Ebook465 pages6 hours
The Nail in the Skull and Other Victorian Urban Legends
By Simon Young
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
Winner of the 2023 Brian McConnell Book Award from the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research
In the last fifty years, folklorists have amassed an extraordinary corpus of contemporary legends including the “Choking Doberman,” the “Eaten Ticket,” and the “Vanishing Hitchhiker.” But what about the urban legends of the past? These legends and tales have rarely been collected, and when they occasionally appear, they do so as ancestors or precursors of the urban legends of today, rather than as stories in their own right.
In The Nail in the Skull and Other Victorian Urban Legends, Simon Young fills this gap for British folklore (and for the wider English-speaking world) of the 1800s. Young introduces seventy Victorian urban legends ranging from “Beetle Eyes” to the “Shoplifter’s Dilemma” and from “Hands in the Muff” to the “Suicide Club.” While a handful of these stories are already known, the vast majority have never been identified, and they have certainly never received scholarly treatment.
Young begins the volume with a lengthy introduction assessing nineteenth-century media, emphasizing the importance of the written word to the perpetuation and preservation of these myths. He draws on numerous nineteenth-century books, periodicals, and ephemera, including digitized newspaper archives—particularly the British Newspaper Archive, an exciting new hunting ground for folklorists. The Nail in the Skull and Other Victorian Urban Legends will appeal to an academic audience as well as to anyone who is interested in urban legends.
In the last fifty years, folklorists have amassed an extraordinary corpus of contemporary legends including the “Choking Doberman,” the “Eaten Ticket,” and the “Vanishing Hitchhiker.” But what about the urban legends of the past? These legends and tales have rarely been collected, and when they occasionally appear, they do so as ancestors or precursors of the urban legends of today, rather than as stories in their own right.
In The Nail in the Skull and Other Victorian Urban Legends, Simon Young fills this gap for British folklore (and for the wider English-speaking world) of the 1800s. Young introduces seventy Victorian urban legends ranging from “Beetle Eyes” to the “Shoplifter’s Dilemma” and from “Hands in the Muff” to the “Suicide Club.” While a handful of these stories are already known, the vast majority have never been identified, and they have certainly never received scholarly treatment.
Young begins the volume with a lengthy introduction assessing nineteenth-century media, emphasizing the importance of the written word to the perpetuation and preservation of these myths. He draws on numerous nineteenth-century books, periodicals, and ephemera, including digitized newspaper archives—particularly the British Newspaper Archive, an exciting new hunting ground for folklorists. The Nail in the Skull and Other Victorian Urban Legends will appeal to an academic audience as well as to anyone who is interested in urban legends.
Author
Simon Young
Simon Young, a British historian, is author of The Boggart: A Study in Shadows. His work has appeared in many periodicals including Contemporary Legend, Supernatural Studies, and Folklore.
Read more from Simon Young
So Much for the 30 Year Plan: Therapy? The Authorised Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMedicines Management for Nurses at a Glance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Nail in the Skull and Other Victorian Urban Legends
Related ebooks
A Grim Almanac of South Yorkshire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSinister histories: Gothic novels and representations of the past, from Horace Walpole to Mary Wollstonecraft Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFolklore of Yorkshire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hauntology: The Presence of the Past in Twenty-First Century English Literature Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHaunted Cemeteries of Ohio Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGeorgia Legends & Lore Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRemarkable Women in New York History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRhode Island's Haunted Ramtail Factory Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Axeman's Accomplice. The True Story of Margaret Reardon and the Snow Family Murders Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCincinnati Curiosities: Healing Powers of the Wamsley Madstone, Nocturnal Exploits of Old Man Dead, Mazeppa’s Naked Ride & More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShadows on the Water: The Haunted Canals and Waterways of Britain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHaunted Flint Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ghostly Tales of Denver Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHaunted Crown Point, Indiana Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHaunted Plymouth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMaritime Mysteries: And the Ghosts Who Surround Us Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Haunted Farnham Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsColonial New England Curiosities: Remarkable Occurrences, Miracles & Madness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eerie Quad Cities Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHaunted Litchfield County Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLa Llorona: The Legendary Weeping Woman of Mexico Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnknown Chicago Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSerial Killers and the Media: The Moors Murders Legacy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGhosts and Legends of the Vegas Valley Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn The Realm of the Eerie & Unexplained: Volume 2: In The Realm of the Eerie & Unexplained, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHaunted Dundee Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Rituals of Death: From Prehistoric Times to Now Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Flower of All Cities: The History of London from Earliest Times to the Great Fire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHaunted Highgate Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ghosts of Santa Barbara and the Ojai Valley Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Social Science For You
Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Witty Banter: Be Clever, Quick, & Magnetic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All About Love: New Visions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Mercy: a story of justice and redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A People's History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row (Oprah's Book Club Selection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denial of Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Men Explain Things to Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Influencing, Attracting, and Winning People Over Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Verbal Judo, Second Edition: The Gentle Art of Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Close Encounters with Addiction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Secret Garden: Women's Sexual Fantasies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Women Don't Owe You Pretty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Men's Work: A Practical Guide to Face Your Darkness, End Self-Sabotage, and Find Freedom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for The Nail in the Skull and Other Victorian Urban Legends
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
The Nail in the Skull and Other Victorian Urban Legends - Simon Young
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1