#grey mare

With December just around the corner...

Gibson and the Apocalypse: Mare-y Christmas!

People are often familiar these days with the Mari Lwyd (Y Fari Lwyd in modern Welsh, roughly translating as 'Grey Mare'), but this is actually only one of a number of traditions involving rural towns across Britain being harassed by a singing animal skull. Other creatures in this group include The Broad of the Cotswolds, the Hooden Horse of Kent, Old Tup of the East Midlands, Old Ball of Lancashire and, to a lesser level of relevance, Láir Bhán of County Kerry (a region of Ireland in this case and included solely for additional context). All of these traditions, despite being found in various different regions, all derive from the same event where a collection of genuine skeletal animals escaped captivity from the Other Realms and began to pester humans for food. All the escaped entities were later captured by the fae authorities, or Faethorities, and returned to their homes. It is believed that all cases of skeletal horses singing at people since then have been imposters; if a genuine skeletal creature is sighted hassling people in their homes then it is recommended to inform the Faethorities via the nearest stone circle or mushroom ring so they can come and collect them. If an imposter creature is sighted, and the humans behind the deception are being particularly obnoxious about it, it's recommended to call the Faethorities anyway. They promise to return the perpetrators by the next lunar cycle, after having taught them a valuable lesson.