folklore
Why spiders deserve our respect, not fear or disgust
Not only do the world’s arachnids eat up to 800 million tons of insects a year, but they are models of creativity that have captured the human imagination since antiquity
The importance of fairy tales in testing times
The fairy tale stems from our hopeful desires, says the folklorist Jack Zipes – who sees the Land of Oz as a utopian antidote to emerging American capitalism
Everybody needs ‘good neighbours’: fairy folklore from time immemorial
From ancient Greek dryads to Tolkien’s elves, fairies have had a fantastical past and seem destined for a fabulous future
Women on a wind-swept island: Hagstone, by Sinéad Gleeson, reviewed
Nell, an artist, lives peacefully on an island, presumably off the west coast of Ireland. But all changes when a group of women occupy a crumbling convent overlooking the sea
Witchy women
I would guess that contemporary pagans have a love-hate relationship with Ronald Hutton. With books such as The Triumph of…
Wild man of the woods
The other day I visited a psychic medium in Croydon, south-east London. Mavis Grimstick (not quite her real name) boasted…
Eat, drink and be merry…
... for tomorrow traditional seasonal rituals may just be ghostly memories of a vanished world, says Melanie McDonagh
