Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 1d

MATCH BOX BATS including vintage Japanese design & c. 1900 vampire bat. #Bats associated with darkness ironically become the bringers of light!! In many Asian countries they symbolise good luck #31DaysofHalloween

16 53

Reposted by Coffin Boffin

curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 2d

My next #MythologyMonday book recommendation is 'The Book of Japanese Folklore' by Thersa Matsuura (@uncannyjapan.bsky.social). It introduces a collection of yokai with Thersa's wonderful storytelling and gorgeous illustrations by Michelle Wang. She's also got a #yokai oracle deck on the way.

Front cover of 'The Book of Japanese Folklore'

Illustration of a white nine-tailed fix and red torii in a forest.

Illustration of a tengu, winged being with long red nose.

Open page of book with text about bakeneko and nekomata and illustration to match.

4 26 88

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 2d

FEAR IN THE FENS FESTIVAL Woo hoo I will speaking on ‘Becoming Wolf: The English Eerie and History of the UK Werewolf’ Sat 25th October, 3.00 at fearinthefens.com in Kings Lynn. There will be a showing of An American Werewolf in London #31DaysOfHalloween

4 16

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 3d

A WARNING FOR THE CURIOUS Spooky sculptures by Philip Jackson including Cloister Conspiracy, The Sentinels, Dangerous Liaison. Perfect for #31DaysofHalloween 🎃

1 10 51

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 3d

THE HARVEST MOON will bring increased activity from #werewolves. Compelled to leave their hunting grounds in the woods, they will make their way to open fields at this time to prowl & howl at the moon. They may be found crossing roads & gardens! #FolkloreSunday

3 15

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 6d

It is the course I teach on Gothic Romanticism.

1 1

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 7d

Yes, very atmospheric!

1

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 8d

GOTHTOBER I encountered the perfect gothic scene on my way to teach Romantic Origins and Gothic Afterlives. Walking through the churchyard on the way to the station it was completely shrouded in mist! #31DaysofHalloween

4 20 120

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 8d

Yes,I have visited it in Heptonstall. It's not far from where I live.

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 8d

THE SPOOKY SEASON IS HERE at last! I will be taking part in #31daysofhalloween again from 1st October. Some vintage #Halloween #cats to celebrate! Black cats are lucky not unlucky of course! Can't wait to see all the #Halloween posts!

1 18

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 8d

DESERTED FAIRY TALE CASTLES Ireland & Spain
No sooner had he approached the woods than all those great trees & brambles & thorns opened on their own accord & allowed him to pass through. Then he began walking towards the castle (Perrault, Sleeping Beauty) #FairyTaleTuesday

9 53

Reposted by Coffin Boffin

Hellebore @helleborezine.bsky.social · 10d

The folkloric belief that reflections, portraits and shadows contain part of a person’s soul influenced two of the greatest Gothic novels of the 19th century.

Read more in @coffinboffin.bsky.social ‘s piece for The Mirror Issue. Pre-order on helleborezine.com

Sam George
THE VAMPIRE'S
LOST REFLECTION
In 1890, Sir James Frazer recorded in The Golden Bough the belief across many cultures that reflections, portraits and shadows were thought to contain part of a person's soul. These folkloric notions influenced two of the greatest Gothic novels of the 19th century: Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Bram Stoker's Dracula, the most enduring of all fictional vampires, is a creature with virtually no representation: he doesn't have a reflection, his likeness cannot be painted, and he cannot be photographed.
Some modern vampires do have a reflection, but Dracula's lack of representation makes him a profoundly unsettling figure.
Linked with the realm of shadows, he remains the embodiment of an ancient evil who cannot be comprehended nor captured

1 12 58

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 12d

Thanks. Yes, just getting started on here....

1

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 12d

SNEEZING can expel demons, likening the body to a burning Hellmouth. According to folk belief the soul can also fly out of the mouth whenever a person sneezes. Saying 'Bless you' is said to prevent this (& death during the plague)🎨Books of Hours

5 32

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 14d

AN ANCIENTE MAPPE of FAIRYLAND newly discovered and set forth. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1918. I have a copy of this map of fairyland by Bernard Sleigh in my study to ponder other worlds. It's filled with awe and wonder.

2 4 28

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 15d

#AUTUMN BEAUTY I was struck by the unsettlingly dark beauty of the #Bronte family home & churchyard when I visited Haworth. Shrouded in mist among the #autumn leaves it was clear no coward soul could live here. Glorious in its gothic gloom.

2 21 86

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 16d

THE HOLLY KING regains power at the #AutumnEquinox. His strength peaks during Midwinter, at which point the Oak King is reborn. His reign tells us #Autumn is finally upon us.

2 17

Reposted by Coffin Boffin

curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 21d

The Butterfly Lovers is considered one of China’s four great folktales. Set in the Eastern Jin dynasty, it tells the tragic love story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Zhu was the only daughter of a wealthy family. Despite living in a time when women were not allowed to...
#LegendaryWednesday
1/6

A man and woman appear to walk on clouds, flowers and butterflies in the foreground.

1 22 48

Reposted by Coffin Boffin

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 21d

Excited to reveal I have a piece on the vampire's lost reflection in this issue on The Mirror. The artwork looks fantastic, and I can't wait to read the other contributions.

Hellebore @helleborezine.bsky.social · 21d

Ready for a new issue? Pre-orders for The Mirror Issue are now open worldwide! ✨🪞✨

Mirror magic, ritual masks, films that cast a spell, doppelgängers and fetches, changelings, evil portraits, spirit traps and much more.

👉🏼 helleborezine.com

Cover of Hellebore: The Mirror Issue, showing a woman with eyes closed and her reflections in two mirrors, both with open eyes

4 27

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 17d

CALLING SHAPES & BECKONING SHADOWS Rackham's folkloric fairy trees (1914) are unsettling and windblown calling forth the shadows to celebrate impending darkness as the winter months approach #FolkloreSunday

7 48

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 19d

GHOST APPLES The uncanny name for when freezing rain settles on the fruit & ices over creating a frozen coating. The apple defrosts before the ice does & the rotting apple falls out of the bottom leaving its gothic icy 'ghost' behind! #FolkyFriday

10 53

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 20d

Great theme for this, and the conference is in Yorkshire this year and includes a day trip to Whitby. What's not to like! Gothtastic. Count me in!

International Gothic Association @igagoths.bsky.social · 20d

The next IGA conference will be at the University of Hull, England on 28-31 July 2026!

You can find the CFP and more information at hullgothic.wordpress.com

1 12

Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 21d

Excited to reveal I have a piece on the vampire's lost reflection in this issue on The Mirror. The artwork looks fantastic, and I can't wait to read the other contributions.

Hellebore @helleborezine.bsky.social · 21d

Ready for a new issue? Pre-orders for The Mirror Issue are now open worldwide! ✨🪞✨

Mirror magic, ritual masks, films that cast a spell, doppelgängers and fetches, changelings, evil portraits, spirit traps and much more.

👉🏼 helleborezine.com

4 27

Reposted by Coffin Boffin

XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 24d

The Howling Celestial Dog (Xiaotian Quan, 哮天犬) is no ordinary hound. It is the loyal companion of Erlang Shen(二郎神), charging through myth to hunt, fight, and slay demons. First seen in a Song dynasty painting of a white dog chasing a fiend, 1/2
#mythology #art

1 6 44

Reposted by Coffin Boffin

curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · Aug 28

Japanese ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Sadahide, originally made in the Edo era, this re-carved edition is from the late 20th Century.
#JapaneseArt #ukiyoe #dragon

26 110