TOMTAR

The Tomtar are dwarf-like beings from Scandinavian lore. They are often described as little old men, three feet high, with a long white beard, wearing grey, brown or navy clothes with traditional boots and sporting a bright red cap on their heads. The name Tomte derives from Swedish word “tomt,” or plot of land, and it means “homestead man”. This reflects their original role as household spirits, similar to the Roman Penates or Di Penates, household deities invoked most often in domestic rituals. The Tomtar were believed to be ancestral spirits of the first farmer to have worked on that plot of land. They were mischievous spirits, responsible for the protection and welfare of a farmstead. They acted more at night, where they were out of sight. They protected and guarded the house, the properties of the house, the children and the farm animals, especially the much-valued horses. They would work hard to protect the farm, expecting only two things in return, respect, and a bowl of Christmas Porridge with a generous dollop of butter. They often slept under the floorboards during spring and summer and started waking up around the winter solstice. The Julgröt or Christmas porridge was an offer of trust and respect to the Tomte of the household, with butter being a luxury, consumed only on special occasions. It was their payment for the hard work. As expected from any imp-like creature from European folklore, they can be quite dangerous if their demands are not met. A story tells of a servant girl, that jokingly, hid the butter at the bottom of the bowl. He didn’t kill the girl if this is what you’re thinking, but after not finding the butter, he became so enraged that he slaughtered their best cow. After learning his mistake, he stole a neighbor’s cow to give to the family, as an astonishment for his mistake. The Tomte is a mischievous spirit, and easily irritated. If you managed on offended him in any way, he could play all kinds of pranks such as binding all cows’ tails together, turning objects upside down or breaking things. Maids or farm workers swearing, dirty outhouses and stables, or not treating creatures well are all things that would incur his disapproval. Having a Tomte in your farm was a good sign. Clean and orderly homes or farms were an indication that a Tomte spirit resided there. This was, until the Christians arrived and denounced them as demons and false gods. In a 14th century decree by Saint Birgitta of Vadstena warned against “tompta gudhi” or “Tomte gods”. All their worst characteristics were amplified, and instead of pleasing the Tomte, it became your duty as a Christian to lure these evil spirits out. If you were a farmer that was doing far better than the others, your competitors could accuse you of a having a Tomte on your farm, doing “ungodly” work and stealing from the neighbors. This could lead to accusations of witchcraft during the Inquisitions. The once friendly dwarf-like sprites became evil heathen spirits. In “Tomten”, a poem by swedish novelist Viktor Rydberg, describes well all the solitariness that these creatures must felt during these times. In the poem, a Tomte is alone and awake on Christmas night.

DZIWOZONA

According to Slavic folklore, a Dziwożona is a female swamp demon. It's believed that women would become one after death. Typically these women were midwives, old maids, unmarried women, pregnant women, and children that died before birth or were abandoned after birth. She usually lives in thickets near rivers, streams, and lakes. She typically is seen as an old woman with a hairy body, long straight hair, and breasts so large she uses them to wash clothes. She's usually wearing a red hat with a fern twig attached to it.

THE GREAT FREEZE IN LONDON 1947.

SANTA CLAUS RPG CHARACTER

NEW HOTEL IN DUBAI

AVOLOTIL

These cute Salamanders known as Axolotl are of great interest to science because it can regenerate limbs and parts it's own brain. The Aztec people saw a manifestation of the god Xolotl in this little creature, who led souls into underworld alongside the setting sun.

ELF GRINDERS

Bronze Age skålgropar (cup marks) chipped into the rock. In old Swedish folklore these were known as ”älvkvarnar” (”elf grinders”) as they were used in sacrificial rites to cure disease believed to be caused by elves. People sacrificed small figures with hair or nails from the one who was ill braided into them, and anointed the hollows with lard, butter or tallow. In the area where I grew up people still made sacrifices and anointed the cups with pork rind as late as in the 1920s. A local incantation from the early 1900s goes: ”Jag smörjer sten för att läka kött och ben” (”I anoint stone to heal flesh and bone”).

MITHER OF THE SEA

The Orkney Islands is an archipelago off Scotland’s northernmost coast that’s more akin to Scandinavia than it is to the rest of British Isles with its own rich tapestry of history and mythology, and for thousands of years its shores has been terrorized by a monster like none other. According to Orcandian mythology, during the spring and summer months the seas surrounding the islands were controlled by a spirit known as the Mither of the Sea, who kept the waters calm and sealife abundant. But with the onset of autumn the Mither of the Sea’s strength waneed, and the control over the ocean was seized by another spirit called Teran who brought squalls and turbulent waters. Worst of all, it released the nuckelavee from its prison beneath the waves.The nuckelavee, whose name means “devil of the sea,” is a demonic entity that scholars have unanimously described as the nastiest and most malevolent creature of Orcandian folklore. There is nothing whimsical about it, has no redeeming qualities, and until recent times the islanders wouldn’t dare speak its name out of fear of attracting its attention. There are no surviving accounts of what the nuckelavee looks like when it’s in the water, but when it comes on land it’s the thing nightmares are made of. The nuckelavee resembles a giant horse flayed of all its skin, leaving only raw flesh with black blood pumped through yellow veins and lashed together with white sinews, and a single cyclopean eye in the middle of its head. If that image wasn’t horrific enough, growing from its back is a human torso with a grossly enlarged head that lolls on a too-thin neck. The torso has no legs, but its arms are so long they reach down to the ground. Its breath is a noxious black miasma that can wilt crops and sicken livestock, and is blamed for droughts and epidemics that ravage the islands.
Beginning in 1722 the islanders started the practice of burning seaweed to create kelp, a highly sought-after byproduct used in soap and glass production. It was believed that the smell of the smoke sent the nuckelavee into a violent rage and it punished the human offenders by infecting the island’s horses with a disease called mortasheen. Like all sea monsters, the nuckelavee can’t stand fresh water and is confined to the ocean on rainy days. The only way to escape the nuckelavee if one finds themselves chased by it is to cross a lake or river, as it is unable to follow.

FOSSEGRIMEN

Fossegrimen is one of the lesser known creatures from Scandinavian folklore. He is a male freshwater “vette” (supernatural creatures in Scandinavian folklore) who is a very good musician, so in other words, he is very similar to Nøkken. What differentiates Nøkken and Fossegrimen, however, is that while Nøkken dwells in still waters, Fossegrimen prefers, as his name suggests, rivers and waterfalls. Some stories say he specifically dwells in waterfalls that run north. Fossegrimen is also often put into a different family of creatures than Nøkken is. Although all supernatural creatures in Scandinavian folklore are classified as “vetter/vättar”, the group is often parted into two categories: the troll family, and the elf family. Nøkken is generally considered to belong to the troll family, while Fossegrimen belongs to the elf family, although these two families are not very strictly defined. Generally elves are less malicious than trolls. The difference can be explained in that if you were to meet a creature from either family, the troll will be more likely to kill you, while the elf might make you insane, or if you are lucky, they may just pull a prank on you. Fossegrimen is, much like Nøkken, a very talented musician. The instruments he plays are typically a fiddle or a harp, and when he plays, you can hear the very soul of the landscape around you. He is a very happy and extremely charismatic creature, and is usually described as having a big, infectious smile and a laugh that can make anyone laugh with him. The tunes he plays are so merry and catchy that people can’t help but dance along to them.

HOLDA

In German folklore Holda or Frau Holle reigned over the dark, cold, months of winter.
It is said that she causes the snow to fall whenever she shakes out her feather pillow.

METEORA MONASTERIES IN GREECE.

SPEED ON THE BUSES!

Speed On the Buses!
"Pop quiz, Blakey. There's a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up.
What do you do? What do you do?"

PIRATE GRAVE

Shown here is a real Pirate's Grave dating back to the early 1800's. There is a great deal of mystery surrounding this merchant turned Pirate that has silently rested in Belgium for over 175 years.

UNUSUAL MUGS AND TEAPOTS

FEMALE MOVIES

If you don't have any decent actors and writers, you will get rubbish like the rebooted Ghostbusters, Witches, Charlie's Angels, Doctor Who, etc.

IICE UMBRELLA

A Little Bird under an Ice Umbrella.

MY HONEST THOUGHTS ON DOCTOR WHO

This is my honest opinion on Jodie Whittker's era of Doctor Who. I thought Jodie was a good actress in "Attack the Block" and then she took over the role of the Doctor, and she can't bloody act. She is so very OTT and constantly gurns her way through the series. The writing is terrible now since Chris took over, the dialogue is laughable and most of the stories don't make sense and the rebooting of the characters/bad guys/history has been very bad for the show, so much so that the ratings of the current show are falling each and every week. The companions have no background story or likable traits. They don't even have their own theme tunes like previous companions have done. You don't actually care if they survive or not. I can't wait for RTD to come back, get a decent Male Doctor in the role, and forget all about the 13th era. This is not an anti-female rant, this is a rant on bad acting and writing and you don't care for any of the characters.

STARRO THE CONQUEROR

The classic DC character made by Candy.as a hair band.

FINGER RINGS

YULE GOAT

CAPTAIN AMERICA'S SHIELD

I bought this 11 years ago today.

HEATHEN