Gone Medieval – “Medieval Winter Ghosts”
Host: Dr. Eleanor Jennica (History Hit)
Guest: Dr. Michael Carter (Senior Properties Historian, English Heritage)
Date: December 23, 2025
Episode Overview
In this chilling holiday episode, Dr. Eleanor Jennica explores the deep-rooted European tradition of winter ghost stories, tracing their origins, meanings, and enduring power. Senior properties historian Dr. Michael Carter joins to unravel the complex medieval attitudes toward ghosts—particularly in the context of winter, Christmas, and religious belief. Together, they delve into chilling tales from monastic manuscripts, the striking “Snowball the Tailor” legend, the art and psychology of death, and the ghostly continuities running through to Victorian and modern traditions.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Winter as the Season of Ghosts
- The episode opens on the connection between winter—its dark, long nights—and traditions of ghost storytelling (01:07–03:34).
- Literary Roots: References to Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale and Marlowe’s works reveal that winter ghost storytelling predates even the 16th century (01:40–02:30).
- Dr. Jennica notes: “When we gather to terrify each other with scary stories at Christmas...we're actually participating in a tradition that stretches back over millennia.” (02:20)
2. “Snowball the Tailor” – A Medieval Ghost Tale
- A dramatic retelling of the “Snowball the Tailor” story from Byland Abbey manuscripts.
- Snowball, a humble tailor, encounters uncanny phantom creatures—a raven, a monstrous black dog, a spectral man—and must undertake religious acts to free a tormented soul (03:34–07:01).
- Notable quote:
- “You alone can free me or share my fate. It demanded absolution, 180 Masses said in its name and secrecy. Refuse, and Snowball's flesh would begin to rot while he still lived...” (Matt, 05:27)
3. Why Are Ghost Stories Associated with Winter and Christmas?
- Dr. Carter explains the religious underpinnings:
- The church calendar’s turn to winter at All Saints/All Souls (November 1st).
- Advent as a time of spiritual preparation and confrontation with mortality, contrasted with today’s festive “front-loading” of Christmas (08:12–10:30).
- Dr. Carter:
- "At the onset of winter...you are also preparing yourself for the second coming when the graves will open...these stories tell you...you need to be at the side of Christ..." (09:08)
- Medieval Christmas was about preparing for the end as much as celebrating a beginning.
4. The Role and Purpose of Medieval Ghost Stories
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Ghosts act as didactic messengers—warning and seeking help from the living.
- Most medieval ghost stories hinge on souls in purgatory, asking the living for prayers/masses to shorten their suffering (12:39–13:24).
- Dr. Carter:
- "...the vast majority of us are going to end up in purgatory, where we are going to undergo torment and we are going to need the help of the living to then get up to heaven…” (11:45)
- Ghost stories encourage charitable acts, the giving of alms, and, crucially, the sponsorship of requiem masses.
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Stories also serve as moral warnings—ghosts admonish the living to correct their own ways (12:55–13:24).
- Medieval ghost advancement mechanism: Living must take expensive, time-consuming steps (e.g., paying for masses, almsgiving, public prayers).
5. The Snowball Tale and the Ghostly Economy
- Dr. Carter elaborates on the specifics and symbolism of the Snowball tale (18:17–22:43).
- Even “ordinary” medieval people, like Snowball the tailor, could engage in freeing souls—albeit at great risk and expense.
- Religious devotion, such as veneration of the Blood of Christ, features in these tales and indicates changing practices in late medieval belief.
- The tales include references to contemporary art motifs like “the three living and the three dead”—a popular memento mori image underscoring mortality’s universality.
6. Art, Memory, and the Leveling Power of Death
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The motif of “the three living and the three dead” teaches humility before death; even the rich and powerful will be “consumed by worms” (23:05–27:46).
- Dr. Carter:
- “Your posh clothes, your concern with your worldly status, it ultimately doesn’t matter because you, like everybody else, are going to end up like us…” (23:33)
- Dr. Carter:
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Medieval tombs and monuments often included grotesque images of decaying bodies—as warnings and reminders.
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Good works and donations (like founding colleges, almshouses) were attempts at spiritual and social immortality.
7. Wealth, Inequality, and the Ghostly ‘Shakedown’
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Surviving ghost stories often reflect church interests—monks and priests record tales in which “masses for the dead” and donations are needed (31:28–37:53).
- The process could be as much shakedown as salvation:
- Host: “It's very convenient, isn't it, for the church to say, oh, yeah, and I'm afraid you're going to need to buy...90 masses?” (33:28)
- Rich benefactors received extra prayers in the “book of life," but Christ’s biblical message favored humble givers.
- The process could be as much shakedown as salvation:
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Visual affirmations: Monasteries displayed coats of arms of wealthy donors as both memorial and warning (“Don’t mess with us, we have powerful friends.”)
8. Revenants: The Corporeal, Dangerous Dead
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Many medieval ghosts (revenants) are not just spirits but tangible, rotting bodies—a far cry from “harmless” modern ghosts (39:37–45:11).
- Tales include the dreadful James Tankerly, whose body was forcibly taken from a prestigious burial in Byland and thrown into a mysterious lake due to transgressions.
- Disgraced dead could return as “night walkers,” “satellites of Satan,” or “shroud chewers,” sometimes requiring violent exorcism.
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Dr. Carter:
- “Most of the [revenant] stories...do involve people who should have known better...those who fall from the highest places fall farthest.” (41:00–42:00)
9. Physical Effects of Encounters with Ghosts
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Encounters with ghosts often had real-world, bodily consequences—fevers, illness, even death—highlighting their danger and power (45:11–49:30).
- Some stories detail ghosts grabbing, injuring, or otherwise physically impacting the living.
- Dr. Carter: “Several of the Byland stories describe how people are really, really physically affected by this encounter with the dead...the returning spirit.” (46:08)
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The motif of “ghost sickness” echoes through time and even across cultures, being paralleled in Japanese folklore.
10. Continuity of the Winter Ghost Story
- The tradition survived into the Victorian era and beyond, notably through M.R. James’s Christmas ghost story readings at King’s and Eton (52:18–54:00).
- M.R. James, a medievalist himself, helped enshrine the tradition and directly transcribed and published the Byland Abbey stories.
- He creatively merged medieval sources and motifs—relics, manuscripts, religious spaces—into classic English ghost fiction.
- Dr. Carter: “…James has a direct connection with the Byland Abbey ghost story. He transcribed them and published them…And it’s thanks to James that…I think they have become probably the best known of all English medieval ghost stories.” (54:00)
11. The Power of Agency and Good Works
- Unlike many modern ghost tales, in medieval stories the living have agency: they can help, intercede, and change fates through action.
- Dr. Carter: “...the great thing with the medieval ghost story. You have agency within them. You are not helpless. And... altruism makes you feel better about yourself.” (61:46)
- The tension between fear of the dead and fear of the living, as well as warnings about the corrupting influence of power and wealth, are ongoing themes.
Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments
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On winter’s darkness:
“When we gather to terrify each other with scary stories at Christmas...we're actually participating in a tradition that stretches back over millennia.”
– Dr. Eleanor Jennica (02:20) -
On the purpose of ghost stories:
“Ghost stories show the efficacy of what are called the suffrages. That's the giving of alms, the saying of prayers, and most of all, the singing of requiem masses for the salvation of souls. And so many ghosts. That is what they want.”
– Dr. Michael Carter (11:45) -
On the leveling message of death:
“Your posh clothes, your concern with your worldly status, it ultimately doesn’t matter because you, like everybody else, are going to end up like us. And you better think on your end. And it is an incredible leveler...”
– Dr. Michael Carter (23:33) -
On the lived consequences of ghostly contact:
“Several of the Byland stories describe how people are really, really physically affected by this encounter with the dead, the returning spirit.”
– Dr. Michael Carter (46:08) -
On winter ghost storytelling’s survival:
“…James has a direct connection with the Byland Abbey ghost story. He transcribed them and published them…And it’s thanks to James that…I think they have become probably the best known of all English medieval ghost stories.”
– Dr. Michael Carter (54:00) -
On agency in medieval ghost tales:
“You have agency within them. You are not helpless. And, you know, altruism, you're committing an altruistic act and altruism makes you feel better about yourself. There's a very, very strong Christian message in them there.”
– Dr. Michael Carter (61:46) -
On what to fear:
“Oh, boys, it's not the dead you need to be frightened of, but the living.”
– Dr. Michael Carter quoting his mother (62:40)
Important Story & Discussion Timestamps
- 01:07 – Opening reflections on the winter ghost tale tradition
- 03:34 – Dramatic reading of the Snowball the Tailor story
- 07:19 – Introduction of Dr. Michael Carter; how and why ghost stories relate to winter and Christmas
- 08:12 – The church calendar, Advent, and the apocalyptic medieval imagination
- 13:24 – Ghost stories as warnings and teaching tools
- 18:17 – The real world, symbolic, and psychological meanings of the Snowball story
- 23:05 – “The three living and the three dead” and the reminder of mortality’s reach
- 31:28 – The connection between social status, donations, and ghost stories
- 39:37 – Story of James Tankerly, the revenant priest and the motif of the corporeal undead
- 45:11 – Medieval ghosts’ physical effects on the living; comparison to global traditions
- 52:18 – M.R. James, modern medievalism, and Christmas ghost storytelling
- 61:46 – Agency, altruism, and the enduring messages of medieval ghost tales
Closing Thoughts
Dr. Jennica and Dr. Carter weave a tapestry of chilling tales and thoughtful analysis, showing how medieval ghost stories—rooted in winter’s darkness, religious practice, and deep psychological needs—continue to haunt our imaginations. Winter remains the time when “the veil is thin,” and ghost stories are more than entertainment: they offer warnings, comfort, and reminders of our duties to the dead and the living.
“...the tradition of the winter ghost tale was still alive and well…these stories remind us that winter has always been a season of darkness and wonder, when the boundary between the living and the dead grows thin and when gathering together to share tales of the supernatural brings both delicious shivers and profound comfort.” (Dr. Eleanor Jennica, 63:34)
For more chilling tales and historical explorations, follow Gone Medieval and join in this enduring winter tradition!