Issue #214 of the always informative Fortean Times is now on news-stands. This issue’s theme is ‘Dark Nature’, with the following content packed within its covers:
- Fox Tales: The trickster-like figure of the cunning fox is almost universal in folklore and mythology, says Trevor Ouelette, but it also has a frightening tendency to possess and transform its human compatriots.
- Stoat Packs: The stoat is notorious for its ability to ‘freeze’ a rabbit with its glare, its slinky, hypnotic dance and its ruthless predatory nature. However, Merrily Harpur reveals some less well-known behaviour – the triumphal capture dance, the funerary hiding of killed stoats and the swarming of huge stoat armies.
- Divine Monsters: Handel House Museum in London is presenting an exhibition on the composer’s musical relationship with 18-century castrati, and Jen Ogilvie explores the vanished world of these sexually ambiguous superstars who suffered a major loss in the hope of attaining fame and glory.
Much more besides, and also remember that there is plenty of free content from previous issues of FT available at their website.
