1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:11,119 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and 3 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on mythical creatures, 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:26,600 Speaker 1: ideas and monsters. In time, the winter holidays have arrived 6 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 1: once more. It's a time for festive foods by the fire, 7 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:33,600 Speaker 1: a time for the giving of gifts, and of course, 8 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: a time for parading through the streets with the head 9 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: of a dead horse. I speak of the hooden horse 10 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 1: or hoden, a tradition from Kent in southeast England that 11 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: dates back to at least the eighteen hundreds, but with 12 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: likely roots to much older pre Christian traditions. I first 13 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: read about this practice in the seven Enchanted World volume 14 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: The Book of Christmas, which features a beautiful illus ration 15 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 1: by visual artist Matt Mhor that depicts a ghostly humanoid 16 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:10,319 Speaker 1: horse stamping and prancing down a misty street. The book 17 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 1: describes the Christmas Eve tradition in which a man in 18 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: a sheet or horse blanket brandishes a wooden horsehead or 19 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: an actual horse skull and proceeds down the street. Children 20 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: might cower inside their homes at the Hodan's approach, but 21 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:28,839 Speaker 1: the braver kids might run out and try to mount 22 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: the horse. Adults would come out and watch, or perhaps 23 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:36,040 Speaker 1: throw suites or money before the creature or into its 24 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: mouth for good luck. Jeff and Frandol explore the tradition 25 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 1: in depth in their excellent two thousand and nine book 26 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: Folklore of Kent. They mentioned that the name Hooden might 27 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 1: be a reference to the hooded or disguised aspect of 28 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: the creature, but with possible connections to wooden horses, twelfth 29 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: century Germanic chieftains, or even the Germanic god Woden. In 30 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: this respect, many crime the clers have pointed out a 31 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: likely connection to much older traditions of animal sacrifice involving 32 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: the horse. Many of the accounts the author's share in 33 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: this book involved a wooden puppet head for the horse, 34 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 1: articulated to snap it onlookers and gobble of their offerings, 35 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: well except for the beer, of course, speaking of offerings 36 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: of beer. The practice of the hooden horse is reminiscent 37 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:30,399 Speaker 1: of various wahsale traditions and even of Christmas caroling, though 38 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 1: the procession seems to have involved no songs or set words, 39 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 1: just as the hoden horse's origins are lost to the 40 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: fog of history. The practice might well have vanished into 41 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,800 Speaker 1: the fog of modernity if it were not for the 42 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: work of Percy Maleem in the late nineteenth century. He investigated, 43 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 1: photographed and chronicle of the surviving hooden horse traditions, and 44 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 1: together with surviving hooden horse heads of wood, the work 45 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: has helped to inform the practices twenty century revival. And 46 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: so this Christmas Eve, listen for the sound of prancing 47 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: hoofs in the street and the snapping of wooden jaws. 48 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: The Hoodeners might be coming with their strange horse, their grooms, 49 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 1: their drivers, their wagon ears and jockeys, their musicians and 50 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:23,399 Speaker 1: Molly's all in attendance. Bring forth your suits, your coins, 51 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,639 Speaker 1: your beer, for the hooden Horse has come to you. 52 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 1: Merry Christmas. Tune in for additional episodes of The Monster 53 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: Fact each week. As always, you can email us at 54 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: contact It's Stuff to Blow Your Mind dot com. Stuff 55 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:48,600 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind is a production of I Heart Radio. 56 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: For more podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit the i 57 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 58 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.