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Nifty Buckles Folklore @niftybuckles.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

#WyrdWednesday 🍵🫖 Uncover the mystical world of #Tasseomancy also called Tasseography. This ancient practice believes the drinker's energy infuses the tea, revealing secrets & predicting the future. Swirl, sip, & seek the truth in the leaves 🌿 #Spirituality #TeaLeafReading 🫖🌿

Reading Tea Leaves’ by Harry Herman Roseland (1906) Public domain

Te Leaf Reading Photo by MochaSwirl on Commons. Wikimedia.

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Speaking of dark arts, an Old Babylonian (1900-1600 BCE) incantation wards against the evil eye - and folk-belief in the misfortune caused by it persists in Greece and Turkey. The nazar charm below acts as a ward! #WyrdWednesday More on the evil eye: reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com/2026/07/curs...

A nazar charm (shaped like a blue glass eye) is said to offer protection from the evil eye... (Pic by Soyoung HAN on Unsplash)

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Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

JULES VERNE'S TOMB (1907) The monument, created by sculptor Albert Roze, shows the writer as a #revenant or returner from beyond the grave, reaching towards the sky. Its face was modelled on his death mask. Image: Amiens, France. #WyrdWednesday

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Liz Overs @overslizzie.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

‘We still regard the beautiful red cup-moss as the fairies’ baths’ (1868) #folkloresunday

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

In English folklore, witches used familiars (imps, often in animal form) to work mischief. The 17th century Elizabeth Clarke supposedly had a whole menagerie of them - and set them on "Witchfinder General" Mathew Hopkins! #FolkloreSunday

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

A Witch's Best Friend: Examples of Familiars From English Folklore

Britain's witches were often accused of having familiars, imps that would do their bidding - these examples are from historical cases and confessions!

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

In the British Isles, turnips served as jack-o'-lanterns before pumpkins. There's hints that turnip lanterns have wider roots in Europe - they feature in Finland's Kekri festivities, and may have evolved from Celtic head-taking! #FairytaleTuesday

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

Devilry, Heads and Turnips: Exploring the Jack-o'-Lantern's History

Read about the connection between severed heads, turnips and jack-o'-lanterns, along with the tales of Stingy Jack and Big Sixteen...

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Olivia @oliviaarmstrong.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

In Irish folklore, there was a man in the wind - fear nagaoithe (the wind-man). In late autumn he destroyed stacks of corn and hay which the farmers hadn't put into the barn. He could also use his bellows to bring the storms... #FolkloreThursday 🎨Arthur Rackham

Autumn leaves are orange, a crowd of faces with hair flying is blowing the trees and the leaves.

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Stingy Jack spent three wishes on a chair, hammer and apple tree that could trap anyone - even the devil, whom Jack made agree never to take him to hell! Unwelcome in heaven or hell, he roams Ireland with a turnip jack-o'-lantern! #MythologyMonday

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

Devilry, Heads and Turnips: Exploring the Jack-o'-Lantern's History

Read about the connection between severed heads, turnips and jack-o'-lanterns, along with the tales of Stingy Jack and Big Sixteen...

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Stephen G. Rae @stephengrae.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

After it set, Kinich Ahau, the Night Sun became a jaguar and travelled through, or perhaps ruled, the underworld; known as the Jaguar God of the Underworld. The jaguar being the most powerful cat known to the Mayan people. #WyrdWednesday art: A.D. McGowan

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Miles Hentrup @miles-hentrup.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

According to Cecelia Klein, the Aztecs called gold "'yellow sacred excrement,' and tonatiuh icuitl, 'the excrement of the sun.' Tonatiuh, the sun, was a god, and gold represented the traces of the body wastes that he deposited during the night as he passed through the underworld." #WyrdWednesday

Defecating and urinating man with death figure, Codex Borgia, plate 13

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

A papyrus dating back to Ramesses II turned out to be a book of dream interpretation - e.g. it claims that if a man dreams of his bed catching fire (a bad omen) it means he will drive away his wife! #MythologyMonday More sleep folklore: reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com/2026/08/gods...

These carved pillars are in Luxor, where an ancient Egyptian book of dream interpretation was found! (Pic by CALIN STAN on Unsplash)

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Allison Dieppa @amdieppa.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

My birthplace is the source of many spooky legends, but perhaps none are so famous as the Jersey Devil, said to be the 13th child born to Mother Leeds in 1735. Upon discovering she was pregnant yet again, Leeds reportedly said, “Let this one be a devil!” #WyrdWednesday #WeirdNJ

Illustrations of the Jersey Devil, a winged and hooved cryptid — from Weird New Jersey magazine (https://weirdnj.com/stories/jersey-devil/)

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Orkney had a strange visitor in the autumn of 1808 - a massive carcass (complete with a glowing mane) known as the Stronsay Beast. Some claim it was merely a basking shark... but the Beast was 15ft longer than these fish! #WyrdWednesday

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

Basking Shark or Something Stranger: The Case of the Stronsay Sea Monster

Read about the mysterious and massive carcass that washed up in Orkney, explore what witnesses said and take a look at some possible culprits!

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Europe's grimoires hold many interesting rituals, such as methods for making a... • Homunculus (magical servant) • Hand of Glory (a spicy take on this thieves' tool) • Love potion (houseleek, periwinkle and worms) #FairyTaleTuesday More details: reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com/2026/03/witc...

Rituals can be found in the time-browned pages of old tomes... (Pic by Sergiu Vălenaș on Unsplash)

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Ancient Chinese alchemists spent a lot of time making elixirs of life... from mercury. The results were lethal, but that didn't stop Qin Shi Huangdi having rivers (possibly literally) of the metal in his imperial tomb! #MythologyMonday

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

Orichalcum, Iron and Gold: Dig Into 9 Real "Magical" Metals

Read about the pseudo-legendary orichalcum, the alleged magic of iron, why the wealthy had lead coffins and the emperor buried with rivers of mercury!

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Pre-Norman Conquest County Durham trembled under a toxic wyvern's wings. The Sockburn Worm was slain by Sir John Conyers - his falchion (part sword, part cleaver) is presented to each new Bishop of Durham! #FairyTaleTuesday More English dragons:

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

Dragons, Wyrms and Wyverns: 12 Scaly Tales From English Folklore

Read stories about England's dragons, such as the girl who befriended a monster, the beast felled by a poisoned pie and the Devil's pet!

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Bevan Thomas @bevanthomas.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Dagon was the father of the gods in ancient Syria, as well as a god of fertility, prosperity, and kingship. Because his name sounds similar to the Hebrew word for "fish," Dagon is mistakenly called a sea god in medieval texts, and gets reinvented as a fish-like demon. #WyrdWednesday

Statue of Dagon from Gaza, depicting him as looking similar to the Greek god Zeus (as both were king of the gods).

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The Ghost Monk @theghostmonk.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Two sea creatures from 'Pearson's Magazine'. The first is by Warwick Goble for 'In The Abyss' by H G Wells (February 1896). The second is by W E Wigfull for 'Sargasso' by Ward Muir (October 1908) - Hope-Hodgson's Sargasso novel 'Boats Of The Glen Carrig' had been published in 1907... #WyrdWednesday

A man looks through the porthole of a diving bell at a reptilian creature with a long tail which is staring back at him.

A man staggers back in terror as a dinosaur-like creature with a long snout crawls onto the deck of his ship.

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Nifty Buckles Folklore @niftybuckles.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

🐟👁️ #WyrdWednesday Beneath Innsmouth lurk Lovecraft’s Deep Ones: immortal, fish-frog beings dwelling in the sunken city of Y’ha-nthlei. 🌊 They mingle their blood with humans before returning to the sea… 📖 Frank A. Utpatel’s original 1936 illustrations from The Shadow Over Innsmouth. #HPLovecraft

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Bottles containing hair (and worse) can be found buried in some old English buildings. The organic contents were thought to lure disembodied witches close... so that bent pins and thorns could trap them! #FairyTaleTuesday More magical history at...

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

Witch Bottles and the Hand of Glory: Discover 6 Bits of Magical History

Read about historical spells and talismans including the witch bottle, a love potion, the witch's plough, the homunculus and the Hand of Glory!

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Crystal Ponti @crystalponti.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

The Japanese makura-gaeshi, or "pillow turner," is a yōkai associated with rooms where people sleep. It is blamed for moving pillows during the night, although darker versions describe sleepers awakening to discover that far more than their pillow has been mysteriously rearranged. #MythologyMonday

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Crystal Ponti @crystalponti.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

In Greek mythology, Hypnos lived in a shadowy cave untouched by sunlight. Near his dwelling grew poppies and other sleep-inducing plants, while dreams moved through the darkness. Even gods could succumb to his influence. Sleep, mythology reminds us, is its own kind of power. #MythologyMonday

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Joy Parry @joy13.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

#MythologyMonday Nordic goddess Holda or Hulda is associated with winter, spinning and industrious housewives. In Germany and The Netherlands, where she is known as Frau Holle, there is a saying that it snows because "Frau Holle is shaking out her feather pillows". 🎨Paul Hey [©Mary Evans Pictures]

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Stevie Kilner @1steviekilner.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

According to medieval Folklore, the Man in the Moon is an old man, banished there for stealing brushwood. In other traditions, it's a woman, banished for making butter on the Sabbath day. Others say it's a man from Wigan who went there in a rocket to fetch some cheese. #FolkloreThursday

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The folklore of the British Isles has some larger than life criminals - such as the "dashing highwayman" Dick Turpin, cave-dwelling cannibal Sawney Bean and the Red Bandits of Mawddwy (known both for red hair and killing a baron!) #FolkloreThursday

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

Bold Bandits and Cowardly Cannibals: 4 Folkloric Criminals of the British Isles

Explore the unglamorous tale of Dick Turpin, the cannibal cave of Sawney Bean, the exploits of Gadaidhe Dubh and the Red Bandits who killed a baron!

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

The Karnabo of France was a basilisk-eyed humanoid with an elephant's trunk, said to be the child of a sorcerer and a ghoul. Karnabo's wheezing could paralyze or asphyxiate, but it could also cure "whitlows" with a chant! #FairyTaleTuesday More at reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com/2026/06/skof...

Karnabo was said to possess a trunk... (Pic by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash)

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Did you know that spinach can be made into a bomb detector? Researchers were able to implant a chemical sensor into spinach leaves, which could check the water collected by the roots! More biology meeting technology: reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com/2026/05/rat-...

Could spinach like this be repurposed as a biological sensor? (Pic by Rens D on Unsplash)

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

The Finfolk of Orkney were said to use Hildaland as a base for their nefarious excursions. This island was shrouded from human sight... until a vengeful islander marked it with rings of salt. It's now called Eynhallow! #MythologyMonday More at reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com/2026/01/fin-...

The Orkney Isles feature standing stones looking out onto the stormy sea... (Pic by Maxwell Andrews on Unsplash)

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Joy Parry @joy13.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

#MythologyMonday Lyonesse was also the home of Tristan - who shared a doomed romance with Iseult which resulted in the tragic deaths of both of them ... #Mabinogion 🎨J W Waterhouse * Marc Fishman

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Drought-causing frogs feature in Australian and American folklore. Agalibému hoarded the water of the Wabanaki until being slain, while Tiddalik swallowed the water of Australia... until the other animals made him laugh! #frogfriday

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

Droughts, Monsters and Toadstones: 14 Examples of Frog and Toad Folklore

Read about the Toad Doctor of Pulham, why India has frog weddings, Egyptian frog gods and the surprisingly common tale of a thirsty frog!

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

In 1820, the whaling ship Essex sunk after being rammed by a sperm whale - an event that inspired Moby-Dick. The crew would have been worse off if they'd met the prehistoric Livyatan melvillei, a sperm whale as deadly as a megalodon!

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

Deadly Voices and a Gut Full of Perfume: The Whales Behind Moby-Dick

Read about the ear-splitting clicks and defensive defecation of the sperm whale, how they got their name and the attack that inspired Moby-Dick!

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Folk Horror Revival 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @folkhorrorrevival.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Never tell secrets in the fields. The corn has ears, the potatoes have eyes, and the beans talk. #WyrdWednesday

Photograph of a field of corn/maize with a yellow sign in front reading 'Go ahead and scream! There are thousands of ears listening'.

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Did you know that the San José sank with a massive cargo of gold (that has two countries and a salvage company fighting over its wreck?) Or that saponified crew members from the SS Kamloops still drift in its sunken remains?

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

The Sunken $17 Billion and a Haunted Steamer: 4 Weird Shipwrecks (and How They Happened)

Read about a true sunken treasure ship, a vertical wreck, a hulk filled with radioactive waste and the closest thing we have to a ghost ship!

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Fossils can cover a range of preserved remains - from a small dinosaur's feathered tail trapped in amber to a mammoth ice mummy with intact cells... and even a natural clay cast of an ancient horseshoe crab's brain!

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

Mammoth Jerky, Carnivorous Tacos and a Dino-Tail in Amber: 6 Strange Fossils

Read about a fossilized crab brain, creatures slain and preserved during their last fight or meal and perfectly preserved remains in amber or ice...

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Accused 16th century witch Joan Upney was said to keep a collection of toads. These amphibians were not just pets, they were familiars that she'd send to "pinch" and drain the life from inconvenient humans! #FolkloreSunday More familiars at reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com/2026/01/a-wi...

Joan Upney was said to keep toads like this that could drain the life of a human... (Pic by Li Lin on Unsplash)

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the fire god Agni devours (burns) Khandava Forest. His motive wasn't malign - he was attempting to cure himself of a case of divine indigestion, brought on by excessive sacrifices! More wildfire folklore at...

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

Firehawks and a God With Indigestion: The Folklore of Wildfires

Read about gods who caused wildfires, a hummingbird that tried to battle a forest blaze and the pyromaniac firehawks of Australia!

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

The British hoaxers Mary Bateman and Helen Duncan led "magical" lives - Duncan's séances got her locked up for national security, while Bateman had the "Prophet Hen of Leeds" (as well as being a fraudster and murderess!) #FolkloreThursday Read on at reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com/2026/06/mary...

In 20th century Britain, groups of people would gather around dimly lit tables to take part in séances... (Pic by Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / The National Library of Wales on Unsplash)

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Researchers relied on lidar to scan the remains of cities beneath the vegetation of Ecuador’s Upano Valley. Heinrich Schliemann had another approach to excavating Troy - while Homer's Greeks used a wooden horse, Schliemann used TNT!

reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com

Ancient Troy and the Valley of the Lost Cities: 5 Times Forgotten Settlements Were Found

Read about the rediscovery of ancient cities along the Silk Road, the truly ancient Göbekli Tepe and how TNT helped reveal the city of Troy!

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The FolkLore Press @thefolklorepress.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Herne the Hunter is an antlered diety associated with Windsor Forest. He rides a horse, is accompanied by an owl, and leads a pack of spectral hounds. The earliest mention of Herne comes in William Shakespeare's 'The Merry Wives of Windsor'. #wyrdwednesday

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bob-the-curious.bsky.social @bob-the-curious.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Fungi and bacteria may offer an excellent solution to plastic pollution. Researchers found plastic-eaters in the coastal marshes of China, while a lab in Sidney was able to degrade polypropylene with fungi! More world-changing organisms at reallyweirdrealworld.blogspot.com/2026/04/carb...

Plastic cups like this can last a long time - but some fungi are capable of breaking them down! (Pic by Hamsterfreund on Pixabay)

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