Friday 5 September 2014

FOLKLORE ON FRIDAY - Going Down To The Crossroads



In old British folklore, crossroads were more than just important landmarks for travelers - those who died and were expected not lie quiet in their graves - criminals, witches and suicides - were traditionally buried at crossroads.

The idea was that the restless spirit then would not be able to find its way home again. However if you think that possibly this might seem an ineffective method to deal with the unquiet dead - particularly if they had a good grasp of the local geography - fear not, for our ancestors thought of that too, frequently staking the corpses down to prevent them rising again!

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