#norumbega

[reality-detective]

David Ingram along with many others have accounts and stories of Norumbega. A Mighty City possibly established by Lief Erickson or someone before his time. 🤔

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

"Norumbega Tower. Newton Mass."

[rocky-road-to-london]

Mx. Aoibheann;

This is Mr. Pretty Prosecutor, reporting in from a boat heading for Norumbega. All is well - although I do have a rather odd sensation in my bloodstream; as though the very wind itself has made my veins their involuntary playground. It is not uncomfortable per se... However, I would be remiss to ignore such a strange occurrence, under the circumstances. Perhaps you might know more?

Yours in elegant flight,

@barok-vanzieks

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you made it to norumbega?! you know, if you dipped out of there to the human world, youd be in NEW YORK. in AMERICA. thats so far!!!!!

but hmmm... the wind itself, huh? try focusing that energy into your hands, and forcing it to rest just outside your palm. if it does magic stuff then it might be that you hit some scraps of magic and absorbed it??

magic definitely feels all fizzy if youve got too much of it. i mean if it isnt that it could be something you ate that had way too much caffeine but i didnt pack anything stronger than instant coffee so i dunno!!

i hope it's going well!! cant wait for you to be home again!!!

yours always always,

aoibheann <3

[july-19th-club]

years ago (i still have a copy of it) i read this book about a couple boys who go on vacation to vermont and wind up playing an eldritch/enchanted living board game for the fate of a fey society and all this stuff happens with twists and turns that i wont spoil in case anybody gets the hankering to read the game of sunken places, which is not a perfect book but still a pretty good one for those who like their fantasy to come flavored with parody, the exact kinds of weird jokes that middle schoolers make, the tiniest pinch of spiderwick, and appendices with fake history books in them . also to feel like on of those intricate puzzle picture books they had when i was a kid like MAZE or graeme base books or whatever. anyway. point is because of that book i have had the phrase "The People of The Mound of Norumbega" stuck in my head for probably close to fifteen years. and if sentences like "thus vanished the people of the mound of norumbega. the earth was lighter for their passing" and "the chronicler fails. we are always at the end of history, no matter when our lives begin" tickle you in any way then you too can join me in this world

[romanlightman001]

Old World Washington DC(NORUMBEGA?)

[the-red-thread-70-w-blog]

US Constitution is from TARTARIA: Legendary city of Norumbega

[memidgenotsofteroreasier]

A weekend of firsts

My first Airbnb, using the Google to find the place in the dark, and taking public transit to get most of the way there from the airport.

Going, it was one transfer, and returning, two transfers, at a time when I was anxious about riding on a Sunday when the buses run hourly.

This was my third Tucson Memorial that is scheduled around my birthday. There are other cities who participate in this event, but so far,  this is as far as I went. It was the first in three years, due to the Pandemic. What can I say about the singing? It was great. About 45 people were there, but not all of them joined in.

In case I haven’t written about this, Sacred Harp/fasola/shaped note is what I am talking about (fasola.org) and it’s a capella four-part social singing. The book is named thusly, no strings. There are several books, and they have different names: Columbia, Shenandoah, Norumbega, Christian, and two have the same name (because they were in competition--long story), so they are the blue book and the red book. Different regions use different books. The blue one is White (after someone by that name) and the red one is Denson. There is a setup of chairs, in which all four sections face the Hollow Square, where you give a ‘lesson’ and experience ‘surround sound’. The parts are named Treble (top line) so both men and women sing, and Tenor, the main melody. Each tune is written on its own line and repetition helps practitioners to become familiar with and able to sing with aplomb. The other two parts are Bass (for men) and Alto (for women with lower voices). The motto is ‘loud is good.’ Voices cross, and it’s like vocal weaving. It can bring chills, especially to people who have a religious bent.

After the singing concluded, I donned by hiking boots, packed the book in the suitcase, and rolled on down to the bus stop. On the first leg, there was a young man with a guitar that had a broken strap. He was sewing it as we rode. I took pity on him and offered my red book, which was in as disreputable shape as the nylon softside case. Maybe he and his girlfriend will get interested and join in. This was also self-serving, as it relieved me of a couple pounds of weight!

On the advice of the drivers, I transferred at one point, and then another, and arrived in good time to the airport, which was not assured if I took the usual route (two buses). Oh, and the transit system isn’t charging right now!

[ariweinklephotography]

Goat Spirit.

[80yrscap]

Deep Ones? No, fascism is the greater evil

This retelling of classic Lovecraft story “The Shadow over Innsmouth” challenges the reader with the question: Who are the real blasphemous fish-frogs overflowing with the ultimate quintessence of unknown and inhuman evil? (Answer: Nazis.)

The setup hews close to the source material. First, a warning from a ticket agent about a mysterious New England town.

Second, a creepy bus ride.

Third, a terrifying hotel.

 Fourth, fabulous monsters, half ichthyic and half batrachian! 

Our hero is intrepid federal agent Betty Ross, in Valley Port to investigate a rash of missing person cases. Betty is snatched from her hotel room and marched down into the tunnels under Satan’s Reef to be sacrificed. (They got Bucky too.)

But wait! Here’s the true leader of the deep ones, chained and left to die by a Nazi officer.

He tells Steve a story that spans centuries. Long ago, in their ancestral homeland below the far-off island of Lai-Son, the deep ones had the misfortune of receiving a visit from European sailors. The sailors plundered their riches and behaved indecently, then slipped away.

The deep ones set out in search of the sailors’ home. Finally they came upon Valley Port. There, in an upper-earth town built on stolen wealth, the sailors’ descendants still prospered. The deep ones stormed the town and took these descendants beneath the waves as sacrifices for their goddess Lai-Son. 

Justice served, the deep ones chose to stay where they were. For a hundred years they have lived peacefully and without incident off the coast of Valley Port. 

This pretender is a Nazi officer in a convincing mask. He’s the one responsible for the recent accidents and disappearances. His plan is to use Valley Port as a Nazi base and the deep ones as a monstrous invasion force.

Steve frees the deep ones’ leader, who then frees Betty and Bucky in turn. Everyone agrees that Nazis are the worst.

But all is not well beneath the reef. Deep one society has been thrown into turmoil.

In the end, the reef gets blown up, which is exactly what happens in “The Shadow over Innsmouth.”

Valley Port is Innsmouth, but it’s also the legend of Norumbega, a fabulously opulent ancient Viking settlement located just outside Boston. Norumbega theory was once popular with people who wanted a white colonial history for North America that didn’t begin with the vile Christopher Columbus. This story does not let them off the hook: Valley Port was also founded on Columbian principles.

If you think it’s unlikely that Nazis could rule over deep ones, old Zadok Allen has the explanation.

“The [Pacific Islanders] told 'em as haow folks from the other islands might wanta wipe [the Deep Ones] out if they got wind o' their bein' thar, but they says they dun't keer much, because [the Deep Ones] cud wipe aout the hull brood o' humans ef they was willin' to bother—that is, any as didn't be, sarten signs sech as was used onct by the lost Old Ones, whoever they was. [...]

“S'pose [the other islanders] must a had, after all, them old magic signs as [the Deep Ones] says was the only things they was afeard of. [...] 

“They didn't leave nothin' standin' on either the main island or the little volcanic islet excep' what parts of the ruins was too big to knock daown. In some places they was little stones strewed abaout—like charms—with somethin' on 'em like what ye call a swastika naowadays. Prob'ly them was the Old Ones' signs.”

source: “The Shadow over Innsmouth”

*shivers*

Captain America #16, on sale April 1942.

[orderjackalope]

For years, archaeologists have searched for the location of Leif Eriksson's Vinland. They should have just asked the good people of New England, who kept finding it everywhere they looked.

Key sources for this episode include the writings of Carl Christian Rafn, Eben Norton Horsford, William Brownell Goodwin, and Frederick Julius Pohl. And also Edmund Berke Delabarre's Recent History of Dighton Rock, Kenneth Feder's Archaeological Oddities, David Godward's The Westford Knight and Henry Sinclair and Douglas Hunter's The Place of Stone.

Script, full sources, links and more at: https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/westward-huss-new-england/

Discord: https://discord.gg/Mbap3UQyCB Instagram: https://instagram.com/orderjackalope Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/orderjackalope Twitter: https://twitter.com/orderjackalope

CONNECTIONS!

In 1884 the Fletcher runestone was "translated" by Henry Phillips Jr. Two decades later, Phillips brother-in-law, J. Bunford Samuel, used that translation to justify erecting a statue of Icelandic settler Thorfinn Karlsefni in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. We recounted the contentious story of the statue's erection in Series 5's "The Icelander", and also discussed its ultimate fate, being thrown into the Schuylkill River by either militant anti-racists or drunken Eagles fans. Philadelphia!

The second Yarmouth runestone appears to have been a hoax created by a hotelier to drum up business. For an earlier instance of hoaxing and hotels, check out our bonus episode "His Royal Snakeship."

And, of course, while we’ve never actually been to Vinland, we’ve made several trips to its namesake, Vineland, NJ, to check in on its eccentric residents, including eugenicist Henry Herbert Goddard (from last month’s “Common Clay”) and chromotherapist Dr. Dinshah Ghadiali (from Series 5’s “Normalating”).

[brookehikesmaine-blog]

Norumbega and Hadlock Ponds

Difficulty: Hard

Standing at 852 feet, Norumbega Mountain is located along State Route 3 in Acadia National Park. Parking is off of Route 3 and there are three parking lots in this stretch that are walking distance to the trail. Look for the Goat Trail head to begin your hike.

You will start your trek on the Goat trail which has very steep steps, but no iron rungs or exposed edges. Although it is a short hike to the peak, these steps can be exhausting to get up and go directly vertical nearly the entire trail to the summit.

After a strenuous hike to the peak, you may be disappointed that the tree line is in your way of a view...

Keep going past the elevation sign and you will find the view coming back down the opposite side of the mountain. Continue down this way if you don’t mind a long hike or turn back around if you were looking for a short hike. 

If you continue down the other side you will find a view....

as well as interesting trees....

At the bottom of the trail you will find the Hadlock Ponds Trail, which circles around Lower Hadlock Pond. At the clearing, passing a little brick building, you will go across a bridge and find yourself looking over the Lower Hadlock Pond Dam. 

Continue to make your way back around Lower Hadlock Pond, adventuring over little bridges and a waterfall where you can rest your legs to enjoy the view. Eventually this path will bring you back to where you parked on State Route 3.

[titleknown]

Also, I might as well show off this, it’s that Blood Pudding design I made, but DeepStyled into stained glass!

I think it came out shockingly well, helped of course by the fact that DeepStyle always tends to play nicest with repeating full-image/non-transparent patterns!

[palliddata]

Pseudogeists:

Tags: Group, Small, Amorphous, Organized

HP: 4 Armor: 4  Constancy Damage: 1d4 - 2

Attack: Horror Spectacular Show (4d4 - 4)

Attack Tags: Close, Forceful, Stun (Optional)

Special Qualities: Flying, Illusion, Regeneration, Becomes insubstantial when sufficiently damaged, Can become insubstantial when not in combat.

Instinct: To Spook, To Revel

Scare with ghastly tricks

Taunt the fools for their foolishness

Kill them gruesomely if they are a legitimate threat

“Well, well, well, somebody’s lost now, aren’t they? Just you, me, and the thousands of cicadas crawling out of your face. Hee hee. Just kidding. Only one of my little tricks. I’ll lead you out thataway. What, don’t you trust me? Hee hee. Well, that’s to be expected, I guess. We’re not all bad ghosts you know. We’re not even really ghosts, so we can’t be. But, if you don’t trust me, I’d suspect those feral helixsteeds would thank you, they look positively ravenous…

Only kidding again. Hee he. We do love our jokes around here.”

-Testament of naturalist lost in the woods for a week, quoting his interaction with a pseudogeist. The geist’s path was indeed a correct one, though it did come with an unsettling “surprise”...

Hooks:

A massive ancient castle lies outside of an otherwise backwater town; inhabited by what is practically a miniature commune of pseudogeists. It is said that they have an amazing reward on offer for those who stay the night and survive without being scared to death, but there is a reason that only outsiders to the town actually take them up on this; and it may all be a massive excuse to wrangle fleshly creatures into doing their dirty work regarding something in the castle that; by their very nature; they cannot handle...

In a city plagued by the pseudogeists as a recurring nuisance, the deacon of the place is surprised to find one of them at the foot of his bed one night begging for aid for his species. Seems like one of the creatures in the nearby woods who they tormented has gained some source of unspeakable power and has began devouring them whole. Said creature may even be invincible, though rumor says that it may have a secret weak spot separate from its body…

A blacklisted playwright has found an unlikely but useful theatre troupe to perform his latest play in the chaotic; illusion-producing pseudogeists, who are delighed by the prospect of putting on a show before an actual willing audience. Of course, unbeknownst to the geists,the reason said playwright was blacklisted may be because it’s almost an open secret he is a member of the Order Of The Twin-Sun Shepherd, a group dedicated to a being of decadence and decay that operates through stagecraft; and the playwright has unprescedented plans to use the pseudogeists’ unique abilities for that dark purpose...

[fourfurlongs-blog]

Bummed to hear about the passing of Norumbega. I quite liked him.

Pics are mine… grazing ones are cell shots from Fair Hill, galloping shots are from Saratoga.

[graham-walton-art]

Another old dog from my days as an art student at Umass in 2009 “Norumbega” 20” x 20” woodcut print . . #norumbega #valhalla #folkart #woodcut #print #woodblock #printmaking #rustic #maineartist #rusticdecor #artistsoninstagram #umassamherst #artschooldropout #wallart #instaart #instaartist #woodblockprint #americanart #contemporaryart #fineart #woodsy #blackandwhite #folktale #backwoods #printmaker #printmakersofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/grahamwalton.art/p/Bv2o8OOnnwj/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=qn9v8n79lfma

[jeff-foliage]

New England Castles-Massachusetts

Exploring New England Castles in Massachusetts. No fall colors? here are your plan "B" suggestions.

I know I promised the castles of Maine, but Jeff and I decided that we would take a road trip soon so we could get our own photos of some of those buildings.   Also, due to the small number of castles in Maine and Vermont, I am thinking I will combine them in one post.  So instead, today, I am moving on to the Massachusetts castles. You can read New England Castles-Connecticut here, (this one…