Last weekend I visited Glastonbury to witness the Wild Hunt Samhain parade.
While not strictly folk-horror, the event had enough vaguely folk-horror elements for me to include it as the third of my folk horror blogs. Glastonbury, and of course the famaous Tor, is well-known as a place that attracts people for a variety of spiritual reasons (and also for a certain music festival, though that may be horror of a different type). The Tor rises above the town. From its summit you can see the vale of Avalon stretch away, flat and wide. Artefacts from the iron age have been found on its slopes; it has links to Arthurian myth. The sense of location, of dislocation common across folk-horror themes is there in abundance.
While not strictly folk-horror, the event had enough vaguely folk-horror elements for me to include it as the third of my folk horror blogs. Glastonbury, and of course the famaous Tor, is well-known as a place that attracts people for a variety of spiritual reasons (and also for a certain music festival, though that may be horror of a different type). The Tor rises above the town. From its summit you can see the vale of Avalon stretch away, flat and wide. Artefacts from the iron age have been found on its slopes; it has links to Arthurian myth. The sense of location, of dislocation common across folk-horror themes is there in abundance.
The Wild Hunt is not strictly a Glastonbury myth. Legend has it that a group of terrible huntsmen - apparitions, ghosts, spirits, demons, fey or possibly even ancient gods and goddesses - ride across the land in wild pursuit - of what? Versions differ. They may be chasing down lost souls - the unbaptised or the damned. They may be harbingers of disaster, or they may be seeking souls to join the hunting party. Frequently the leader of the Hunt was said to be Wodan or Wotan, from the Scandinavian or Germanic folklore. But he might also be others, such as Herne the Hunter, or the Welsh God of the Underworld Gwyn Ap Nudd, as he was in Glastonbury this weekend.
The event began with Morris dancing at Glastonbury Market Cross, followed by a costume competition. Then it was time for the drama to begin as interlopers Hades and Persephone - from the ancient Greek pantheon, though I'm sure they need no introduction - appeared. Gwyn Ap Nudd soon arrived to put them in their places, and to lead the Wild Hunt Parade and the Glastonbury dragons through the town to the foot of Glastonbury Tor. Here be dragons... the Glastonbury dragons, who formed a large, scaly part of the parade. Sadly, I have no pictures of them, as they were attracting huge throngs that blocked my view.
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Out of the town, the ceremony continued. People wrote the names of lost loved ones on notes that were thrust into the heart of the pile of wood that would later form the bonfire. As the sun set, Persephone lit the bonfire and we called on the spirits of our ancestors, of those who had gone before us, to enter the hollow hill of the Tor while the veil between the living and the dead was grown thin. I found the ceremony surprisingly moving - others said similar.
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The evening ended with a variety of performances, including a fantastic Crow Morris dance, drummers, fire dancers, bards and musicians. This was the first event of it's type, and on this evidence I will definitely be going again. And next year I may well bring a drum.
You can get a good idea of what went on from this youtube video by Megalithomania.co.uk (and you may even spot me on it at some point). Many many thanks to all who organised, took part and made it all happen. Happy Samhain/ Halloween to all.
You can get a good idea of what went on from this youtube video by Megalithomania.co.uk (and you may even spot me on it at some point). Many many thanks to all who organised, took part and made it all happen. Happy Samhain/ Halloween to all.
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