Short Story: Women’s March On Versailles
(Published in The Copperfield Review in November 2018) ‘Cécile, Cécile!’ Victoire’s voice sounded more like a whisper instead of a shout. The roars of the women who had gathered on the market place reigned over the usual tones that governed Paris. Vendors muttered into each other’s ears rather than yelling the latest prices of cabbages…
Flemish Folktales Retold: The Last Letter of Sefa Bubbels
Support Flemish Folktales Retold on Kickstarter Tell me, is someone knocking on all the doors in the village to let the people know that there will be dancing and rejoicing around a bonfire tonight? Has someone told the innkeeper that he will sell more beer today than on any of the feast days? Are you…
Flemish Folktales Retold: The Blue Barn
Support Flemish Folktales Retold on Kickstarter “I need another barn, and the devil may build it for all I care. I must have another barn,” Joost said as he stared at the bundles of sheaves piled so high they were doomed to rot. The farmhand had stacked them in front of the timber barn Joost’s…
Witch Tales From the Sea and Sailor Superstitions
De Roesschaert In the 18th century a woman who was known as de Roesschaert lived in a crumbled cottage in the dunes around Blankenberge. It’s said she never left her home but she was happy and lived the best life she could away from the busybodies and blabbermouths who populated the markets and squares. Others say…
Ghost Ships and Other Spectres that Haunt the Seaside
In this post we’re travelling to the Belgian coastline which is best known for its unsightly concrete apartment buildings and its dreary beaches, but fortunately I have some ghosts for you who make the shore, if not more appealing, at least much more interesting. The Eternal Fisher Fishing for shrimp on horseback was an important…
Faeries and Snakes
For this fairy and snake folktale we’re travelling to Wallonia which is the French speaking part of Belgium. Because the region is known for its misty forests, enchanting waterfalls, streams crammed with mossy rocks and dark caves, it’s unsurprising that tales about fairies follow you everywhere you tread. The otherworldly beings who call The Ardennes…
The Village Where More Witches Lived Than People Without Magical Abilities
Not far away from the Belgian city of Ypres there’s a small village called Beselare that has all the appearances of just being another, normal village where nothing unusual ever happens. There’s a town square, a flower shop, a church, a bakery and a lot of other ordinariness, but at some point you’ll start to…
Folktale: The Nixie Who Haunted a Farm in the Shape of a Horse and a Goat with a Candle Between its Horns
For this folktale we’re meeting a nixie in the municipality of Lichtervelde in the province of West-Flanders, although it’s not a creature you would have liked to encountered in the flesh. The story goes that many moons ago there was a ditch that was feared and avoided by the locals who often woke up in…
Short Folktale: The Werewolf Who Went on a Tour of Redemption
According to a Flemish folktale a man no longer wished to be a werewolf. Howling at the moon and terrorising villages were no longer any fun. In fact, it had become boring. To cease to be transformed into a werewolf against his will the man had to revisit all the villages he had brutally attacked.…
The Legend(s) of the Swans of Bruges
Besides the medieval facades, the cobbled alleys and the charming bridges, the city of Bruges is also well-known for the elegant swans that majestically swim in the narrow canals, and several folktales tell the story how these swans came to Bruges. The first tale is my favourite and the lesser-known narrative of the two. According…
Short Folktale: The Witch Who Was a Crow
In a small town near the Belgian city of Antwerp there once lived a free-spirited lady who was feared and shunned wherever she went. Not that she minded. The unnamed woman dragged her spinning wheel outside every day and spun until the sun went down while a black cat rested at her feet. The other…
The Legend of Geeraard the Devil Castle
In the city centre of Ghent there’s a stunning piece of 13th century Gothic architecture known as Geeraard de Duivelsteen or Geerard the Devil castle. The building was named after a knight who in all likelihood wasn’t as much as a villain as legend wants you to believe, but since I’m all about folklore this…
Ghostlore: Naart Stuyck
Naart Stuyck is a short piece of fiction that is based on ghosts who are said to haunt the Belgian city of Ghent. It is part of Ghostlore: An Audio Fiction Anthology produced by the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities Podcast and edited by Lyndsey Croal. You can find part one of the podcast which…
The Belgian Karnemelkbrug: Ghosts, Water devils and Witchcraft
The Karnemelkbrug or buttermilk bridge in Ghent, Belgium is first mentioned in the city archives in 1199. The bridge was demolished in 1900 but fortunately the folktales that were set there didn’t disappear along with the bridge. It was a place where water devils lurked, a place associated with witchcraft and the spot where the…
Magical veils of mist and smoke in folklore
As long as you’re not driving your car on a zigzag road on a misty morning, mist can be beautiful, mysterious and sometimes even magical. There’s always this sense that something otherworldly might be hidden behind that cloudy veil. The idea that mist is something more than just tiny droplets of water that are suspended…
Guest post: How to Create a Fictional Elf Readers Will Love by Stand Corrected Editing
How to Create a Fictional Elf Readers Will Love Since the publication of J. R. R. Tolkien’s adventures in Middle Earth, Lewis Carroll’s plunge into Wonderland, and C. S. Lewis’ step into Narnia, fantasy has become one of the most popular genres in literature. Bookworms and geeks alike cherish their next escape to a magical…
Book review: A Dreadful Fairy Book by Jon Etter
A Dreadful Fairy Book I started reading this book on a Tuesday evening. In the first chapter we meet our heroine Shade. She is devastated after her house burns down and all of her precious books are lost in the fire. I immediately put the book down. This wasn’t the kind of book that I…
The forest goddess of Belgium: Arduinna
Souvenir shops in the Belgian Ardennes are filled with statues, mugs, trinkets and clocks depicting fairies, elves, gnomes and other folkloric creatures that were once believed to live in the forest. If you have a drink on a terrace it won’t take you long to notice that most Belgian beers have a story behind them…
Why I write in English instead of my native language
When I was twelve I was halfway through my first novel. It was a story about witches and the struggles of secondary school (my biggest concern back then). It didn’t take me long to realise that it wasn’t any good. I came up with some sort of ritual and ceremoniously drowned these pages in the…
The Seven Ravens: a fairy tale that should be a Disney film
If there’s one story that moves me deeply it’s ‘The Seven Raves. This tale was collected by the Brothers Grimm and it deserves its own adaptation for the big screen. The fairy tales that Disney have adapted often have ballrooms, princesses marrying princes and fairies in common. Therefore it would be refreshing to see a…
Three legendary creatures who will beat you at sports (and ironing)
If you’re anything like me the thought of participating in a volleyball game makes you run to the bathroom and feign a terrible stomach ache. As we all know, sporting is healthy, so I do hope that you’re not anything like me. The only sport that has ever fascinated me is quidditch and the fact…
When humans encounter selkies
Most people have heard of Swan Maidens. These mythological creatures can change their appearance from swan into woman. The tales in which they feature often tell about a young man who steals the swan maiden’s most precious possession: her magical feathery robe which allows her to transform into a swan when she wants to. When…
Beauty and the Beast: the real life couple
What image crosses your mind when you think of Beauty and the Beast? I see a beautiful princess wearing a glittering yellow gown and a boar-like creature with tusks dancing in a splendid ballroom. It’s a fairy tale that is close to my heart. Besides being one of my favourite Disney films, Belle’s love for…
The Starbucks mermaid: Melusine
While writing my blog post about The Little Mermaid last week I couldn’t help but thinking of Melusine. Melusine’s story is very alike but also so different that she deserves a blog post of her own. Like Ariel, she has a fishtail, but unlike Ariel she doesn’t belong in the sea, but in sacred springs…
Andersen vs Disney: The Little Mermaid
As a child I was infatuated with fairy tales. I can still hear my mother sigh as I re-watched ‘The Little Mermaid’ for the third time on the same rainy Sunday afternoon. Now I’m in my late twenties and still addicted to fairy tales. Who wants to grow up anyway? What fascinated me then was…
Notebooks, and why they have improved my writing.
Notebooks are for me the place where characters get their voice, where plots are outlined, and where the story begins. That’s why I’ve a duffel bag crammed with used notebooks, and a second duffel bag crammed with unused notebooks patiently waiting to be filled with my sloppy handwriting. I’m not a writing expert, and I…
Frightening folkloric beings that wake up during winter.
In my previous post I summed up some magical wintry fairy tales. Equally enchanting, but in a scary way, are the monsters that make you shiver, the creatures that will destroy Christmas, and the beings that haunt snow-covered moors. So, here are three very fascinating but truly terrifying folkloric beings that have plagued this planet…
Fairy tales to read on Christmas Eve.
It’s said that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, and I quite agree. But for me it’s not the flashing lights and glittering figurines hanging in Christmas trees, nor is it the smell of cinnamon glühwein or the image of Santa Claus smiling at me while he shouts: ‘ho-ho-ho’ that make Christmas…
Welcome
Hello everyone, Welcome to my website! I have to admit that I’m quite nervous about launching a website. Self-doubt is my biggest adversary, and it’s not an easy thing to combat. I’m trying to put all of these uncertainties aside, and go for it anyway. Introducing myself is not one of my strongest points either,…
Signe Maene 