Singing Bones: Bodily Transformation and Body Horror in British and Irish Traditional Songs YouTube video by Romancing the Gothic

Did you miss yesterday's fab talk on bodily transformation and horror in British and Irish traditional songs?

Watch it here!

youtu.be/Yfw6wvTFvLI

Passing the open door of an unassuming storage unit in Borough, I found myself looking in on at least half a dozen pink fluffy cycle rickshaws; their twinkly LED lights giving the whole space a comforting pink glow. It was like peering into a nest.

Also follow @romgothsam.bsky.social for more Romancing the Gothic talks every week (got the handle right this time!).

And if you want to have a listen to the featured songs in advance, here are a couple of playlists…

YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoaQ...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/playlist/6VV...

(Due to availability they are similar but not identical.)

10am (UK time) session sign-up: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/singing-bo...

7pm (UK time) session sign-up: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/singing-bo...

Join me and @RomGothSam on 18th April as I talk about bodily transformation and body horror in traditional songs! I’ll be looking at ‘The Cruel Sister’ and how it fits into wider themes and beliefs in early modern folk storytelling. Links to sign-up + playlists below

Painting by J.M.W. Turner of two women and a dog in a picturesque river scene.

Just your typical sunny afternoon hang-out in Lewisham, amid the discarded mattresses

An approved medicine for the Falling Sickness. Take one hundred Swallows, [I suppose here is some mistake, & yet one quarter of this number may suffice]

Entirely in agreement with Dr Lowdham (1665-1712), here - 100 swallows *is* a bonkers number of swallows for one recipe.

Continuing my historical transcription adventures today, I have run into a late 17th century recipe for almond milk where the first step is to quarter and boil a cockerel.

Today I received a notification that my parcel would be delivered by Benhur. The delivery was timely, but I was a tiny bit disappointed by the lack of chariot.

I feel that I must put in a good word for 'Stoner McTavish' by Sarah Dreher. The mystery is deeply silly (if the villain had a moustache, he would twirl it), but the main character and the central romance are a lot of fun!

Happy Halloween, all! In honour of the occasion, here is a fun little story I wrote a couple of years ago www.aeoliansquee.co.uk/stories/shir...

Forgot to dress up for the office Halloween shindig, but this has not prevented colleagues from asking about my Halloween outfit. #AGothIsAlwaysPrepared

Thank you for your fantastic talk! I had read Eleanor Scott's work in the Women's Weird collections but didn't know much about her. I really enjoyed learning more, and you've inspired me to buy more of her stories! :)

Having started the week touring medieval churches in Suffolk, and ended it at the #WarningToTheCurious conference, I think it is fair to say that I am now as steeped in M.R. James as the mortal soul can bear.

Big thanks to @romgothsam.bsky.social for another fabulous Romancing the Gothic event!

So I think we can see what was and was not used in trial arguments arising not only from contemporary beliefs; but from broader perceptions of the individuals involved, and how these had to be negotiated in the high-stakes environment of a capital trial. 13/13

You are then asking people to accept that they are not only wrong about you, the person they suspect of being a murderer, but that they have been manipulated by the Devil. A daunting prospect! 12/13

Under these circumstances, one might plausibly argue that the ghost is a malicious lie on the part of the witness. But to argue that the ghost is *real but demonic* seems a much bigger ask for your audience. 11/13

The defendant is therefore not only defending themselves against a ghost; but against ideas that matched the suspicions and personal perceptions of those who knew them. 10/13

In the 1690 trial of William Barwick for the murder of his wife, for example, the ghost doesn’t seem to name her murderer; but her appearance combines with the fact that Barwick previously lied about her whereabouts to confirm Barwick’s guilt in the eyes of the witness. 9/13

One possible explanation may lie in how and when the supernatural was utilised, to lend strength to the suspicions of the community in the absence of material evidence. Crucially, ghostly accusations never seems to be *surprising*. Rather, they confirm the most likely candidate. 8/13

This seems, on the face of it, an obvious defence to make, when you are facing execution on the word of a supernatural being. So, why was it not made? 7/13

Interestingly, while seventeenth and eighteenth century murder reporting frequently cited the Devil and demonic influences in relation to the crime itself, I have found no examples of supernatural evidence being refuted by the defence as demonic subversion masquerading as divine providence. 6/13

This led to a great question from
@romgothsam.bsky.social about how these ideas coexisted with contemporary ideas about demonology and demonic interference into people’s lives. 5/13

“Strange and amazing it may seem to Mankind, that [Ghosts] should be affrighting and troublesome for the Living […]; yet this no doubt is by the Permission of a Divine Power, who, though he can restrain the Power of Darkness, […] yet sometimes he suffers such things to be, to bring Secrets to Light”

One of my arguments was that during this period, the appearance of ghosts could be viewed in providential terms. As one 1691 pamphlet put it: 3/13

My talk explored examples of the supernatural in the discovery and prosecution of murders during the early modern period; setting these real examples alongside the fictional trial in M.R. James’s ‘Martin’s Close’. 2/13

I have survived my first conference talk! And I have come away with thoughts on the nature of supernatural belief and how it connected with early modern trials, which I am writing down in rough form while they are fresh in my mind. 1/13

Surely few better ways to start a day than a tea and a bacon roll, an impromptu harp and guitar recital, and randomly finding a wee knitted guy to take home all in the same half hour. #FolkEast is the greatest!

Come for my FIRST EVER conference paper, where I will be talking about M.R. James's 'Martin's Close' and supernatural justice in early modern England.
It's going to be a brilliant weekend, and even better, it's recorded, so if you can't make the times, you don't miss a thing!