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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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…