WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: Rawhead Rex and Kin

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. Hi,

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<v Speaker 1>my name is Robert Lammin. This is The Monster Fact,

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<v Speaker 1>a short form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind,

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<v Speaker 1>focusing in non mythical creatures, ideas and monsters and time.

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<v Speaker 1>This episode of The Monster Fact previously published for UK

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<v Speaker 1>listeners only, and now, as promised, we're going to share

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<v Speaker 1>it out to everyone. I wanted to cover a nice,

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<v Speaker 1>thoroughly British monster in this episode, which of course hardly

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<v Speaker 1>limits the selection process. British lore, legend, literature and gaming

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<v Speaker 1>have produced hordes of great monsters, from Grendel to Frankenstein's Monster,

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<v Speaker 1>from the Questing Beast of Authoritian legend to that werewolf

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<v Speaker 1>that Ozzy Osbourne turns into for the Bark at the

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<v Speaker 1>Moon video. And so this brings us first to raw

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<v Speaker 1>Head Wrex, the titular monster from English writer Clive Barker's

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<v Speaker 1>novella of the same name, published in nineteen eighty four

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<v Speaker 1>and included in the third volume of his Excellent Books

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<v Speaker 1>of Blood anthology series. Barker describes the monstrous god Beast

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<v Speaker 1>his having a huge head, the color of the moon

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<v Speaker 1>and raw like meat. He has two rows of needle

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<v Speaker 1>sharp teeth on each jaw, which emerge from bloody gums

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<v Speaker 1>quote like claws unsheathed from a cat's paw unquote. And

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<v Speaker 1>his eyes. Barker writes, they were for all the world

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<v Speaker 1>like wounds, those eyes, as though somebody had gouged them

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<v Speaker 1>in the flesh of Rawhead's face, then set two candles

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<v Speaker 1>to flicker in the holes. Horrifying stuff. I highly recommend

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<v Speaker 1>the Books of Blood. There's some real gems in there,

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<v Speaker 1>but many of you may know Rawhead wrecks instead for

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<v Speaker 1>his appearance in the nineteen eighty six film adaptation of

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<v Speaker 1>the tale. Barker wrote the script for this movie, but,

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<v Speaker 1>like most viewers, found the film version of the monster

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<v Speaker 1>somewhat unconvincing. While he originally envisioned a very phallic and

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<v Speaker 1>meat faced monster at the center of the movie, what

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<v Speaker 1>we end up with is a heavy metal powerlifter ogre

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<v Speaker 1>with kind of goofy eyes. There's nothing even raw about

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<v Speaker 1>Rex's head in the film. However, I do quite like

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<v Speaker 1>the slipcase illustration of the monster that Wes Benzcotter did

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<v Speaker 1>for the Arrow Blu ray re release. Go check that

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<v Speaker 1>out if you like your monstrous art by the Way.

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<v Speaker 1>While the film version of raw Head Rex takes place

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<v Speaker 1>in Ireland, the original short story takes place in rural

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<v Speaker 1>Kent Now. One of the inspirations for Barker's creation here

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<v Speaker 1>would seem to be an English boogeyman or water demon,

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<v Speaker 1>known by several names raw Head, Tommy, raw Head, Old,

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<v Speaker 1>Bloody Bones, and even raw Head and Bloody Bones. As

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<v Speaker 1>Carol Rose points out in Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns and Goblins,

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<v Speaker 1>the entity was described as a gory humanoid with blood

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<v Speaker 1>running down its face, often seated upon a pile of bones.

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<v Speaker 1>Like such boogeyman figures as Ginny Green Teeth, who he

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<v Speaker 1>discussed in a past Halloween episode of Stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 1>Your Mind. Raw Head is said to haunt potentially dangerous

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<v Speaker 1>places like stagnant pools and pits, the very dark and

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<v Speaker 1>lonely waters you want your children to steer clear off.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's raw Head and Bloody Bones. But there's also

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<v Speaker 1>Bloody Cap or red Cap to consider. An evil spirit

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes described as a hobgoblin, originating in the folk traditions

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<v Speaker 1>of the English Scottish border, appears as a hideous little

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<v Speaker 1>old man in iron boots with a red blood soaked

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<v Speaker 1>cap on its head. It haunts old ruins and sights

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<v Speaker 1>of historic bloodshed. Venture near such places, and it might

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<v Speaker 1>just kill you, slice off your head and catch your

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<v Speaker 1>flowing blood in its cap, unless you recite scripture and

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<v Speaker 1>drive him off first. It's also said that if the

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<v Speaker 1>blood of his cap ever dries, the creature will shrivel

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<v Speaker 1>up and die. A perfect subject for even a modern

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<v Speaker 1>slasher film if you ask me. Now, there are many

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<v Speaker 1>different variations of the red cap tail, some of which

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<v Speaker 1>connect the entity with the fourteenth century Scottish border noble

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<v Speaker 1>William the Second. Desouls sometimes embellished as a villain tutored

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<v Speaker 1>in the Black Arts, with the imp robin red cap

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<v Speaker 1>serving as is familiar. In some accounts, the cruel lord

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<v Speaker 1>is eventually boiled alive by the people who suffered under him,

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<v Speaker 1>and I've also read variations where the red cap creature

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<v Speaker 1>is encased in lead and boiled as a way to

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<v Speaker 1>slay the monster. Now, in reality, Souls died in prison

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<v Speaker 1>after allegedly playing part in a conspiracy against King Robert

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<v Speaker 1>the Bruce. Now, as long as we're talking about red caps,

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<v Speaker 1>let's have a quick word about blue caps. Another spirit

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<v Speaker 1>of English folklore, also known as blue bonnet. This entity,

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<v Speaker 1>according to Rose, resided deep in the earth, only encountered

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<v Speaker 1>by the humans who labored in the mines. It was

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<v Speaker 1>often invisible, but might manifest as a light blue flame,

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<v Speaker 1>thus the name far from the farious. The blue cap

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<v Speaker 1>would mimic human miners and put in a full day's

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<v Speaker 1>work moving heavy tubs of coal and ore around. The

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<v Speaker 1>miners would therefore leave out offerings for the blue caps

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<v Speaker 1>in thanks for their labor. This reminded me of details

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<v Speaker 1>I've read before concerning American mining soup prestitions, of which

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<v Speaker 1>are connected to English and European traditions as well. I

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<v Speaker 1>was reading about these in a nineteen forty two edition

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<v Speaker 1>of California Folklore Quarterly. An article titled California Miners Folklore

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<v Speaker 1>by Wayland d. Hand and It mentions tales of runaway

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<v Speaker 1>carts said to have been pushed by the ghosts of

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<v Speaker 1>dead miners, as well as a tradition brought over by

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<v Speaker 1>Cornish miners, the Tommy knockers, spirits of the dead or

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<v Speaker 1>unseen Elvin denizens of the deep. Either way, they could

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<v Speaker 1>be appeased with offerings and hand writes. The following quote.

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<v Speaker 1>Many California miners, though not having themselves seen these creatures

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<v Speaker 1>in person, recall having seen small effigies of them made

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<v Speaker 1>of clay and set upon portal sets to a tunnel

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<v Speaker 1>on the lagging or elsewhere where their patronage is desired.

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<v Speaker 1>Hand explains that descriptions of the creatures vary greatly, with

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<v Speaker 1>the Cornwall version being something like a cross between an

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<v Speaker 1>old man in an infant. Californians describe creatures in leather jackets,

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<v Speaker 1>peaked hats, and water soaked shoes. Meanwhile, Native American miners

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<v Speaker 1>reported a creature called an entity that is small and squat.

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<v Speaker 1>According to Hand, in all cases, however, the spirit or

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<v Speaker 1>creature could be called upon for protection in the deep, dark,

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<v Speaker 1>dangerous environment of the mine. Tune in for additional episodes

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<v Speaker 1>of the Monster fact or the Artifact each week. As always,

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<v Speaker 1>you can email us at contact at stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 1>your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,

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