Image courtesy of Library of Congress images, Washington, D.C.
Mrs Daffodil is uncertain as to how “Sea-serpent Day” came to be proclaimed–is there a “Bigfoot Day?” or a “Jersey Devil Day?” Mrs Daffodil has heard of the Mothman Festival, so perhaps this is its aquatic equivalent.
Precisely how does one splash out for such a fête? And what does one serve to one’s guests? Krill is difficult to procure and one cannot very well throw a monster of the deep on the barbeque. Would grilled eel be an acceptable substitute? Potations of various sorts may be taken as read, for marine monsters are often described as looking like “strings of barrels.” But there Mrs Daffodil’s inventiveness ends. Some of the other clichés of sea-serpent description: “Horse-headed,” “snake-like,” “over-turned boat,” and “periscope head-and-neck,” really do not offer much scope for refreshments unless one has an exceptionally creative confectioner.
For a belle-époque electric sea-serpent, see this link to the Haunted Ohio post, as well as a previous year’s celebration with a look at various artistic depictions of the mysterious creature: “Does the Sea Serpent Really Look like an Art Nouveau Oar-fish?” And a Gibson Girl meeting a sea serpent.
Mrs Daffodil invites you to join her on the curiously named “Face-book,” where you will find a feast of fashion hints, fads and fancies, and historical anecdotes
You may read about a sentimental succubus, a vengeful seamstress’s ghost, Victorian mourning gone horribly wrong, and, of course, Mrs Daffodil’s efficient tidying up after a distasteful decapitation in A Spot of Bother: Four Macabre Tales.
Mrs Daffodil Digresses 