This week: Nursery Rhymes that Cast a Shadow Edited by: Lilith of House Martell  
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“It’s better to face madness with a plan than to sit still and let it take you in pieces.”
~ Josh Malerman, "Bird Box"
“What an excellent day for an exorcism.”
~ Demon, “The Exorcist”
“Vampires, werewolves, fallen angels and fairies lurk in the shadows, their intentions far from honorable.”
~ Jeaniene Frost
“If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
~ Friedrich Nietzsche
“Beware the dark pool at the bottom of our hearts. In its icy, black depths
dwell strange and twisted creatures it is best not to disturb.”
~ Sue Grafton, “I is for Innocent” |
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Nursery rhymes and lullabies are so common that we give little to no thought of their origins. We learned them and children and in return sing or recite them to the children in our own lives. Here are a few with a little information on their creepy beginnings.
 This Old Man
“This Old Man” is one of those strange rhymes that have lyrics but also work when we make up our own words. Unfortunately, it is believed to come from a creepy story; specifically old men who are inappropriate with young kids. It’s said to be a song parents would teach to warn them about the old man.
This old man, he played one,
He played knick-knack on my thumb;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home...
Ladybird
"Ladybirds" seems like a sweet an innocent song about ladybirds, the English word for ladybug, landing on someone, who encourages them to fly home. But in some origin stories of the song, it has a much darker meaning. One theory believes the song might be about Catholics from way back in the 1600s who were burned at the stake if they were found saying Mass in Protestant England.
Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home!
Your house is on fire, your children all gone,
All but one, and her name is Ann,
And she crept under the pudding pan.
Ring Around the Rosie
This one originated during the Great Plague of 1665, which manifested as a smelly red-ringed rash. To hide the smell, infected people often carried flowers. Since people believed that disease spread through bad smells, many people carried flowers to cover their faces whenever they ventured out. Hence, a pocket full of posies. Finally, “ashes, ashes, we all fall down” is about burning the many dead bodies which was an estimated 15% of London’s population!
Ring around the rosie
Pocket full of posies
Tishoo, tishoo, we all fall down.
Baa, Baa Black Sheep
Though most scholars agree that “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” is about the 'Great Custom', a tax on wool that was introduced in 1275. Under the new rules, a third of the cost of a sack of wool went to King Edward I another went to the church and the last to the farmer. Black sheep were also considered bad luck because their fleeces, unable to be dyed, were less lucrative for the farmer.
Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.
One for the master,
One for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane
Three Blind Mice
“Three Blind Mice” is supposedly yet an ode to Mary I's, also known as Bloody Mary, reign with the trio in question believed to be a group of Protestant bishops—Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Radley, and The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer—who conspired to overthrow the queen and were burned at the stake, not blinded, for their heresy. Their mice's "blindness" could refer to their Protestantism, some may believe.
Three blind mice. Three blind mice.
See how they run. See how they run.
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife.
Did you ever see such a sight in your life
As three blind mice.
And there you go! The next time you find yourself humming a childhood tune, remember that it’s probably about political intrigue, murder, and disease!
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Horror/Scary: November 15, 2023 Issue [#12254]
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