The Dracula of Glasgow
QUESTION Was there a vampire scare in Glasgow after World War II?
IN 1954, a group of children claimed to have encountered a vampire in the Southern Necropolis, an enormous cemetery in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. The kids, aged between four and 14, spoke of a menacing figure with iron teeth that had attacked and killed two young boys. The news spread rapidly, leading to a wave of fear and hysteria in the community.
On the evening of September 23, 1954, Glasgow police were alerted to a disturbance at the cemetery. When they arrived they were amazed to find a riotous assembly of several hundred children, armed to the teeth with wooden stakes, knives and home-made tomahawks, on the hunt for a vampire. Many had brought their dogs.
On this occasion, a local school headmaster was summoned to the cemetery to scold the children into submission. Nevertheless, the kids returned for the next two nights, intent on finding and killing the Gorbals vampire.
As the legend unfolded, it became apparent that the children had misinterpreted the situation. In reality, the so-called ‘vampire’ was an abandoned and dilapidated old tomb that the children had mistaken for a creature. The iron railings around it were perceived as teeth, fuelling the imaginative narrative.
Psychologists and social workers were brought in to address the children’s fears and reassure the community. The incident was largely considered a case of collective hysteria fuelled by imagination, urban legends and the atmosphere of the cemetery.
Something of a moral panic ensued and much of the blame was put on US horror comics such as Tales From The Crypt.
Mitch Murray, Perth.
QUESTION Can a tick bite make you allergic to meat?
YES. When humans are exposed to alpha-gal through bites of certain tick species, the immune system can flag it as harmful and instigate an allergic response, sometimes with near-fatal consequences. Alpha-gal, scientifically known as Galactose- alpha-1,3galactose, is a carbohydrate found in most mammalian cell membranes, including red meat.
There are two known agents of alpha-gal allergy. The lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) is found in southern and eastern regions of the US. It gets its name from a white mark on females which resembles the lone star on the flag of Texas. There is also the paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus), endemic to eastern Australia. The condition is not known here.
When a person is bitten it can transmit alpha-gal into the bloodstream. In some individuals, exposure can lead to the development of an immune response, resulting in the production of specific antibodies. Later, when these individuals consume red meat containing alpha-gal, they may experience allergic reactions. Symptoms of alpha-gal allergy can include anaphylaxis.
K. Singh, Luton, Beds.
QUESTION What are the origins of the word ‘shindig’?
THE word shindig denotes a lively or raucous dance or party, often a celebration. The Oxford English Dictionary compares it to a ‘kneesup’, but ‘shindig’ first appeared in the US in the 1870s.
Shindig is thought to be a modification of an earlier term, ‘shindy’. This usage dates back to the 1820s – an early reference can be found in US author John Neal’s Peter
Ploddy, And Other Oddities (1844): ‘If this ere isn’t that ‘are singing chap agin. He’s on a shindy somewhere or other every night.’
The origin of ‘shindy’ is uncertain, but it’s plausible that this term stems from the ancient Scottish game of ‘shinty’, akin to hurling and played with a curved stick. The name for this game is thought to be derived from the Gaelic sinteag – to ‘leap’ or ‘bound’.
‘Shindy’ made its way back across the Atlantic and can be found in Jerome K. Jerome’s Idle Thoughts Of An Idle Fellow (1886): ‘I always do sit with my hands in my pockets except when I am in the company of my sisters, my cousins, or my aunts; and they kick up such a shindy – I should say expostulate so eloquently upon the subject – that I have to give in and take them out – my hands I mean.’
According to US lexicographer John Russell Bartlett, ‘shindig’ gained predominance because it was already used in the southern states to signify a kick to the shins. This likely led to the evolution of ‘shindig’ from ‘shindy’ through popular etymology.
Paula Vickers, West Yorkshire.
QUESTION How long has it been standard practice (and why) for riders to mount and dismount from the left side of a horse?
FURTHER to the earlier answer, I was dismayed to see the photograph of the girl mounting her horse. The horse’s head should be up and the reins held together on the horse’s withers – nearside rein shorter than the offside one to avoid the horse moving away from you whilst mounting.
The rider should have their left side to the horse facing the tail and the left foot inserted into the stirrup – the right leg then swung over. The photograph gave the wrong impression as the horse was not under control with slack reins. If it moved, it would move away from the rider who would be dragged along. Jackie Main, South Hykeham,
Lincoln.
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