St Marks Eve – 24th April – The Old Forgotten Tradition
‘Tis now, replied the village belle,
St. Mark’s mysterious eve,
And all that old traditions tell
I tremblingly believe;
How, when the midnight signal tolls,
Along the churchyard green,
A mournful train of sentenced souls
In winding-sheets are seen.
The ghosts of all whom death shall doom
Within the coming year,
In pale procession walk the gloom,
Amid the silence drear.’
What is the History behind St Marks Eve?
A old Tradition lost in time.
The feast day of St Mark the Evangelist (founder of the Church of Alexandria) falls on 25th April, but there are some interesting folk customs that fall on the eve of the feast the 24th April.
Between the 17th and 19th century it was thought that holding a vigil in a church porch during the hours of 11.00pm through to 1.00am on three successive years would reveal the identities of those due to die and be buried in the churchyard over the coming year as an apparition or coffins or headless corpses when the church bell strikes 1AM.
This was a tradition throughout Britain though probably more popular in the North and West. There are some variations on the tradition.
1. Some accounts say this vigil must be repeated each year of your live instead of just three.
2. Others say the exterior of church had to walked around before the vigil begins.
3. And another say that those undertaking the task had to be fasting.
4. Lastly some say just going on this night and partipating in a vigil will able you to see.
Divining For Future Husbands
It was also believed that St Marks Eve was also the time when young maids would try to use divination to discover the identity of their true love and husband to be. One method was to hang their smock before the fireplace and await for the arrival of an apparition of the man your due to marry to come in and turn it for you.
‘On St. Mark’s eve, at twelve o’clock,
The fair maid will watch her smock,
To find her husband in the dark,
By praying unto good St. Mark.’
In North Kelsey, Lincolnshire young women would visit the Maiden Well on St Marks Eve.‘Girls coming to the spring with the view of divination must walk towards it backwards, and go round it three times in the same manner, each girl, meanwhile, wishing the wish that she may see her destined sweetheart. After the third circle is complete, the inquirer must kneel down and gaze into the spring, in which she will see her lover looking up out of the depths.’
(County Folk-Lore by Gutch and Peacock,1908)
Another method of employed by young women was to place a nut by the heath and whisper the name of the man they believe may be their true love. If the nut jumped from the fire then the love was meant to be.
So come and join us on The 24th April 2017, we will be broadcasting live from facebook bwtween 11PM and 1AM.
We will have equipment set up around the porch, Wildlife cameras scattered, a walk round of the area will be shown and we will even have the spirit box going to see what comes through, on The night the veil is meant to be at its Thinest so lets have a go to see what happens.
If you would also like to take part with us or want to take part from another church yard let us no we will do another article with who is taking part and what experiments they have planned.
And please dont forget to send us any evidence you may have collected for our upcoming documentary on it.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kxfJHEb5hLA&feature=youtu.be
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Equinox 15: Stocksbridge Bypass. The Legends.
Equinox 15: Stocksbridge Bypass – Introduction. – Please Check It Out.
Stocksbridge Bypass.
The Legends.
As we got together we decided to have a quick look at what information we have connected with the legends around the area of Stocksbridge. We decided to do this to help give us an idea what we could look for or ask about on both the physical and nonphysical plane. Below we will look at the legends we have at hand and as we go along we will research into these legends for any evidence.
Legends From the Net.
We had a look on the internet to see if there were any legends of the Stocksbridge Bypass and what claims were behind them. We obviously found a lot covering this location but what they had in common is the mention of a monk. We found two recurring reasons for the haunting,
- One legend talks…
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Equinox 15: Stocksbridge Bypass.
Equinox 15: Stocksbridge Bypass.Date: January 15, 2017Author: Red Ridge X0 Comments With the begining of 2017 we at Red Ridge X are happy to start this year working on the Equinox 15 Project. The Equinox 15 Project is a joint venture between Red Ridge X and Project Paranormal. 15 years ago the founders of Red Ridge X and Project Paranormal first started out together working in a team called Project Reveal. After a few years the founders investigated different areas of the paranormal and occult but always staying in touch with each other and remaining friends. This year we have decided to get together and work on a few projects bringing in different view points, techniques and to have a laugh on the way. We hope you enjoy.Stocksbridge Bypass.One of Red Ridge X`s first outings with Project Paranormal that we have planned
Source: Equinox 15: Stocksbridge Bypass.
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A Station at Chapeltown
During the course of my life I have been to most places in my home country but there are still pockets to visit. One of them got knocked off the list recently – areas of South Yorkshire, near Sheffield.
I am not, usually, a lover of the big towns and cities. But I had been to Sheffield once, many years ago and then by train. This time I avoided the great South Yorkshire steel town – but that’s not to blame Sheffield. The avoidance of big places just makes me happier.
Our niece lives in what might be called an outer suburb of Sheffield called Chapeltown. That’s a place of manageable size for me. You can see the hills and the place is surrounded by woods. It might not be called ‘pretty’ but it’s a place I could live with. It has a busy railway line running through – linking…
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Paranormal Magazine UK 