American Folklore

New American Ghost Stories and Canadian Legends

2005-11-10T19:02:00.000-05:00

Windigo
The storm lasted so long that they thought they would starve. Finally, when the wind and swirling snow had died away to just a memory, the father, who was a brave warrior, ventured outside. The next storm was already on the horizon, but if food was not found soon, the family would starve.

Crow Brings the Daylight
Long, long ago, when the world was still new, the Inuit lived in darkness in their home in the fastness of the north. They had never heard of daylight, and when it was first explained to them by Crow, who traveled back and forth between the northlands and the south, they did not believe him.

The Ghost Pilots of Times Square
He had just graduated from Harvard University and was living in Manhattan. He loved the city and was beginning to feel at home on its streets. World War II was raging in Europe, and like all other good citizens, he followed the headlines daily and did his part for the boys overseas.

The Shadow Train
A miner was on his way to Dos Cabezas, where here heard there was good prospecting, when he found himself lost and alone in the flats just north of the Dragoon Mountains. In the blistering sun of midday, his burro dropped dead from heatstroke and the prospector knew that he would shortly follow if he did not find shelter and something to drink...

New Ghost Stories and Scary Tales

2005-10-27T20:55:00.000-04:00

The Lincoln Death Train
I'd been transferred to the Hudson Division of the New York Central system, and was working the rails on the main line between New York and Albany. I was on the late shift to start with, since I was a bit of a night owl. After six weeks of stomping the tracks and mending the rails, I was feeling right at home in my new job. Then, just before midnight on a clear spring night in late April, we got a report of some brush on the track near our station. I was sent out immediately to clear it away before the next train came...

The Hook
The reports had been on the radio all day, though she hadn't paid much attention to them. Some crazy man had escaped from the state asylum. They were calling him the Hook Man since he had lost his right arm and had it replaced with a hook. He was a killer, and everyone in the region was warned to keep watch and report anything suspicious. But this didn't interest her. She was more worried about what to wear on her date...

Attack of the Mammoth
The man and his family were constantly on the moving, hunting for beaver. They traveled from lake to lake, stream to stream, never staying any place long enough for it to become a home. The woman sometimes silently wished that they would find a village and settle down somewhere with their little baby. But her husband was restless, and so they kept moving.

Lost!
They say that there once was a prospector wandering through the Yukon with his two dogs, searching for gold. One evening as it neared dusk, he found himself mired down in the muskeg - boggy country with water just underneath the surface of the semi-frozen ground and just above the permafrost. It was a treacherous place, and would be very easy to sink beneath the surface and be engulfed. The more the prospector and his dogs tried to free themselves from its clutches, the more lost they became.

New Ghost Stories and Other Folktales

2005-10-19T22:39:00.000-04:00

Ghost Stories

The Phantom Train Wreck
The passengers were grumpy and heavy-eyed as they boarded the train in Salisbury during the early morning of August 27, 1891. The train was headed to Ashville, and the riders settled into their seats and tried to catch a few more minutes of sleep. Around three a.m., the passengers were suddenly awakened by suddenly bucking and rocking of the train...

The Dungarvon Whooper
It was a cold winter and the snow was deep in the woods surrounding the logging camp near the Dungarvon River. But there was plenty of game to be found if you were a good hunter, so the men didn't go hungry. The camp cook was a jolly fellow, and quite rich for a logger. He kept his life savings in a money belt that he wore at all times. Now an Irish lumberjack named Ryan coveted the cook's money and concocted a plan to get it.

The Trapper's Ghost
There once was a trapper who roamed the wilds of Labrador on a sleigh pulled by eight pure white Huskies. He was a tall man, dressed in layer upon layer of animal skins, who drove his team with a terrible ferocity across the frozen tundra. (Labrador)

More New Folktales

Railroad Stories
The nation's railroads were the first truly efficient means of moving across the vast American spacies. The adventure, effort, and enterprise required to build the railroads and the colorful characters associated with operating the railroads has inspired folktales, folk songs, and many, many railroad stories, some of which are listed below.

How Selfishness was Rewarded
A young girl refuses to share food with her starving family in this Tlingit myth from Alaska.

New Ghost Stories from American Folklore

2005-10-13T15:50:00.000-04:00

Bloody Mary
She lived deep in the forest in a tiny cottage and sold herbal remedies for a living. Folks living in the town nearby called her Bloody Mary, and said she was a witch. None dared cross the old crone for fear that their cows would go dry, their food-stores rot away before winter, their children take sick of fever, or any number of terrible things that an angry witch could do to her neighbors. Then the little girls in the village began to disappear, one by one...

The Express Train to Hell
For days, a ragged old man had hung around the Newark Central Station. The stationmaster kept running him off, but night after night he would return. He kept accosting people, shouting: "It's coming for me! It's coming!" Whenever anyone asked him what was coming for him, he would just clutch his head and cry: "I done wrong! I killed a man that cheated me at cards, and now I'm going to pay!"

Ghost Train
I was a railway fireman back in those days, working on the CPR line in Alberta. I did a hard day's work and earned me a fair wage. I was young then, and my pretty little bride was just setting up housekeeping in the little cottage that was all we could afford. Life was good, and I thought everything would continue rolling along that way. Then came that fateful day in May of 1908. (Alberta)

Ogopogo, the Lake Monster
His mind was full of dark thoughts and the demons spoke to him. His wild eyes and words frightened his people, and he became an outcast, shunned by all. One day in a fury of rage and pain, he attacked old Kan-He-Kan, a local wise man. The demon-possessed man killed the venerable sage on the shores of a beautiful lake near his home, and then ran away, afraid of what the people would do to him when they found out. (British Columbia)

The Tolling of the Bell
In the wee hours of Friday morning, October 7, 1859, when all the good residents of Charlottetown should still be sleeping in their beds, a deep bell tone was heard from the bell tower in St. James Church. The somber sound rang out over the rooftops, waking many with the unexpectedness of its doom-laden ring. Then a second toll rang slowly overhead, followed by a third... (Prince Edward Island)

New Ghost Stories from American Folklore

2005-10-06T15:14:00.000-04:00

The Screaming Tunnel
There is a tunnel under the old railroad tracks just to the west of the Queen Elizabeth Way in Niagara Falls. It is known locally as the Screaming Tunnel. A path wanders through the tunnel and then up to an empty field on the hill. But the field was not always empty... (Ontario)

Blackbeard's Ghost
The nefarious pirate Blackbeard (who's real name was Edward Teach) was a tall man with a very long black beard that covered most of his face and extended down to his waist. He tied his beard up in pigtails adorned with black ribbons. He wore a bandolier over his shoulders with three braces of pistols and sometimes he would hang two slow-burning cannon fuses from his fur cap that wreathed his head in black smoke.

High Hat (mp3 file)
The last of the man-eating Stone Giants stalks a local farmer in this excerpt from Spooky New York.

The Phantom Lovers of Dismal Swamp
He couldn't believe it when she fell ill just a few short weeks before their marriage. His betrothed was beautiful, strong, and healthy, but she just faded away before his eyes. He held her in his arms as she gasped out her last breathe, and was inconsolable long after her body lay buried beside the Dismal Swamp.

The Vampire Hermit (mp3 file)
A vampire chases a young mother and her baby through the woods in this excerpt from Spooky New York.

New Ghost Stories and Tall Tales

2005-09-26T12:46:00.000-04:00

Ghost stories

The White Horse
A Cree chief had a very beautiful daughter who was sought after by many brave warriors. There were two suitors who led the rivalry for her hand, a Cree chief from Lake Winnipegosis and a Sioux chief from Devil's Lake. The girl herself favored the Cree warrior, and when he brought a beautiful white horse from Mexico as a gift for her father, the man agreed to the marriage. (Manitoba)

Presumed Drowned
In 1914, the Newfoundland sailed up to the Ice with a crew of 250 men. On March 30th, seventy-seven men went out on the Ice to kill seals. A mighty storm came up while the men were out, that lasted two days, and the men could not make it back to the ship. When the storm ceased, other ships came and helped the crew of the Newfoundland search for the missing men. (Newfoundland)

Canadian Ghost Stories & Spooky Tales
Scary Canadian ghost stories, spooky tales, and supernatural stories to tell in the dark! Perfect for reading on the beach or you can scare the living daylights out of your friends around the campfire!

Tall Tales

That Pesky Fellow
A fisherman from Newfoundland was having difficulty finding someone to assist him. Help was scarce, and he couldn't find a soul to hire. Then one day he saw a handsome fellow in fancy city clothes walking along the docks. This was obviously not a man looking for work, but the fisherman still called out, half in jest: "Are ye looking for some work?" To his surprise, the city-man nodded and jumped into the boat. (Newfoundland)

Brer Rabbit Earns a Dollar-A-Minute
One fine morning, Brer Fox decided to plant him a patch of goober peas. He set to with a will and before you know it, he had raked and hoed out a beautiful patch of ground and he put in a fine planting of peas. It didn't take too long before those goober vines grew tall and long and the peas ripened up good and smart. Now Brer Rabbit, he'd watched Brer Fox planting the goobers and he told his children and Miz Rabbit where they could find the patch...

Brer Rabbit
Brer ("Brother") Rabbit is a trickster character in folktales of African, African-American, and Native American culture. Brer Rabbit is the consummate trickster, who typically matches wits with Brer Fox, whom he always bests.

New This Week: Ghost Stories, Spooky Tales, and Tall Tales!

2005-09-19T19:39:00.000-04:00

Ghost Stories and Spooky Tales

Who Calls?
By the time he finished his daily tasks, the light was failing. But everything he needed to accomplish before he made the journey to visit his betrothed was complete. He was eager to see his love, so he set out immediately, in spite of the growing darkness. He would paddle his canoe through the night and be with his beloved come the dawn. (Saskatchewan)

The Lady in Red
We didn't believe in ghosts, so when the fellow checking us in warned us that our room on the sixth floor was haunted, we just laughed. There were a lot of crazy people out there who believed in ghosts and wanted to stay in a haunted hotel, but Marie and I weren't two of them. I'd chosen the Mizpah for our weekend getaway because I'd like the description of the hotel and it amenities, not because it had a phantom.

Joaquin Murietta, The Bandit of the Goldfields
Joaquin Murietta and wife Rosita lived with his older brother Carlos in California. The three Mexican immigrants were living on a small, successful farm and the men were also working a claim near Hangtown. However, the other miners living nearby tried to run them off, telling them that it was illegal for Mexicans to pan for gold or hold a claim. The Murietta brother's ignored their threats and continued to live peacefully on their farm and work in the goldfields...

The Llorona, Omen of Death
They say that the Llorona was once a poor young girl who loved a rich nobleman, and together they had three children. The girl wished to marry the nobleman, but he refused her. He told her that he might have considered marrying her if she had not born the three out-of-wedlock children, which he considered a disgrace. The girl was determined to have the nobleman for her own, so she drowned her children to prove her love to him.

Tall Tales

Brer Rabbit Falls Down the Well
Now an uneasy truce had developed between Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit. Brer Fox had been bested by that rascally critter more than once, and he was reluctant to try anything for awhile, until he regained some of his dignity and self-respect...

Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett Bests Mike Fink
Davy Crockett done married the prettiest, the sassiest, the toughest gal in the West, don't ya know! Her name was Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind and she was all that and then some! She was tougher than a she-bear and faster than a wildcat with his tail on fire and sweeter than honey, so that even hornets would let her use their nest for a Sunday-Go-To-Meeting hat.

Missouri Ghost Stories and Haunted Places

2005-08-30T21:28:00.000-04:00

QUESTION: Hello! I was wondering if there is a way to find out local myths, urban legends, haunted houses, and such for specific areas??? I am from Missouri and my family and I are trying to find out some info.

ANSWER: Below is a list of ghost stories and haunted information for Missouri! Enjoy.

Haunted Missouri:
http://www.prairieghosts.com/hauntmo.html

Haunted Places in Missouri:
http://www.juiceenewsdaily.com/0105/news/haunted_missouri.html

Ghosts and Haunts in Missouri:
http://www.missourighosts.net/

Legends of the Show-Me State:
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/MO-Mainpage.html

Women in American Folklore

2005-08-25T20:21:00.000-04:00

QUESTION:
I recently found your site and I was so happy to find Slue-Foot Sue because I have been trying to remember the name of the woman who rode a giant catfish for weeks now. This leads to my question because it was so difficult for my friends and I to think of any folklore women. All we could come up with was Calamity Jane and that was after days of thinking. I know there are fewer stories with women than there are with men but I also believe we are more likely to forget the stories involving women because they are hardly ever emphasized. Do you have any helpful tips for someone trying to locate the stories of the women of American folklore?

ANSWER
Great question! I can think of a number of women who have been a part of American folklore, but you are right, there are not as many as men; especially not like the tall tales variety of a Slue-foot Sue or a Calamity Jane. Here are a few to get you started.

Tough gals
1. Slue-foot Sue
2. Calamity Jane
3. Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett

Heros and other famous women
4. Kate Shelley
5. Ocean-born Mary
6. The canny Yankee woman in Gollywhopper's eggs
7. The Maid of the Mist
8. Babe the Blue Ox's mate -- Yeller Cow
9. The old woman in Riverboat racing

Female ghosts
10. Ghost on the tracks
11. Lady in Lace
12. La Llorona
13. The White Lady
14. La Mala Hora
15. Milk bottles

Babe the Blue Ox

2005-07-28T12:26:00.000-04:00

Babe the Blue Ox was the close friend and companion of Paul Bunyan. His exploits were legendary. He was so large that 42 axe handles plus a plug of tobacco could fit between his eyes and the logging camp laundryman used his horns to hang up all the camp laundry.

Below is a list of stories about Babe the Blue Ox.

Babe the Blue Ox
One winter it was so cold that all the geese flew backward and all the fish moved south and even the snow turned blue. Late at night, it got so frigid that all spoken words froze solid afore they could be heard. People had to wait until sunup to find out what folks were talking about the night before.

Paul Bunyan and the Log Jam
One spring day, the loggers on the Wisconsin River discovered a huge log jam, the biggest they'd ever seen. The logs were piled about two hundred feet high and the jam went upriver for a mile or more. Those loggers chopped and hauled at the jam, but it wouldn't budge an inch. So they called for Paul Bunyan to give them a hand.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox
In the year of the 'Blue Snow', Paul found a baby ox in the snow. It was so cold, the ox and snow was blue. After Paul took him home and warmed him, his color stayed blue. Paul named him Babe.

Ghost children and the railroad

2005-07-21T19:35:00.000-04:00

Question submitted to American folklore: I'm tryiny to find a newpaper article on the 1940's crash involving a schoolbus with about 20-40 children aboard. The children's spirits are supposed to help cars acrossed the tracks for safety.

Answer: This story is actually an urban legend originating in San Antonio, though the incident spawning the story happened in Salt Lake City, Utah way back in December of 1938.

According to the urban legend, there was once an accident on the railroad tracks in San Antonio. A school bus full of children stalled on the railroad tracks and was run over by a freight train, killing everyone on the bus. The ghosts of the children are supposed to protect cars that become stalled on the tracks. The invisible children push the car to safety, leaving only tiny handprints on the back of the car to prove that they were there.

More information may be found at: http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/hndprint.asp .

A retelling of this story is available at: http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/tx4.html.

Massachusetts stories

2005-07-13T10:36:00.000-04:00

Massachusetts was the 6th state accepted into the Union, on February 6, 1788.

The state bird is the Chickadee.
The state motto is: "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty".
The state was named after local Indian tribe whose name means "a large hill place".
The state nickname is the Bay State.
It is the birthplace of U.S. Presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and George Herbert Walker Bush.
The state song is "All Hail to Massachusetts". The state tree is the American Elm

Massachusetts is a state rich in folklore. Below are a few stories from Massachusetts.

Sam Hyde
Old Sam Hyde tells a tall tale and earns himself a glass of cider.
The Telltale Seaweed
An overnight stay in an abandoned Cape Cod house reveals a ghost.
The Twist-Mouth Family
Find out what a college education is good for!

More Massachusetts folktales, including The Fatal Glass Eye, Tom Dunn's Dance, The Lady in Black, The White Deer, Captain Paddock and Crookjaw and more, are retold by S.E. Schlosser in Spooky New England.

Brer Rabbit Stories

2005-07-07T11:31:00.000-04:00

Brer (Brother) Rabbit is a trickster character in the folktales of African, African-American, and Native American cultures. Brer Rabbit often matches his wits against the wily Brer Fox, whom he always bests. Several Brer Rabbit stories are listed below! Enjoy.

Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby
Mr. Rabbit is fooled by a Tar Baby.

Brer Rabbit Falls in Love
Spring is in the air, and Mr. Rabbit falls in love!

Brer Rabbit and the Mosquitos
What is Mr. Rabbit going to do about all them pesky mosquitos?

Brer Rabbit and the Riding Horse
Mr. Rabbit seeks revenge against Mr. Fox!

Miss Cow and Brer Rabbit
Miss Cow falls victim to Brer Rabbit.

Brer Rabbit the Fisherman
Brer Rabbit climbs into a bucket and falls into the river.

Brer Rabbit and Brer Coon
Mr. Rabbit has to share his title of "best fisherman" with Mr. Coon.

Paul Bunyan

2005-06-26T22:13:00.000-04:00

Now I hear tell that Paul Bunyan was born in Bangor, Maine (although the folks of Bemidji, Minnesota still dispute this fact.) It took five giant storks to deliver Paul to his parents. His first bed was a lumber wagon, where he lay as a newborn. But after three weeks, he rolled around so much in his sleep that he destroyed four square miles of prime timberland. His parents were at their wits' end! Finally, they built him a raft and floated it off the coast of Maine. Only trouble was, whenever Paul turned over, it caused a 75 foot tidal wave in the Bay of Fundy. They had to send the British Navy over to Maine to wake him up. The sailors had to fire every canon they had in the fleet for seven hours straight before Paul Bunyan woke from his nap! When he stepped off the raft, he accidentally sank four war ships and had to scoop the sailors out of the water before they drowned. After this incident, Paul's parents decided the East was just too plumb small for him, and so the family moved out west.

When Paul Bunyan grew up, he became the most famous lumberjack who ever lived. Here are just a few of the stories told about him!

Paul Bunyan and the Frozen Flames
One winter, shortly after Paul Bunyan dug Lake Michigan as a drinking hole for his blue ox, Babe, he decided to camp out in the Upper Peninsula. It was so cold in that there logging camp that one evening, the temperature dropped to 68 degrees below zero. Each degree in the camp thermometer measured sixteen inches long and the flames in the lanterns froze solid...

Paul Bunyan's Kitchen
One winter, Paul Bunyan came to log along the Little Gimlet in Oregon. Ask any old timer who was logging that winter, and they'll tell you I ain't lying when I say his kitchen covered about ten miles of territory.

Paul Bunyan and the Log Jam
One spring day, the loggers on the Wisconsin River discovered a huge log jam, the biggest they'd ever seen. The logs were piled about two hundred feet high and the jam went upriver for a mile or more. Those loggers chopped and hauled at the jam, but it wouldn't budge an inch. So they called for Paul Bunyan to give them a hand.

Paul Bunyan Tames the Whistling River
The Whistling River - so named because twice a day, it reared up to a height of two hundred feet and let loose a whistle that could be heard for over six hundred miles - was the most ornery river in the U.S. of A. It took a fiendish delight in plaguing the life out of the loggers who worked it. It would tie their logs into knots, flip men into the water then toss them back out onto the banks, and break apart whole rafts of logs as soon as the loggers put them together.

The Gift of a Knife

2005-06-13T13:23:00.000-04:00

Question: Can you tell me what the folklore or tradition is when you give a gift such as a knife? When you give a purse as a gift, you put a penny in it. I have heard that there also is a tradition of including something else when you give a knife as a gift. Have you heard of this?

Answer: In cultures ranging from Latin America to Asia, giving a knife symbolizes severing a relationship. You give a knife to indicate that you are no longer friends. Among the Bavarian peasants, when a friendship is severed by the gift of a knife or pair of scissors, the untoward result may be averted if the recipient smiles pleasantly when the gift is made.

Since it is considered bad luck to give a gift of a knife, money is usually included for the recipient to "buy" the knife. The traditional amount to include with the knife (at least in the USA) is a penny.

Coyote

2005-06-08T22:01:00.000-04:00

In the mythology and folklore of the Native Americans of the Southwest, California, and the Central Plains, Coyote often appears as a trickster, a creative force (called a demiurge), and a hero.

Here are some of Coyote's adventures and creations

Coyote and the Columbia
One day, Coyote was walking along. The sun was shining brightly, and Coyote felt very hot. "I would like a cloud," Coyote said. So a cloud came and made some shade for Coyote. But Coyote was not satisfied.

Coyote's Salmon
Long ago on the Sanpoil River that flows southward into the Columbia River, Old Man and old Woman lived with their tribe, the Sanpoils, and their very pretty granddaughter lived with them. One day Coyote came along and saw the old couple with the beautiful girl. Immediately, he decided that he wanted the girl for his wife.

The Bridge of the Gods
In the days of the animal people, a great bird lived in the land of the setting sun. It was Thunderbird. All of the animal people were afraid of it. Thunderbird created five high mountains and then said to the animal people, "I made a law that no one is to pass over these five high mountains. If any one does, I will kill him. No one is to come where I live." But Coyote's five sons dared to challenge the Thunderbird.

Old Coyote and the Coyote People
Old-Coyote (he is called "Uncle Coyote" by some) was the ancestor of all the Indians. He had many wives. From some are descended the Thompson, from others the Okanagan, from still others the Shuswap. One of his sons (probably Ntli'kisEntEm) had two wives, Lu'la and Tce'xa (varieties of ducks). The latter had a simple-minded sister, the Frog, who acted as her servant.

Some American Legends

2005-06-01T20:04:00.000-04:00

A legend is a traditional tale believed to have an historical basis. Below are a few American Legends.

The Gulls
Retelling of an historical event that became a famous Utah Legend.

Johnny Appleseed
Johnny Appleseed rescues a town during the War of 1812.

Kate Shelley Saves the Train
A brave girl rescues a train when the bridge washes out. Based on a true story. (Iowa)

Palatine
A Dutch ship wrecks off Block Island. (Rhode Island.) A new version of this story is retold by S.E. Schlosser in Spooky New England.

Tall Tales -- Some Fish Stories!

2005-05-28T16:38:00.000-04:00

There's nothing like a good fish story! Here are a few of my favorites.

Fur bearing trout
Now it happened that there was a mining camp in Colorado where more than an average number of the miners were bald. An enterprising hair tonic salesman from Kentucky decided to take advantage of this golden opportunity, so he made the trip north. More>>

The Fisherman and the Bear
One fine day an old Maine man was fishing and fishing on his favorite lake and catching nary a thing. Finally, he gave up and walked back along the shore to his fishing shack. When he got close to the front door, he saw it was open. Being of a suspicious nature, he walked to the door quietly and looked inside. More>>

A Fish Story
Jonah encounters a strange, talking fish when he decides to go fishing one Sunday instead of going to church. He brings the fish home and cooks it up, with fatal results! (The full story is featured in Spooky South.)

Matawan Man-eater
The story of the incredible 1916 shark attacks in the small and winding Matawan Creek. The film "Jaws" was reportedly based on this attack.

The Yankee Peddler

2005-05-26T21:48:00.000-04:00

According to The Penguin Dictionary of American Folklore ( Axelrod and Osler, 2000, New York: Penguin Press, page 523), the Yankee Peddler (trader, trickster) has a reputation, since the 18th century, for sharp dealings. They indulged in "skunking" (deceiving someone) and playing practical jokes, often to the end of giving a deserving victim a comeuppance! Often the stories feature backwoodsmen being conned by the Yankee Peddler into buying something they didn't want, like a clock with no works inside or the fabled Gollywhopper's Eggs (see story link below).

Yankee Horse Traders pursuaded people to buy worthless nags. They pursuade the person to buy at a 'bargain" price by confessing that the creature has a small fault (such as "the horse is hard to catch"). This lulls the buyer into thinking he is getting a deal on a good horse that can be trained out of the small fault. It is only after the deal is closed and the Yankee peddler is about to leave town that the truth comes out: "The horse ain't good for nothing when you do catch him!"

Below are a few stories about Yankee Peddlers.

Connecticut Yankee
A Yankee Peddler outwits a Southern innkeeper.

Gollywhopper's Eggs
A Yankee Peddler comes to town with a most unusual product to sell.

New Jersey Folklore

2005-05-25T20:14:00.000-04:00

New Jersey is brimming with folktales! Stories of ghosts, pirates, war heros, and villians abound. Below are several of my favorite New Jersey tales.

The Birth of the Jersey Devil
A storm was raging that night in 1735, when Mother Leeds was brought to bed in child birth. The room was full of woman folk gathered to help her, more out of curiosity than good will. They had all heard the rumors that Mother Leeds was involved in witchcraft, and had sworn she would give birth to a devil.

The Ghosts of Ringwood Manor
Ringwood Manor you say? A lovely old house. But no place, my child, to go on a dark night with no moon.

On Washington Rock
The dream was so vivid, she didn't realize at first that it was a dream. The party was crowded, the guests cheerful, the food delicious. Then a rumor began to circulate among the guests. The Devil was coming to the party. The Devil was on the way.

"The Matawan Man-Eater" - The story of the incredible 1916 shark attacks in the small and winding Matawan Creek. The film "Jaws" was reportedly based on this attack.

"The East Orange Bathtub Mystery" - The story of the unexplained death of a young and beautiful woman in the early 1900's, and the spectacular trial that followed.

"Joe Mulliner - The Robin Hood of the Pine Barrens" - The tale of the infamous Tory outlaw of South Jersey during the Revolutionary War, Joe Mulliner. Flamboyant and dashing, his life was short, but his legend lives on.

Tongue Twisters

2005-05-24T18:51:00.000-04:00

A tongue twister is a phrase or sentence that is hard to speak fast, usually because of alliteration or a sequence of nearly similar sounds. Tongue twisters are part of the folklore of many cultures. Below are a few popular tongue twisters in the English language.

Six gray geese in a green field grazing.

Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal rudely ran.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
how many pecks of pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

She sells seashells down by the seashore.

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
A woodchuck could chuck all the wood, if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

A big black bug bit a big black bear, then a big
Black bear bit the big black bug.
And when the big black bear bit the big black bug,
Then the big black bug bit the big black bear.

Theophilus Thistledown, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand thisles through the thick of his thumb. If Theophilus Thistledown, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand thisles through the thick of his thumb, see that thou, insifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, does not get the thistles stuck in they tongue.

A Tudor who tooted a flute
tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
Said the two to their tutor,
"Is it harder to toot
or to tutor two tooters to toot?"

If a Hottentot taught a Hottentot tot
To talk ere the tot could totter,
Ought the Hottenton tot
Be taught to say aught, or naught,
Or what ought to be taught her?
If to hoot and to toot a Hottentot tot
Be taught by her Hottentot tutor,
Ought the tutor get hot
If the Hottentot tot
Hoot and toot at her Hottentot tutor?

More tongue twisters are available at English tongue twisters and The Tongue Twister Database. Or go to Tongue Twister Tales to read some tongue-twisting stories by S.E. Schlosser.

Q & A -- Folktale Characteristics

2005-05-22T21:43:00.000-04:00

Question: I visited your web page and need more information regarding the characteristics of folk tales for a student educational plan. Anything you could provided would be very helpful.

Answer: Below are some characteristics of folktales.

Folktales:
Are generally part of the oral tradition of a group. Most stories are told rather than read
Are passed down from one generation to another
Take on the characteristics of the time and place in which they are told, and the personality of the stroyteller
Speak to universal and timeless themes. The try to make sense of our existence, help humans cope with the world in which they live, or explain the origin of something.
Are often about the common person
May contain supernatural elements
Function to validate certain aspects of culture

Sources: http://www.ferrum.edu/applit/lessons/MtHumorLP2.htm
http://www.harlan.k12.ia.us/mrsc/folktale_characteristics.htm
http://michigan.gov/scope/0,1607,7-155-10710_10733_10735-40269--,00.html

French-Canadian Folklore

2005-05-21T22:43:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine who is a French-English translator introduced me to French Canadian folklore a few years back. Here are a few of my favorite tales.

The Flying Canoe -- Baptiste pursuades some of his fellow lumberjacks to fly home to visit their sweethearts on New Years Eve.

The Loup Garou -- When Great-grandfather falls ill, Grandfather sets out for the doctor, only to find his way blocked by a large man-turned-wolf, a loup garou! (Spooky New England)

The Loup Garou and the Shawl -- When a woman finds out that her husband is turning into a loup-garou (a wolf) each night, he begs her to help save him.

Old Nick -- A horse with super-human strength is sent to a priest to aid him in the building of a new church. The priest is warned never to remove the horse's bridle.

The Loup Garou's Debt -- When a man or woman dies in debt, they are doomed to roam the earth as loup garou (were-wolves) until the person to whom they owe money forgives the debt. But Grandpere was still mad at Henry when he died and absolutely refused to forgive him; until Henry's loup garou paid him a visit one snowy night! (Spooky New York)

Dog and Cat folktales

2005-05-19T22:53:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how many folktales involve dogs and cats. I've rounded up a few of my favorites to share!

The Black Dog of Hanging Hills: Hikers! Beware of a friendly little black dog who may join you on the mountain trail. There is an old saying about the dog: "And if a man shall meet the Black Dog once, it shall be for joy; and if twice, it shall be for sorrow; and the third time, he shall die."

Callin' the Dog: Tall talkin' in Mississippi has been termed "Callin' the dog" ever since that famous tall-tale session when one man offered a hound dog pup to the person who could tell the biggest lie.

Why Dog's Chase Cats: Once long ago, Dog was married to Cat. They were happy together, but every night when Dog came home from work, Cat said she was too sick to make him dinner...

Wait Until Emmet Comes: Some cats visit a preacher who has stopped for the night at a haunted house!

The Talking Mule: The mule is not the only animal that can talk in this story!

The Black Cat's Message: A woodsman on his way home sees a cat funeral taking place. When they see the man, the mourning cats give him a message: "Tell Aunt Kan that Polly Grundy is dead." The woodsman is puzzled and frightened, since he doesn't believe cats can talk and he has never heard of someone named Aunt Kan. (Complete story is retold in Spooky Southwest.)

Pennsylvania Dutch Proverbs and sayings

2005-05-18T21:15:00.000-04:00

I am amazed by the number of proverbs and sayings that are produced by cultures over time. My grandmother was Pennsylvania Dutch and her house was covered with plaques of the German-English sayings she (and later I) grew up with. Below are the "best of the best" sayings I heard or read as a child.

Throw the cow over the fence some hay.
A big wife and a big barn never did any man harm.
We get too soon old and too late smart.
Outen The Lights.
Children and fools tell the truth.
Kissing wears out, cooking don't.
Short hair is quickly brushed.
An industrious wife is the best savings account.
It wonders me.
Throw Amos down the stairs his hat.
Eat yourself full.

More Pennsylvania Dutch Proverbs are available at: Pennsylvania Dutch History, Genealogy, and Culture and The Pennsylvania Dutch

Railroad folklore

2005-05-17T22:48:00.000-04:00

I think the most famous railroad story of all is that of Casey Jones.

"Casey Jones, that heroic railroad engineer of the Cannonball, was known as the
man who always brought the train in on time." This daredevil
engineer led a charmed life until the day he a corner near Vaughin, Mississippi
and saw a stalled freight train on the track. The Ballad of Casey Jones is
still sung today.

Perhaps my favorite railroad song is the Wabash Cannonball. My dad had an old record that I would play over and over again:

"Listen to the jingle,
The rumble and the roar,
As she glides along the woodlands,
Through hills and by the shore
Hear the mighty rush of the engine,
Hear those lonesome hoboes squawl,
While traveling through the jungle
On the Wabash Cannonball"

My grandfather loved the Wreck of the old 97:

"Well, they gave him his orders in Monroe, Virginia,
Sayin', 'Steve, you're way behind time.
This is not 38, it is Old 97
You must put her into Spencer on time.'"

A wonderful railroad story is Kate Shelley Saves the Train.

"Kate realized that a midnight express train was due to pass over the Honey
Creek Bridge, possibly sending more people to their death if she did not warn
the nearby Moingona station of the washout. Kate Shelly knew there
was a nearby trestle bridge with a tiny catwalk over the flooded Des Moines
River. So, amid the darkness and the storm, Kate crawled on hands and knees
across the catwalk ... (to) warn the station agent of the wash-out."

A spooky railroad tale is the story of the Phantom Train of Marshall Pass. On a stormy night, a wild rain, running without schedule or time card, chased a passanger train down a steep, snow-covered switch back, nearly crashing into her before plunging down and down into the canyon. When the passanger train reached safety, they were told they had been chased by a phantom train reenacting its fatal last moments before it crashed into the canyon depths, killing everyone aboard. (Story retold in Spooky Southwest.)

A more pleasant tale is that of the Ghost on the Tracks (Spooky Southwest), in which a flirtacious female ghost sometimes visits the men on board the train when it passes her on dark nights!

Some Weatherlore

2005-05-16T19:30:00.000-04:00

Weatherlore is based on observation of the environment and the effects that changes in the weather have on insects, animals, birds and people. Probably one of the most famous weather lore sayings is from an old English proverb:

Red sky at night, sailors delight
Red sky at morning, sailors take warning

A variation on this theme goes:

Evening red and morning gray,
sends the traveler on his way.
Evening gray, morning red,
brings the rain down on his head.

According to Stalking the Wild: "At dusk, a red sky indicates that dry weather is on the way. This is due to the sun shining through dust particles being pushed ahead of a high pressure system bringing in dry air. A red sky in the morning is due to the sun again shining through dust. In this case however, the dust is being pushed on out by an approaching low pressure system bringing in moisture."

Here are some of my favorite weather sayings!

If the rooster crows on going to bed, you may rise with a watery head.
Clear moon, frost soon.
When the daisy shuts it's eye, soon will rain fall from the sky.
Mackerel skies and mares' tails/Make tall ships carry low sails.
When clouds look like rocks and towers, the earth will be refreshed by showers.

More weather sayings available at Weather world.

Some of my favorite folklore characters have dealt with the weather. Davy Crockett had to unfreeze the dawn; Febold Feboldson was a reknown drought buster; and Pecos Bill took on a tornado!

The Dutch influence on American Folklore

2005-05-15T14:32:00.000-04:00

New York folklore still retains much of its Dutch influence. Many common NY folktales have come to us from the time when New York was New Amsterdam. Below are just a few!

In the story of the Baker's Dozen from Albany (retold in Spooky New York), Saint Nicholas teaches a stingy Dutch baker to be generous with his goods.

When Captain Kidd pays a visit to the Dutch widow of one of his crewmen, she is pursuaded to hide him from his pursuers. In exchange for her kindness, the Captain turns her money and many of her possession to gold using the gold tooth given to him by the devil (The Gold Tooth -- Spooky New York.)

Spuyten Duyvil, at the tip of Manhattan, takes its name from an old folktale about a trumpeter named Anthony who was trying to warn of an attack on New Amsterdam.

Jan Sol bravely guards the main gate of New Amsterdam, until he encounters a "monster" that sends him running for help! (Read the full story in Spooky New York.)

Saint Nicholas visits a poor family in New Amsterdam on Christmas eve. When they offer him their hospitality in spite of a shortness of food and money, he rewards them with riches beyond their wildest dreams.

The ghost of Peter Stuyvesant (Peg-leg Pete) still haunts St. Mark's Church in the Bowery.

Roly-poly Nicholas Van Wemple of Flatbush has a close encounter with a haunted mill and some rascally pirates on his way to get a New Year's goose for his family dinner. (Spooky New York)

The Devil challenges a Dutch musician to a fiddling contest in what is now the borough of Brooklyn. Fortunately for the Dutchman, the Devil did not like Dutch hymns!!! (Spooky New York)

Folklore and the American Revolution

2005-05-13T21:38:00.000-04:00

Folklore seems to build up naturally around major historical figres and events. The American Revolution spawned a plethera of folklore which is still popular today.

The great General George Washington was a figure around whom was built much folklore, including the famous (but ficticious) tale about the chopping down of the cherry tree and the fact that his teeth were made of wood. Another tale tells of how George Washington threw a silver dollar over the Potomic river, which was over a mile wide! There is even a folktale surrounding the General's penknife.

Paul Revere's midnight ride was immortalize by Longfellow and is an example of a true event that became a permanent part of American Folklore. Betsy Ross, on the other hand, was a wonderful seamstress who may not have sewn the very first American Flag. In Sleepy Hollow, New York, a Headless Hessian soldier who fought for the British during the Revolutionary War still arises from an unmarked grave to gallop through the dark streets, long after Washington Irving penned the famous "Legend of Sleepy Hollow". (There is a new retelling of the Galloping Hessian in Spooky New York by S.E. Schlosser. Listen to an excerpt.) And Ethan Allen, head of the Green Mountain Boys during the revolution, helped out an old woman with a toothache!

Other Revolutionary War folktales include a British officer falls for a Valley Forge girl with tragic results (the Phantom Drummer); the ghost of General Erskine, Geographer and Surveyor-General for General George Washington during the Revolution; and the Blue Hen's of Delaware.

Slue-foot Sue

2005-05-12T21:24:00.000-04:00

Who else would the ultimate cowboy fall in love with than the ultimate cowgirl? That's Slue-foot Sue all right. First time Pecos Bill saw her, she was "ridin' a catfish down the Rio Grande. She was riding standing up and holdin' on with only one hand sose she could take pot-shots at the clouds with her six-shooter. Was making a right pretty pattern too." (Pecos Bill and Slue-Foot Sue retold by S.E. Schlosser) Where does this unparalleled cowgirl make her home? Well, some say its Pecos County, Texas!

In some versions of the legend, Pecos Bill and Slue-foot Sue are sweethearts who go adventuring together, like in the drama "Pecos Bill and Slue-foot Sue Meet the Dirty Dan Gang". Disney also featured Pecos Bill and Slue-foot Sue in the movie Melody Time.

In others, Pecos Bill and Slue-foot Sue get married, but before they can start on their honeymoon, Sue gets thrown from Bill's horse Widowmaker. Sue was wearing really springy hoop skirts so that "when she hit the ground, she bounced up again. She bounced so high she kept hitting her head on the moon...Finally, Bill realized that she was gonna starve to death before she stopped bouncing, so he had to shoot her."

There are a few versions of the story in which Bill manages to rescue Sue from her bouncing and they live happily -- if stormily-- ever after. (Geekteacher.net has several variations on the Pecos Bill Story, including one with a happy ending) Since Pecos Bill and Slue-foot Sue are both such strong individuals, their courtship and marriage often reminds me of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew! There's also a fun poem by Kevin Andrew Murphy that has a different take on the Pecos Bill/Slue-foot Sue courtship!

Author's Note: There is also a folk-song about a Slue-Foot Sue who worked in a shirt-tail factory, but she doesn't sound much like Pecos Bill's girlfriend to me!

Maine folklore

2005-05-11T19:32:00.000-04:00

Maine, the 23rd State.

Nickname: Pine Tree State
Origin of state's name: Assumed to be a reference to the state region being
a mainland, different from its many surrounding islands
Capital City: Augusta
Admission to Statehood: March 15, 1820
Area: 35387 sq.mi
Bird: Chickadee
Flower: White pine cone and tassel
Tree: Eastern White pine

The folklore of Maine is as rugged and varied as its landscape. Ghosts and spooks abound! A Watcher haunts the Isles of Shoals, waiting for the return of her pirate lover; Old Trickey the Sandman binds and hauls sand forever along the beaches of Maine; Old Betty Booker the witch curses a fisherman who won't share his lunch in Kittery; and a kind wizard living near Hallowell helps an eloping couple escape from their pursuers. (You can read the longer version of their stories in Spooky New England by S.E. Schlosser.) Another spooky Maine story deals with the infamous Colonel Buck and his monument, in which a wicked deed haunts the good colonel's name even after he is deceased.

Maine tall tales are always good for a laugh! If you though England had it bad, you should check out a Maine Fog sometime. Or stop by and sample a Gollywhopper's egg. There's nothing like them anywhere else in the world (or at least, that's what our Yankee Peddler friend told the gullible housewives in this version of the tale, retold by S.E. Schlosser!) But my favorite Maine folktale is the story of The Fisherman and the Bear! Can you guess which is the better fisherman?

Ghosts and Spooks: A couple of NY haunted houses

2005-05-10T17:10:00.000-04:00

New York state seems to abound in haunted houses, some of them abandoned, some still standing. Today's stories are about houses that no longer exist. Considering the nature of the second ghost, I am rather glad his house is gone.

Just outside Spiegletown, New York near Albany an old couple took in some New England travelers needing a place to stay for the night. Much to the traveler's surprise, the next day they found out their host and hostess were long dead and the house where they had slept had burned to the ground long ago. The story is retold in "The Fifty-cent Piece" by S.E. Schlosser.

Another ghost in an old house in Poughkeepsie scared the wits out of all the local residents. Seems that the ghost would manifest itself one part at a time. Nobody ever stuck around long enough to see what he looked like when he was all put together! You can read his story in Piece by Piece, retold by S.E. Schlosser.

Mythology: Stories of Origins

2005-05-09T18:24:00.000-04:00

According to The Penguin Dictionary of American Folklore, the purpose of myth is etiologial -- meaning that people-groups use myths to explain the origin of things. In many myths, the main characters are gods or demi-gods and the story may have some religious meaning or background.

In the Eskimo tale of the First Tears retold by S.E. Schlosser, we discover how Man learned to cry.

Excerpt: "Once long ago, Man went hunting along the water's edge for seals. To Man's delight, many seals were crowded together along the seashore. He would certainly bring home a great feast for Woman and Son. He crept cautiously towards the seals. The seals grew restless. Man slowed down. Suddenly, the seals began to slip into the water. Man was frantic. His feast was getting away." Read more.

In the book Indian Why Tales, Frank B. Linderman explains How the Ducks Got Their Fine Feathers.

Excerpt: "It was in the fall when leaves are yellow that it happened, and long, long ago. The Duck-people had gathered to go away, just as they are doing now. The buck-deer was coming down from the high ridges to visit friends in the lowlands along the streams as they have always done. On a lake Old Man saw the Duck-people getting ready to go away, and at that time they all looked alike; that is, they all wore the same colored clothes. The loons and the geese and the ducks were there and playing in the sunlight. The loons were laughing loudly and the diving was fast and merry to see. On the hill where Old Man stood there was a great deal of moss, and he began to tear it from the ground and roll it into a great ball. When he had gathered all he needed he shouldered the load and started for the shore of the lake, staggering under the weight of the great burden. Finally the Duck-people saw him coming with his load of moss and began to swim away from the shore.
'Wait, my brothers!' he called, 'I have a big load here, and I am going to give you people a dance. Come and help me get things ready. '" Read more.

Folktales may be used etiologically -- that is, to explain origins -- but they do not contain characters who would be considered gods or demigods.

Why Dogs Chase Cats retold by S.E. Schlosser is an example of a folktale explaining the origin of the enmity between cats and dogs.

Excerpt: "Once long ago, Dog was married to Cat. They were happy together, but every night when Dog came home from work, Cat said she was too sick to make him dinner. Dog was patient with this talk for a while, but he soon got mighty tired of fixing dinner for them both after a hard day's work. After all, Cat just stayed home all day long." Read more.

Sources Used:
RickWalton.com. URL: http://www.rickwalton.com/authtale/indwhy03.htm. Accessed 5-9-05.
Axelrod, Alan. 2000. The Penguin Dictionary of American Folklore. Penguin Reference: New York.

Interview with S.E. Schlosser, author of the Spooky series by Globe Pequot Press.

2005-05-07T17:15:00.000-04:00

Question: Why “Spooky?”

Answer: I love the term “spooky” because it is a broader term than “scary” or “haunted”. Spooky stories range from terrifying to humorous. Within the Spooky series, there are scary tales like the White Lady in Rochester who hates men; the vampire hermit of the Adirondack Mountains; the Hairy Man who stalks a young man in the South; and a Colorado miner who keeps courting the ladies of the town long after he is dead. The books also contain funny stories like Pecos Bill and the Haunted House; Tug-of-War, in which a ghost and an unbeliever fight it out in a haunted house near Albany, New York; and the fighting Frogs of Windham who created havoc one night in a New England town. There are even a few miraculous stories in the series; tales like that of the sainted Lady in Blue who appeared to Native American tribes in the seventeenth century Southwest and that of Mary’s Flowers, in which the Virgin Mary helps a poor woman in Massachusetts. For me, anything that gives me goose-bumps or deals with the supernatural fits under the “spooky” label.

Question: How do you find the stories in your Spooky books? How do you do your research?

Answer: I have a Masters in Library Services, so by profession I am a researcher. I have used many sources for the Spooky books. Some of my major resources include out-of-print folklore collections dating back to the early 1800s, present day books about ghosts and spooks, interviews with people local to a state or region, online sites featuring ghost stories and urban legends, UseNet’s, forums, blogs, and research contacts within state and federal libraries.

Question: How long does it take you to write a book?

Answer: I wrote my first book, Spooky New England in four weeks in order to make a September 2003 publication date. That pace is a little faster than I enjoy. The other spooky books have taken about 2 months to research and 3 months to write. This is a fairly leisurely pace for me, which is essential since I work full-time during the day and have to write the Spooky books at night.

Question: Do you believe in ghosts?

Answer: I very much believe in the supernatural, but have not personally met a ghost. I have friends and relatives – very credible people – who have personally encountered apparitions, and I myself have had one supernatural experience that was down-right scary!

Question: What is your favorite “spooky” story?

Answer: There are many spooky stories that I like and I can name one or two favorites from each state or region about which I have written. But my all-time favorite spooky story – and I have no idea why I like it so much, except perhaps because when I read it aloud it scares the dickens out of people – is “Tailypo”. Tailypo is one of the 30 folktales published in Spooky South and it features a terrifying but tiny creature that comes out of the swamp to seek vengeance against a trapper. In a high-pitched, squeaky voice, it chants over and over: “Tailypo, Tailypo. All I want’s my Tailypo,” thus sealing the doom of the old man.

Pirates and ghosts and witches, oh my!
If you have ever felt a chill as you walked past a graveyard, or stopped by a small country inn for the night and knew there was something watching you, or felt an unseen hand brush against you in the dark, you will love the Spooky series by S.E. Schlosser.

Spooky New England
Spooky South
Spooky Southwest
Spooky New York NEW!

Tall Tales

2005-05-06T07:42:00.000-04:00

Tall Tale: An extravagant, fanciful or greatly exaggerated story. Usually focuses on the achievements of the ultimate hero.

I love tall tales. The taller the better! There's nothing like an evening spent around a campfire trying to one-up everyone else with your outrageous stories! In Mississippi, this tradition of telling whoppers is known as "Callin' the Dog". How did that that saying get started? Well, it seems that one night, a group of Mississippi men gathered in their favorite tavern and started swapping tall tales. One rich landowner offered a hound dog pup to the person who could tell the biggest lie. His offer began a contest that lasted all evening. The crazy stories started rollin' in, each one bigger and harder to believe than the one before. Now, the last man to talk knew he didn't have a chance of winnin' that there pup on account of all them tall-tales the others told was so good. So when his turn came, he jest said: "I never told a lie in my life." There was a stunned silence in the room for a moment. Then the owner of the hound dog said: "You get the pup!" And everyone else agreed with him.

A topic that gets even the most straight-laced people telling tall tales is the weather. Michigan has some pretty good stories about their wind, which gets so fierce that it knocks mountains right over! California boasts of its sunny climate, where some folks find it just too darn hard to die! (A longer version of this story appears in Spooky California.) But Arizona weather beats them all in my book. It's so dry in Arizona, they have to take their frogs to the pool to teach 'em how to swim. However, there is good news. Not only does Arizona have great air, but ever since they started shippin' in ice from California, their hens don't lay hard boiled eggs no more!

So I state again -- I love tall tales. The taller the better! Got one to swap? Email me at: webmaster@americanfolklore.net

Folklore definitions: Myths, Legends, Fables, and more

2005-05-05T15:55:00.000-04:00

So, what exactly is the difference between a myth and a legend? A folktale and a tall tale? Where do you draw the line between a fable and a fairytale? What is the difference between a normal legend and an urban one? For those of you who have spent many a sleepless night pondering such mysteries, I have written up a quick folklore vocabulary list to help solve the murky intricacies of folklore and allow you to sleep at night.

Folklore definitions.

Folktale: A story or legend forming part of an oral tradition.

Example:

Connecticut Yankee

Tall Tale: An extravagant, fanciful or greatly exaggerated story. Usually focuses on the achievements of the ultimate hero.

Example: Pecos Bill rides a Tornado

Myths: Traditional, typically ancient stories dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people. The purpose of myths is to account for the origins of something, explain aspects of the natural world or delineate the psychology, customs, or ideals of society.

Example: Coyote and the Columbia

Legends: A traditional tale handed down from earlier times and believed to have an historical basis.

Example: Jesse James and the Widow

Urban Legends: Apocryphal stories involving rather fantastic contemporary incidents which have a tantalizing bit of plausibility to them. Urban legends contain many folkloric elements and are disseminated through mass media.

Example: The Dance

Fable: A short narrative making a moral point. Often employs animals with human characteristics (powers of speech, etc.) as the main characters of the story.

Example: The Tar Baby

Fairy tale: A fanciful tale of legendary deeds and creatures, usually intended for children.

Example: Rapunzel

Sources Used:
Dictionary.com. URL: http://dictionary.reference.com. Accessed 5-5-05.
Axelrod, Alan. 2000. The Penguin Dictionary of American Folklore. Penguin Reference: New York.

What is Folklore?

2005-05-04T20:00:00.000-04:00

The New York Folklore society defines folklore in the following manner: "Folklore and folklife (including traditional arts, belief, traditional ways of work and leisure, adornment and celebrations) are cultural ways in which a group maintains and passes on a shared way of life. This "group identity" may be defined by age, gender, ethnicity, avocation, region, occupation, religion, socioeconomic niche, or any other basis of association." (http://www.nyfolklore.org/resource/what.html)

Dictionary.com has three definitions of folkllore (listed at http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=folklore):