The Ghost of Christmas Past

The Ghost of Christmas Past

Mr Scrooges encounter with the Ghost Of Christmas Past took him back to his boarding school days where he was alone for Christmas whilst his schoolmates went home for the holiday.

Next, he was shown the day when his younger sister picked him up from the school after asking for his return. He was shown his time as an apprentice to Mr Fizzwigg.
The spirit also showed Scrooge the day when, as a young man, his Fiancée Belle chose to end their relationship as his increasing obsession with money caused him to alienate her.
Scrooge never asked Belle to break off their engagement, but he did not protest against her decision.
Finally, the Ghost showed him how she married and found true happiness with another man.
After the vision, Scrooge, out of anger, extinguished the Ghost of Christmas Past with his cap and found himself back in his bedroom

Researched and written by Allen Tiller

First published December 2012 ©

Kallikantzaroi - Christmas Trolls

Kallikantzaroi

These mythical, goblins like spirits are said to pop up between Christ's birthday and Epiphany on Jan. 6th. Between these days they devote their time to wreaking their unique brand of havoc.

The Kallikantzaroi cause mischief, they intimidate people, urinate in flower beds, spoil food, tip things over and break furniture!

The Kallikantzaroi are of Greek origin.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller

First published December 2012 ©

Ukrainian Christmas Spiderweb Tradition

Ukrainian Christmas Spiderweb Tradition

There once was a widow, who lived in a small hut. One day a pinecone dropped on the floor and it took root. Her children were excited that they would have a tree for Christmas.

All summer long they made plans on how they would decorate the tree. They were very poor, so poor that they did not have anything to decorate the tree with.

The widow went to bed on Christmas Eve knowing that the tree would not be decorated.

Early on Christmas morning, the woman was awakened by her children,

"Mother, Mother! wake up! and see the tree it is beautiful!"

The Mother arose and saw that during the night a spider had spun a web around the tree.

The youngest child opened the window to the first light of Christmas Day. 

As the shafts of the Sun crept along the floor, it touched one of the threads of the spider web and instantly the web was changed into Gold & Silver.

...And from that day forward the Widow never wanted for anything...

This is why the Ukrainians place spider-web ornaments on their Christmas Trees!

Researched and written by Allen Tiller

First published December 2012 ©

Pere Fouettard – Father Whipper

Pere Fouettard – Father Whipper

Pere Fouettard is a French Anti-Santa that arrives on St Nicholas Day to punish naughty children by whipping them. Le Père Fouettard is depicted in red and black clothing, perhaps a throwback to his anti-Roman roots.

The whipping Father has his roots in the 16th-century medieval siege in the city of Metz, a war between the Holy Roman Empire and Henry II of France. The war lasted for 8 years, and during holiday seasons, effigies of the Roman Emperor were made and dragged through the street. Local tanners would whip the effigy as it passed, thus creating Father Whipper in the imaginations of generations to come.

Japanese Kentucky Fried Christmas: クリスマスはケンタッキー

Japanese Kentucky Fried Christmas
クリスマスはケンタッキー

Christmas isn't far away now, with that in mind, over the next few days we will be presenting some Christmas themed stories, facts, Ghosts & Ghouls...

The Japanese Tradition of eating KFC at Christmas dates back to the early 1970s when an expat customer of the chains Aoyama store observed that, in a land bereft of Yuletide Turkey, fried chicken was the next best thing.
The franchise released its advertising campaign "Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!" (Kentucky for Christmas) in 1974 and a tradition was born!

Less than 10% of the Japanese population is Christian, making the power of advertising and marketing in Japan extraordinary in the fact that so much of the population begins ordering its chickens in the weeks before Christmas day.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller

First published 15 December 2012 ©

Formication – Feelings of Cobwebs on the Skin

Formication – Feelings of Cobwebs on the Skin

Some people report the sensation of feeling as though they have just walked through a cobweb, only to find no cobweb present.

 This is a common sensation felt by many ghost hunters in the paranormal community. The explanation expressed from experienced ghost hunters is that the sensation is caused by an ion change in the atmosphere, but there is no empirical data to verify this claim.

However, psychology explains the phenomenon as Formication (sometimes known as Paraesthesia), which is sometimes called a tactile hallucination. It is most commonly known as a feeling of bugs walking on or under the skin. In more recent times it has been reported as the sensation of one’s mobile phone vibrating in a pocket against the skin when no phone is present. [1]

Formication is also a common side-effect of amphetamine usage with many heavy users reporting instances of it. Sometimes referred to as “meth-mites”, formication can lead to sores, gouges in the skin and ulcers. The wounds come from the drug user picking, scratching or digging at their skin trying to remove the imaginary insects they feel walking across their body.[2]

Formication can sometimes be experienced in other ways, such as skin itching, pins and needles, tingling sensations.  It is also claimed that sometimes the cause can be static electricity, but in most cases of Formication, there are no physical triggers for the sensation.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2018

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[1] Tim Jewell & Timothy Leg PhD, (2017), Formication, Healthline Red, https://www.healthline.com/health/formication

[2] Jerome Litt M.D, (2009) Formication: So What’s Bugging You?,  Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/odd-curious-and-rare/200911/formication

Adelaide Ghosts and Ghouls Walking Tour

The Adelaide Ghosts and Ghouls Walking Tour explores the stories behind Adelaide’s alleged hauntings and crimes while shedding light on some of our city’s more chilling history. The tour is a collaboration between paranormal investigator Allen Tiller, sound recordist Anthony Frith, and Adelaide City Libraries.
  It was designed and developed based on research from Allen’s history residency at the libraries in 2016, along with a range of ghost stories brought forward via public consultation sessions.
 The tour is a self-guided audio tour you can take at any time and is totally free!

Download it here: https://soundcloud.com/adelaidecitycouncil

FREE MAP:
 https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/assets/documents/MAP_Adelaide_Ghosts_and_Ghouls_Walking_Tour.pdf