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deedeechainey.bsky.social
DeeDeeChainey
@deedeechainey.bsky.social
1.9K followers 1K following 220 posts
Storyteller. Heritage botherer. @culturalfutureshub.bsky.social & @folklorethursday.bsky.social founder; #TreasuryOfFolklore author. #XR and #UX enthusiast. https://linktr.ee/deedeechainey 🇲🇹🇬🇧
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deedeechainey.bsky.social
DeeDeeChainey @deedeechainey.bsky.social · Jul 27
On Being Heard in the #ImmersiveWeb: A Journey Through Fairy Tale, Embodiment and #Inclusion

Fairy tales hold a mirror to social norms. #XR will, too—when we build tools that amplify all voices.

open.substack.com/pub/deedeech...
On Being Heard in the Immersive Web: A Journey Through Fairy Tale, Embodiment and Inclusion
Fairy tales hold a mirror to social norms. XR will, too - when we build tools that amplify all voices
open.substack.com
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
rgeirsson.bsky.social
This is the Sun Bearer from the Northern Shopping Place in the Land of the Eastern Geats. He is joined by his buddy, the Boat Carrier, and their brethren, the Little Spear Holders, as well as a bunch of animals because you can’t not have those.
#wyrdwednesday
1/2
February 4, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
wunderkammertales.bsky.social
“At last have mortal eyes gazed upon two reptiles of the great primitive ocean! I see the flaming red eyes of the Ichthyosaurus, each as big, or bigger than a man's head.”
 
(Jules Verne “Journey to the Centre of the Earth”)
 
🎨 Édouard Riou (1867)
 
#wyrdwednesday #bookillustration #booksky
Édouard Riou’s primordial terror for Journey to the Centre of the Earth: Two colossal aquatic dinosaurs, an ichthyosaurus and “Plesiosaurus, or sea crocodile”, their serpentine bodies coiled like living nightmares, rise from the depths, their flaming red eyes—each the size of a man’s head—burning with the cold fury of an ancient world. In the distance, a fragile boat of explorers trembles, mere specks against the monstrous grace of creatures that ruled the earth long before man
February 4, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
folkhorrorrevival.bsky.social
#WyrdWednesday 290 million year old fossil vomit 🤮!

Last week a new paper was published describing regurgitated stomach contents from Dimetrodon (an early ancestor on the way to mammals, not a dinosaur) from the early Permian of Germany.

🎨 Sophie Fernandez

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Artwork of a Dimetrodon, an animal resembling a reptile with a large sail on its back, vomiting up an undigestible mass. Around it are various ferns and other plants. In the foreground is a blue Eudibamus, a reptile which looks a bit like a lizard, and in the background on a rock is a Thuringothyris, another reptile also lizard-like and with a big head.
February 4, 2026 at 6:30 PM
deedeechainey.bsky.social
I visited a special exhibition last month about the Maltese #Cinderella, recounted by local storyteller Marija of Xewkija to cultural anthropologist Veronica Veen. To top it off, it was at the magical Xewkija windmill!
#fairytales #Gozo #FolkloreThursday
Xewkija windmill The Maltese Cinderella event poster next to huge bellows. Inside the windmill, with a huge quern stone. The 3 nuts the Son of the House gave to il-Germudija, the Sooty One, and which later brought forth the 3 beautiful dresses.
February 4, 2026 at 2:52 PM
deedeechainey.bsky.social
Just a few tickets left!

Join @helenerwin.bsky.social at #FolkloreThursday 's free, online event exploring Swedish water folklore... The sinister Näcken who lurks in rivers playing haunting music on his violin, luring people to their doom!

#WyrdWednesday

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/water-spir...
folklorethursday.bsky.social FolkloreThursday @folklorethursday.bsky.social · 9d
Want to find out more about how the insatiable Näcken lures people to their deaths in Swedish water folklore?

Join us live online on Thursday February 19th on Spatial.io!

Free tickets and more info:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/water-spir...

#FolkloreThursday @helenerwin.bsky.social
Nøkken submerged in a dark pond, by Norwegian artist Theodor Kittelsen, 1904
February 4, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
wyrdwednesday.bsky.social
Good morning, Wyrdlings!

I hope you all ready for this week's dino-tastic #WyrdWednesday!

The theme - “Wyrd Prehistory & Untimely Dinos”.

@cwreeve.bsky.social here, ready to make things totally roar-some! 🦖
a dinosaur is playing a red gibson guitar
ALT: a dinosaur is playing a red gibson guitar
media.tenor.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:09 AM
deedeechainey.bsky.social
Join @helenerwin.bsky.social and @folklorethursday.bsky.social at @culturalfutureshub.bsky.social on 19th Feb for a FREE ONLINE event about Näcken, a dangerous and seductive creature from Swedish water folklore!

Book your seat on Eventbrite now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/water-spir...
February 3, 2026 at 11:32 AM
deedeechainey.bsky.social
In case you haven't heard of @culturalfutureshub.bsky.social free online events and VR space, here's a video explaining everything.

Don't forget: There is an upcoming folklore event on February 19th! #FolkloreThursday

What is it and how do you get involved?
youtu.be/DeawO-PQEqk?...
What is The Cultural Futures Hub and how do you get involved?
YouTube video by The Cultural Futures Foundry
youtu.be
February 2, 2026 at 4:43 PM
deedeechainey.bsky.social
What a fantastic piece about the upcoming #FolkloreThursday event at @culturalfutureshub.bsky.social!

Thank you, #Kulturminnet!
February 2, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
willowwinsham.bsky.social
Sign up and join us for this exciting event!
January 31, 2026 at 9:44 AM
deedeechainey.bsky.social
Lovely to see our #BooksInTheWild!
Fantasatic display, and fantastic company! 😍
Thanks, @willowwinsham.bsky.social! 💜

#FolkloreThursday #MythologyMonday
willowwinsham.bsky.social WillowWinsham @willowwinsham.bsky.social · 7d
Book spotting in the wild with my youngest yesterday - look what we found @folklorepod.bsky.social @deedeechainey.bsky.social 💛
February 2, 2026 at 3:50 PM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
folklorethursday.bsky.social
Want to find out more about how the insatiable Näcken lures people to their deaths in Swedish water folklore?

Join us live online on Thursday February 19th on Spatial.io!

Free tickets and more info:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/water-spir...

#FolkloreThursday @helenerwin.bsky.social
Nøkken submerged in a dark pond, by Norwegian artist Theodor Kittelsen, 1904
January 29, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
helenerwin.bsky.social
I'm incredibly honored to have been invited to host an event in the UK with @deedeechainey.bsky.social and @willowwinsham.bsky.social for #FolkloreThursday.
A whole day for Näcken and his shape shifting self.
I'm excited.

#Follkore #TheLureOfWaterAndWood #Näcken #WaterSpirits
January 23, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
theforemotherscafe.bsky.social
We are super excited to be a part of this with @helenerwin.bsky.social @willowwinsham.bsky.social and @deedeechainey.bsky.social at the @culturalfutureshub.bsky.social
Join us here on BlueSky and on Spatial, sign up on Eventbrite
January 23, 2026 at 6:33 PM
deedeechainey.bsky.social
Join #FolkloreThursday, @theforemotherscafe.bsky.social and @culturalfutureshub.bsky.social on Thu 19 Feb (1pm UK / 8am New York) for this FREE ONLINE event!

Explore Näcken, a captivating Swedish water creature, in this talk from @helenerwin.bsky.social!

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/water-spir...
Water Spirits and Shape-Shifters: Creatures of Lakes, Rivers and Seas
Join us online for a talk from Helen Lundström Erwin exploring Näcken, a captivating creature from Scandinavian water folklore.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
January 23, 2026 at 3:14 PM
deedeechainey.bsky.social
Listen to this fantastic talk from @helenerwin.bsky.social at @unitedxr.eu about #inclusion and a world without borders.

Helen talks: distant friends, #folklore, #history, #women's rights and how #VR brings all of this together.

Utterly brilliant!
#FolkloreThursday

youtu.be/aGlpyCugZnY?...
There Are No Borders in The Metaverse: Virtual Reality Cultural Exchange with Helen LUNDSTRÖM ERWIN
YouTube video by UnitedXR Europe
youtu.be
January 17, 2026 at 1:02 PM
deedeechainey.bsky.social
🌊 Watch out for the @theforemotherscafe.bsky.social / @folklorethursday.bsky.social / @culturalfutureshub.bsky.social mashup event this February!

@helenerwin.bsky.social (The Lure of Water and Wood) will be speaking about Näcken folklore, water spirits and shape-shifters!

Details after Christmas!
A figure in traditional Scandinavian clothing sits by a misty waterfall playing a fiddle, depicting the Näcken from Swedish folklore. (Image: B Johan Tirén)
December 22, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
helenerwin.bsky.social
If you want a good book for the weekend, don't miss, A Treasury of British Folklore, by @deedeechainey.bsky.social
A wonderful book! I found myself chuckling in recognition, i as it made me remember my mom's wart removing trick!

Her neighbor refused to try it. 😅
#Folklore #BrittisthFolklore
A Treasury of British Folklore: Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe
Amazon.com: A Treasury of British Folklore: Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe eBook : Chainey, Dee Dee, National Trust Books: Kindle Store
www.amazon.com
December 12, 2025 at 9:16 PM
deedeechainey.bsky.social
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! 🎄❄️
December 12, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
folkloretwitcher.bsky.social
❄️Mari Lwyd🐴

The Mari Lwyd is a tradition celebrated in South Wales over Christmas.The name means "Grey Mare". The tradition may have Pagan origins though was first recorded in 1800. The Mari Lwyd is a decorated horse's skull attached to a pole and draped in a white sheet 1/2. #FolkloreThursday
A more recent coloured photograph of the Mari Lwyd. A horse's skull mounted on a stick. A white sheet is draped over the stick on which rests a black saddle. The ears are made out of cut out gold paper and the eye is a gold rimmed circular disc with a silver centre. There are green, white and red ribbons with bells pinned to the jaw of the horse's skull. A vintage black and white photograph of five gentlemen with the Mari Lwyd. They are standing outside at the doorway of a house. Two of the men are wearing bowler hats; two are wearing flat caps - all four are facing the doorway while another man who carrying a miner's lantern, smoking a pipe and wearing a light coloured fedora, faces the group. One of the flat cap wearing men is also holding a miner's lantern.
December 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
bookcat.bsky.social
The Nordic Frau Holle was believed to originally be called Hulda, a deity that predates the Norse pantheon. She is associated with Winter, Yule season, and snowfall is said to be Frau Holle shaking out her feather mattress.

art by A. Münzer (1870-1953)
#FolkloreThursday
December 11, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
crystalponti.bsky.social
In many traditions, winter was the season when dreams grew stronger. Cold nights thinned the veil, and ancestors wandered into sleep with advice, warnings, or comfort. #FolkloreThursday

Art: Zaira Dzhaubaeva
December 11, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
yokaiparade.bsky.social
the Tsurara Onna, Icicle Woman, is created by the longing of a lonely man gazing at an icicle in the winter. He falls in love with his beautiful visitor and lives happily till spring comes when the snow and icicles melt and she disappears, leaving him heartbroken #FolkloreThursday art @yokai.com
art by Matthew Meyer of a woman in traditional Japanese dress holding an umbrella with icicles hanging from it in a snowstorm
December 11, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
davidwjlloyd.bsky.social
#FolkloreThursday The Mari Lwyd is out and about this time in Wales. The tradition had all but died out until recent revivals have put it back front and centre in the Welsh Christmas calendar. Going house to house in Welsh villages, knocking on doors, rap-battling for booze... Pure Xmas! #marilwyd
December 11, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Reposted by DeeDeeChainey
1steviekilner.bsky.social
No matter how cold you might think it gets at winter, that's nothing compared to a Fimbulwinter.

In Norse mythology, Fimbulwinter is a terrible event that proceeds the end of the world, featuring 3 successive years without summer, during which all people & animals perish.
Brrrrr 🥶
#FolkloreThursday
December 11, 2025 at 4:26 PM