Comments on: Myths and Magic at St Hilarion Castle

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 07:49:12 +0000

Thanks for stopping by, Cris. So glad you enjoyed the trip back down memory lane.

By: Cris

Cris — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:33:15 +0000

This castle is my favourite place on Earth and whenever I see a photo of the Queen’s window I want to weep with the beauty of it. I lived in North Cyprus many years ago and was foolish enough to leave. Also I never knew about the secret room, thank you for sharing this little known wonder and its secrets with the world. You cannot truly appreciate it unless you have looked out from the crumbling walls upon that dazzling, blue – green infinite space and Girne scattered below. Such a beautiful place, and such a sad story.
Thank you for bringing back those memories.

By: minniecat

minniecat — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:45:00 +0000

I hear that the castle was also inspiration for Snow White, but looks more like Sleeping Beauty’s castle to me. I wonder if the mandrake was responsible for them sleeping for a hundred years

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:54:14 +0000

Well, it depends on what you mean by true! Yes, Mandrake grows there. Yes, it can make your head feel funny in all sorts of ways. Yes, it has strange roots that are said to resemble humans. And yes, it has all sorts of old folkloric and magical associations. As for the screaming, well, I couldn’t tell ya. But there’s no sense in tempting fate, now, is there?!

By: Cathey

Cathey — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:03:37 +0000

Ooh, I love castles, whether they’re proper or not. I love the darkness, the history, the mystique. This one was fascinating, especially the Eleanor of Aragon story…that’s crazy stuff. And is that mandrake story serious? I don’t know that I can believe it but I also wouldn’t want to be the fool that proves it true either! Love your site.

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:52:11 +0000

So glad you said that about the Mandrake. That was why I included it at the end of the post, to suggest exactly that!

By: Katja | Driving Like a Maniac

Katja | Driving Like a Maniac — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:26:15 +0000

I love that story about John of Antioch: schadenfreude at its very best.

So mandrake can cause euphoria and hallucination? I wonder if this has anything to do with the secret room? “Wow, man, I pulled up this, like, plant and, like ate it, and then there this beautiful garden appeared, and it was amazing, but now it’s, like, disappeared …

By: inka

inka — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:27:46 +0000

Found you! Thanks for your comment. I love the look of this blog, well done. Such a vivid description of the castle. I’m a great fan of castles and museums.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:24:52 +0000

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

@ Mike – You old curmudgeon, you! I’m sure I saw your initials up there, actually… one of the signatures of the builders! I wonder if there are any similar qualifications that other old buildings need. You’re not a church unless…

@ Sophie Glad you like the site and header. It only took me about 3 weeks to work out how to get the bloody thing up there! As for pulling up the mandrake, that would have been suicide. The screams are deadly. Apparently, you have to tie a dog that likes you to the plant, and then walk quickly away. The dog tries to follow you, pulls the plant up, and dies from the shrieking. You can then go back and collect the uprooted little blighter. Dunno what happens if you need more than one plant… guess you need a lot of dogs!

By: Sabina

Sabina — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:44:54 +0000

I cannot pass by a castle. I love them. And your descriptions of this particular castle are really great.

By: Sophie

Sophie — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:13:54 +0000

What an exciting castle – and such pretty little flowers (yiiiiiii!). Did you try pulling one up?

PS cool website, love the cheerful pharaonic heading!

By: Mikeachim

Mikeachim — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:22:57 +0000

Nice work. And loved loved *loved* the first paragraph. And damn right too. Qualifications for prospective castles: have you had anyone thrown off you? (Please cite references).

I see they’ve improved the steps since I was there.

Railings? Pah. In my day they threw rocks down at you as you tried to climb up AND they set you on fire before you even set off. Marksmen, there were, hundreds, firing down on you, any one of ‘em could put a hole in the middle of an Ace of Clubs with a blunderbuss from 80 miles away in a headwind at night. That was *real* monastery-climbing, that were….

*etc etc.*

By: Nick

Nick — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:38:42 +0000

Thanks for stopping by, JoAnna. Fascinating but a little depressing seems to be a theme running through much of my work ; )

Mandrake is proper strange. Been reading up on it, accounts of people who have experimented with it. Range from experiences akin to hard-core food poisoning, to outright euphoria, to a waking delirious dream state. Seems to vary loads…

By: JoAnna

JoAnna — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:43:38 +0000

Sounds fascinating though a little depressing.

What I know about the Mandrake I learned from the Harry Potter series. Goofy little plant.