David Castleton (Author)
@david_castleton@universeodon.com
Freelance journalist specialising in the gothic, weird history, the literary, dark & strange. Amazon #1 best-seller of non-fic (Shire/Bloomsbury). Novelist, winner of the Go Gothic Short Fiction Prize. Likes Victorian oddness, folklore, graveyards, mythology, psychogeography, mad Romantic poets, etc. Website & blog: https://www.davidcastleton.net/serpents_pen_blog/
universeodon.com
David Castleton (Author)
@david_castleton@universeodon.com
Freelance journalist specialising in the gothic, weird history, the literary, dark & strange. Amazon #1 best-seller of non-fic (Shire/Bloomsbury). Novelist, winner of the Go Gothic Short Fiction Prize. Likes Victorian oddness, folklore, graveyards, mythology, psychogeography, mad Romantic poets, etc. Website & blog: https://www.davidcastleton.net/serpents_pen_blog/
universeodon.com
@david_castleton@universeodon.com
·
Mar 31, 2026
The theatrical harlequin character - an astute servant & nimble trickster - first appeared in Italy in the late 1500s. He's believed to have originated from a devil figure in French medieval mystery plays. This figure, in turn, was based on a folkloric demon, known as Hellequin, that scoured the countryside searching for damned souls to chase to hell. Devils often have trickster-like attributes in European folklore. This painting of a harlequin, from 1890, is by Paul Cezanne. #FairytaleTuesday #folklore #theatre #history #mythology #weird #gothic #art #arthistory #painting
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David Castleton (Author)
@david_castleton__dup_57512@universeodon.com
Freelance journalist specialising in the gothic, weird history, the literary, dark & strange. Amazon #1 best-seller of non-fic (Shire/Bloomsbury). Novelist, winner of the Go Gothic Short Fiction Prize. Likes Victorian oddness, folklore, graveyards, mythology, psychogeography, mad Romantic poets, etc. Website & blog: https://www.davidcastleton.net/serpents_pen_blog/
universeodon.com
David Castleton (Author)
@david_castleton__dup_57512@universeodon.com
Freelance journalist specialising in the gothic, weird history, the literary, dark & strange. Amazon #1 best-seller of non-fic (Shire/Bloomsbury). Novelist, winner of the Go Gothic Short Fiction Prize. Likes Victorian oddness, folklore, graveyards, mythology, psychogeography, mad Romantic poets, etc. Website & blog: https://www.davidcastleton.net/serpents_pen_blog/
universeodon.com
@david_castleton__dup_57512@universeodon.com
·
Feb 24, 2026
Though ravens are strongly linked to the Tower of London, the association may not go back further than Victorian times, when some beefeaters started keeping the birds as pets. Ravens became popular pets thanks to Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem. The idea some misfortune will occur if the ravens leave the Tower seems to have emerged about 1900 and the notion their departure will result in the kingdom falling doesn't seem to predate World War II. However, medieval Welsh legend says that the severed - though still talkative - head of the hero Bran the Blessed was buried on nearby Tower Hill, facing out towards Europe as a talisman against invasion. The name Bran translates as 'raven'. #FairytaleTuesday #folklore #gothic #mythology #poem #poems #poetry #poets #history #London #weird
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