The Green Man is a figure that some would ascribe to being Celtic in nature as a symbol of growth and renewal, but the Green Man is much, much older than that., and so much more. As an architectural motif (aka, “the foliate head”), one can find this face dating as far back as 2nd-century Iraq, 6th-century Turkey, Ancient Rome, Iron Age Celtic cultures, and beyond. Scholars even suggest the Green Man’s presence originates from India (source).

The Green Man has made a long journey throughout the world, but perhaps most famously is seen in the artwork of medieval churches, cathedrals, and abbeys, decorating ceilings and arches, doorways and windows. While they have a presence in Christian buildings, in pagan lore the Green Man is a symbol of nature, cyclical time, and seasonal renewal (source).

I wanted to play with this archetype of The Green Man. I’m more familiar with the pagan interpretations and the appearance of The Green Man throughout architecture, and that imagery has stayed with me for years.

To be honest, I always found something slightly scary about the Green Man’s appearance. In some instances, he looks fatherly, with a beard and knowing gaze as greenery decorates his hair and surrounds his face…but then there are the different types of Green Men with sinister names: The Disgorging Head and the Bloodsucker Head, where green plants spew from either the Green Man’s mouth, or every orifice of his face, including tear ducts (source).

The Bloodsucker Head version of The Green Man is what appears in my YA fantasy novel, Son of the Siren. In the mythical, wandering forest of Elythia, which is home to faeries, pixies, goblins, giants, talking animals and shapeshifters, The Green Man is actually a corrupted force of nature; a former fae. He used to be the ruler of Summer Wood, but something dark changed in him, and he uses the vines and greenery from inside of his body (covered with thorns) to drink the blood of his victims.

As you can see, I sort of took the “bloodsucker” concept a bit more on the literal side and ran with it. So, yeah, he drinks blood. And just like the sculptures of the Bloodsucker Head, he shoots vines from his body, particularly his mouth and tear ducts. He is an incredibly deadly adversary in the otherwise (mostly) peaceful forest of Elythia, and things get quite dire for my leading hero Lirien and his companion Kitra when they run into him in Winter Wood.

It has been incredibly fun to write the Green Man as a dark, creepy, corrupted character who kills people by sucking their blood. His scenes have been some of my favorite to write in the book (truth be told, all of the Elythia scenes make me really happy).

Like my posts about real-life inspirations for my books, such as Son of the Siren, I also rely on inspirations from folklore to build my worlds and characters. I hope you enjoyed this look into my version of The Green Man.

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Son of the Siren is available in eBook and Kindle Unlimited through Amazon; paperback through major book retailers; and audiobook through Audible and Apple Books.