Londons Falling -

[DavidXBrunt]

Cause someone asked and I'm too lazy to write anything myself here's some random chunkcs of Wikipedia.

Jenny Greenteeth "is a figure in English folklore from Yorkshire or Lancashire. A river hag, similiar to Peg Powler, she would pull children or the elderly into the water and drown them. She was often described as green-skinned, with long hair, and sharp teeth.
She is likely to have been an invention to frighten children from dangerous waters"

Tommy Rawhead "Bloody Bones comes from Ireland and is sometimes called Rawhead and Bloody-Bones, Tommy Rawhead, or "Rawhead". Though the stories originated from Ireland, they have spread through the UK and North America, and the stories still hold strong in the south.

He is said to live near places of water (in older tellings) and under sink pipes (in newer tellings). Rawhead and Bloodybones rewards very good children, but will punish naughty children by dragging them down the drainpipes or into the water and drowning them. In addition to drowning naughty children, he is said to be able to turn them into objects such as pieces of trash or spots of jam, which are inadvertantly cleaned-up and thrown out by unwitting parents."

Horndon Worm - "Sir James Tyrrell ... went to slay a dragon and died. It appears that he had been asked to kill a serpent-type animal which escaped from a ship in the Thames and roamed the woods round the manor of Herongate and the church, terrifying the people. He managed to slay it, chopping of its head, but he died from his exertions"

Black Shuck "the name given to a ghostly black dog, probably a type of barghest, which is said to roam the Norfolk and Suffolk coastline. Sometimes Black Shuck is referred to as 'the Doom Dog'. It is said that his appearance bodes ill to the beholder, though not always, with Black Shuck more often than not terrifying his victims out of their wits but then leaving them alone to live normal lives afterwards. Many other 'black dogs' exhibit a similar trait. Sometimes Black Shuck has appeared headless, and at other times he appears to float on a carpet of mist rather than run. According to folklore, the spectre often haunts graveyards, sideroads and dark forests."

Black Annis "a bogeyman figure in English folklore. She is imagined as a one-eyed blue-faced crone or witch with iron claws and a taste for human (especially child) flesh. She is said to haunt the countryside of Leicestershire, living in a cave in the Dane Hills. She supposedly goes out onto the glens at night looking for unsuspecting children and lambs to eat, then hangs their skins around her waist. This legend is of disputed origin, some say it is based on a Fifteenth century hermit called Agnes Scott, while others say it is much older and probably Celtic in origin."

Cailleach Bheur "in Irish and Scottish mythology, The Cailleach (plural, Cailleachan) (also called The Cailleach Bheur) is generally seen as a divine hag, a creator, and possibly a deity. The word simply means 'old woman' in modern Scottish Gaelic, and has been applied to numerous mythological figures. In Scotland, she is credited with making numerous mountains and large hills, which are said to have been formed when she was striding across the land and accidentally dropped rocks from her apron."

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology#Europe" target="_blank">Wikipedia on European Folk Lore

[scutfink]

What about the Japaneese wallah with no face?

I'm assuming he's a Jap, what was it he called him, a 'Leaking Tap'?

Although knowing Cockerney slang, that could be Latvian, as in:

'Leaking tap fixed by a plumber named Ian'

[Bico]

Is Tommy Rawhead any relation to Redcap?  That's what I assumed when I saw him in the comic, at any rate.

[Keef Monkey]

Thanks for the info, nice to have something to refer to! I'd been confused initially by how everyone seemed to know the characters already, hadn't realized until maybe the 2nd episode that it was a mythiololological thing.

[Satanist]

"I'm assuming he's a Jap, what was it he called him, a 'Leaking Tap'? "

I assumed that meant Chap.

[I, Cosh]

I thought it meant a mugger, personally.

And here's the entry on Capelthwaite from Encyclopedia of the Celts. Looks like we're in for a giant dogfight finale:

The name given to a Westmoreland local Bogie of the Black Dog type. He could apparently assume any form at will, but preferred that of the calf-sized black dog. There used to be a barn near Milnthorpe called Capelthwaite Barn which was the home of one of these creatures. He was well disposed towards the farm people, and used to round up their sheep and cattle for them.

[Wils]

What about the Japaneese wallah with no face?

Mujina is an old Japanese term for a tanuki (Raccoon dog). In Japanese folklore, these animals were avid shapeshifters, and one of the forms they were purported to take was that of a "faceless ghost". This particular sort of monster is often referred to by English speakers as a mujina, but the Japanese know them as noppera-bō.

[scutfink]

Not Latvian after all then...

[The Amstor Computer]

Wils --

You ever seen Pom Poko?

[Wils]

Nope. As always, my knowledge and experience of Japanese animation is very limited (Akira, Pokemon, something about a demon with hundreds of tentacled spurting cocks)

[Floyd-the-k]

Pom Poko is non-pornographic but the Tanuki do have the power to inflate and flatten their town halls, which must be nice for them. The movie also shows the reason so many Japanese men drink 'genki drinks' (because they're really Tanuki feeling the strain of keeping the disguise)

[Dark Jimbo]

Is Tommy Rawhead any relation to Redcap? That's what I assumed when I saw him in the comic, at any rate.

No relation at all, but the comparison is a good one, they are similar in the sense that they're both particularly bloodthirsty, malevolent creatures.

Tommy Rawhead (or Bloody Bones, as I've always known him) is a bit more of a general bogeyman, designed specifically to frighten children. As a result he's got no particular genuine mythological or folkloric heritage - the name was simply meant to conjure up such a horrific image that it kept children away from ponds and quarries, that sorta thing, where he was supposed to live (this is also the origin of Jenny Greenteeth). He also liked to make his lair under stair cupboards, which gave rise to the 'monster under the stairs'-type story.

Redcap, on the other hand, was a proper folklore creation, a particularly evil sub-species of goblin that haunted ruined border pele towers, and castles and keeps where foul deeds had been done. He's probably of most note becuase he wore big iron boots, making him one of the rare few members of the fairy race who had nothing of their legendary aversion to iron.

The 'red head' of the former was because he had no skin/top of head, the 'red cap' of the latter just because he dyed it in his victims' blood.

Ha! Who needs Wikipedia? Bow before my folkoric might!

[El Spurioso]

A few expansions:

Hedley Kow appears in several stories as a shapeshifting Shryker-type: a hobthurst or hobgoblin who'd appear as a cow, sheep, horse -- or, yes, as the ever-present "black dog".  

Because the name "Shuck" is almost synonymous with Black Dog legends (which allowed me to tie him in to the whole Black Dog Of Newgate mythology), I've differentiated him and Kow by making the latter a less distinctive bogey; a sort of shapeless horsebearpigdog horror: an explosion of ferocity and nastiness.  

As for Tyrell, different versions of the "killing the worm" tale tell it very differently.  Most agree it was a beast that escaped from a ship offshore -- merchants bringing the creature as a gift to the King.  Needless to say the version I've gone with has him successfully killing the Horndon beast (a cockatrice), whilst others have him impaled on his own lance, pierced by its claw, or poisoned by a drop of its blood.  From there it was a short hop of invention to making him a glorified Career-Monster-Killer, who's on the verge of finishing-off Capelthwaite in the flashbacks, just as Shuck intervenes...

Also plenty of family history, the Tyrells...

[ukdane]

Thanks for the info, nice to have something to refer to! I'd been confused initially by how everyone seemed to know the characters already, hadn't realized until maybe the 2nd episode that it was a mythiololological thing.

Well, just goes to show me how ignorant I am then, as I've only found that out by reading this thread. No wonder I feel totally lost in the story so far. (I feel a bit like I did when Cab Inc first started, and I didn't get any of the 'cult' references then either.)
I thought I just needed to reread he story, but it's clearly more than that.
Are any of these characters in Gaiman's Neverwhere?

Spur: How do you go about writing/researching a story like this?

[Satanist]

"Are any of these characters in Gaiman's Neverwhere? "

WAH! Now I cant read this thread as I've been buying this lot with the plan to read it all in one go.


PS. Please say its alright? I'll risk reading a reply.  :)