item: #1 of 10
          id: 12261
      author: Frazer, James George
       title: Balder the Beautiful, Volume I. A Study in Magic and Religion: the Golden Bough, Part VII., The Fire-Festivals of Europe and the Doctrine of the External Soul
        date: None
       words: 164418
      flesch: 76
     summary: At Ensival old folks tell young folks that they will have as many Easter eggs as they see bonfires on this day.[267] At Pâturages, in the province of Hainaut, down to about 1840 the custom was observed under the name of _Escouvion_ or _Scouvion_. It has been described as follows by the parish minister of the time: Upon the first day of May, which is called _Beltan_, or _Bal-tein_ day, all the boys in a township or hamlet, meet in the moors.
    keywords: account; africa; air; animals; ashes; aus; balder; belief; beltane; berlin; bonfires; british; burning; cattle; central; century; ceremonies; ceremony; children; christmas; church; cit; compare; country; cross; custom; cut; dance; day; days; death; der; des; deutsche; die; district; door; earth; easter; end; europe; eve; evening; evil; family; father; feet; festival; fields; fire; flames; folk; food; form; france; friction; girl; god; good; great; hallowe'en; hand; head; hill; hole; holy; home; house; husband; hut; i. p.; iii; indians; ireland; john; kindle; kindling; king; leap; life; log; london; long; lore; man; midsummer; midsummer day; midsummer eve; midsummer fire; morning; mother; mountains; need; new; night; north; notes; order; paris; people; period; person; place; priest; puberty; purpose; reason; rev; round; scotland; seclusion; second; set; sir; small; smoke; south; sqq; sticks; stones; straw; sun; sunday; thought; time; torches; touch; tree; tribes; village; vol; wales; water; way; wheel; witchcraft; witches; wolf; women; wood; year; young; yule
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        item: #2 of 10
          id: 1271
      author: Redgrove, H. Stanley (Herbert Stanley)
       title: Bygone Beliefs: Being a Series of Excursions in the Byways of Thought
        date: None
       words: 55010
      flesch: 64
     summary: This was presently reported to the Duke of _Buckingham_, and a little after to the King (James I.), who were both very curious to know the issue of the businesse, which was, that after dinner I took the garter out of the water, and put it to dry before a great fire; it was scarce dry, but Mr _Howels_ servant came running (and told me), that his Master felt as much burning as ever he had done, if not more, for the heat was such, as if his hand were betwixt coales of fire: I answered, that although that had happened at present, yet he should find ease in a short time; for I knew the reason of this new accident, and I would provide accordingly, for his Master should be free from that inflammation, it may be, before he could possibly return unto him: but in case he found no ease, I wished him to come presently back again, if not he might forbear coming. It is easy for the superficial thinker to dismiss much of the thought of the past (and, indeed, of the present) as _mere_ superstition, not worth the trouble of investigation: but it is not scientific.
    keywords: "(1; alchemists; alchemy; art; bacon; belief; body; day; doctrine; elements; fact; form; god; gold; knowledge; life; little; magic; male; man; matter; means; mercury; metals; mind; nature; occult; order; origin; phenomena; philosophy; place; power; present; pythagoras; reason; science; seed; soul; spirit; spiritual; stone; sulphur; theory; things; thought; time; truth; use; view; water; work; world
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        item: #3 of 10
          id: 17050
      author: Thiselton-Dyer, T. F. (Thomas Firminger)
       title: Strange Pages from Family Papers
        date: None
       words: 77763
      flesch: 65
     summary: To gratify her whim, he accordingly promised her the produce of as much land in the vicinity of the park as she could walk over while a certain brand was burning; for, as she had been bedridden for many years, he supposed that she would be able to go round only a small portion of the property. It was for very many years a residence of the Bishops of Durham, and a resting place of Margaret, bride of James IV., of Scotland, and daughter of Henry VII., in her splendid progress through the country.
    keywords: abbey; account; blood; body; brother; captain; case; castle; chapter; child; church; court; curse; daughter; day; days; dead; death; devil; door; duke; earl; estate; family; fatal; father; hall; hand; head; heart; henry; history; home; house; husband; james; john; kind; king; lady; life; little; long; lord; love; man; manner; marriage; men; money; mother; mrs; near; night; person; place; property; queen; romance; room; secret; sir; skull; son; story; thy; time; tradition; vow; walter; way; wife; william; woman; words; years; young
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        item: #4 of 10
          id: 21471
      author: Kingston, William Henry Giles
       title: Mountain Moggy: The Stoning of the Witch
        date: None
       words: 24223
      flesch: 83
     summary: One boy, more daring than the rest, and superior in appearance to most of them, lingered behind, and finding a stone remaining in his pocket of those with which he had, like his companions, provided himself to attack the old woman, he turned round once more, and flung it in the direction of the hut, saying, as he did so, That's my parting gift, old Moggy. The Doctor's wife, ever ready with help and sympathy, in spite of the numerous maternal cares to which she had to attend, immediately exclaimed, Poor old creature!
    keywords: anna; children; day; doctor; father; frank; good; jenny; men; moggy; morgan; mountain; rest; ship; time; tom; way; william; willie
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        item: #5 of 10
          id: 34744
      author: Allen, Grant
       title: The White Man's Foot
        date: None
       words: 35386
      flesch: 84
     summary: My heart was sore for poor little Kea. Don't you see poor Kea's dreadfully distressed?
    keywords: crater; eruption; eyes; face; fire; floor; frank; girl; good; half; hands; hawaiian; house; kalaua; kea; lava; lay; leg; maloka; man; moment; mountain; pélé; round; time; volcano; way; white
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        item: #6 of 10
          id: 35690
      author: Thurston, Edgar
       title: Omens and Superstitions of Southern India
        date: None
       words: 96613
      flesch: 73
     summary: On other days, the omen is a lucky one. Her son sought the assistance of certain men of the Reddika caste in obtaining wood for the pyre, carrying the corpse to the burning-ground, and cremating it.
    keywords: animal; ant; belief; black; blood; body; brahman; bull; case; cattle; ceremonies; ceremony; child; children; cloth; country; cow; cut; day; days; death; deity; district; earth; evil; eye; family; festival; figure; fire; flowers; following; food; form; gazetteer; god; goddess; gods; good; hair; hand; head; hill; house; human; image; leaf; leaves; left; life; little; madras; malabar; man; marriage; men; milk; neck; night; number; offerings; oil; omen; people; person; piece; place; pot; priest; rice; round; sacrifice; set; shrine; silver; snake; south; stone; tamil; telugu; temple; time; tree; victim; village; vow; water; way; white; woman; worship; years
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        item: #7 of 10
          id: 38379
      author: Carlile, Richard
       title: An Address to Men of Science Calling Upon Them to Stand Forward and Vindicate the Truth....
        date: None
       words: 16000
      flesch: 51
     summary: If he shrinks from this he is a coward--a slave to the opinions, of other men. Such men have been most aptly termed spouters of froth.
    keywords: = =; chemistry; knowledge; man; mankind; matter; men; mind; nature; newton; present; science; superstition; system; time; truth
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        item: #8 of 10
          id: 42921
      author: None
       title: A World of Wonders, with Anecdotes and Opinions Concerning Popular Superstitions
        date: None
       words: 75506
      flesch: 59
     summary: The act of barbarity of removing the spleen from such men would not be much more cruel, however, than killing them by so terrible an excess of exertion. But if there were other men under the earth, they could not be of Adam.
    keywords: age; air; ancients; animals; aristotle; art; bed; body; century; chapter; children; church; countries; country; course; day; days; death; earth; emperor; england; existence; eyes; face; fact; father; feet; fire; following; form; france; french; general; good; hand; head; history; house; human; influence; instance; king; left; life; man; means; men; mind; modern; moment; moon; nature; negroes; night; number; object; opinion; order; origin; paris; people; period; persons; place; pliny; point; popularity; power; prejudice; present; public; race; rome; room; science; state; stone; subject; time; white; woman; world; years
       cache: 42921.txt
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        item: #9 of 10
          id: 47053
      author: Thiselton-Dyer, T. F. (Thomas Firminger)
       title: Domestic folk-lore
        date: None
       words: 51141
      flesch: 61
     summary: She has many times pared an apple whole, and afterwards flung the peel over her head, and on each occasion the peel formed the first letter of his Christian name or surname. To avoid, therefore, any such contingency, many persons, should they be disappointed in one of their guests, have the empty place filled by a child, and should one not always be forthcoming, no slight inconvenience is occasionally produced.
    keywords: act; bed; belief; bride; chapter; charms; child; children; church; country; day; days; dead; death; divination; england; folk; following; form; glass; hair; hand; house; kind; left; life; looking; lore; love; luck; man; marriage; new; night; notion; person; piece; place; poor; ring; scotland; shoe; sign; superstition; time; wedding; woman; years
       cache: 47053.txt
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        item: #10 of 10
          id: 52165
      author: Gerard, E. (Emily)
       title: Transylvanian Superstitions From: The Nineteenth Century (Vol. 18), London, July-December 1885, pp. 130-150
        date: None
       words: 10651
      flesch: 64
     summary: It must not, however, be supposed that Monday, Thursday, and Saturday are unconditionally lucky days, on which the Roumenian is at liberty to do as he pleases. In many places two openings, corresponding to the ears of the deceased, are cut out in the wood of the coffin to enable him to hear the songs of mourning which are sung on either side of him as he is carried to the grave.
    keywords: church; day; days; death; evil; feast; footnote; house; man; night; people; place; roumenian; spirit; superstition; water; year
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