1 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:06,399 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 2: Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the 3 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 2: Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 2: Your Mind, focusing in non mythical creatures, ideas and monsters. 5 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 2: In time, the winter holidays have arrived once more. It's 6 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 2: a time for festive foods by the fire, a time 7 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 2: for the giving of gifts, and of course, a time 8 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 2: for parading through the streets with the head of a 9 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 2: dead horse. I speak of the hooden horse or holden 10 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 2: a tradition from Kent in southeast England that dates back 11 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 2: to at least the eighteen hundreds, but with likely roots 12 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 2: to much older pre Christian traditions. I first read about 13 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 2: this practice in the nineteen eighty seven Enchanted World volume 14 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 2: The Book of Christmas, which features a beautiful illus by 15 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 2: visual artist Matt Mahurn that depicts a ghostly humanoid horse 16 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 2: stamping and prancing down a misty street. The book describes 17 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 2: the Christmas Eve tradition in which a man in a 18 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 2: sheet or horse blanket brandishes a wooden horsehead or an 19 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:22,320 Speaker 2: actual horse skull, and proceeds down the street. Children might 20 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 2: cower inside their homes at the hoden's approach, but the 21 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 2: braver kids might run out and try to mount the horse. 22 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 2: Adults would come out and watch, or perhaps throw sweets 23 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 2: or money before the creature or into its mouth for 24 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 2: good luck. Jeff and fran Dole explore the tradition in 25 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,839 Speaker 2: depth in their excellent two thousand and nine book Folklore 26 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 2: of Kent. They mentioned that the name Hooden might be 27 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 2: a reference to the hooded or disguised aspect of the creature, 28 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 2: but with possible connections to wooden horses, twelfth century Germanic chieftains, 29 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 2: or even the Germanic god Woden. In this respect, many 30 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 2: crimes have pointed out a likely connection to much older 31 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 2: traditions of animal sacrifice involving the horse. Many of the 32 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 2: accounts the authors share in this book involve a wooden 33 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 2: puppet head for the horse, articulated to snap it onlookers 34 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 2: and gobble up their offerings, well except for the beer, 35 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 2: of course, speaking of offerings of beer. The practice of 36 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 2: the hooden horse is reminiscent of various wahsail traditions and 37 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 2: even of Christmas caroling, though the procession seems to have 38 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 2: involved no songs or set words, just as the hoden 39 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 2: horse's origins are lost to the fog of history, the 40 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 2: practice might well have vanished into the fog of modernity 41 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 2: if it were not for the work of Percy Mayleem 42 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 2: in the late nineteenth century. He investigated, photographed, and chronicled 43 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 2: the surviving hooden horse traditions, and together with surviving hooden 44 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 2: horse heads of wood, the work has helped to inform 45 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 2: the practice's twenty eight century revival. And so this Christmas Eve, 46 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 2: listen for the sound of prancing hoofs in the street 47 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 2: and the snapping of wooden jaws. The hoodeners might be 48 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:16,079 Speaker 2: coming with their strange horse, their grooms, their drivers, their 49 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:20,239 Speaker 2: wagoneers and jockeys, their musicians and mollies, all in attendance. 50 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 2: Bring forth your sweets, your coins, your beer, for the 51 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 2: hooden Horse has come to you. Merry Christmas. Tune in 52 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 2: for additional episodes of The Monster Fact each week. As always, 53 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 2: you can email us at contact It's Stuff to Blow 54 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 2: Your Mind dot com. 55 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 56 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 57 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.