Talk:Dorset Ooser

The Head of Atho
The Head of Atho was removed based on a wrong theory published in an article on the Coven of Atho in 2007. The Head of Atho has nothing to do with the Dorset Ooser. It was crafted based on symbolism found in the Coven of Atho. It was not a mask like the Dorset Ooser but used as an alter piece and a tool used to teach the oral lore within the Coven of Atho. Covenofathos (talk) 03:14, 22 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I am reverting back to my modifications. The theory of the Head of Atho being inspired from the Dorset Ooser has no basis on any facts. A theory must have some facts and there are none.   The head was inspired from other lore not yet published.  Covenofathos (talk) 07:38, 22 January 2009 (UTC)  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.188.39.190 (talk)

With respects, CoA, your claim that the information is "wrong", which you base upon "lore not yet published" doesn't hold water here I'm afraid. There is a referenced link to the fact that Melissa Seims SUGGESTED that when Raymond Howard made the head (which has been proven through the claims of his son Peter), he based it's iconography upon the Ooser. It is a perfectly plausable possibility. Granted, the head contained aspects from Howard's Athonian tradition, such as the symbolism of the entwined snakes and flying bird which were engraved upon it, but it's general shape could have been inspired by the Ooser. Thank you for your contribution, but Wikipedia relies on published fact, like the fact that Melissa Seims stated that the Head of Atho's design may have been based upon the Ooser. Your claims at unpublished lore just aren't provable; indeed, if you published an article about them in The Cauldron or Pentacle or whatever then yes, we could use them on here, but with just your word for it, I'm afraid we can't.(Midnightblueowl (talk) 18:19, 17 February 2009 (UTC))

Comment moved from the article page
This comment has been moved from the article page:


 * "Read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Folklore-Legends-Britain-READERS-DIGEST/dp/B000RT1H5G/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368349809&sr=1-2&keywords=folklore+myths+and+legends+of+britain


 * The Dorset Ooser is on the front cover and is to do with publicly embarrassing people who committed adultery and originally not witchcraft."

The comment was made by Simon Le Messurier (talk) 00:54, 18 October 2013 (UTC), and was moved here by PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 10:12, 12 May 2013 (UTC)

Lead sentence over-emphasising Melbury Osmond?
The lead sentence of the article states that the Ooser "a wooden head that featured in the nineteenth-century folk culture of Melbury Osmond", but I am wondering if this is misleading. Lower down in the text the article states that the Ooser mask found at Melbury Osmond was "possibly the only example now in existence, or at any rate from one of the very few which may still survive in the County", which suggests the Ooser as a concept existed more widely than at Melbury, and that only one particular effigy is connected to the village. I have a small book on Dorset folklore in my possession; I cannot with confidence state that it could be regarded as a reliable source (it might be self-published), though the author (Maureen Hymas) has this to say on the Ooser: "a creature who roamed villages at the end of each year demanding refreshment. He was believed to have represented a high priest who rules over a pagan fertility ritual. Reputed to be the stud bull of Dorset witchcraft, the Ooser's mask was worn by the head of a coven. By the beginning of the 19th century his original purpose was forgotten and in places like Shillingstone he became known as the "Christmas Bull". The last known one was at Melbury Osmond who roamed around at the beginning of the 20th century." From reading the article it is apparent that this summary would be disputed by modern scholars, however it is the last two sentences that I find interesting, as they suggest the Ooser is not something specific to Melbury Osmond. PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 10:04, 4 January 2017 (UTC)

woodwose
Ooser and Wurse may possibly come from woodwose, the hairy wildman of English lore. Woodwoses had connection to devils and Mummers plays. Just an educated guess, no source I have.

Thomas Hardy
"Ooser" is mentioned fleetingly in Thomas Hardy's "The Return of the Native" (written 1878) by a child as an potential source of fear or distress (“What have made you so down? Have you seen a ooser?”) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.251.54.95 (talk) 11:07, 26 March 2022 (UTC)

External links modified
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