Category: Supernatural
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Nos Galan Gaeaf: A Traditional Night of the Supernatural
This is the time of year when many people (including my family) start preparing for Halloween. Our daughter is currently deciding on her costume and making plans with friends. And soon we will decorate the house and buy candy to pass out to trick-or-treaters when they knock on the door the evening of October 31.
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Plot Highlights and Narrative Techniques of “The Celtic Dragon Myth”
As someone who is writing fiction, I’m particularly interested in story and therefore fascinated by folktales. While researching dragons for my last post, I came across an interesting book, The Celtic Dragon Myth, by John Francis Campbell and translated with an introduction by George Henderson. It contains several texts related to the theme of heroes battling water monsters. I
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Welsh Ghosts With Unfinished Business: A Helpful Guide
We’re continuing with our two-part series on Welsh ghost folklore. In June, we looked into the history of collecting ghost folklore in Wales. This month, we’ll explore the characteristics of Welsh ghosts with unfinished business here in the mortal world. We’ll also look at a spirit sighting account of the same nature in order to
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Some History on Collecting Ghost Folklore in Wales
I was looking back through past posts, and I believe the only Welsh ghost folklore we’ve delved into are the Cŵn Annwn, which are spectral dogs that also serve as death omens. Yet within Welsh ghostlore there are many different types of spectres. For example, there are tales involving the ghosts of departed mortals, the spirits of
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Nursery Bogies: Folkloric Creatures that Influenced Behavior in Children
Over the centuries, stories of frightening characters have been used to scare children into following the rules and keep them out of dangerous situations. These type of monsters and folkloric creatures are known as nursery bogies. They embody a variety of different character types—from mischievous to terrifying to even dangerous. On the whole, they were
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Cŵn Annwn: Welsh Supernatural Hounds
Cŵn Annwn are Welsh supernatural hounds whose howls served as a death omen to those who heard it. Death portents are quite common in Welsh folklore. According to Delyth Badder and Mark Norman, authors of The Folklore of Wales: Ghosts, Cŵn Annwn “represent perhaps one of the oldest omens within Welsh tradition.” The Welsh name for these hounds, Cŵn Annwn,