It is necessary to regularly review the ‘state of play’ regarding key elements of the earth mysteries spectrum, and here we take a look at leys. This simple concept has been taken down so many speculative paths that it is sometimes hard to see the core of the concept. NE editors John Billingsley and Mike […]
History for the Ley Person Read More »
Moving earth mysteries along Over the 27 years that I have edited Northern Earth, and the 47 years since I wrote my first article on the subject area, I have become increasingly aware that the topical implications of the field still occasionally known as earth mysteries stretch very much beyond even the broad inquisitorial sweep
#1: Subjectivity in an objective frame Read More »
John Billingsley isn’t the only one to get a buzz from the countryside; here he reports on some experiences of the so-called ‘hummadruz’. “This isle is full of noises, sounds and sweet airs” wrote William Shakespeare for Prospero in the play The Tempest. Perhaps he was writing from personal experience, for this isle of Britain
The Buzz or ‘Hummadruz’ Read More »
Thomas Hanley’s fascinating account of aerial apparitions of military manoeuvres first appeared in the Yorkshire Folk-Lore Journal in 1888, and remains of much interest in the annals of northern forteana. On the 18th of January, 1792, a singular meteoric appearance was observed near Stockton-on-the-Forest, about four miles from York, which resembled a large army in
In 2010, Northern Earth invited readers to send in place-names and lore associated with saints – but not the bona fide type of saint. What we were looking for was spurious saints… here are some of the dubious divines we received.
Mike Haigh compiles reports of anomalous lights over the Pennines Anomalous light phenomena have been noticed travelling over the landscape by people throughout human existence. Each culture interprets these events according to its own belief system. When our own modern culture first apparently noticed these unusual phenomena during the 1940s it tried to understand them
The late Poet Laureate uniquely occupied the Laureate’s chair with a bardic sensibility to the inherent presences of the land and those that live within it. His poetry and prose balance on the boundary of outer and inner worlds, and often offer a mediating passage between the worlds for the reader. Here, Brian Taylor addresses
Ted Hughes, Shaman of the Tribe? Read More »
The late Jim Kimmis was an enquiring and wide-ranging researcher whose death in 2006 robbed us of a valuable perspective on neo-antiquarian topics. In this hitherto unpublished article, Jim lays out some preliminary thoughts on the nature of place impressions What is this genius loci, this spirit of place? When the phrase was coined, it
Genius Loci: Sense of Place Read More »
A Strange Experience at Janet’s Foss, near Gordale Scar, Malham, N Yorks. One of the entries we received in our Alternate Realities competition in 2008 was this intriguing report by Paul Degnan It was 21st March 1972. I was hitch-hiking with my girlfriend around the Dales. I wanted to show her round the Malham area,
Janet’s Foss experience Read More »
John Billingsley reports back from a more than usually liminal caving expedition In 2007, a group of us had an excursion to caves in the N of England, and were moved by an unexpected experience in a small cave that had a history of prehistoric usage from the Upper Paleolithic through the Mesolithic and Neolithic,