Isle of Wight Follies

Isle of Wight Follies: Legendary Anthology is a collection of fantastical stories that transforms the Isle of Wight into a landscape inhabited by dragons, griffins, mermaids, golems, fairies, trolls, vampires and dozens of other mythical creatures.

Across the Island, familiar towns, villages, coastlines and countryside become the homes of an extraordinary collection of legendary residents.

In Cowes, Gary the Griffin soars above the Solent, develops an unlikely enthusiasm for kayaking and becomes an eccentric but valued member of the community. In Gurnard, Gavin the Golem prefers peace, solitude and grumbling to attention, yet repeatedly uses his enormous strength to help those around him. Elsewhere, sea serpents move through the waters of Ryde, dragons make their home around Newport, mermaids appear near Yarmouth, phoenixes rise at Merstone and mythical beings of almost every description find their own corner of the Island.

Each story gives its creature a personality beyond the traditional legend. Some are mischievous, some grumpy, some frightening at first glance and others simply rather peculiar. Yet again and again, the creatures become intertwined with the people and places around them through friendship, adventure, humour, courage and the occasional spectacular misunderstanding.

The real Isle of Wight provides the landscape beneath the fantasy. Recognisable locations are woven into fictional folklore, encouraging readers to imagine that something extraordinary might be hiding behind an ordinary view, along a familiar path or just beyond the next village.

Although the stories can be enjoyed individually, they belong to the same mythical Island. Creatures cross into one another’s worlds, friendships and rivalries develop, and the sense gradually emerges that the Isle is home to an entire hidden community of legendary beings.

The anthology culminates in a gathering at Shorwell, where the Island’s creatures come together to exchange stories of their adventures and celebrate the strange magic that connects them. Their individual legends become part of one larger story: an Isle of Wight in which landscape, community, imagination and mythology have become inseparable.

Isle of Wight Follies: Legendary Anthology is ultimately an invitation to look at the Island differently.

The cliffs are still cliffs. The woods are still woods. The villages and beaches remain exactly where they were.

But once you have met the creatures that supposedly live there, it becomes considerably harder to be certain that nothing is watching from the shadows.