You can't escape destiny, says Olaus.

Here's another tale from the Treatise of Specters, the last one for now. I shall transcribe more of them when I can get to Innerpeffray Library again! 

This story is from a section entitled An History of strange Prophecies, and Predictions of Devils. It's a variation on the old theme of not being able to escape your destiny, which goes back at least as far as Greek legends (eg. Oedipus). 

139. In Northern Gothia two tombs are seen, being huge Stones in the place of way-marks or Crosses, having the bodyes of two brethren laid in them, unto whom it had been foretold by a soothsayer, in their first youth it should come to passe that they should die by mutuall wounds given. To decline the destiny, they undertook a travell unto the farthest, and most contrary parts of the World. In their utmost old age, at length returning into their countrey, when as any one hoped his brother to have long since died, not far from the Town Jonacum, they met one another unknown, and Salutation being on both sides given and received, they rested under the next pine-tree. By and by their Dogs wrangling, they also broke forth, first to quarrellings, then to mutuall wounds, and drawing out their Soul, and acknowledging themselves to be brethren, they dyed in mutuall embraces. Olaus, in his first book of Northern Customes, ch. 37.

NB "Olaus" is Olaus Magnus, a sixteenth century Swedish writer. 

A sixteenth century zombie!

Here is another weird tale from Bromhall's Treatise of Specters, this time from the 16th century German writer Philip Melanchthon. This one describes a zombie - a corpse animated by magic! She doesn't seem to be a cannibal zombie though, since she doesn't eat any meat...

296. Philip Melanchthon reports, that he was told by Christopher Gross and Sigismund Galenius, that a certain Virgin of Bononia, that was conversant amongst men two years after her death, and who was at a Banquet whereunto she was invited, not tasting any meat, and sitting amongst other Virgins, by chance a Magitian present knowing the fraud of the Devil, saith to them that were present; This pale Maid hath been dead, and coming straight to her, taketh from under her right shoulder, an inchantment, whereupon she appeared an ugly dead corps. This inchantment had been performed by another Magitian, and thereby the Devil had carried about this corps all this while.

A spectral black hound!

In the previous post I explained that I am hoping to post online some of the best (ok, the most gruesome or weird) bits from Bromhall's Treatise of Specters. So here's a nice one to kick off with, from the section enticingly entitled A History of Strange Apparitions, and cunning delusions of Devils.

122. Crescentius, the Popes Nuncio in the Councell of Trent, in the year 1552, the 25. day of March, was very busy in writing Letters to the Pope, and continued his employment till night. Then arising to refresh himself, lo, he saw a black Dog, of such a bignesse as was not usuall, fiery eyes, and his ears hanging down to the ground coming in, and directly towards him he came, and at last he fell down underneath the Table. Being stupified and amazed hereat, when he came to himself, he calls to his servants, that were in a chamber hard by, he bids them bring a light, and to search out the Dog. And when he could in no place be found, he took a sad conceit, and falling in to a disease, he died. Dying also, they say he cryed out to his servant, to beat away the Dog that came up to his bed. Sleidanus lib. 23

(Sleidanus, from whose work this story was taken, was a 16th century German historian.)

I like this entry because although the story is briefly told, the final detail of the dying man still seeing the ghostly dog haunting his bedside is very nasty! It reminds me a little of the passage in M.R.James' Count Magnus in which two men have met a horrible fate whilst poaching on the Count's land; one is found dead and of the other it is reported that: Hans Thorbjorn was standing with his back against a tree, and all the time he was pushing with his hands--pushing something away from him which was not there. So he was not dead. And they led him away, and took him to the house at Nykjoping, and he died before the winter; but he went on pushing with his hands. 

More from the Treatise of Specters (brrrr!)

I recently posted an entry from the Treatise of Specters at Innerpeffray Library, Scotland's oldest lending library. This book, printed in 1658, is a fascinating collection of supernatural anecdotes gathered from all sorts of different sources and collected in one volume by Thomas Bromhall. So far I have not been able to find an online text for this book so I thought I would make a project of transcribing some of the more interesting entries and posting them on my blog. It would probably take me years to transcribe the entire book (especially since I would have to work on it during Innerpeffray Library's opening hours) so I thought I would start with anything that struck me as particularly entertaining and see how I get on after that! I'd be very grateful for any feedback about which types of entry are most interesting and whether anyone wants to see more on a particular theme (the main ones are prophecies, the ways in which demons influence people, and witches!). I shall start with the title and introduction to the book.

                                                     Above: photograph of the frontispiece.

The full text of the title page reads as follows:

A

Treatise of Specters

OR, AN

HISTORY

Of

Apparitions,	With Dreams,
Oracles,	Visions,
Prophecies, and	And
Predictions,	Revelations.

AND THE

Cunning Delusions of the

DEVIL, to strengthen the Idolatory of

The GENTILES, and the Worshipping of Saints departed;

With the Doctrine of Purgatory.

A Work very seasonable, for discovering

the Impostures and Religious Cheats of these Times.

Collected out of sundry Authours of great Credit; And

delivered into English from their several Originals,

By T.B.

Whereunto is annexed,

A Learned TREATISE, confuting the

Opinions of the SADDUCES and EPICURES, (denying the

appearing of Angels and Devils to Men) with the Arguments

of those that deny that Angels and Devils can

assume Bodily shapes,

Written in FRENCH, And now rendred into ENGLISH,

With a Table to the whole Work.

LONDON,

Printed by John Streater, dwelling in Well-Yard, near the Hospital

of S. Bartholomews the Lesse, 1658.

NB I have copied the exact spelling, which differs from modern spelling sometimes. I love the 17th century use of capital letters and italics for emphasis! This title page is followed by an introductory letter by Thomas Bromhall to Lord Cholmley as his patron. Here is what it says:

TO THE

HONOURABLE

THE

Lord Cholmley, Lord Viscount Kell, & c.

My Lord,

I should in the first place (if possible) anticipate your wonder; when these rude Lines shall plainly salute you, Defender and Protector of their Innocencie: Since I, who have thus preposterously run them, am not so happy as to be known to Your Honour. I shall therefore humbly take leave to declare the grounds of this my presumption (for I dare not call it otherwise, unlesse by your permission). The first is, your unbounded Goodnesse, to which I am relatively obliged, and much acquainted by the frequent commemorations of my nearest Relation, whose Father had the happiness to live and die under the benevolent influence of Your honourable Service; And, by the Information of those whole expressions proceed from the dictates of their own Experience, find, That where You have once obliged any by Your incomparable benignity, Your favours flowed down infinitely to all Relations. The next is, The Worthiness of those Learned Authours, by whose Care and Industry these Examples were left for the use of future Ages: whose Ashes might justly rise up against me, if (being so unworthy to mention, much less to collect their Labours myself) I should not commend them to the Patronage of one most Noble and Ingenious: Nor do I conceive it the lightest consideration, That Your Lordship being acquainted with these Collections in their severall Originals, must necessarily (for the communicative quality inherent in all truly noble and generous dispositions) wish they were accommodated to the apprehensions of inferiour capacities.

I shall not trouble Your Honour with what Motives I had for exposing this work to publick View; Since these so much Saducean and Socinian Times, most loudly, proclaim an eminent necessity of utmost endeavours in this particular: And since it is the duty of all men, to study rather the Publick, than their own private, advantage.

This being a Stranger, needs the more Encouragement. Besides, being usher’d into this our English World by so unworthy a hand, must consequently participate of the weakness of my endeavours: But however defective, or exposed to injury, Your acceptance will abundantly supply, and your Patronage secure, it from the imputation or prejudice of any Momus,

Should I further question that invincible Courtesie which I hear every where extoll’d, I might thereby aggravate, instead of extenuating, my Presumption. Therefore I shall cease to trouble You further, but with this one request, That You will favourably interpret my boldness in subscribing myself,

My Lord,

Your Honours most humbly

devoted Servant,

Thomas Bromhall.

NB "Momus" is the personification of mockery or satire in Greek mythology, in case anyone was wondering! Again, I have reproduced the spelling and punctuation of the original text (Bromhall seems to have been inordinately fond of colons...). The letter is a very flowery way of saying that he hopes Lord Cholmley's support will help make his book a success and encourage people to receive it positively. It is probably one of the driest bits of the book so now that we have that behind us I'll post some of the spectral tales next! 

Celebrating Crieff: a skull, a book and a bottle of ginger beer

Today was officially a Work Day and as I have 55,000 words to write before Christmas I wouldn't normally skive off. However, the electrician was visiting today, installing a new fuse box to replace the old one, which was so ancient that were a fuse to blow we would have to mend it with wire. I don't find it very easy to work with someone in the house, so I decided to go and investigate the CELEBRATE CRIEFF exhibition which is on from 1st to 14th September. CELEBRATE CRIEFF is not just an exhibition - there is also a programme of events including a "Ghost Walk" which promises to be suitably blood-curdling. The exhibition itself includes local crafts and produce, a historical timeline and some very interesting curios.
This wasn't just idle sightseeing (cough). I am currently working on a trilogy set in Flanders (the first book, Silent Saturday, is coming out in the UK in April 2013) so I spend most of my working time thinking about Flanders or indeed "visiting" it via Google Street View. Somewhere down the line, though, the last book of the trilogy will have been completed and I shall be thinking about settings for new projects. With this in mind, I like to investigate local history and explore atmospheric locations such as old churches and castles, storing up inspiration for the future.
Here are some pics from the exhibition! I particularly like the ginger beer bottles.

Above: I never knew there used to be a "Crieff Aerated Water Company"!

Above: a book about witchcraft and demonology rests 

incongruously between two innocent-looking bookends! 

Above: according to this display, Crieff is laid out according to ley lines, 

with the parish church right at the centre! 

Above: part of a display about witchcraft. Several "witches" were burnt locally. I have previously blogged about the Dunning witch whose memorial stands on the road outside that village. 

If you are within travelling distance of Crieff you can find out about the exhibition and events on the CELEBRATE CRIEFF Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/celebratecrieff/