Household Lore

Did you know when you move into a new home, you should sprinkle salt on the threshold, and let the cat go in first? Did you know that decorating a house with sea shells gives evil spirits somewhere to live, or that a houseleek planted on the roof will protect you from lightning strikes?

Welcome to household lore, where every rooms tells a story and every seemingly mundane corner holds a weird and wonderful secret.

• Begin on the roof, where you’ll learn how to summon the Japanese Baku to feast on your nightmares and how to ward against witches and lightning.
• Get cosy in the bedroom, with folkloric aphrodisiac recipes.
• In the bathroom, discover what soothsayer and beauty expert Nostradamus recommended for cleaning your teeth.
• On stairs and thresholds, protect your home from infernal forces and find out what lurks underneath the stairs.
• In the kitchen, make up a folklore first aid kit from your kitchen cupboard.
• In the dining room, learn from the old wives how to clean your cutlery and cure a hangover.
• In the sitting room, gather round the hearth to divine your future and look for strange things up your chimney.
• Dowse to find anything nefarious in your cellar or basement.
• Down the crooked path speak the language of flowers and avoid confrontation with supernatural visitors to your garden.

This beautiful collection of folklore, traditions and quirky history is the ideal companion to making any house a magical home.