folklore

Whispers of the Ancient: An Autumn Expedition to the Enigmatic White Horse of Uffington, the Ridgeway, and Wayland’s Smithy

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(White Horse of Uffington. Image Source: superdove CC BY-NC-SA)

As the days grow cooler and the nights draw in, and early winter rolls out over the land, please come with me on a journey back in time and an autumn ramble through the ancient landscape of Uffington in Oxfordshire. On this journey over chalk hills and across ancient trackways, I am joined by my husband and also by Emma, from Weird Wiltshire blog fame, who is accompanied by her furry sidekicks Bingo Jones the Jack Russell and Buddy Love the lurcher.

Our adventure begins at the National Trust car park below White Horse Hill, on an unusually warm autumn afternoon. We set off to make our way up towards the impressive equine chalk geoglyph, passing local wildlife including grazing sheep, and a tiny common lizard basking in the autumn sunlight.

(Common Lizard. Image Source: ©E.Blackshaw)

History of the White Horse

The Uffington White Horse is a 109 metre (360 foot) figure sprawling over the slope of the chalk Downs of Oxfordshire. The chalk outlines of this geoglyph were created by cutting into the turf and removing it to expose the gleaming white chalk below. This icon was designed to be seen from far away and can be seen from at least 15 miles away as it gallops and leaps across the Berkshire Downs.

This chalk figure is around 3,000 years old, and is one of the oldest hill figures in the country. It has been maintained over this long period by the local population through the process of ‘scouring’. This is where plants and grasses growing over the chalk outlines are cut away regularly to maintain their shape. This was often done around midsummer and would include a country fair, feasts, and festivals to mark the occasion. It sounds like it was a really lively local event.

(The approach to the White Horse. Image Source: ©E.Blackshaw)

The figure is a strange, stylized, and elongated horse which is reminiscent of ancient cave paintings of animals. This truly ancient white horse is also striking in its resemblance to the stylized figures of horses on Iron Age coins and metalwork. Soil samples taken from the lowest levels of the chalk date the Horse to the end of the Bronze Age or the start of the Iron Age, between 1200-800 BC.

Author GK Chesterton (1874-1936), who wrote ‘Ballad of the White Horse’ (1911), summed up the age of the ancient geoglyph perfectly:

Before the god that made the gods,

had seen their sunrise pass,

the White Horse of the White Horse Vale,

was cut out of the grass.

The White Horse sits in a landscape full of archaeology and ancient monuments, from Neolithic burials, through Bronze Age settlements, to later Iron Age defences. It is clear that this area and this chalk symbol have been a significant place for millennia.

Some say this ancient figure resembles a dragon more than a horse and this has resulted in myths and legends relating to dragons at nearby features which we will hear about further along on our journey.

Myths and Legends of the White Horse

There is still much debate as to the purpose of the Uffington White Horse. The location could have had a ritual or religious purpose as a possible Celtic shrine, connected to the worship of Epona the horse goddess, or may represent something else sacred.

In Europe and Asia, there is an ancient history of horses being associated with the sky and sun. The Sun Horse pulls the sun through the sky, either drawing it on the back of a chariot or pulling it directly. The horse pulls the sun through the underworld, leaving the world in darkness, before rising once more at dawn. Perhaps the White Horse is an ancient symbol of this sacred sun horse, leaping across the landscape, or a totem of an ancient horse cult.

It could also have had political significance as a meeting point between 3 great tribal kingdoms in the area. This may have served as a warning against trespass or to mark a meeting point for trade and diplomacy. Others have posited that the White Horse represents the battle standard of the Saxon ruler Alfred Hengist. Hengist is Old English for “stallion”.

(Weird White Horse and Foal. Image Source: Bing Image Creator)

Legend has it that the Uffington White Horse is a mare and that her foal was also etched into a nearby hill, which has now been lost to nature. It is said that at night the horse and foal come down to feed at the slope below known as the Manger. The mare and foal also drink at nearby Woolstone Wells, which are said to be formed from a hoofprint from the mythical horse.

Another local superstition describes how if you stand on the eye of the Uffington White Horse and turn around three times clockwise, eyes closed and while making a wish, you will have that wish come true. However, this is no longer advised due to damage that can be caused to the beautiful, ancient chalk figure.

Dragon Hill

From the brow of White Horse Hill, we can see a small flat-topped mound known as ‘Dragon Hill’. Local people maintained for centuries that the chalk hill figure was in fact a portrait of a dragon killed by St George on this hill. The blood of the slain dragon is reputed to have fallen onto the hill, poisoning the soil forever. A bare patch of ground on the top of the mound testifies to this corrupted, poisoned earth.

(Dragon Hill seen from near the White Horse. Image Source: ©E.Heard.)

There are also stories that King Arthur is not dead, but instead lies sleeping, and will one day awake when England is in grave danger. It is said that when King Arthur awakes, the Uffington horse will rise up and dance in delight on Dragon Hill.

Uffington Castle

As we climb to the brow of White Horse Hill, on our way towards the ancient trackway, we pass the earth ramparts and ditch of the former Iron Age hill fort known as Uffington Castle, which still looms protectively over the Vale of the White Horse. Past excavations have indicated that it was probably built in the 7th or 8th century BC and continued to be occupied throughout the Iron Age. Pottery found on the site suggests that the fort was used throughout the Iron Age and into the Roman era. This hillfort was a strategic location that commanded the Ridgeway, the prehistoric track that runs from Overton Hill to Ivinghoe Beacon. It is clear that whoever held the Ridgeway track would control the West of England, so much so that some people believe that Uffington was Mount Badon, where King Arthur is said to have defeated the Saxons. However, little is yet known about the use of Uffington Castle, and archaeologists are now looking at the possibility that it is less a defensive structure, but rather a spiritual centre.

The Ridgeway

(Walking the Ridgeway Image Source: ©E.Heard)

We pass over the top of the hill and through a gate to join the ancient pathway known as ‘The Ridgeway’. The Ridgeway, an ancient trackway, holds profound historical importance and deep cultural significance that spans millennia. As Britain’s oldest road, it traces its roots back to prehistoric times, serving as a vital route for trade, pilgrimage, and communication. This ancient route, which stretches for 87 miles across chalk hills, meanders through picturesque landscapes, connecting the River Thames to the Avebury stone circle and beyond. The Ridgeway has witnessed the footsteps of countless generations, from Neolithic settlers to Roman soldiers, medieval pilgrims, and modern-day ramblers. Its historical significance lies not only in its utilitarian function but also in its cultural role, reflecting the evolving human narratives of the region. Today the Ridgeway continues to beckon walkers and history enthusiasts alike, inviting them to traverse its timeless path and connect with the living tapestry of the past, to experience the ancient history embedded in the landscape of Oxfordshire and beyond.

(Devil’s Coach Horse Beetle. Image Source: ©E.Blackshaw)

Walking Westwards along the route, we pass leafy hedgerows brimming with ripe berries and encounter a devil’s coach horse beetle scuttling along the track, perhaps going about its namesake’s business.

Wayland’s Smithy

After following the Ridgeway for a mile and a half, we reach our ultimate destination, the remarkable long barrow of Wayland’s Smithy. Wayland’s Smithy is a mysterious Neolithic earth and stone structure once believed to be the home of a Saxon and Norse god of metalwork. Wayland the smith features in Germanic and Norse mythology and his legend may have been brought to England by Norsemen centuries after the long barrow was originally constructed.

(Wayland’s Smithy. Image Source: ©E.Blackshaw)

As legend has it, Wayland was captured by Swedish King Ndud, and was disfigured and tortured before being forced to work for him in the royal smithy. Wayland eventually escaped his enslavement by killing the king’s sons, and using their skulls as drinking bowls, before raping the king’s daughter and escaping using a flying cloak or metal wings that he created using his metalwork skills.

Wayland escaped to England and built himself a smithy at the isolated location where the long barrow stands. Feeling embarrassed of his disfigured appearance he was able to hide himself away from public view while carrying on his smithy trade. However, Wayland was eventually found by King Ndud’s men and was killed. He managed to take out eight of the Norsemen with his smithing hammer before he was overpowered and legend has it that the eight skeletons that were found in the excavations of the long barrow in 1919 were these men.

(Wayland Smith. Image Source: Bing Image Creator )

Despite this end, is said that the spirit of Wayland still resides at Wayland’s Smithy and he will shoe any traveller’s horse if the horse and a coin are left at the Smithy overnight. Even today, coins can be found left in the holes of the stones, more for luck now, than for shoeing horses.

Wayland Smithy is also associated with the nearby Uffington White Horse. It is said that once every hundred years the White Horse leaves its hill and gallops across the sky to be reshod by Wayland in his smithy. The Neolithic tomb could perhaps also be associated with the Sun Horse legend; the already 1000-year-old long barrow may have been reimagined by the people who carved the chalk geoglyph as a portal for the horse and sun to enter the Underworld.

(The entrance to the long barrow. Image Source: ©E.Heard)

We stop for a while at Wayland’s Smithy to soak in the calm, peaceful, almost otherworldly atmosphere of the location. This is one of my favourite places for peaceful reflection, and the fallen trees make an excellent spot to take tea and snacks, which we do. Importantly, before we leave, we place coins for luck and offering to Wayland on the stones. We then begin the long walk back up the gentle incline to the car park, stopping to forage some of the wild fruits and berries we find on the Ridgeway, in the hope of cooking up some delicious jams and jellies to remind us of our ramble.

On one of the last warm days of the year, before Autumn begins to bite, our ramble through the ancient landscape of the Vale of the White Horse, the Ridgeway, and Wayland’s Smithy leaves an indelible imprint on my memory. Surrounded by the mystical whispers of history, the air carries the essence of bygone eras, weaving tales of our ancient ancestors and their untold mysteries. The undulating hills and the enigmatic White Horse carved into the earth create a canvas of timeless beauty. As I stand amidst the ancient stones of Wayland’s Smithy, I feel a profound connection to the past. This autumnal adventure, with its awe-inspiring scenery and palpable sense of history, is a poignant reminder of the enduring allure of the past, forever etched in the landscape of Britain.

(Autumn Ramblers, the two Emmas. Image Source: ©E.Blackshaw)

Check out my travel companion Weird Wiltshire’s wonderful blog where she explores stories of ghosts and the paranormal, folklore, history and anything weird, found in Wiltshire and beyond:

https://weird-wiltshire.co.uk/

Reference list

The Legend of Stingy Jack: The Haunting Legend Behind the Halloween Jack-o’-Lantern

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(Image Source: A traditional Irish turnip Jack-o’-lantern from the early 20th century. Photographed at the Museum of Country Life, Ireland. © Rannṗáirtí Anaiṫnid 2009)

Halloween, a time of ghosts, ghouls, and goblins, is a time when the veil between this world and the next is at its weakest and spirits roam the earth.  One legend looms large in the heart of Halloween itself – the macabre tale of Stingy Jack. This eerie figure from Irish folklore was the origin of the popular Halloween tradition of carving jack-o’-lanterns. Join me as I explore the dark legend of Stingy Jack and his connection to Halloween.

Who was Stingy Jack?

The legend of Stingy Jack originated from the depths of Irish folklore. Stingy Jack was a notorious trickster known for his deceit and cunning. Jack’s reputation for manipulation and shrewdness was so notorious that he even caught the eye of the devil himself.

The Legend and Faustian Bargain

The legend has it that Jack was out one night after having a tipple in his local tavern when he stumbled upon Satan on a country road. The devil demanded his soul, but Jack pleaded to have a last drink of ale with him in the local pub.  After their drinking session, Jack used his cunning to trick the devil into transforming himself into a coin to pay for their drinks. Jack placed the devilish coin in his pocket where he kept a crucifix, thereby stopping the devil from returning to his true form.

(Image Source: PAPÉ, Frank C. “The Devil…Did for His Comfort Give Him a Ring”, illustration from Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel, 1927. © Halloween HJB 2020)

Jack was very pleased with himself and his wheeze, but eventually freed Satan. However, not one for missing a trick, Jack only agreed to free the devil after he had struck a Faustian bargain. Jack made a deal that the devil should spare his soul for ten years.

Ten years passed and Jack encountered Satan once again while he was stumbling home from the pub. Using his cunning once again, he asked to have a last snack of an apple from a nearby tree. The devil foolishly climbed the apple tree to fetch him an apple. Once up the tree, Jack surrounded its trunk with crucifixes, trapping the devil in its branches. Realising he’d been had, the devil pleaded to be let down, but not before agreeing never to take Jack’s soul. However, this bargain came with a haunting clause, one that would forever alter Jack’s fate.

Jack’s Just Desserts

Eventually, Jack’s drink-fuelled life came to an end and he died. His soul prepared to ascend to Heaven, however as he tried to enter the pearly gates he was stopped by St Peter. Jack, demanding to know why he could not enter Heaven, was taken to see God, who told him that due to his sinful lifestyle, trickery, and deceitful ways, he was not eligible for Heaven.

Jack then descended to the Gates of Hell and begged Satan for admission into the underworld. However, the devil, fulfilling his obligation to Jack, could not take his soul.  Jack was instead condemned to roam the earth in perpetual darkness. The devil, however, felt sorry for Jack and gave him an ember to light his way, which he placed inside a carved turnip to create a makeshift lantern. This eerie lantern forever guides his eternal search for a final resting place as he wanders the world between the planes of good and evil.

(Image Source: Carved Turnips, © opacity 2019)

The Birth of the Jack-o’-Lantern and Stingy Jack’s Influence on Halloween

Over time Stingy Jack’s turnip lantern became synonymous with Celtic Samhain and Halloween. Irish immigrants brought their traditions to America and soon discovered that the local pumpkins, larger and easier to carve, made ideal lanterns. This transformation from turnips to pumpkins gave birth to the iconic ‘Jack-O’-Lantern’ we know today.

As you prepare for Halloween and carve your pumpkin jack-o’-lanterns, remember the eerie folkloric origin of this beloved tradition.  Stingy Jack, with his cunning trickery and Faustian bargain, has left an enduring spark of folklore as his cursed spirit lights our way through the mysterious and magical night of Halloween. So, when you see those flickering jack-o’-lanterns, spare a thought for Stingy Jack forever condemned to wander the earth with only a lantern to light his way.

(Image Source: Jack-O’-Lanterns, ©macwagen – CC BY-NC-ND -2019)

References

An Eerie Encounter with the Dullahan’s Death Coach

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Lawrence Holohan and unknown young lady, possibly a granddaughter

When I was a teenager, still in high school, I became very interested in my Irish heritage and began tentatively researching my family tree. My grandfather was from Thomastown in County Kilkenny and married my grandmother after he met her in Norfolk while stationed there with the RAF. Sadly, he died quite young, only a few months before my mother was born. I think not knowing my grandfather was what made me even more determined to look into my Irish roots and the first port of call was talking to my grandaunt Phila, my grandfather’s younger sister. Phila was a fountain of family history knowledge, providing me with a family tree drawn from memory and writing down a few memories and stories about the relatives she remembered. One such story has intrigued me since and has led me to further research and create this blog post.

Lawrence Holohan was Phila’s grandpa, my 2nd great-grandfather. He was born in 1870 in Thomastown in the county of Kilkenny in Ireland. He lived in an area near Bennetsbridge, not far from Thomastown, called Newhouse. Records trace his ancestors back to this area at least until the turn of the 19th century.

My grandaunt wrote down quite a few of her memories about him, but the one that captivated me the most was this story, as follows:

“He was great for telling ‘ghost stories’. One I remember was of him walking home late one night, along a dark Irish lane, when he heard the sound of the local stagecoach coming. He stood aside to let it pass, but when it drew near, it was being driven by a ‘headless’ driver, so the story goes.”

Aunty Phila’s handwritten notes

Lawrence died in 1956 and Phila has also now sadly passed away, so I cannot find out any more information on this wonderful ghost story from them, however, I have been able to look into some of the folklore of Ireland concerning headless coach drivers and headless horsemen.

It seems that stories of the headless coach have some history in the Bennettsbridge area, as I found a story originating from there in the National Folklore Collection, UCD. This was located in their Schools’ Collection and was written by 13-year-old Mary Nolan of nearby Danesfort in 1938:

“Headless Coach

In ancient times the old Irish people believed in many mythical things. They believed in Fairies and the “Headless Coach” and many things like that.

It is said that people in those days saw the ‘Headless Coach’ and this is the description they have of it. The Coach was very big and there was supposed to be dead people on it. The horses that were drawing it had no heads and that is why it was called the ‘Headless Coach’.

In the middle of the night some people heard it and they said it came up the Bennetts – Bridge road and it went down the Stoneyford road and it stopped at the Protestant Church. The people did not know where it came from.

The Coach made great noise as it travelled. Old people say it has to pass along the same way every four years.

People long ago told many stories about the ‘Headless Coach’ and they were kept by tradition.”

Was this the same apparition that Lawrence saw on that lonely lane, making its way to take a soul? It sounds as if the Headless Coach was a regular visitor along the roads he would have walked as a young man and he would have grown up hearing stories of its deathly journeys.

Ireland is a land shrouded in rich folklore, where tales of otherworldly beings and ghostly spectres abound. Among the many fascinating and eerie stories, two figures stand out for their chilling presence and association with death: the Dullahan and the Cóiste Bodhar Death Coach.

The Dullahan: The Headless Horseman

Dullahan, the headless horseman via Wikipedia (Croker, Thomas Crofton (1834) “XXIX. The Headless Horseman” in Fairy legends and traditions of the south of Ireland, John Murray, p. 239)

In Irish legend, the Dúlachán or Dullahan is a terrifying figure, often referred to as the “Gan Ceann” or “Headless One.” This malevolent being is said to roam the countryside, heralding imminent death with his appearance. The Dullahan was thought to be a sign of death, similar to the folklore of the banshee. Unlike the Banshee, which is known to warn of a coming death in certain families, the Dullahan does not come just to warn; he is the harbinger of someone’s certain death.  The Dullahan is depicted as a headless horseman, carrying his detached head under his arm or holding it high up in the air. The head’s eyes are said to be constantly moving, peering into the distance and revealing the fate of those whose demise is drawing near.

The first mention of the Dullahan appears in Thomas Crofton Croker’s book Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland in 1828 and he is described as follows in the tale “The Headless Horseman”:

   ” ..such a head no mortal ever saw before. It looked like a large cream cheese hung round with black puddings: no speck of colour enlivened the ashy paleness of the depressed features; the skin lay stretched over the unearthly surface almost like the parchment head of a drum. Two fiery eyes of prodigious circumference, with a strange and irregular motion, flashed like meteors.”

Clothed in a tattered, black cloak, the Dullahan wielded a whip made from a human spine, which he used to strike fear into anyone who crossed his path. His horse’s hooves were said to spark flames as they gallop, leaving a sinister trail of fire in their wake. When the Dullahan stopped riding, it was believed that a soul was about to pass into the afterlife. It is claimed that witnesses would hear their name being called out, and if they looked back, they were destined to die.

Despite his forbidding demeanour, the Dullahan was said to be fearful of gold and would avoid areas where these precious metals are present. As a result, people would sometimes leave offerings of gold to protect themselves from the dreaded fate he carried.

Croker’s tale “The Headless Horseman” provides the best depiction of the Dullahan, presented with good humour. The protagonist of the story is Charley Culnane, who while out riding at night witnessed the apparition of a disembodied head of a horse ridden by the figure of a headless spectral rider:

“A figure, whose height (judging as well as the obscurity of the night would permit him) he computed to be at least eight feet, was seated on the body and legs of a white horse full eighteen hands and a half high … his vision failed in carrying him further than the top of the collar of the figure’s coat, which was a scarlet single-breasted hunting frock …]see further he could not, and after straining his eyes for a considerable time to no purpose, he exclaimed, with pure vexation, “By the big bridge of Mallow, it is no head at all he has!

“Look again, Charley Culnane, said a hoarse voice, that seemed to proceed from under the right arm of the figure.

Charley did look again, and now in the proper place, for he clearly saw, under the aforesaid right arm, that head from which the voice had proceeded, and such a head no mortal ever saw before.”

Surprisingly Charley then decided to challenge the headless horseman to a race, much to the delight of the ghostly rider:

“A hundred years it is since my horse and I broke our necks at the bottom of Kilcummer Hill, and ever since I have been trying to get a man that dared to ride with me, and never found one before.”

The horseman disappeared without taking Charley’s life and rewarded him with the promise of supernatural assistance in any future races in which Charley would take part.

There are also legends and tales concerning the “Headless Coach”, or in Irish Cóiste Bodhar, with its driver being the Dullahan.

The Cóiste Bodhar Death Coach: Harbinger of Doom

The Cóiste Bodhar, also known as the “Silent Coach” or “Death Coach”, is by legend a ghostly coach drawn by a team of headless, skeletal horses, and it travels silently through the night to collect the souls of the departed. Like the Dullahan, the Cóiste Bodhar is a harbinger of death and signals the end of a person’s life.

The sight of the Cóiste Bodhar is said to bring an eerie stillness to the surroundings as if nature itself is holding its breath. The coach is often described as being adorned with funereal symbols, and its windows are said to be draped in mournful black. Those who witness the spectral procession may be overcome with a sense of foreboding, as they know that someone’s demise is imminent.

In some versions of the tale, the Cóiste Bodhar is driven by a Dullahan, further intertwining the stories of these two chilling entities. According to WB Yeats in his book  Irish Fairy and Folk Tales (1893), the Dullahan drives the coach:

“This is a most gruesome thing. He has no head, or carries it under his arm. Often he is seen driving a black coach called coach-a-bower (Ir. Coite-bodhar), drawn by headless horses. It rumbles to your door, and if you open it a basin of blood is thrown in your face. It is an omen of death to the houses where it pauses. Such a coach not very long ago went through Sligo in the gray of the morning, as was told me by a sailor who believed he saw it. In one village I know its rumbling is said to be heard many times in the year.”

According to Croker, the Dullahan could be heard driving the Death Coach particularly hard on some nights when there were souls to be collected:

“The following account of the Dullahans and their coach was communicated to the writer by a lady resident in the neighbourhood of Cork:–

“They drive particularly hard wherever a death is going to take place. The people about here thought that the road would be completely worn out with their galloping before Mrs. Spiers died. On the night the poor lady departed they brought an immense procession with them, and instead of going up the road, as usual, they turned into Tivoli: the lodge-people, according to their own account, ‘were kilt from them that night.’ The coachman has a most marvellously long whip, with which he can whip the eyes out of anyone, at any distance, that dares to look at him. I suppose the reason he is so incensed at being looked at, is because he cannot return the compliment, ‘pon the ‘count of having no head. What a pity it is none but the Dullahans can go without their heads! Some people’s heads would be no loss to them, or anyone else.”

One compelling story by Croker concerning the Death Coach is that of “Hanlon’s Mill”. The protagonist Michael Noonan was walking back from Ballyduff, Co Cork from his trip to a shoemaker and passed the ruined mill of “Old Hanlon”. The ruin surprisingly seemed to be issuing clacking noises as if it were working away. Mick then met his neighbour Darby who asked him to take the horse and cart back. Mick passed by the River Awbeg and here noticed that the moon reflected on a pool of water had disappeared.  When he turned, he then saw, following beside his cart, a black coach drawn by six headless black horses, driven by a headless coachman clothed in black:

“How was Mick astonished at finding, close along-side of the car, a great high black coach drawn by six black horses, with long black tails reaching almost down to the ground, and a coachman dressed all in black sitting up on the box. But what surprised Mick the most was, that he could see no sign of a head either upon coachman or horses.”

The next morning, Mick received news from a local huntsman that Master Wrixon of Ballygibblin had died suddenly after a fit. So, according to legend, the appearance of the “Headless Coach” foreshadowed an imminent death once again.

Photo by u0410u043du0442u043eu043d u0425u0430u0442u043au0435u0432u0438u0447 on Pexels.com

Another interesting story occurred in 1876 in county Clare, collected by Thomas Johnson Westropp, in his 1910 “A Folklore Survey of County Clare”.  Here a servant for the MacNamara family of Ennistymon House was taking a stroll late at night when he heard the rumbling of wheels along the lane. Confused as to what vehicle would be out at such a late time of night, he then realised it must be the Cóiste Bodhar.

The servant then quickly ran and opened the three gates leading to Ennistymon House and threw himself face down on the ground as the death coach hurtled past him. Without stopping at Ennistymon House, it drove into the distance until it was out of sight and no longer heard. A day later news arrived that Sir Admiral Burton MacNamara had died in London.

Despite their fearsome reputation, the Dullahan and Cóiste Bodhar serve as a reminder of the ancient beliefs and superstitions that have shaped Irish culture. Did Lawrence Holohan really witness the Death Coach passing by on its solemn journey? Did it come to take the soul of a family member or friend of his? The answers are now lost in time. However, what we do know is that legend of the Dullahan and the Death Coach continues to captivate and frighten those who hear their eerie hoofbeats or the rumbling of wheels echoing in the darkness, making them two of the most enduring and haunting figures in Irish folklore.

Photo by Hakan Erenler on Pexels.com

I dedicate this post to my mother Susan Gayfer (01/06/1956-24/07/2023) who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly the on the day I finished writing the first draft and had been excited to read the finished product. She sadly did not live to read it.

References

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