Collections
Curated gatherings of legends that share a creature, a landscape or a tradition. The category and region lists can't group legends this way.
Black Dogs of Britain & Ireland
Across the islands a great spectral hound haunts the lonely lane, the churchyard and the parish boundary, whether as Black Shuck in East Anglia, the Barghest of the north, or the Cù Sìth of the Highlands.…
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Arthurian Britain
The legend of Arthur is rooted in real landscape long before it reached the page. Hills where he is said to sleep, caves that hide his knights, stones marking battles and the lakes that swallowed Excalibur are…
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Haunted Churches & Churchyards
Consecrated ground draws its own folklore: the grim that guards the first grave, the phantom of a wronged priest, bells that toll for the drowned, and devils held back at the threshold. These traditions…
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Legends of the Sea & Shore
The coast and the deep water hold their own company of mermaids and selkies, drowned bells and sunken lands, ghost ships and the warning lights of the wrecking coasts. These are the stories of communities that…
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Cursed Places & Ill-Fated Stones
Some places carry a warning. A stone that must not be moved, a treasure that cannot be lifted, a family doom or a blight laid on a hall. The curse explains misfortune and enforces a boundary the living are not…
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Standing Stones & Stone Circles
The prehistoric monuments of Britain and Ireland gathered folklore for thousands of years after they were raised. Circles said to be dancers or maidens turned to stone, megaliths that cannot be counted, stones…
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Dragons & Serpents
From the Welsh dragons of Dinas Emrys to the wyrms and 'worms' of northern England and the lake serpents of the Highlands, the dragon of British and Irish tradition is usually earthbound and territorial, a…
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Holy Wells & Healing Springs
Sacred springs bridge the pre-Christian and the Christian: waters dedicated to a saint yet visited with offerings, rags and pins in the old way, sought for healing of the eyes, of children and of the sick.…
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Birth of Albion
Before the histories, Britain had a birth-story. Exiled Trojans led by Brutus, great-grandson of Aeneas, are said to have landed at Totnes to find an island held by giants, Gogmagog and his kind, whom they…
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