The Toadman

by Nigel Pennick

Drawing upon folklore and other texts, and private communication from actual Toadmen, the author describes the practice of Toadmanry and places it in the context of the toad in folklore, alchemy, medicine and European religion. The Toadmen were a clandestine rural fraternity famed for their mysterious powers, including the control over horses. The author first learnt of their powers from his grandmother as she recounted an incident from when she was a girl. She had heard how the horse-and-trap of a squire unpopular with the farm workers was "resisted" i.e. stopped dead, so the horse would not be budge. The place chosen was a level crossing, where the road crossed a railway track. The horse-and-trap was run down by the Granville Special Express, a fast boat train, and the squire killed. Such is the reputation of the Toadmen, who would both heal and hex, and whose path was considered particularly perilous.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2012

About the author

Nigel Campbell Pennick, born 1946 in Guildford, Surrey, England in the United Kingdom, an author publishing on occultism, magic, natural magic, divination, subterranea, rural folk customs, traditional performance and Celtic art as well as runosophy.
He is a writer on marine species as well as an occultist and geomancer, artist and illustrator, stained-glass designer and maker, musician and mummer. He also writes on European arts and crafts, buildings, landscape, customs, games and spiritual traditions. He has written several booklets on the history of urban transport in Cambridge and London . He is best known for his research on geomancy, labyrinths, sacred geometry, the spiritual arts and crafts, esoteric alphabets and Germanic runic studies.
He has written many books in German and has over 50 published books and hundreds of published papers on a wide range of subjects.