Tell the Bees is a 32 page fully illustrated folklore zine launched in 2023. It is a zine born from a love of folklore, grisly tales, strange facts and alternative art. Each issue features a tapas board of illustrated tales, mysteries and traditions. All handpicked along the themes of the supernatural, the macabre and the unexplained.
Telling the Bees
The title of the zine comes from the custom of informing hives of bees of any deaths within the family. This is to ensure that the bees accept their new masters and remain productive. It’s also to let them know that they should produce extra wax for the funerary service.
In Celtic mythology Bees are regarded to be a link between the worlds of the living and the dead. In telling a message to the bees they are then able to pass this message to loved ones beyond the veil. Within the tradition of ‘telling the bees’ the bees themselves are expected to share within the mourning. It is traditional to drape black cloth on the hives, and indeed believed that there are risks to withholding from this practice.
The bees are traditionally told also of more celebratory events such as births and marriages. It is considered bad luck not to tell the bees of a big family event. This risks the death of the colony or their abandonment of the hive. In some instances bees would be simply told of the news and in others it is asked that the news be sung to them. Each hive is required to be told in turn. In a tradition known as ‘ricking’ upon the death of their master the family’s eldest son must move the hives to show that a change has taken place.
The Zine
I first began researching articles and creating illustrations for the zine in 2021. I knew that I wanted to create something that shared my love of folklore combined with my work as an illustrator. As a lifelong lover of the weird and unusual I knew I also wanted to make sure that the zine always focused on the stories that stood out to me the most. Whether because they are really unusual, they are fascinating stories or they show us something about particular places or people.
My interest in folklore is one that I shared wholeheartedly with my mother. The stories contained within issue 1 are all tales that myself and my mum shared. Stories that she told me like the tales of the fairy folk, or that I told her. It features instances of the bizarre that we discussed together, the tale of the Red Barn Murder.
You can find out more details about the zine and purchase copies over at https://thisissianellis.Etsy.com