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chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard
@chriswoodyard.bsky.social
1.6K followers 200 following 1.4K posts
Author A is for Arsenic: An ABC of Victorian Death, The Victorian Book of the Dead, 10 books on ghosts in Ohio and elsewhere. Death, mourning, costume, ghosts, Forteana. Podcast: Boggart and Banshee https://thevictorianbookofthedead.wordpress.com: Blog
thevictorianbookofthedead.wordpress.com
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chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 11d
New episode! Possessed Possessions: Haunted, Cursed, and Hoodoo Furniture
Simon tests haunted chairs and shuns cursed seats. Chris tells of bouncing beds from brothels and a murderer's trunk. Can furniture weirdly influence us or do spirits possess possessions?
www.buzzsprout.com/1859647/epis...
Chicken headed creature with claws and wings follows a running child hiding its face down the hall.
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chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 8h
Somewhere well-lit....
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chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 14h
Nope, these are much earlier--1860s-1890s.
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hookland.bsky.social
hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 14h
Goodnight from Eleanor Alloway, wondering how she has managed to lose four hours just by crossing Bickerley Common. Goodnight from Susie Pepperdine, dreams thumping to the heartbeat rhythm of the thing that dwells below Padwick Farm’s dew pond. Goodnight from Hookland.
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chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 14h
Some of them had covers by Edward Gorey!
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chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 14h
I think I've got one UFO story, from Ohio--not really my subject. The Kentucky Fiery Devils chapter is about devil apparitions, some of which were criminal hoaxes.
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chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 16h
I think he's my favorite also, although Edith Nesbit and Mrs Gaskell are also top-notch. And I can always re-read "The Crown Derby Plate" by Marjorie Bowen.
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hellohistoria.bsky.social
Louvain Rees ⚰️ @hellohistoria.bsky.social · 11d
It's finally October and time for #31DaysofGraves 🪦💀 ⚰️

A huge thank you to @annaandthedead.bsky.social for putting this together 🪦

#History
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Reposted by Chris Woodyard
chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 11d
New episode! Possessed Possessions: Haunted, Cursed, and Hoodoo Furniture
Simon tests haunted chairs and shuns cursed seats. Chris tells of bouncing beds from brothels and a murderer's trunk. Can furniture weirdly influence us or do spirits possess possessions?
www.buzzsprout.com/1859647/epis...
Chicken headed creature with claws and wings follows a running child hiding its face down the hall.
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chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 16h
Not that I know of, unless in the unlikely event the book's been pirated.
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chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 16h
Mine too!
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chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 16h
No, but I've been pondering some audio books. This might be the nudge I need!
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edmondsscanner.bsky.social
Edmonds Scanner @edmondsscanner.bsky.social · 17h
If you've prepared your patch properly, by now your pumpkins should be:
- humming slightly
- levitating a little
- visited nightly by dark fairies
- sinking their vines into other plants to drain them of energy
- murmering dark incantations to the elder gods
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Reposted by Chris Woodyard
notrock.bsky.social
Lucy Brouwer @notrock.bsky.social · 19h
As explored in @peteralanross.bsky.social ‘s latest book Upon A WhiteHorse
janejanealogy.bsky.social
Jane Harris Janealogy @janejanealogy.bsky.social · 21h
#31DaysOfGraves - 12 Notable woman. The lonely grave of Betty Corrigall on the border of the parishes of Walls and Hoy #Orkney in my #OnePlaceStudy #NorthWallsAndBrims Notable now for the sadness and poignancy of her story Read more here: www.scottish-places.info/features/fea...
A white gravestone (fibreglass actually) surrounded by a white picket fence tiny against a backdrop of brown heather and hills.
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Reposted by Chris Woodyard
manchesterup.bsky.social
Manchester University Press @manchesterup.bsky.social · 19h
From a history of goth to Egyptian mummies, and the science behind that eerie feeling that we aren’t alone, shop our Spooky Season reading list w 25% OFF books by @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social & @odavies9.bsky.social, @johnrobbofficial.bsky.social & more: manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/blog/2025/10...
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deathbyhibachi.bsky.social
⛩️ 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒚 𝑯𝒊𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊 ⛩️ @deathbyhibachi.bsky.social · 18h
Death

#Art by Maximilian Pirner, 1893
Death skully
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Reposted by Chris Woodyard
stephencoxauthor.bsky.social
Stephen Cox But Spookier @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 1d
My local bookshop @allgoodbookshop.co.uk has sold 35 copies of The Crooked Medium's Guide to Murder - crikey!! They sell my signed copies. It's also in the Quaker Book Centre, Euston Rd, London.

Check out this "astonishing feat" "absolute perfection" "fun read" of a novel

#books #bookshop #crime
A book cover surrounded by the following aspects in matching Victorian lettering - spooky / Vicious Baronet / Spiritualist Scammers/ Hidden Crimes / older grumpy sapphics / snarky dock-lass/ twisty mystery / Lady in Danger/Queer Found Family The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder by Stephen Cox A striking book cover with the title and author name dominating. A rich dark blue background, and a touch of mist. The text appears in gold in a gold rectangular frame, the font is old fashioned implying C19th century. The frame has three rondels or cameos each containing a picture. Top right is a golden bee brooch with the body and one wing streaked with red blood. Middle left is foxgloves, spires of small bell flowers in pink, white and purple. Bottom right is a dark brown medicine bottle, with a pale label. The word LAUDANUM is just visible. There are pink highlights on some of the letters. Taken together it is bold, mysterious, and Victorian.
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chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 18h
Thanks--lots of fun digging up the old tales and finding surprising amounts of truth in some.
Reposted by Chris Woodyard
drkarrschmidt.bsky.social
Suzanne Karr Schmidt @drkarrschmidt.bsky.social · 19h
Emergency Endpapers!

#NewberryLibrary (Inc. 9393.5) #Brokatpapier #Bling #Frog #Zoo
#brocade i-share-nby.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01...
Bear, frog detail. Bear, rhino, donkey, snake! Frog! Gilt paper with animal designs and an orange background. 1890 Henry Probasco bookplate on left annoyingly interferes with the design. Horse, rabbit, fox?
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chriswoodyard.bsky.social
Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 18h
bookshop.org or ask your local bookstore to order it through the distributor Ingram. Thanks for your interest!
Bookshop: Buy books online. Support local bookstores.
An online bookstore that financially supports local independent bookstores and gives back to the book community.
bookshop.org
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womensartbluesky.bsky.social
womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 20h
Australian printmaker Rachel Newling is inspired by the floral and fauna of her homeland.
'Grey Headed Flying Fox', hand coloured linocut #ReframjngWomenPrintmakers
Print featuring three bats hanging upside-down in branches of a tree with green leaves and orange blossoms
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boroughsofthedead.bsky.social
Boroughs of the Dead @boroughsofthedead.bsky.social · 20h
We love it when journalists ignore our pitches and then write their own articles on the exact same topic. Now that's integrity! On a related note: boroughsofthedead.com/tours/the-un...
The Uncanny Upper West Side - Boroughs of the Dead
Join our 2-hour haunted walking tour of the Uncanny Upper West Side. Discover ghost stories, occult sites, film locations & eerie history!
boroughsofthedead.com
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scotchurchestrust.bsky.social
Scotland's Churches Trust @scotchurchestrust.bsky.social · 22h
Sadly her remains were disturbed in the years before by macabre souvenir hunters, one of whom stole the poor woman's skull, which remained in St Andrew's Uni for many years.

A photo was taken that allowed forensic artists at Dundee Uni to reconstruct her face in 2017.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scot...
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scotchurchestrust.bsky.social
Scotland's Churches Trust @scotchurchestrust.bsky.social · 22h
Day 12 of #31DaysOfGraves - Notable Woman

An unassuming slab of stone off the Fife coast at Torryburn covers the mortal remains of Lilias Adie, the only known grave of an accused witch in Scotland

Buried beneath the tidal line by superstitious villagers in 1704, her grave was rediscovered in 2014
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scotchurchestrust.bsky.social
Scotland's Churches Trust @scotchurchestrust.bsky.social · 1d
Day 11 of #31DaysOfGraves - Military

Many churches in Scotland house markers that once marked the graves of fallen soldiers of World War One until they were replaced by the permanent headstones erected by the (now) CWGC.

This one in Clackmannan Parish Church once marked Cpt Robert Bruce's grave.
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fowarristoncem.bsky.social
Friends of Warriston Cemetery @fowarristoncem.bsky.social · 3d
#31DaysOfGraves Day 10 - Urn: We have so many great examples at Warriston that I'm going to do a double post. Sadly, due to historic vandalism, many have been toppled to the ground. #Edinburgh #taphophile #WarristonCemetery 2/2
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