Tales of the Yucca Man (2018)
(longreads.com)
The desert has its own version of Sasquatch, and it’s just as smelly and hairy.
The desert has its own version of Sasquatch, and it’s just as smelly and hairy.
Teru teru bōzu (shine, shine monk)
(wikipedia.org)
A teru teru bōzu (Japanese: てるてる坊主 or 照る照る坊主, lit. 'shine, shine monk') is a small traditional handmade doll hung outside doors and windows in Japan in hope of sunny weather.
A teru teru bōzu (Japanese: てるてる坊主 or 照る照る坊主, lit. 'shine, shine monk') is a small traditional handmade doll hung outside doors and windows in Japan in hope of sunny weather.
"The Form of a Demon and the Heart of a Person"
(publicdomainreview.org)
Who can say what lay in the heart of the giantess Yamauba when she descended from her mountain crag to claim the boy Kintarō for herself?
Who can say what lay in the heart of the giantess Yamauba when she descended from her mountain crag to claim the boy Kintarō for herself?
In Japan, an Iceless Lake and an Absent God Sound an Ancient Warning
(nytimes.com)
For at least six centuries, residents along a lake in the mountains of central Japan have marked the depth of winter by celebrating the return of a natural phenomenon once revered as the trail of a wandering god.
For at least six centuries, residents along a lake in the mountains of central Japan have marked the depth of winter by celebrating the return of a natural phenomenon once revered as the trail of a wandering god.
Blurred Forms: An Unsteady History of Drunkenness (2014)
(theappendix.net)
During an evening of carousing and drinking at a Salisbury tavern, a soldier and his comrades were drinking to one another’s health. Then the soldier did the unthinkable: he drank to the health of the Devil.
During an evening of carousing and drinking at a Salisbury tavern, a soldier and his comrades were drinking to one another’s health. Then the soldier did the unthinkable: he drank to the health of the Devil.
The Heroic Industry of the Brothers Grimm
(hudsonreview.com)
In an 1846 letter to the Athenaeum, English writer William Thoms coined a term, “folklore.”
In an 1846 letter to the Athenaeum, English writer William Thoms coined a term, “folklore.”
Nosferatu's Robert Eggers on how folklore fuelled his film
(theguardian.com)
The vampire of folklore is not a nobleman. The vampire of folklore is not a suave, dinner jacket-wearing seducer. The vampire of folklore is a corpse. An undead corpse.
The vampire of folklore is not a nobleman. The vampire of folklore is not a suave, dinner jacket-wearing seducer. The vampire of folklore is a corpse. An undead corpse.
Mellified Man
(wikipedia.org)
A mellified man, also known as a human mummy confection, was a legendary medicinal substance created by steeping a human cadaver in honey.
A mellified man, also known as a human mummy confection, was a legendary medicinal substance created by steeping a human cadaver in honey.
The Brothers Grimm: A Biography
(theamericanscholar.org)
The German folklorists who helped build a nation
The German folklorists who helped build a nation
Ghosts in the Machine
(jstor.org)
Forty years ago, Hollywood made gremlins loveable—portraying them as adorable, furry creatures. Their folkloric origins are far more sinister.
Forty years ago, Hollywood made gremlins loveable—portraying them as adorable, furry creatures. Their folkloric origins are far more sinister.
Sabine Baring-Gould's Book of Were-Wolves (1865)
(publicdomainreview.org)
Lycanthropes go by many names, writes Sabine Baring-Gould in his “account of a terrible superstition”, and “half the world believes, or believed, in were-wolves”.
Lycanthropes go by many names, writes Sabine Baring-Gould in his “account of a terrible superstition”, and “half the world believes, or believed, in were-wolves”.
A deep history of Halloween
(resobscura.substack.com)
You know the holiday: the one where people wear outlandish costumes and sweet things are eaten. It’s fun, but also otherworldly, with roots in an ancient belief that this evening — this one night at the change of the seasons — is when spirits roam the earth.
You know the holiday: the one where people wear outlandish costumes and sweet things are eaten. It’s fun, but also otherworldly, with roots in an ancient belief that this evening — this one night at the change of the seasons — is when spirits roam the earth.
Why ghosts wear clothes or white sheets
(theconversation.com)
When you think of a ghost, what comes to mind? A ghastly, mouldy winding-sheet? A malevolent pile of supernatural armour? Or a sinister gentleman in a stiff Victorian suit?
When you think of a ghost, what comes to mind? A ghastly, mouldy winding-sheet? A malevolent pile of supernatural armour? Or a sinister gentleman in a stiff Victorian suit?
The Ballad of the Inquisition's Greatest Witch Trial
(historytoday.com)
How a lost ballad detailing the Inquisition’s sentencing of 28 alleged Basque witches spread a witchcraft panic through 17th-century Spain.
How a lost ballad detailing the Inquisition’s sentencing of 28 alleged Basque witches spread a witchcraft panic through 17th-century Spain.
Witches around the world
(aeon.co)
If asked, most people in the West would say that wicked witches who fly unaided or turn into animals don’t really exist. And, according to all available evidence, they would be right. It’s more difficult to prove that no one practises ‘witchcraft’, that is, conducts rites or utters curses in an attempt to harm others.
If asked, most people in the West would say that wicked witches who fly unaided or turn into animals don’t really exist. And, according to all available evidence, they would be right. It’s more difficult to prove that no one practises ‘witchcraft’, that is, conducts rites or utters curses in an attempt to harm others.
Beast of Gévaudan
(wikipedia.org)
The Beast of Gévaudan (French: La Bête du Gévaudan, IPA: [la bɛt dy ʒevodɑ̃]; Occitan: La Bèstia de Gavaudan) is the historic name associated with a man-eating animal or animals that terrorized the former province of Gévaudan (consisting of the modern-day department of Lozère and part of Haute-Loire), in the Margeride Mountains of south-central France between 1764 and 1767.[1]
The Beast of Gévaudan (French: La Bête du Gévaudan, IPA: [la bɛt dy ʒevodɑ̃]; Occitan: La Bèstia de Gavaudan) is the historic name associated with a man-eating animal or animals that terrorized the former province of Gévaudan (consisting of the modern-day department of Lozère and part of Haute-Loire), in the Margeride Mountains of south-central France between 1764 and 1767.[1]