Beware the Púca: Why You Shouldn't Eat Blackberries After Halloween
DON’T eat blackberries after Halloween! Why?
Let me tell you…
The Mischief of the Púca
As you may already know, at Oíche Shamhna (Irish for Halloween), the veil between our world and the Otherworld is at its thinnest. That's when the Púca, a shape-shifting trickster from Irish folklore, comes out to play. As the legend goes, this is when the mischievous Púca pays a visit to the blackberry bushes.
What does he do there, you wonder? Brace yourself… he either spits on or, incredibly, urinates on the berries! Yes, you read that right!
My An Púca drawing
Capturing the Púca in Art
I love the ‘nowness’ of this piece of folklore. We don’t have to imagine blackberries or Halloween because we’re as familiar with them now as generations before us were when this story was first being told many moons ago. This inspired me to create a piece of art around it.
But I wondered, how on earth do I depict a mythical shapeshifter? I concluded that I don’t! I just depict the evidence of it… So this drawing of a befouled blackberry is my attempt to capture the aftermath of the Púca’s activity.
I feel like I have created a rather beautiful, even elegant drawing. My intricate line art represents the Púca’s otherworldly presence, or should I say evidence of his presence. I think it's actually quite pretty.
I like how this drawing presents as one thing (beautiful or elegant) but it represents something very different (spit or urine). For me, it means I can look at the drawing and it causes me to connect with the folklore behind it without being repulsed by the image! And it makes me smile.
An Púca digital wallpaper on a tablet
It’s also like a little secret. Unless you know the story behind the drawing you wouldn’t understand its meaning. Just as ‘the other folk’ are also a secret, they are hidden and not obvious, yet if you know they are there, you might see signs of them.
I’ve made this available on my website as digital wallpapers for various devices – phones, tablets, and laptops. I have them on my phone and laptop now. They’re getting me in the Halloween mood and are a subtle reminder to avoid those post-Halloween blackberries!
My initial painting
The Unspoken Warning
By the time October 31st rolls around, blackberries are likely past their best. So, it's believed that this story was spun as a clever way to discourage children from eating berries left on the bushes that might not be so great anymore.
A Child's Perspective
Before I wrap up this strange little tale, let's step back in time to 1938. I stumbled upon a wonderful account on the Duchas.ie website, written by a schoolchild caller Maureen. According to her, the Púca,
“is supposed to take the child who eats the blackberries away on his back and carries him all over the country over bushes, houses, walls, trees, rivers, and over mountains and then he brings the child back to its bed again before morning. When the child wakes up in the morning, he is frightened.”
After hearing that, you might well think twice about snacking on blackberries after Halloween!
Check out the full story right here by clicking on this link to Duchas.ie
This is a video I took of the gouache painting I made before I turned it into my final digital drawing of An Púca.
In a nutshell, that's the tale of why you might want to think twice about eating blackberries straight from the bush after Oíche Shamhna. So, this Halloween, embrace the otherworldly legends, enjoy the art, and let the Púca's mischievous spirit infuse an extra dose of mystery into your celebrations…but don’t take it too far!
Oíche Shamhna shona daoibh, a chairde! (Happy Halloween, my friends)
