folk theater Archives - Bone and Sickle

Christmas Devils and the Feast of Fools

December 12, 2022 boneandsickle Boy bishop, Catholicism, Christmas, Devil, EPISODE, Feast of Fools, folk theater, folklore, history, holidays, manuscripts, New Year, Nicholas Plays, Satan, St. Nicholas, Twelve Days of Christmas

From St. Nicholas Day through Christmas, the Devil figured prominently in medieval plays, embodying a subversive seasonal element also celebrated[…]

The Hellish Harlequin: Phantom Hordes to Father Christmas

December 5, 2020 boneandsickle Carnival, charivari, Christmas, demons, Devil, dwarf, England, EPISODE, Father Christmas, folk customs, folk theater, folklore, France, Furious Army, ghost stories, ghosts, giants, Harlequin, Hellequin, Herla, history, holidays, Italy, legends, Middle Ages, mumming, pantomime, theater, Twelve Days of Christmas, Wild Hunt

Harlequin is an enigmatic figure with roots in dark folklore of France, specifically that of the Wild Hunt (Chasse Sauvage)[…]

Spook Shows

October 24, 2020 boneandsickle EPISODE, folk theater, Frankenstein, ghosts, Halloween, history, holidays, magic, movies, Spiritualism, Spook Shows, theater

Midnight Spook Shows featured stage illusions borrowing from techniques used in fraudulent seances alongside vaudeville-style comedy and burlesque. Performances were staged[…]