cars & even grabs drivers' legs. In 1987, 2 security guards encountered the apparition - police investigating 2 days later had a similar experience. #spookysunday #folklore #gothic

The White Lady statute at Glasgow's Southern Necropolis. #Folklore says her gaze turns people to stone though you can protect yourself by running round the monument chanting 'White Lady, White Lady'. One of the many tales in my book Atlas Gothica: mybook.to/atlasgothica #gothic #history #Halloween

The Devil's Arrows are 3 standing stones in North Yorkshire. Legend says the grooves on the stones came from the Devil trying to hang his grandmother from them. Another tale says they are arrows shot by Satan at the town of Aldborough for annoying him. #folklore #history #gothic #weird

The Beheading of St John by Caravaggio, 1608. Beheadings often featured in Caravaggio's art. He spent time on the run after being sentenced to death by beheading for murder. His signature on the St John painting is in the same colour as the saint's blood. #art #gothic #history #painting #arthistory

"I am thy father's spirit, doomed for a certain time to walk the night." William Shakespeare, Hamlet. (Art by William Blake) #WyrdWednesday #folklore #Shakespeare #literature #art #gothic #theatre

Looking for a spooky Halloween read? My new book Atlas Gothica explores 50 gothic destinations around the world, including vampiric graveyards, magical museums, mummy-stuffed catacombs & eerie libraries. Grab it here: mybook.to/atlasgothica #folklore #gothic #history #Halloween #weird #wyrdwednesday

Statue of the journalist Victor Noir on his tomb in Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris. #Folklore asserts that if a woman kisses Victor's lips, rubs his crotch and leaves flowers in his hat, she'll conceive a child. #FairytaleTuesday #gothic #31DaysofHalloween #Halloween #graveyard

A phantom black dog is said to haunt Tring, Hertfordshire. Some claim it's the spirit of a man hung then gibbetted for drowning a woman he accused of being a witch. The dog appears in a flash of flame, accompanied by the sounds of chains dragging. #folklore #spookysunday #gothic #31DaysofHalloween

The haunted Ostrich Inn in Colnbrook, Berkshire. One landlord encouraged wealthy guests to sleep in a room in which the bed was bolted to a trapdoor. The landlord would release it, murdering the guest by plunging them into a vat of boiling ale below. #gothic #folklore #history #crime #Halloween

A superstition states that if you count all the seeds within a pumpkin, you will see a ghost on Halloween night. #FairytaleTuesday #folklore #weird #ghosts #paranormal #mythology

The Abbey Steps, leading up to the clifftop St Mary's Churchyard, Whitby. The 'benches' at the side were originally coffin rests, where weary pallbearers could lay down their caskets. Whitby Abbey is haunted by a white lady, who appears in a window. #spookysunday #folklore #gothic #ghosts #history

The Kiss of Death, a stunning piece of modern memento mori #art in Poblenou Cemetery, Barcelona, sculpted to mourn a youth. Featured in my book Atlas Gothica: An Alternative Guide to the World's Most Curious Destinations: www.amazon.co.uk/Atlas-Gothic... #folklore #gothic #history #weird #graveyard

The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumn equinox, so called because its light allowed farmers to work for longer. Before reliable street lighting, certain organisations - including Masonic societies - scheduled their meetings to coincide with the full moon. #wyrdwednesday #folklore

When the landlord of Yorkshire's Busby Stoop Inn was due to be hanged, he sat in his favourite chair to enjoy a last pint then cursed it. Over the years, anyone who sat in the chair died soon afterwards. It is now in a museum - safely suspended from the ceiling. #mythologymonday #folklore #gothic

1808 mezzotint by William Turner depicting gibbetted remains on Hind Hill, Surrey. In 1786, 3 sailors robbed & beat to death another sailor who'd bought them food & drink. They were hung & their bodies then gibbetted. The site was long considered haunted. #folklore #gothic #history #art #weird

Launch last night for my book 'Atlas Gothica: An Alternative Guide to the World's Most Curious Destinations' (Hachette). Good turnout & great Q&A, with more requests for books today from those who couldn't make it. Check out the book here: mybook.to/atlasgothica #folklore #gothic #history #books

Murder stones are dotted around the English landscape. These gravestone-like monuments, which mark the sites of horrific killings, feature inscriptions commemorating the victims & warning of the consequences of such acts. They were especially popular in the 1820s. #folklore #history #gothic #weird

The church referred to in the rhyme 'Oranges & Lemons' is thought to be London's St Clement Danes. These fruits were once brought ashore at a nearby quay. In March, the church holds a ceremony in which oranges & lemons are handed out to schoolchildren. #FairytaleTuesday #folklore #gothic #history

Brides in 'Dracula,' 1931 #FairyTaleTuesday

The official launch for my book 'Atlas Gothica: an Alternative Guide to the World's Most Curious Destinations' (Hachette) will take place at 1B Books, #Newcastle, Thursday 17th September, 6.00 pm. You can check out the book online here: mybook.to/atlasgothica #books #wyrdwednesday #gothic #folklore

I've just learned that the ancient yew in the churchyard at Llangernyw in North Wales may be one of the oldest living things IN THE WORLD. The last time I posted one of my pictures of it, I said it was the oldest living thing in #Wales. Apparently, it may be up to 4,000 years old! #ThickTrunkTuesday

A young man with a death's head drawn by Lucas van Leyden, 1519. #Gothic #skull #16thCentury #medieval #art

A cockatrice is a winged dragon-like creature hatched from a rooster's egg incubated by a snake or toad. The cockatrice can kill a person just by looking at them, but the creature can be slain by seeing itself in a mirror or by hearing a rooster crow. #mythologymonday #mythology #folklore #gothic

Newcastle's keep has several ghosts, but perhaps the most unusual is that of a Spanish cavalier who walks across the Great Hall and is only visible from the waist down. Other spooks include a mischievous flower girl who haunts the stairs and Roman soldiers. #SpookySunday #folklore #gothic #wierd

The Mug House, in Claines, Worcestershire, is a most unusual pub as it is situated in a graveyard. The pub - said to be haunted and one of only two in the country on consecrated ground - was originally a church ale house, which provided funds for church repairs. #pubs #history #folklore #gothic

Last Saturday, I wandered into a large independent bookshop in York and spotted ... my new book 'Atlas Gothica' sitting on a shelf. Strange feeling, just a little quiet 'oh' of satisfaction. mybook.to/atlasgothica #books #gothic #folklore #writing #history #mythology #writers #travel

I was wandering in the churchyard of St Mary's by the Tyne, Gateshead, today in typical early autumn drizzle, when I spotted this cute little fellow - and snapped him. Perhaps fitting for summer's end and the turning of the year? #WyrdWednesday #folklore #gothic #graveyard #skull #history #weird

Newcastle's stunning Lit & Phil library is rumoured to have 16 ghosts, including a witchfinder who haunts the balcony overlooking the main library & seems drawn to a Victorian book on witchcraft. #FairytaleTuesday #folklore #gothic #weird #ghosts

An engraving made in 1511 of a physician having a friendly chat with Death. I don't know what's in the box but I suspect it's medicine and the doctor's handing it over as if to say, 'Well, you can't kill anyone with such-and-such anymore because now we can cure it.' #Gothic #medieval #medievalsky

An interesting form of craft is the creation of memento mori memorials. This dancing skeleton, in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh, decorates the grave of James Borthwick, Scotland's 1st professor of anatomy. #MythologyMonday #folklore #gothic #history #mythology #architecture

Wow, just looked & there's ONLY ONE COPY of my new book 'Atlas Gothica: An Alternative Guide to the World's Most Curious Destinations' left on Amazon. Seems there's quite an appetite for the dark side out there: www.amazon.co.uk/Atlas-Gothic... #folklore #gothic #mythology #history #weird #travel

In the North Yorkshire village of Goathland, when an old man died in 1926, a bullock's heart pierced with pins was found in his chimney. This was a charm against witchcraft - it was thought that as the heart dried & withered so would that of the witch troubling him. #SpookySunday #folklore #gothic

Knuckers, water dragons found in Sussex, are said to live in 'knucker holes', which are small but very deep ponds. At Lyminster Church is the Slayer's Slab, a dragon killer's gravestone said to depict a sword against a dragon's ribs. #FairytaleTuesday #folklore #gothic #mythology #weird

Linton, Yorkshire, boasts the ghost of a headless horseman dating from the Civil War. Entrusted with an important letter, the Royalist rider was ambushed & decapitated by Parliamentarians, but somehow managed to get his message to Linton's curate. #spookysunday #folklore #gothic #weird #ghosts

When Lizzie Siddal, wife of the Pre-Raphaelite Dante Gabriel Rossetti, was exhumed from her Highgate Cemetery grave, it was said her splendid red hair had grown metres long. She apparently exuded a deathly glow, making her even more beautiful. #FairytaleTuesday #folklore #gothic #art #weird #history