Ghost Stories from Across the pond

 

The Adze – Firefly Vampire

In southern Togo and Ghana, the Ewe people have a myth of such a vampire, called the Adze. The Adze is a type of vampire creature who turns itself into a firefly or other insect to feed before returning to its human form. They can transform themselves into any number of common insects which are seemingly harmless, and very difficult to capture.

The Adze have a taste only for the blood of the innocent. They are hunters of children, and only children, and they especially like to feed on infants. They can also feed on palm oil and coconut water, and often will raid a village entire supply of these, but they become dangerously weak if they do not feed on the blood of children. An Adze can sustain itself without needing to kill any child. It can take enough blood to survive. However, if the Adze is deterred or thwarted from feeding for a long enough period of time, it will go on a ravenous frenzy for blood. Often when the vampire reaches this stage of hunger, even the victims who survive become infected with a deadly disease which eventually kills them.

The Adze can also have the power to possess a human and become a living vampire. When the Adze is captured, it will revert to its human form. A human sorcerer can also willingly become possessed by an Adze spirit for the abilities and powers they will gain. As an Adze host, they are able to change their form, like a shapeshifter, from human to something else by magic. When they are captured, however, the magic will be lost and they will revert back to their human form. This is the only way to destroy the Adze, but catching them is the trick.

There is no way to protect against an Adze. Nothing will keep them out, or keep a child safe from its attacks. The only measure that can be taken against them is capturing them and destroying their human form. The safest thing to do is keep your supply of coconut water and palm oil up and set a trap.






 

Lagertha….The Viking Shieldmaiden

Lagertha’s tale is recorded in passages in the ninth book of the Gesta Danorum, a twelfth-century work of Danish history by the Christian historian Saxo Grammaticus.

Lagertha’s career as a warrior began when Frø, king of Sweden, invaded Norway and killed the Norwegian king Siward…..the grandfather of Ragnar Lodbrok. Frø also put the women of the dead king’s family into a brothel for public humiliation. Upon hearing of these events, Ragnar Lodbrok was naturally furious, and quickly gathered his army to avenge his grandfather Siward.
Many of the women Frø had ordered abused in the brothel dressed themselves in men’s clothing, and were battle ready brandishing their swords and shields, and desperate to avenge themselves and their families from the abuses they had endured from Frø.
Ragnar Lodbrok, with his army, and with his warrior women alongside him, would soon see him get his vengeance for the death of his grandfather Siward. Lagertha played a huge part in this battle which lead them to its success…..becoming a hero in her own right.
Saxo recounts that Lagertha “though a maiden, had the courage of a man and fought in front among the bravest with her hair loose over her shoulders. All marvelled at her matchless deeds, for her locks flying down her back, betrayed that she was a woman.”
This eather small framed women took everyone by surprise through her courage, and Ragnar was instantly attracted to her. Lagartha though was not interested in Ragnar originally, and he courted her from afar, whilst Lagertha feigned interest. Ragnar arrived to seek her hand, bidding his companions wait in the Gaular valley. He was set upon by a bear and a great hound which Lagertha had guarding her home, but killed the bear with his spear and choked the hound to death. Lagertha was so impressed by his actions that she accepted Ragnar’s hand in marriage. They had three children, a son named Fridleif, and two unrecorded daughters.

Some years later however,Ragnar met the daughter of King Herrauðr of Sweden Thora Borgarhjört. Ragnar, still annoyed by Lagertha setting her beasts on him all those years ago, and despite having had 3 children together, he decided to divorce Lagertha and marry Thora Borgarhjört.

Lagertha went back home and remarried. When Ragnar eventually returned home to Denmark he was faced with another civil war. Lagertha, despite being discarded and divorced, still loved Tagnar deep down, and decided to aid Ragnar with 120 ships. She and her warriors would end up saving the day with a counterattack saving Ragnar and his wounded son Siward in the process.
After the battle, Lagertha returned home to her husband. Just like in the TV Show Vikings, she kills her husband with a hidden spearhead after a quarrel. Saxo states that she “Usurped the whole of his name and sovereignty; for this most presumptuous dame thought it pleasanter to rule without her husband than to share the throne with him”.

Lagertha is closely associated with Valkyries and has a Warrior Goddess status.

However, there are no accounts of how or when Lagertha actually died.

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The Tombstone of William Henry "Harry" Thornton.

The Tombstone of William Henry “Harry” Thornton.

William Henry “Harry” Thornton, was a classical pianist who played for the troops in World War I but sadly succumbed to the worldwide flu pandemic of 1918 at age 35. His family had a grand piano, lid open, carved in stone and engraved with his name just over the keys. A lyric on the side of the piano reads: “Sweet thou art sleeping; Cradled on my heart; Safe in god’s keeping; While I must weep apart.” The words are an English translation from the Puccini opera, “Madama Butterfly.” In place of sheet music on the music stand was a “broadsheet” with an engraving of Thornton playing the piano. The monument has fallen into some disrepair over the years, and the “sheet music” have gone missing along with the piano lid. It is a haunting image that reminds us that nothing lasts forever. This remarkable Tombstone can be found in Highgate Eastern cemetery, London, England.





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