A castle of werewolves

One of the most infamous castles with a creepy reputation with werewolf stories is Moosham Castle, in Salzburg, Austria. The castle's first documented deed was in 1191 that was built on the site of a Roman fortress. This castle had always been haunted full of ghosts but throughout history, it's been the place of horrible violence. Conflicts and warfare such as the third crusade, the crusade of 1197, the fifth crusade, Austrian-Hungarian war, the Flemish Revolt, the German Peasants War and the Italian Wars. Centuries ago many witches were tortured and put to death in this location. In the 1800's a lot of animals were found dead around the castle, all of them mutilated and eaten. It was pointed out that some individual people living nearby were to blame, as they were believed to be bloodthirsty werewolves. Soon they were all rounded up and thrown into the dungeon of the castle, where they died. The eerie noises of howling could always be heard some nights. 

Today Moosham Castle is an interesting place to visit. This place is on my bucket list. If you want to see it and enjoy the ghosts and bloody history tour and hope to find a werewolf, visit this page at Dark Tourists.

She Wolf Night

Azzurrina

There is a certain charm to the Province of Rimini, Italy. The location looks like a fairy tale place with castles and villages overlooking thick forests and misty hills. But there is a mysterious event of a ghost girl with blue hair, seen in the Dark Age castle of Borgo Montebello. Her name is Azzarrina and she's lived there for centuries. A victim of a curse, who mysteriously vanished while playing within the castle itself. No trace of her was ever found but her spirit remains there. Since the 14th century, she's often been heard and seen still. Every five years she's popped up and has been playing, laughing or crying. 

She was born Guendalina Malatesta in 1370, and the daughter of the Montebello feudal lord Uguccione. She was an albino and kept away from other children to stop rumours spreading about her appearance, as it was believed albinism was associated with witchcraft. The girl had striking blue eyes and white hair the colour of snow. Her mother dyed her daughter's hair black although after washes the girl's hair tint faded to look light blue. It was because of this she became known as Azzurrina. Her father was so worried that he sent two guards to monitor the girl wherever she went. While under the watchful gaze of the guards, she could never be bullied or attacked. However, one day she chased after a ball that rolled down steps. The two guards ran after her and then they heard her screaming. Both Azzurrrina and the ball were gone.

The castle today is full of legends about this blue haired girl. She appears every five years during a Summer Solstice, with haunting activity. When the castle's museum opened to the public in 1990 it attracted a lot of paranormal researchers. Sounds of a child have been picked up on equipment. The legend has also been made into a film called Azzurrina.

Source:  Film "Azzurrina" at Internet Movie Database. 

She Wolf Night

Gnomes of Wollaton Park

 In 1979 a strange thing happened in Wollaton Park in Nottingham, England. A supernatural event that seems like a fairy tale. A number of children were playing outside after 8 pm and they ended up going to the park, which was locked for the night. They climbed over the fence and wandered away through the field until they reached a wooded place surrounded by a fence. It wasn't even allowed for anyone to be there as the fenced area was quite swampy. Full of excitement and eager to explore, the kids found a way in. Soon they noticed that something else was with them in the woods, and it wasn't any wild animals. There were movements in the trees and bushes at first. 

The kids saw a bunch of strange people emerge from the trees and bushes. They were in small cars and they stared angrily at the kids, as if furious with them for being there. Suddenly the kids were being chased by the people in cars, so they ran out of the swampy woods and across the field. A few of them fell in mud and desperately ran from the speeding cars. They reached the park's fence and got out, and then the cars stopped chasing them. What was most interesting was the description of the people in the cars from the locked park. They were all doll-sized! and they were driving in little cars. This became a big story later on and the name Wollaton Park Gnomes was coined. 

While the story sounds silly, the area itself is full of magical folklore and it's not the first time living gnomes have been seen. Other local people, including adults, have also encountered actual gnomes and fairies. It's believed that the kids might've just overreacted to a surprise meeting of wild animals in the dark woods, when they shouldn't have been out there so late. There is a book about the weird story: "The Wollaton Gnomes: A Nottingham Fairy Mystery" by S. R. Young. 

She Wolf Night

The Tooth Fairy

The origin of the modern idea of the Tooth Fairy comes from ancient times in northern Europe. In ancient Eddic literature, which is Medieval, there are poems and sagas written down from oral traditions that were far older. It mentioned "tand-fe" that means Tooth Fee, which was an award given to children who lost their first milk tooth. The concept of giving children coins for losing their baby teeth was started by the ancient Norse people. It was also believed by the Vikings that milk teeth was lucky, so they had those carried around with them as talismans. Milk teeth was made into necklaces and worn by warriors who needed fortune in battle. Magical energy of milk teeth was so important to the Norse that they paid children money to have their milk teeth that fell out. 

The purity and magic of milk teeth also attracted small creatures too. It was believed in many European and Asian countries that mice, rabbits, cats, squirrels and other animals would collect milk teeth from a child and leave coins in return. In a French story La Bonne Petite Souris (The Good Little Mouse), a fairy turned into a mouse and bit the ears of an evil king while he was sleeping in bed. Over time, children left their teeth under their pillows for the mouse fairy.

While sweet toothed stories of mice and fairies helped children believe in the magical Tooth Fairy, it also had a darker side. People thought witches would steal milk teeth and use it for harmful spells. Milk teeth was buried or burned to avoid theft by malicious witches. If a witch grabbed hold of a child's milk tooth, something awful would happen and the child would be under a curse. Witches took things from a person, like hair, nails and teeth. They then used it to control the person and make them fall ill or die. It was often believed that milk teeth would attract evil spirits once fallen out so parents took it upon themselves to hide the teeth.   

She Wolf Night  

      

Lake Ladoga Monster

Lake Ladoga is the biggest freshwater lake found in Europe, which is found at the border of Russia and Finland. It was once called the Great Nevo, and it features in Norse sagas as a city of lakes Aldelgja. The lake is home to a variety of fish and also seals. This lake has appeared in Finnish folklore and songs. It was created after a meteor impact 40,000 years ago. Over the centuries, this lake has had enough of warfare and nuclear testing. Today it's a beautiful location that attracts visitors. There's something unique about the lake, as it resembles a sea. There are 35 rivers flow into the lake but one river flows out of it, the Neva that passes St Petersburg. But there is something disturbing about its waters, and this is a mysterious monster. 

Described as large and grey, with a long neck and body length of 10 metres. It was sighted by a witness named A.S. Konovalov in 1973, that stared at him with "fierce eyes" until it stopped and then vanished below the surface. Another sighting happened a decade later, when Peter Ermolaev was out on his boat fishing at the lake, when he saw a grey creature looking at him. It opened its mouth and hissed, then went under the water. Later on it was seen again by Michael Bardin, who was 200 metres away from him. It seemed that the creature was searching for food. The monster was seen by a biologist named Anatolli Shimanskii who said the creature was hunting fish and hissing. It's length was roughly about 20 metres, big and also moved with grace. The creature has been responsible for ripping fishing nets, to the annoyance of fishermen. 

Besides the unknown and unidentified monster, it's believed to have been the same creature sighted all over the years. Or it's a family. Many people still don't know what actually lives in the depths of the waters. 

She Wolf Night

Wildlife picture of the month

"Are you nuts?"

Squirrels are not hibernating animals and they're very active during early Spring. They're seen all year round. They're omnivores, feasting on seeds like acorns, beech nuts, walnuts and sweet chestnuts. They also eat bulbs, shoots, flowers, mushrooms, insects, caterpillars and eggs. They like storing their food by burying it to avoid theft from others. 

There is a belief that the American grey squirrel is responsible for the decline of European red squirrels. This is because the grey squirrel was introduced into Europe in the 19th century and their population is much bigger than the native red. Often this angers a lot of people, including "animal lovers" who see it as an excuse to go and hunt greys. The red squirrel population was already small before the grey squirrels arrived. This is down to deforestation and poaching, thanks to the barbaric Tudors and their mission to wipe out all wild animals from the country. 

Red squirrels and grey squirrels are not enemies. They co exist and neither kills the others. There isn't a war between the two. Grey squirrels have actually helped the countryside by the way they eat and drop seeds. I will post a link about the myth of the evil grey squirrel below.

Myth of the Evil Grey Squirrel      

She Wolf Night