fire
Oct 13, 2026
The Nutcrack Fires of Halloween
A look at Nutcrack Night, the Scottish and northern English Halloween custom of burning paired hazelnuts on the hearth to divine whether a courtship would end in marriage or in parting.
Read more
Oct 12, 2026
The Bone Fires of Samhain
A look at Samhain, the old Gaelic turning of the year behind Halloween, and the hilltop bonfires once lit to hold back what crossed over on that night.
Read more
Oct 9, 2026
She Runs Without a Head
A field account of the Mula Sem Cabeça, Brazil's cursed headless mule, and the forbidden love said to have summoned her fire.
Read more
Sep 30, 2026
Nian and the Red Door
A record of Nian, the beast of Chinese New Year folklore, and the customs of red paper, fire and noise still said to keep it from the door.
Read more
Aug 1, 2026
The Fire That Must Not Go Out
A journal entry on the old, near-universal duty of keeping a fire alive through the night, from the Vestal flame in Rome to the smoored peats of the Scottish Highlands.
Read more
