Author: Kirst Mason D'Raven

Don’t Throw Yourself Away

How much old magic survives in the things we throw away? From lost teeth beneath pillows to hair and nail clippings, our discarded pieces once carried dangerous power…

The Dead They Feared – The Strange Burials of Wharram Percy

At Wharram Percy, ten people were cut, broken and burned after death. Forensic anthropology reveals what happened to their bodies – but can it tell us what their community feared?

The Bone Reader – Kirst D’Raven

When a storm exposes human remains in a crumbling seaside cliff, forensic anthropologist Maggie Watson is called in to read the bones. But the dead have a story to tell—and this one has been waiting a very long time to be heard.

The Blood-Filled Corpse: England’s Twelfth-Century Vampire?

A wicked man dies unshriven, rises from his grave and brings pestilence with him. When villagers exhume his swollen, blood-filled corpse, medieval England gets disturbingly close to a vampire.

The Screaming Skull of Bettiscombe – Who Was She?

A human skull has guarded Bettiscombe Manor for generations, but science revealed the famous legend had the wrong victim. So who was the mysterious woman behind Britain’s screaming skull? 💀

The Vampire of Berwick – Britain’s Medieval Walking Dead

Long before Dracula gave Britain its elegant, aristocratic vampire, our dead were considerably less sophisticated. They got out of the grave, lumbered around frightening the neighbours, spread disease and occasionally required somebody to hit them with a spade.

The Croglin Vampire – Anatomy of a Legend

Britain’s most famous Vampire has a name, a date and a terrifying history. But dig into the original sources and the Croglin Vampire becomes stranger than the legend suggests…

When the Dead Don’t Stay Dead

There are few things that humanity has been quite so consistently afraid of as a dead person who refuses to behave like one.

The King Who Was Killed By… Lampreys??

The Curious Death of Henry I

The Matagot – Kirst D’Raven

“Come back if you want to know more about the Matagot… And bring milk!”

The Killer Moustache

How one man’s facial hair turned against him.

The Man Who Died Laughing

The extraordinary death of Chrysippus.

The Lawyer Who Shot Himself

How Clement Vallandigham became history’s unluckiest defence lawyer

Timeline Of Notable Big Cat Sightings – UK

The UK has a history of big cat sightings, including the “Beast of Bodmin” in the late 1700s, the “Essex Lion” in 1905, and the “Fen Tiger” in the 1980s. These reports have sparked speculation about the presence of exotic felines in the British countryside, with sightings continuing into the 2020s.

Dressed to Kill

Beauty, style, a little fire… What can possibly go wrong?

A Matter of Statistics – Kirst D’Raven

Dr Carrie Dale has spent years uncovering the truth behind unexplained deaths. But when a week of increasingly bizarre fatalities lands on her mortuary table, coincidence begins to feel like conspiracy. As the bodies pile up, Carrie finds herself chasing an impossible pattern – and wondering whether Death itself has developed a very dark sense of humour. A macabre, witty tale where statistics, fate and forensic science collide.

History’s Most Bizarre Ends

Sometimes the facts are stranger than fiction…

When Fair Folk Come For The Children.

Not every fairy tale has a happy ending…

Annwn – The Otherworld Beyond the Hedgerow

Our ancestors didn’t imagine another world above the clouds. They imagined it was just beyond the hill..

The Fairy Queen – Rulers of Britain’s Otherworld

Forget everything you think you know about the Fairy Queen. Long before glitter and fairy tales, Britain knew mysterious women who ruled hidden kingdoms below hills, lakes and ancient forests. Meet the powerful Queens of the Otherworld, where myth, magic and folklore become one…

The Places You Should Never Disturb.

Fairy paths, forts and holloways..

Alley Cats Review – May Contain Bollocks

Ricky Gervais’s Alley Cats is filthy, ridiculous, unexpectedly touching and absolutely hilarious. But if feral cats making knob jokes offend you, what exactly did you expect? 😂

The Puppy Nobody Claimed – Kirst D’Raven

Short Story Sunday

The Travis Walton Hoax?

Fifty years after one of the world’s most famous alleged alien abductions, original witness Steve Pierce has returned to the Arizona forest – and says the story the world was told was a hoax. One of the foundations beneath the Travis Walton abduction case may have just shifted.

The Folk Beyond the Hedgerows

Beyond the hedge lies another Britain. A land of fairy paths, hidden kingdoms and ancient warnings…