murder ballads Archives - Bone and Sickle

Villainous Victorian Women

November 14, 2022 boneandsickle ballads, Britain, broadsheets, crime, EPISODE, execution ballads, folklore, gore, history, horror, murder, murder ballads, poison, Victorian

Our survey of villainous Victorian women examines six individuals associated with some of the most ghastly crimes of the era,[…]

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The Dead Lover’s Heart

February 13, 2022 boneandsickle ballads, cannibalism, death, Decameron, EPISODE, folklore, gore, history, holidays, homicide, horror, legends, literature, love, Mary Shelley, murder, murder ballads, Romanticism, seduction, Valentine's Day

Whether freshly removed or strangely preserved after death, the dead lover’s heart occasionally has continued to be embraced as a[…]

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The Lover’s Head

February 12, 2021 boneandsickle Arthurian, ballads, Black Death, books, children's literature, crime, death, Decameron, decapitation, EPISODE, execution, fairies, fairy tales, folk music, folk tales, folklore, ghost stories, ghosts, gore, history, horror, legends, literature, madness, Middle Ages, murder, murder ballads, punishments, renaissance, Romanticism, seduction, skulls

The motif of lovers retaining the head of a decapitated partner is surprisingly widespread. In this — our romantic Valentine’s[…]

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