Sounds spooky!
Thursday, 12 November 2026
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DANUBE WATER SPIRITS
It was believed that the Danube harbored 100 spirits of whom the 100th was the chief, who was equipped with a drum and a whip. The latter was used to mete out punishments.
These spirits looked like dwarfs. They wore the conical red hat seen in so many pictures of dwarfs. They had long beards, caprine legs and ears and a single horn. They were hostile to humans, whom they pulled into the river and strangled.
HEAD IN THE LION'S MOUTH
"Putting your head in the lion's mouth" is a phrase that has attained an almost proverbial status. It arose because it was said this used to be done in circus acts. But did such a thing actually take place or was it just a legend?
Well, yes, it did take place and a very unwise procedure it was, too. We don't know just when it started, but we do have the name of an early practitioner. This was Isaac Van Amburgh (born 1808) who seemed to exert a power of control over lions, who, when he gave performances, were reduced to docility and placing his head in the lion's mouth was certainly featured in a number of his shows. His power over lions seemed to some almost mystical, though he was also accused of using brutality to tame his animals. Did any enterprising lion bite his head off? No, he died in his bed in 1865.
Wednesday, 11 November 2026
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