Lmst

'This seaside village's mermaids #myth is still growing'... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g8ldym7l1o #folklore #mermaid

The whirling whimpus is a monster of American tall tales. When prey approaches, the whirling whimpus spins so quickly that it appears invisible while making a droning sound that appears to come from the trees. While its victim looks up at the trees, the whirling whimpus beats it into molasses.
🎨 Coert du Bois.

#FairyTaleTuesday #Mythology #Folklore #TallTales #America #UnitedStates #Cryptid #Monster

A whirling whimpus confusing its prey. Illustration by Coert du Bois.

The tote-road shagamaw was a creature of American tall tales. It supposedly had the front legs of a bear and the hind legs of a moose, and would walk half a mile on its front legs then half a mile on its hind legs so that its footprints would confuse hunters and lumberjacks. The shagamaw loved to eat cloth, especially cotton, and so would often steal lumberjacks' shirts.
🎨 Coert du Bois

#FairyTaleTuesday #Mythology #Folklore #TallTales #America #UnitedStates #Cryptid #Monster

The tote-road shagamaw walks on its hind legs through the woods to confuse hunters. An illustration by Coert du Bois.

Imprisoning spirits in small containers for centuries is a jerk move.

Though frankly, considering how this kobold behaved I can understand.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #kobold @germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/concerning-part-30538497

The Kobold in Stedten:

While a new house was built in Stedten near Schraplau, an iron chest was found during the excavations. And when it was opened, a small red man jumped out of it which joyfully danced in a circle and constantly shouted: “Now I am released! Now I am released!” And it told that it was a kobold and had been bound into this chest many centuries ago, and declared its intention to live in the new house once it was finished. And when its construction was completed, the little man came all night, released the animals in the stable and drove them across the yard, jumped the stairs in the house up and down and made such a racket that nobody wanted to live in the house any more.

Source: Sommer, E. F. J. Sagen, Märchen, und Gebräuche aus Sachsen und Thüringen. 1846, p. 26.

An extract from my story 'John Barleycorn' which is featured in 'The Cleansing Power of Fire' folk horror anthology by Infested Publishing. You can buy a copy via the link -

https://amzn.eu/d/czWzEim

#Folklore #Folkhorror #WritingCommunity

@ShadowPlay this might be the one you read :) #devil #folklore #devon

Do not mock a hanged man, or else he might make a house call!

#Germany #folktale #folklore #ghost #ghoststory #Hamburg @germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/visits-from-43523784

Part 1 of German folk tale "Visit of the Hanged Man". Drop me a line if you want a machine-readable transcript!

Part 2 of German folk tale "Visit of the Hanged Man". Drop me a line if you want a machine-readable transcript!

Once, a harried stag sought refuge in the town of Stendal.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #deer @germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/stag-and-miracle-91824919

Part 1 of German folk tale "The Stag and the Miracle Firs". Drop me a line if you want a machine-readable transcript!

Part 2 of German folk tale "The Stag and the Miracle Firs". Drop me a line if you want a machine-readable transcript!

Midsummer Day: A Time for Magic 🧚‍♀️☀️
Folklore tells us fairies and spirits are especially active on June 24, drifting through meadows and dancing in moonlight. People avoided certain paths after dark just in case they weren’t alone.
🎨 Edward Robert Hughes c1908
#Midsummer #Folklore

The ruins of Yburg Castle are inhabited by strange spirits.

Once, a boy assisted them with playing a game of bowling, but later he foolishly threw his reward away.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #bowling @germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/all-nine-bowling-43530102

German folk tale "The Golden Bowling Game (Yburg)". Drop me a line if you want a machine-readable transcript!

You don't always need a Knight in Shining Armor to slay the dragon, as any #ttrpg player knows.

You just have to play dirty.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #dragon @germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/here-be-dragons-27195774

The Lindwurm at Murnau:

A long time ago, the town of Murnau used to be called Wurmau (“river plain of the Wyrm”) in honor of the lindwurm that used to live here - a beast that killed everything, humans and animals alike, and which no hunter could slay. Instead of defeating it in combat, someone finally had the idea of poisoning a calf and leaving it near the beast. The dragon consumed the bait and perished. In honor of this event, the town of Murnau still has a Lindwurm in its heraldic sign.

Source: Panzer, F. Bayerische Sagen und Bräuche. Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie. Erster Band, 1848, p. 27.

I'm reading @juergen_hubert 's books, starting with "Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles". His translation of German folklore to English, complete with commentary and footnotes, is utterly fabulous.

As someone who's read a lot of folklore books, across multiple cultures, I highly recommend "Sunken Castles" for writers and lovers of folklore alike. Solid research, notes on where the story is set in modern geography, great context, witty asides all make for a very engaging, inspiring read. The stories come to life from his carefully light, detailed approach.

This book is helping me create myths and folktales for my own fictional world. I'm having a blast reading it!

Print:

https://thescribblinglion.com/product/sunken-castles-evil-poodles-jurgen-hubert/

Ebook:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08CL2HS28/

#folklore #GermanToEnglish #translations #selfpublished #folklore_translations #writing #history #GhostStories #GreatBooks #BookRecs

Not all stags can be trusted, including the dead ones.

Perhaps _especially_ not the dead ones...

#Germany #folktale #folklore #deer @germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/uncanny-of-deer-90571322

The Stag of Quitschenberg Mountain:

Once, a lumberjack lived in Buntenbock who walked to Riefensbeek for work. When he came to the Quitschenberg mountain, a dead stag was lying in his path. When he stepped over the stag, it moved, jumped up, and ran away together with the lumberjack, who had ended up sitting on the stag’s back. Since then, nobody has seen the lumberjack again.

Source: Pröhle, H. Harzsagen zum Teil in der Mundart der Gebirgsbewohner. 1886, p. 178.

During the Middle Ages, many Christian Scandinavians believed that their old gods, the Æsir, had actually been humans from Troy who had fled their city's destruction. These Trojans had supposedly come to Scandinavia and used sorcery to convince the local people that they were gods.
🎨 Lorenz Frølich

#MythologyMonday #Mythology #Folklore #Norse #Vikings #Scandinavia #Troy #Trojans

The Æsir king Óðinn throws his spear at the Vanir in the Æsir-Vanir war. Illustration by Lorenz Frølich.

In Irish folklore, numerous groups of people immigrated to Ireland. The first group was led by Cessair (grandson of Noah), then came the Partholón, the Nemedians, the Fir Bolg, the Tuatha Dé Danann (the fairies), the Fomorians (a group of more sinister fairies), and finally the Irish themselves.
🎨 Stephen Reid

#MythologyMonday #Mythology #Folklore #Ireland #Celtic #Fairy #Faerie