Monday, October 13, 2008

Boggart Hunting

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I mentioned earlier that DarceysSis & I went on a thoroughly enjoyable walk last weekend. It was great in spite of the weather -

DarceysSis at Ogden The Giant's tooth




- because we were on a mission, namely a Boggart hunt! So don't be fooled by the picture of us gathering around the Giant's Tooth - that was literally a sidetrack.




Anyway, whaddya mean, what's a Boggart? "Why, don't you know?"
[Psst, y'quoting the wrong woodland monster story there, DsD! - Ed.]



Oh yeah, thanks. Boggarts? They're a Northern English sprite: a nasty little bleeder that causes things to disappear, milk to sour, dogs to go lame, and so on. Always malevolent, the boggart lurks under bridges, in stone walls, outhouses (we still have outdoor toilet blocks up 'ere, tha'knuzz!), wooded thickets etc, taking great delight in scaring the pants off all & sundry.

Legend (aka tourism-desperate Local Authority) has it that during September and October, the Boggarts have an annual festival which climaxes on Halloween. They drink strong wines made from local berries and celebrate the scares they have given humans over the summer. They drink so much that they forget to hide during the day, and are turned to stone by magic in the morning light. Frozen in their stone form, they can be spotted sitting in and around the woodland trails.



Ogden Water, nr. Halifax, has an excellent relationship with the local schools, inviting the kids for several walk-based activities during the year. Although we went on an organised led walk, this one is open for all to take themselves, every day between now and the end of the month. If AliMunday or DaddyPig fancy a free walk that'll get the kids' cheeks rosy, get yourselves to the shop by the Reservoir Head for a set of Walk Instructions. But be warned, wear your walking shoes, take a snack, and leave the pushchairs in the car; it's uphill & downdale for a good 90 mins right round the water (nearer two hours if you go up to see Oggie's molar).




For more info, click here

And somehow, this seems appropriately spooky:

My Morning Jacket - Into The Woods

10 comments:

Brian Speng said...

Interesting Mr Darcey, you certainly know how to put the willies up someone and no mistake.

Weirdly enough, I also have memories of a 'festival' which involves a climax during Halloween - her name was Mavis.

No seriously sir, I had never come across a Boggart until you mentioned them here and (after your description) im blinking glad of it. Brrrrr...they sound JUST like McClean from Accounts - always lying in wait for some poor unsuspecting person to wander out of their department.

That final picture also resembles the bugger as well, heh heh - bloody uncanny I would say!

Anonymous said...

Tried to post this before but I failed, somehow:

There's a place in north Manchester called Boggart Hole Clough (the Hole being his home and a Clough being a northern word for a deep wooded ravine). The story of this green Boggart can be found here (you'll have to copy & paste the link coz I can't hyperlink it): http://www.boggart-brewery.co.uk/boggart-story-boggart-brewery.html

Abahachi said...

What's the local view on the J.K.Rowling 'reinvention' of the boggart? Grotesque travesty or fairly true to life?

Shoegazer said...

@DsD, cool post & pics.

@Abahachi, JKR definitely changed the traditional take on Bogarts, perhaps because her take on elves were so boggart like. Would forgive her incorporating and adapting traditional magic creatures, as, along with her own creations, it helped establish a unique magical universe for kids to explore.

Both Shoeteens grew up with Harry Potter, first books, then films. The last film was disappointing to them, as it was plot driven & didn't allow enough exploration of JKR's lore and characters. "It wasn't magical enough" was their review. The new film looks like it might be a return to form.

Anonymous said...

Magical post, Darce. Lovely photos too. You're still missed on the Mother Ship. It's just not the same!!
Anybody seen the Bambi article in the GU today? Talk about being inspired by our ideas!!!!
---
My heart goes out to Daypardyoo for his son Guillaume dying at 37. That's an awful tragedy. Great actor and very brave man...

ToffeeBoy said...

Looks like a great day out - my two are far too old and cool to do anything interesting like that so all I can say is enjoy it while you can.

I had a book, way back when I were a lad, all about witches and goblins and the like and I remember a page about Boggarts - they scared the willies out of me then and they still do now. Thanks for bringing back my childhood nightmares...

Anonymous said...

We aim to please, TB, we aim to please!

Anonymous said...

Looks good, DsD - might wait for better weather though or at least not mention the '2 hours' to sprog ... we had to stop at the Co-op and buy some Halloween glow-in-the-dark teeth this morning, so I think he'd be well up for Boggarts!

Anonymous said...

Link to my email is in my profile, Ali, if you want to meet up before/during/after.

Cheers.

gremlinfc said...

The mystery of the bug-type creature is solved - take a peep...