In Pure Spirit

For open minds

Where you might actually find Fantastic Beasts

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Fan of Harry Potter and the spin-off Fantastic Beasts? Many of the monsters from the Potterverse are drawn from mythology, inspired by old folktales and stories.

Sykes Cottages have put together a collection of monster posters to follow on from the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Is the idea you’re supposed to go rent a holiday cottage near a monster area? Their blog has more details and we’ve the pictures below.

Nifflers

Bowtruckles

Demiguise

Common Welsh Green Dragon

Thunderbird

Giants

Merpeople

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Which is your favourite fantastic beast?

Giant insects: 10 of the biggest on Earth

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This post contains ten images of very large insects. If you know you’re not a fan of bugs and beasties then look away now.

My favourite are the Giant Camel Spiders. Can you imagine finding one of those in your bed? Actually, would you want to imagine finding any of the below on your bed?

Titan Beetle

Elephant Beetle

Giant Long-Legged Katydids

Goliath Beetle

Giant Burrowing Cockroach

Giant Camel Spider

Giant Walking Stick Insect

Giant Weta

Giant Isopod

Japanese Giant Hornet

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There are plenty of other candidates for this list of giant insects – so who would you add? Or would you rather burn this post from your memory if you could?

Wookey Hole

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The Axe emerging from the limestone at Wookey ...

Image via Wikipedia

Wookey Hole

Wookey Hole is a village in Somerset, England. It is most famous for the Wookey Hole Caves. Wookey Hole Caves are believed to been inhabited by early man some 50,000 years ago. Bones and pottery from Iron Age Celtic people have also been found.

Wookey Witch

The Wookey Hole Caves are known for the legend of the Wookey Witch. It is said that the villagers petitioned the Abbot of Glastonbury for help with dealing with a witch who lurked in the cave. The Benedictine exorcist Father Bernard was dispatched. Folklore tells that Father Bernard defeated the witch and that his power and faith turned her to stone.

Hauntings

Visitors to the cave frequently report hearing a strange echoing laughter and shadows moving suddenly. The ghost of the Wookey Witch is also said to linger on in the cave.

There are legends of a giant eel which was forced into the deep caves after local fishermen drove it up the River Axe after it had destroyed their nets.

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What do you think about Wookey Hole Caves and its attractions? Has it become too touristy or can you still feel the history of the place?

A Celtic creation myth – hoarfrost

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Laird Hot Springs, Hoarfrost?
Image by Kerrythis via Flickr

We all have to find a beginning somewhere and this is where it begins for In Pure Spirit.

A Celtic creation myth

During the first winter a colossal and powerful giant rose from the hoarfrost. Next came the fire and the fire melted the giant.

As the ice giant melted so the world was born. His blood became the seas and oceans. His bones became the mountains. The giant’s hair became the forets and trees. The sky was forged from his skull.

It is thought that some of the ancient Celtics placed their gods at the very heart of the Earth in a realm of mountains and valleys. Beneath, in the Underworld, the dead lived on.

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In some ways this Celtic creation myth is similar to the Norse stories of Niflheim the land of ice and Muspelheim the land of fire beginning to mix.

And what of you? What type of beginning would you hope to discover at In Pure Spirit?

Disclosure

This blog discusses ideas and causes. Urban myth and history combine here. In Pure Spirit covers stories from elsewhere on the web and may make fair use clippings and quotations from the original source.