Dale Jarvis's Blog

The Lighthouse at Cape Bonavista, built in the 1840s, has had a lot of time to attract a few ghost stories.

view the story

Hatto, an evil bishop, was hoarding food during a terrible famine. The peasants became angry, so Hatto promised to feed them, inviting them to an empty barn. Hatto ordered the barn's doors locked, then set the barn on fire and burned the peasants commenting on their cries with the words "Hear the mice squeak!" Perhaps he should have chosen his words more carefully.

View Roll for Folklore Ep3 - The Mouse Tower of Bingen.
#booktok


Get the book:
Legends of the Rhine by Wilhelm Ruland

Today's Roll for Folklore: The Tunguska Explosion!

What flattened 80 million trees at once in 1908?

Find out at

https://www.tiktok.com/@dalegilbertjarvis/video/7199769110119533830?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7147421503150261766



Get the book:
100 Strangest Mysteries by Matt Lamy

I'm starting a new series over on TikTok called "Roll for Folklore" - where the dice decide how my folklore collection gets told! Follow along at
https://www.tiktok.com/@dalegilbertjarvis



First up: Fate decides that I should tell "The Legend of San Dimitri!"

https://www.tiktok.com/@dalegil.../video/7199067472329215238

With folklorist and storyteller Dale Jarvis as your guide, explore the hidden stories, strange origins, and fascinating histories of the province’s place names, from Dildo to Dover and Nain to Nipper’s Harbour. On your journey you might learn how to cure gout in the stomach, raise a glass at The King of Clubs, and rub elbows with charcoal burners, heart-breakers, and the wife of Mad King George. You might even find the best spot to have a baby while paddling a canoe. Join us for this Virtual Launch of "Place Names of Newfoundland and Labrador"!

Save the date! I'll be on Facebook Live on April 6th talking about the weird and wonderful stories behind the Place Names of Newfoundland and Labrador!

April 6th, 2022
7pm NLT, 5:30 EST
https://www.facebook.com/events/1136643893766932

Place Names of Newfoundland and Labrador



The book has arrived and is hitting the shelves this week! Stay tuned for a virtual and an honest-to-goodness-in-the-flesh book launch in early April!

Want it now? You can order directly from the publisher!

The launch of my latest project is getting closer and closer! Over the pandemic, I've been working on a new book, all about the dirt behind the place names of Newfoundland and Labrador's towns and cities.

Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of the place names of a region or a language, and we have a lot of fascinating stories behind the names of provincial places. It's been a treat to get to dig deep into the legends and lore behind the names of places, from Appleton to Zoar.

No date set yet for the official release, but you can preorder through the fine folks at Flanker Press

Place Names of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Newfoundland and Labrador of yesterday was more colourful than you might remember, and no one is more qualified to be your guide through the strange terrain of local history than folklorist and storyteller Dale Jarvis. In this book, you will come face to face with remarkable phenomena, mysterious objects, swarms of grubs, promiscuous spitting, whale milk, and raisins as large as figs. You will look for strange sights in the sky, draw up the mysteries of the deep, and foretell the future using only the bumps on your head or an egg in a glass. Along the way, you will meet jail-breakers, broom makers, contortionists, swindlers on the run, the legendary Fanny Goff, and Miss Toronto herself.

"On This Day: 365 Tales of History, Mystery, and More" is now in stores, or you can get it directly in print or ebook form from:

Our friends over at Flanker Press have announced that for this week (April 6 - 12), all e-book versions of Haunted Ground are just $4.99!

In this collection of ghostly tales, I will introduce you to old legends, including spectral Viking longships, encounters with ghostly ferrymen, and strange voices on the trapline, while exploring classic elements of local folklore such as tokens and premonitions, bad weather lights, and the Old Hag herself. In addition to historical tales, you will also come face to face with some of the province’s eeriest urban legends, from the mysterious Red Eyes of Glovertown, to the chilling west coast Webber, to the Phantom Drummer of Conception Bay North. With leaping witches, dancing devils, phantom locomotives, and even a ghostly kitten or two, there is no mistaking that you are exploring truly haunted ground.

You can find your copy here:

Kobo

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Apple

Hello all! Things are moving along quickly now, and I'm pleased to announce the official book launch for "Haunted Ground - Ghost Stories from the Rock" will be Wednesday, September 27th, at Chapters in St. John's!

The Facebook event listing is here.

If you plan on coming, check in there, and invite a friend!

The book has already been made an Editor's Pick in the fall edition of Atlantic Books today! (p64) "This is one creepy book," it starts! You can read the full description online here.

See you on Sept 27th!