J-M's History Corner

You might remember my post The Werewolves of Ireland , in which I discussed the Emerald Isle’s history of lycanthropy (werewolves), which was particularly disturbing as they were my direct ancestors. Well, here’s another mediaeval werewolf tale – this one of the warrior Sigmund and his son Sinfjötli , who dabbled in something they shouldn’t, becoming wolves for a short period of time.  This is actually a fairly common occurrence in werewolf folklore and old eyewitness accounts – that a magic (i.e. demonic) pelt/belt could transform someone into a beast simply by being worn. This tale tells of two men, Sigmund and Sinfjotli. One day these two are wandering through a great wood when they come upon a house. Inside they find two sleeping men who are under a spell – for nine days they are wolves , and on the tenth day they can take off the enchanted wolf skins and live as men again. The mischievous Sigmund and Sinfjotli, eager for a good adventure, steal the wolf-skin...

Time for another cryptid post!  As many are aware, the hybrid creature known as Bigfoot has many names in many countries and cultures; in North America, the most well-known is Sasquatch; in China, it is Yeti.  Here in Australia, we call these creatures Yowies (or less commonly, but possibly more accurately Yahoos ). First off, a newspaper account from the 1700s describing a hairy giant/monster brought back to England from Botany Bay : An extract from Chapter 16 of Mysterious Australia , penned by Rex Gilroy: The Yowie Story From Eyewitness and Aboriginal Accounts Sketch By Rex Gilroy Australia’s Leading Authority on The Yowie History Of The Yowies: In fact Australian settlers were seeing Yowies almost one hundred years before Europeans had ever heard of the Himalayan “Abominable Snowman”. And yet despite these facts, the Australian public, apart from experienced bushmen of the outback regions, have never heard of the Yowie. Aside from the ...