Exploring Folklore
Want to learn more about folklore?
These posts cover a variety of folklore topics and come from my newsletter, Notes on Writing Folklore-Inspired Fiction. I have gathered them here as a reference archive. Sign up for my newsletter to receive mini explorations into folklore direct to your inbox.
For an alphabetical list of folklore topics included in the archive, please use the drop-down list below:
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The Legend and History of the Unicorn
I had originally planned to explore the subject of unicorns as a way to discuss a piece of medieval art that I’m very fond of. However, once I began digging into the research for it, I discovered that what I wanted to share with you would be too much for this month’s post. (It was…
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Apple Trees and British Folklore
When I make my grocery shopping list for holiday dinners and ask my family if they’d like a pie, their eyes grow as large as pie tins, and they answer with a resounding, “Yes!” When I ask what flavor of pie they’d like, the one flavor almost everyone agrees on in our family is apple.…
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Faerie Morality and Its Influence on Humans
In researching faerie folklore for my creative writing, I have discovered that faerie morality was quite complex. Not only did faeries follow their own belief system, they also expected the humans they interacted with to follow it as well. Faerie-approved behavior was often rewarded, but mortals needed to take care not to upset the faeries,…
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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,…
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Changelings in European Folklore
One of the oldest aspects of European faerie folklore is the belief that faeries desire human children and often steal them away from their mortal parents, replacing them with changelings. Early changeling stories appear in medieval texts and continue through the 20th century. Unlike fairy tales, stories involving changelings are considered to be legends: the…
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The Tradition of Welsh Lovespoons
A Welsh lovespoon is a decorative spoon carved from a single piece of wood (a common choice of wood being sycamore). In the past, a male suitor would carve a lovespoon with his romantic interest in mind. He used simple tools, like a small knife, to craft not only the spoon, but also intricate designs…
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What is Folklore?
As I perform research for my various writing projects, I realize that I tend to think of folklore as legends and myths pertaining to the past. I also gravitate toward folklore presented within stories and tales because that is how it was first introduced to me. Yet there is a timeless quality to folklore. Folklorists…
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A Tale of Petrified Lovers
Petrification (when organic matter is turned to stone) is a common theme in folklore. Stories concerning petrification date back to ancient times and can be found in many different cultures. In some tales, petrification is caused by otherworldly or mythological beings, or can be a result of a consequence or punishment. Other times, the stories…
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Four-Leaf Clover Uses in Faerie Folklore
Central to the plot of a short story I’m working on is a four-leaf clover found by the main character after searching through a clover patch. I can remember sitting in the grass as a child, sifting through clover leaves and blossoms, hunting for a magical four-leaf clover with which I could make a wish.…