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 Gnome Folklore “Gnomeo and Juliet” opens in theaters tonight. This new movie is a fun animated version of the Shakespeare’s classic “Romeo and Juliet.” Only in this interpretation the characters are the all-time lovable garden gnomes that happen to get caught up in a feud between neighbors. With a tagline of “a little adventure goes a lawn way” you know lawn humor will be in full force. This humor extends right down to an appearance from Featherstone, a pink flamingo lawn ornament.
Seeing the ads for the movie and hearing people talking about taking their kids to see it got me wondering about the legends and folklore behind these little folks.
The famous garden gnome statues that we’re all familiar with originated in the mid 1800′s in Germany. These terracotta figures quickly spread into France and England, which were both countries well known for their beautiful gardens. Today these antique figures have become extremely collectible and the garden gnome has become a kitschy object in popular culture (and now a new Believe It Tour character).
However, these garden gnomes were derived from the myth and legend of small, subterranean beings that were said to hoard secret knowledge and treasure. Gnomes appear in European folklore with only subtle differences, but they are known by different names as they fan out across the region. Here are just a few of the names for gnomes from different countries.
England = Gnome
Belgium = Kabouter
Germany = Wichtel
Hungary = Manó
Italy = Gnomo
Norway = Nisse
Poland = Krasnoludek, Skrzat
Slovenia = Kepec
Living mainly in hilly meadows and rocky woodlands gnomes are said to be vegetarians and for the most part peaceful beings. Yet, they do enjoy practical jokes. As lovers of animals they have been mentioned as freeing their friends from traps. They also are said to aid to improve the health of neglected farm animals. However, all of these things happen after they make sure the precious treasures they mine are securely hidden in the ground and are well guarded.
If you are a fan of gnomes and happen to take your kids to see “Gnomeo and Juliet” please take a little time and share some of the history behind the characters. There are also many literary gems for children to enjoy and imagine a world of little people.
 Grant in the Boat from Bimini Sands Resort & Marina The day was sunny, but the seas were a bit rough when we excitedly set out to explore the Bimini Road. We were extremely fortunate to be taken to the site by our guides, Katie Grudecki and Grant Johnson. Katie and Grant are the activities directors for the Bimini Sands Resort and Marina, Recreation and Activities Department. Both live in Bimini and were previously involved with managing the Bimini Biological Field Station, which plays a critical role in studying sharks. Katie and Grant both have amazing backgrounds, which made them the perfect guides.
While the day was still beautiful a hurricane was churning its way directly toward us, which made for some rough ocean water. However, we were determined to see the wall and our guides assured us that conditions would be safe, but that we would have decreased visibility. After a 20 minute boat ride we finally arrived at the wall, which was a short distance from land.
We immediately geared up and jumped in the warm water with Katie. Grant stayed with the boat to ensure we stayed safe. Once we were in the water we were able to see the wall and the blocks that form it. It was thrilling to see something only read about and seen in some documentaries. However, it was a bit challenging to get many photos or video, as the visibility was extremely poor and we got tossed around a little from the rough seas. Conditions withstanding we were in the water for a while and got to explore a good portion of the main wall.
 Underwater shot of the Bimini Road Swimming above the wall you could see areas that were composed of very distinct block structures. One of the first impressions was of the sheer size of the blocks. If people did put the rocks there it would have been quite an engineering feat to have cut them, positioned them, and then aligned them so perfectly. This gave us something to ponder while we were exploring. Another treat we had was seeing all the marine life that has made the wall their home. We saw everything from wrasse to sea turtles. We even had an up-close encounter with a graceful stingray before deciding to head back to the boat.
Katie and Grant were both great about telling us some local legends of Bimini and stories they knew about the wall. We were very fortunate to have had such knowledgeable and helpful guides who made our trip to wall truly memorable.
Personally, I thought seeing the wall was amazing, but it didn’t really answer any questions for me about its origins. I was hoping I’d see or experience something that would give me a firm idea about the road’s inception, but instead I was left still wondering. Was the wall a product of a natural geological process or something more mysterious built by man many thousands of years ago? I don’t know, but that just lends to the mystery surrounds the Bimini Road.
If you travel to Bimini and want to take a guided dive, be sure to contact our friends Katie and Grant at Bimini Sands Resort and Marina.
 It's June 21st and time to celebrate the Summer Solstice or Midsummer Summer Solstice is an important day, not only for the fact it denotes the first day of summer, but also for the place it holds in the world of folklore and legend. Always ready to explore any type of folklore or unique traditions, Believe It Tour decided to look into the history behind this interesting and ancient celebration.
From a purely scientific standpoint the solstice represents an event that happens twice a year when the axial tilt of the Earth is closest to the sun. The result of this increased angle is that, in the Northern Hemisphere, this is the longest day of the year.
While significant in the world of science, the solstice plays an even more important role in the world of folklore. As the Summer Solstice falls in the middle of the year it’s also known as Midsummer in many cultures.
From ancient times people have been known to mark the passage of the solstice through various rituals and ceremonies. In ancient Egypt the day was marked with celebrations to Ra and Horus to ensure fertility and agriculture abundance while in ancient Rome there was a ceremony that took place during the “Grove of Diana” festival. The Summer Solstice was celebrated by the druids with sacred ceremonies around Stonehenge and pagans had huge bonfires with music, dancing, and food. Years later the holiday was converted into the feast of “St. John the Baptist” to be in better alignment with the ideals of Christianity. The Summer Solstice is a day that’s still celebrated in many countries and cultures throughout the world.
In herbology, the Summer Solstice played a key role in the traditions and folklore behind different plants. During celebrations on Midsummer, St. John’s Wort, Chamomile, Geranium, Thyme, Penny Royal were burned as these were believed to banish bad luck and negative energy. Then to ensure good luck and prosperity for the next year, wreaths were made of Rue, Roses, St. John’s Wort, Vervain, and Trefoil and hung in the house.
The solstice has even played a role in classical literature with Shakespeare’s most whimsical and beloved comedy, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Although the day was first recorded in oral folklore tales long before Shakespeare’s time. The tales ranged from fairies bestowing good luck on humans during the solstice to children placing food in the garden as a gift to the fairies and then gifts being left in place of the food. Some say this last tale was a precursor to the legend of Santa Claus.
Summer Solstice is an ancient day of celebration and one that holds an important role in the folklore and mythology of many different cultures. It may simply be the longest day of the year to many people, but to others it’s a day of celebration and abundance.
You always hear about the Summer Solstice that happens every June, but aren’t you a little curious about the day and some of the ways it’s been celebrated over the centuries? Believe It Tour was curious as well, so we did a little digging and uncovered some interesting folklore and legends behind this ancient celebration. You can use these unique facts to dazzle your co-workers, impress your friends, or even use one or two to create your own Summer Solstice celebration.
- Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year.
- In Lithuania it was said the dew from the morning of Summer Solstice would make old people look younger and young girls would be more beautiful.
- The astrological sign associated with the Summer Solstice is Cancer, which is symbolized by the crab. It’s said that the crab is the symbol since the year walks backwards like a crab with progressively shorter days after the solstice.
- In England bon fires were lit to keep the evil spirits away from the town.
- If you don’t sleep during the Summer Solstice and sit in the middle of a stone circle you’ll see fairies, ghosts, and goblins.
- In Estonia if you were able to jump over a solstice bon fire, without setting your pants on fire, you were ensured of having good luck during the next year.
- If there’s something you want walk around the solstice bon fire three times with a pebble in your hand while you whisper what you want to the pebble before throwing it into the fire.
- In South America paper boats were filled with flowers, set on fire, and then released to sail down the river carrying prayers to the gods.
- Celtic folklore tells of placing the ashes of the Litha fire around fields of crops to assure bountiful harvests.
- During the Summer Solstice men named John had a wreath of oak leaves placed on their doors to honor them.
 Honoring my Grandpa on Father's Day It’s time once again to celebrate and honor fathers and all the men that have a “dad” role in someone’s life. We know Father’s Day is a tradition here in the United States, but haven’t you always wondered how it came to be? Since Believe It Tour explores folklore and legends, I felt today was a prefect opportunity to dig a little deeper into this paternal holiday that honors dads the world over.
Contrary to popular belief, Father’s Day is actually a fairly recent holiday and one that originated in the United States. The idea of Father’s Day germinated in the early 1900s in Spokane, WA when a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd wanted to do something to commemorate the many sacrifices her widowed father had made for her. The month of June was picked for the first celebration since that was the birth month of Sonora’s father.
The holiday took a step closer to being recognized on a larger scale when the National Father’s Day Committee was formed in New York City in the 1920s to help lobby for the holiday to be officially recognized in the United States. However, there was always resistance in Congress when it came to making Father’s Day a recognized holiday. In the late 1950s, a senator from Maine protested that if there was a holiday honoring mothers that fathers should have one, too. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson issued a presidential proclamation honoring fathers, but he stopped short of actually declaring it an official holiday. Finally, in 1972 President Richard Nixon made Father’s Day a nationally observed holiday that falls on the third Sunday of every June. Today, Father’s Day is celebrated in about 55 different countries, even though the dates vary from the third Sunday, but many are still celebrated in June.
Today is Father’s Day here in the United States and the day for us to celebrate our dads and all the men that fill that role. This is the day we honor, celebrate, or remember the amazing dads, step-dads, grandfathers, or uncles we were or are lucky enough to have in our lives. Thanks to all the great guys out there that give us something to celebrate!
Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, spirits and myths of old. Like the American bison, these folklores have begun to disappear as our towers stretch to the sky, and our mind’s shrink within ourselves. The modern age shuffles through our lives and these stories are relegated to white noise.
What happens when a Native American burial ground meets the blade of a 6,000 pound bulldozer? Where does a spirit roam when the 40-acre wood is turned into a shopping mall complex? However, you do hear the sensational on occasion. A hotel whose 50th floor is haunted. A house whose doors continue to open and close. A werewolf roaming about in New Hampshire, Michigan, or Wisconsin is reported, but one has yet to heed the howl from atop the Prudential Building in Boston.
Hunters seek out the answers, bravely venturing out into the night with equipment of science. They invade a creature’s woods, breaking into a spirit’s home. All in the name of proof. All in the name of answers. Searching for something that’s tangible. We want to touch it, smell it, or hear it.
The great irony is that almost from the start of understanding, we are fed the stories of the world around us, below us, and above us. The vast majority of us are paranormally blind. Our bulldozing lives have eroded our faith in anything that can’t be touched, bought off of the internet, or rationalized with a hot latte in hand.
It’s not that our belief has been taken away suddenly. No, it’s been decades of cultural modernization that have worn our shores of spirituality to nothing more than hard, cold rock. Unfeeling and unhindered by the dark or the light.
A spirit simply doesn’t walk through our capes and classic cottages any more. The ethereal has no place in the pool of the local YMCA. Sasquatch cannot compete with the local Stop n Gas. Werewolves are just children’s stories that are long past their expiration date. Those who don’t walk our corporeal plane simply don’t exist.
Or do they? Maybe, just maybe, our senses, just like our instincts, have been dulled by the drive-thrus more than anyone will care to admit. Maybe the other dimension is still here, but the HDTV and Wii are blocking it?
Our edifying development has grown a nictitating membrane. A third eyelid that blocks out the very edges of our imagination. Faith doesn’t require a leap anymore; it demands to be shot out of a canon. More and more, it needs to be surgically removed just to find it within ourselves.
Even ancient folklore has been made sexier, more seductive, more palatable. What once was terrifying is now tame and marketed. Vampires with teen angst dance amongst werewolves who can barely shave. These were not the creatures that petrified whole villages and whose legend spread across continents like a primordial virus.
Ghosts and spirits that may walk among us are now cold drafts of an open window or the bent reflections of a fading sun. Our logical minds twist the very wind that blows out the candle of our mind’s eye. Where does this leave us? Some would say we are modernized, efficient beings doing what we do best – living within ourselves. However, I have to wonder if our inner child isn’t truly bereft of fantasy and the fantastic. For all that we are or may be, we may be truly blind.
The new movie Clash of the Titans is packed with some of the most prominent characters in Greek mythology like Zeus, Perseus, Hades, and the Kraken. However, three that I’m looking forward to seeing are the the Stygian Witches. Now this is what they’re called in the movie, but in classic mythology they are known as the Graeae. This intriguing bunch of women are three sisters that are known to be good at sharing, which is key since they share one eye and one tooth between the three of them. I don’t even want to think about the logistics involved with that particular sibling situation.
The three sisters were ancient sea demons and were the physical manifestations of white sea foam. That’s why the three had whitish grey hair, which was symbolic of the sea foam. The siblings were known as Deino, Enyo, and Pemphredo. The translation of the three names are Dread, Horror, and Alarm. There is also some debate as to what they looked like as some accounts say they were breathtakingly beautiful, but some say they were old hags.
The role in the folklore tales is that Perseus met the Graeae while trying to find Medusa, who was one of the Gorgon sisters. He took the sisters eye and used it to get them to tell him where the Gorgons were. Some stories say the three sisters were guards for Medusa and her sisters. Perseus promised the sisters he would return the eye in exchange for the requested information. However, after they told him where the Gorgons were, Perseus dishonored his promise and threw their eye into a lake. You may also remember that Perseus was the one to procure Medusa’s head as a trophy after finding her.
I’m curious how the the Stygian Witches or Graeae will be portrayed in the Clash of the Titans movie. Will they be shown as frightening old sea hags that deserved what Perseus did or beautiful sea nymphs that earn our sympathy? Let us here at Believe It Tour know what you think.
Stay tuned for the next article in our series.
Witches, legends, folklore, and even the Kraken are all packed into one archetypal film. To observe the much anticipated remake of the 1981 classic, “Clash of the Titans” Believe It Tour will be bringing you a series of blog posts all next week.
Get ready to explore the wonderful creatures that are a nostalgic favorite from the original movie. Who can forget the stop-motion animation genius of Ray Harryhausen that truly captured the Kraken?
Will the new version, with CGI and armor clad Gods, coming at you in modern 3D have the same impact?
Share your thoughts and be sure to return here all next week to discuss the creatures from Clash of the Titans.
 America’s Wolfman We already know that there’s a popularity war going on between werewolves and vampires. Now we’ll have a chance to see how the half-man, half-beast size up to the always captivating Sasquatch.
MonsterQuest, on the History Channel, always captures a large audience with episodes relating to Bigfoot. Yet, on Wednesday night, they’ll finish up their season with “America’s Wolfman.” Will this episode pick up a wider range of viewers because of the popularity of werewolves from movies and shows like HBO’s “True Blood” and “The Twilight Saga – New Moon?” Is anyone willing to take a guess at this point?
No matter what the outcome is I can say that I know the reason I’ve enjoyed watching these episodes on MonsterQuest. These episodes have truly explored the classic cryptozoology legends. If you’re at all like me and a true cryptozoology explorer you’ll enjoy this final episode.
I should say that you’ll enjoy the show if you can watch with an inquisitive and open mind. As with most cryptid stories, there is always some controversy around it being a reality or a hoax. Have no fear, this time won’t be any different. With the focus surrounding the Gable Film and the Michigan Dogman there have been many new questions that have come to the surface that go beyond the historical werewolf beliefs. Questions about the motives of people to maybe go a little too far when perhaps wanting to make a buck or to pull a prank on others. Again it all boils down to drama and drama equals good tv – right?
Believe It Tour’s suggestion is to just watch MonsterQuest for the fun of it. Then do your own research on Native American folklore about werewolves or skinwalkers to really get into the spirit of this fascinating creature.
 Mercy Brown's Headstone Always searching for an adventure Believe It Tour decided to check out the gravesite of the nation’s most famous vampire, Mercy Brown. When we arrived at the cemetery a number of headstones were covered in snow, so we hoped we could easily find her grave. However, we didn’t need to worry as it was clearly a spot people regularly come to visit.
Mercy was buried at the Chestnut Hill Baptist Church cemetery in Exeter, RI. She was 19 when she died on January 17, 1892 of tuberculosis. At the time of her death, she was the third person in her family to die from the horrible disease. Her mother died in 1883 and her sister in 1884. Shortly after her sister’s death Mercy’s brother, Edwin, contracted the disease and was sent to live in Colorado. Just before Mercy’s death Edwin came home knowing his death was emanate.
However, the story surrounding Mercy only became complex after her death, which made her a part of American folklore forever. After Mercy died and her brother’s health worsened there was speculation that one of the women in the family was a vampire bringing a curse down upon the remaining Browns. Mercy’s father and some of the townsmen went to the cemetery to exhume the three women. They examined Mercy’s sister and mother first, but due to the length of time they had been buried they were in a rather advanced state of decomposition. However, when they got to Mercy she seemed remarkably preserved and, according to reports at the time, still had blood in her heart. When this was discovered the townspeople felt this was irrefutable proof that she was a vampire rather than that she had actually been well preserved by the cold temperatures in the two months after her death. When they determined she was a vampire they cut her heart out and burned it, which was the way vampires were dealt with at the time. The ashes were then given to Edwin to consume, which allegedly would break the curse and his health would return. Needless to say, this didn’t do anything to help save Mercy’s brother since he died shortly after Mercy was exhumed.
Tales about Mercy Brown being a vampire have persisted in the years since her death and stories abound that she still haunts the cemetery. There is even speculation that she was the inspiration for a number of authors like Bram Stoker and H.P. Lovecraft. It is certainly safe to say that she can be thought of as America’s most famous vampire.
 Exeter Grange Keep While at the cemetery we visited Mercy’s grave and we even had the chance to see the location where Mercy’s body had been stored when the townsmen exhumed her. At the cemetery edge is the Exeter Grange Keep. Keeps were the structures that temporarily housed people who died during the winter months. Due to the frozen New England ground the cemeteries had to wait until Spring to bury the dead. However, keeps were also utilized to store the dead for a few days before their final burial to ensure they truly were dead as occasionally people were mistakenly buried alive. While at the Chestnut Hill Cemetery we did see the original keep that housed Mercy Brown and was the site where her body was examined. According to legend the keep is one of the most haunted locations in the cemetery.
If you like the folklore surrounding vampires and are up for an adventure I’d definitely recommend a trip to the Chestnut Hill Baptist Church cemetery and the gravesite of Mercy Brown. I’d also love to hear from you. Have you ever visited the cemetery where Mercy is buried or what do you think about the idea that Mercy was a vampire? Feel free to post a comment and let me know.
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