History: Gunpowder plot and Guy Fawkes night

Today is the 5th November. Yes it's bonfire night, also called Guy Fawkes Night. A "penny for the guy" with stuffed scarecrow figures to parade in the streets. Fireworks. Small outdoor bonnies (bonfires), dried leaves and cold crisp air. Goes with a traditional feast of toasted marshmallows, bangers (sausages) and mash, toffee apples and hot chocolate drink. This isn't complete without chilling stories and here is one of them.

Guy Fawkes was a young handsome man. He was strong and muscular, with long auburn hair and beard. There was a strong influential presence about him. He was charismatic and funny. A former soldier who was a Catholic convert, oppressed under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant. Practicing Catholicism was illegal in England back then, which caused an atmosphere of misery. Then King James I was no better, and it pushed Fawkes overseas to the European continent to give his support. On his return, he was involved in a conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parliament. It backfired on him!

After he was arrested, Fawkes was placed in manacles then on a rack, where he was tortured. Eventually he admitted who the co conspirators were. All of those involved were hung, drawn and quartered. The others were executed before him, and he managed to flee from the scaffold, where he soon fell and died. His body was torn to pieces. Each part of his remains were distributed around the country as a warning. 

The Government wanted everyone to celebrate his death right afterwards. People were told to light bonfires, party and attend church by law on every 5th November as part of Thanksgiving (Observance Act 5th November 1605). This mandatory celebration still lasts today. The law to attend church on 5th November was repealed in 1859 as the "gunpowder treason day" tension faded. 

Now that was the history behind Guy Fawkes. He was born in a house in York, England, in 1570, which is now the haunted Guy Fawkes Inn, built in the 18th century. His unsettled spirit haunts there. The inn itself is the only place throughout the UK that doesn't celebrate Guy Fawkes Night. 

More stories on the way. Keep well. Violet Dark.        

New blog owners

Warmest greetings. 

This blog was left months ago by the owner, She Wolf Night. She passed the torch over to us, her friends Violet Dark and Charlotte Woods. The original owner of the blog, She Wolf Night, stepped down after so long. Now we've decided to reopen it. 

She Wolf Night has been ill and couldn't manage posting on the blog. It was a while she had poor health and she made the decision to call it a day. She spent over 16 years posting about supernatural subjects, which I also have a lot of interest in too. I've been adding the occasional post here sometimes. 

I'm Violet Dark, and the second admin is Charlotte Woods. We will keep everything here, the archive and blog name. We'll be adding some slight visual changes to make it easier to read. The subjects will mostly remain the same as the blog theme, but we'll introduce a few extras. The blog will always be about monsters and ghosts but we'll add mysteries, historical and the natural world.

So stay tuned for more and be well, Violet Dark   

My last post

 

It is with myself and others that we post this farewell to Blogger. I've been on here since 2010 and after so long, it's time to concentrate on home and work, so I will say Goodbye. A very warm and mystical farewell. I hope you all enjoy reading the content of this blog, which has been on for years. 

She Wolf Night