Do you know what lurks in the waters of Cullaun Lake? Or why a Clare woman should never, ever, be disturbed while she is knitting? These questions and more will be answered in this unique collection of traditional tales from across the county, which explores Clare's rich heritage of myths and legends. We will hear the tales of well-known figures, including Cuchulainn, Brian Boru and Clare wise-woman Biddy Early, as well as lesser-known characters such as Grian, Daughter of the Sun, and the Hag of Bealaha. Also featured are fantastic stories of mythical creatures and underwater worlds, including the Newhall mermaid, the fairies of Glandree, and the sunken city of Kilstiofeen. Clare's varied and vivid landscape, from its ancient oak woodlands and soft drumlin country in the east, to its rugged and windswept Atlantic coastline in the west, is reflected in this tantalising selection of tales collected and retold by local storyteller Ruth Marshall.

The mountains and spectacular coastline of County Waterford are rich in traditional stories. Even today, in the modern world of internet and supermarkets, old legends dating as far back as the days of the ancient Gaelic tribes and the carvers of the ogham stones are still told and are gathered here in this unique collection of tales from across the county. Included here are tales of well-known legendary figures such as Aoife and Strongbow, St Declan and the three river goddesses Eiru, Banba and Fodhla, guardians of the rivers Suir, Nore and Barrow, as well as stories of less well-known characters such as Petticoat Loose, whose ghost is said to still roam the county, and the Republican Pig, who was unfortunate enough to become caught up in the siege of Waterford. In a vivid journey through Waterford's landscape, from the towns and villages to the remotest places, by mountains, cliffs and valleys, local storyteller Anne Farrell takes the reader along old and new roads to places where legend and landscape are inseparably linked.

Romance of the Perilous Land is a roleplaying game of magic and adventure set in the world of British folklore, from the stories of King Arthur to the wonderful regional tales told throughout this green and pleasant land. It is a world of romantic chivalry, but also of great danger, with ambitious kings, evil knights, and thieving brigands terrorising the land, while greedy giants, malevolent sorcerers, and water-dwelling knuckers lurk in the shadows. As valiant knights, mighty barbarians, subtle cunning folk, and more, the players are heroes, roaming the land to fight evil, right wrongs, and create their own legends.

Dictionary of Authentic American Proverbs offers a comprehensive reference guide for distinctly American proverbs. Compiled by Wolfgang Mieder, a key figure in the field of proverb studies, this compendium features nearly 1,500 proverbs with American origins, spanning the 17th century to present day, including a scholarly introduction exploring the history of proverbs in America, the structure and variants of these proverbs, known authors and sources, and cultural values expressed in these proverbs. Along with a comprehensive bibliography of proverb collections and interpretive scholarship, this dictionary offers a glimpse into the history of American social and cultural attitudes through uniquely American language.

Comprising three parts, this book is a companion volume to The Boggart: Folklore, History, Place-Names and Dialect. Part one, 'Boggart Ephemera', is a selection of about 40,000 words of nineteenth-century boggart writing (particularly material that is difficult to find in libraries). Part two presents a catalogue of 'Boggart Names' (place-names and personal names, totalling over 10,000 words). Finally, part three contains the entire 'Boggart Census' - a compendium of ground-breaking grassroots research. This census includes more than a thousand responses, totalling some 80,000 words, from older respondents in the north-west of England, to the question: 'What is a boggart?' The Boggart Sourcebook will be of interest to folklorists, historians and dialect scholars. It provides the three corpora on which the innovative monograph, The Boggart, is based.

The history of a demonic tradition that was stolen from women - and then won back again. Demonic temptresses - from siren-mermaids to Lilith - are well known today, and their mythology focuses around the seductive danger they pose to men. But the root of these figures can be traced back 4,000 years and in their earliest incarnations they were in fact demons worshipped and feared by women: like Lamashtu, the horrific talon-footed, serpentine monster, who strangled infants and murdered pregnant women, or the Gello, the ghost of a girl who had died a virgin and so killed expectant mothers and their babies out of jealousy. This history of a demonic tradition from ancient Mesopotamia to the present day - from Lamashtu and Gello, to Lamia and Lilith, and mermaids and vampires - shows how these demons were co-opted by a male-centred society, before being recast as symbols of women's liberation. We also learn what this evolution can tell us about the experience of women and womanhood: the danger of childbirth, changing attitudes towards sexuality and the movement for women's rights.

" Headless visions -- howls and moans -- ghostly ladies dressed in black and white -- a fiddling spirit dancing on the road. Such are the sights and sounds that inhabit the pages of Lynwood Montell's Kentucky Ghosts. This collection is representative of the rich tradition of ghost or "haint" tales passed on through the ages and across cultures as a way of dealing with death and the lore of the spirit world. In retelling the tales, Montell has included details about architecture, geography, and local culture. Each tale is told in the voice of the narrator who believe the story to be true. And, who knows... ?

If the Devil exists, where is he? Is he really in a place called hell? If so, where is that? This well-researched book may shock you by exposing all the basic facts about the devil. Things like:
-- The origins of hell.
-- Where the Christian Devil was borrowed from.
-- Why the church needed a "bad guy" to represent evil.
-- What the words Devil and hell really meant in the Old Testament.
-- "Endless punishment" and its devastating effects.
-- The Devils twin brother -- God Was this true?
-- Why God was the author of evil according to the Bible.

These and other startling facts are found in this work. Don't just accept the reality of the Devil blindly. Read this book and decide for yourself if he exists

The Lancelot-Grail Reader is a single-volume condensation of the complete five-volume translation of the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate Cycles of Arthurian romance. Like the original, published by Garland in 1993-96, the present volume is the work of a team of translations directed by Norris J. Lacy. It has been edited for students and Arthurian enthusiasts in general.
Dating from early thirteenth century, the Vulgate Cycle relates the entire course of Arthurian legend, from the early history of the Grail to Arthur's death. The Post-Vulgate Cycle, also anonymous, is a rehandling of the Vulgate material dating to 1230-40. In order to increase the utility of the one-volume version, the translators has offered long passages, which are linked by narrative summaries that permit the reader to follow the entire narrative. The general editor has also provided a concise introduction and suggestions for further reading to complement and enhance the text.
The team of translators includes Norris J. Lacy (General Editor), Martha Asher, E. Jane Burns, Carleton E. Carroll, Carol J. Chase, William W. Kibler, Roberta L. Krueger, Rupert T. Pickens, and Samuel N. Rosenberg.

Traditional Egyptian folktales have a flavour and vivacity that until now has proved impossible to render in translation. Here, Elizabeth Wickett presents a translation into English of five rich and vivid tales from Upper Egypt that accurately captures the drama, wit and vitality of Egyptian oral narrative in performance. The stories include the tale of Maimuna, the slave girl of Mecca, crucified for her beliefs, and the erotic tale of Aziza, the flamboyant daughter of the Sultan of Tunis, who attempts to seduce and capture the handsome and innocent Yunis. The author explores the broader literary and social significance of each tale, as well as the aesthetics of performance, gender issues, and parallels with other Egyptian and Near Eastern tales. It is a unique record of a disappearing and little known tradition.

This engaging introduction to the Russian folktale considers the origin, structure, and language of folktales; tale-tellers and their audiences; the relationship of folktales to Russian ritual life; and the folktale types that will be presented in translation in subsequent volumes of The Complete Russian Folktale.

CONTENTS

I. The Folktale in Russia

What Is a Folktale? -- Kinds of Folktales

Structure -- Classification

The Narrative -- The Narrator -- The Audience

The Language of the Folktale

II. Recordings and Collections

III. Priests, Skomorokhs, and Tellers of Tales

IV. The Russian Ritual Milieu

Ditheism -- The Ancient Heritage

Creation Myths -- Sacrifices

Rituals of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Russia

V. The Russian Folktale as a Source for Understanding Ritual

The Bear Rituals in Folk Tradition

The Horse in Ancient Eurasian Tradition and the Russian Folktale

The Horse in Slavic Ritual and Folktale

VI. The Complete Russian Folktale: An Overview

Animal Tales -- Wondertales -- The Legends

The Tales of Everyday Life -- The Anecdotes

Have you heard the story of 'Bang Bang' Dudley, who roamed the streets of Dublin shooting anyone who caught his eye? Or of 'Lugs' Brannigan, the city's most famous detective? Do you know who the real Molly Malone was, or the story of Marsh's Library, or how the devil himself came to the Hellfire Club? These and many more accounts of Dubliners and Dublin City fill this book, as told by Brendan Nolan, a professional storyteller who has been recording these tales for decades. These are the stories of real Dublin, the stories that are passed from generation to generation and which give this city its unique character. To know Dublin is to know these characters, these stories, and the legends which have grown up around them.

The authors sort fact from fiction to provide the most convincing and detailed account of King Arthur that has ever been compiled. This intriguing work of historical detection unlocks the solution to one of the greatest mysteries of the world. Readers will learn the true identity of Arthur, the sixth-century king of the Britons, as well as the locations of his courts and long-forgotten battle sites. Most importantly, the authors reveal the secret of the mysterious Isle of Avalon and Arthur's resting place in a Breton church. The authors examine key literary sources, and provide fascinating answers to questions that have baffled historians for centuries. This is a controversial book, for academic historians have tended to dismiss the possibility of any solution being achieved for the mystery of King Arthur. Barber and Pykitt present a convincing and conclusive answer to this riddle.

The Real World of Fairies is a privileged glimpse into a joyous, animated universe. Dora's enchanting vision of her encounters with the fairy realm delights the child in us, while it excites our grown-up imagination, rekindles our creative energy, and deepens our sense of connection with nature. This new edition features a foreword by Celtic folk expert Caitlin Matthews. Caitlin's personal experiences and deep knowledge of the fairy world resonate brilliantly with Dora's, adding a fresh perspective for contemporary readers.

The Highlands of Scotland are rich in traditional stories. Even today, in the modern world of internet and supermarkets, old legends dating as far back as the times of the Gaels, Picts and Vikings are still told at night around the fireside. They are tales of the sidh - the fairy people - and their homes in the green hills; of great and gory battles, and of encounters with the last wolves in Britain; of solitary ghosts, and of supernatural creatures like the sinister waterhorse, the mermaid, and the Fuath , Scotland's own Bigfoot. In a vivid journey through the Highland landscape, from the towns and villages to the remotest places, by mountains, cliffs, peatland and glen, storyteller and folklorist Bob Pegg takes the reader along old and new roads to places where legend and landscape are inseparably linked.

The book is a research on the syncretism of the Argentinian rural bandits. The project follows the footsteps of Gauchito Gil and San la Muerte, two of many folk saints not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church but which are flourishing in Argentina. The Gauchito Gil is a legendary character of Argentina's popular culture. He was allegedly born in the area of Pay Ubre, nowadays Mercedes, Corrientes, possibly in the 1840s, and died on 8 January 1878. He became a mystical symbol of bravery stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. The book includes evocative pictures of the quacks, the pilgrims, the prayer centres, the gauchos arriving on horses to Mercedes the 8 January to celebrate the death of Gauchito Gil, those saved /cured by miracles, the most radical bandits with Gauchito tatooed, the Catholic Church representatives, and so on. Devotees of San La Muerte, which is depicted as a male skeletal figure holding a scythe, make offerings in hopes of favors ranging from health, fortune and protection to revenge. Toni Meneguzzo took the photographs included in the book in different Argentinian areas: Corrientes, El Chaco, Missione and Buenos Aires. The book includes texts by Andreas Sala, Daphne Angles, Jean Blanchaert, Tommaso Basilio and Toni Meneguzzo.

The pioneering creator of transformative workshops and books, Dr. Jean Houston here explores the nature of spiritual yearning and demonstrates to readers how to facilitate a personal quest for fulfillment by focusing on the aspects of Sacred Psychology. Houston provides a passport to the wondrous and tragic dimensions of the human psyche.