DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE KIDS WHO FOUND A FERRARI BURIED IN THEIR GARDEN? WHAT ABOUT THE MAN WHO SUED SATAN? DO YOU KNOW THE LEGEND OF THE BUNNY MAN? Strange happenings, unsolved mysteries and seemingly supernatural events have gripped and shocked us for centuries, passed from person to person in whispers in classrooms, tales around the campfire and idle gossip among friends. Whether they're based on a grain of truth or a complete flight of fancy, the myths, legends and weird tales contained within this book will take you on a fascinating journey to the outer limits of plausibility, and dare you to believe the unbelievable.

Monsters have preoccupied mankind from the earliest times: even cave art includes animal-human monsters. Certainly monsters were present in the ancient religions of Egypt and Mesopotamia; the Old Testament describes the giant land and sea monsters Behemoth and Leviathan, while in the world of Classical mythology, monsters embody the fantasies of the gods and the cruellest punishments of human beings. While we may no longer worry about being eaten by trolls on the way home, there remains a fascination with these creatures who have shadowed us throughout history. This book explores monsters down the ages and throughout the world. It provides a dark yet engrossing visual history of the human mind, lit up by flashes of wild and unearthly inspiration.

Since 1980, The Tape-Recorded Interview has been an essential resource for folklorists and oral historians--indeed, for anyone who uses a tape recorder in field research. Now, Sandy Ives has updated this manual to reflect the current preferences in tape-recording technology and equipment. When this book was first published, the reel-to-reel recorder was the favored format for fieldwork. Because the cassette recorder has almost completely replaced it, Ives has revised the first chapter, "How a Tape Recorder Works," accordingly and has included a useful discussion of the differences between analog and digital recording. He has also added a brief section on video, updated the bibliography, and reworked his original comments on tape cataloging and transcription. As in the first edition, Ives's emphasis is on documenting the lives of common men and women. He offers a careful, step-by-step tour through the collection process--finding informants, making advance preparations, conducting the actual interview, obtaining a release--and then describes the procedures for processing the taped interview and archiving such materials for future use. He also gives special treatment to such topics as recording music, handling group interviews, and using photographs or other visual material during interviews.

An examination of how and why Scotland gained its reputation for the supernatural, and how belief continued to flourish in a supposed Age of Enlightenment. SHORTLISTED for the Katharine Briggs Award 2019 Scotland is famed for being a haunted nation, "whare ghaists and houlets nightly cry". Medieval Scots told stories of restless souls and walking corpses, but after the 1560Reformation, witches and demons became the focal point for explorations of the supernatural. Ghosts re-emerged in scholarly discussion in the late seventeenth century, often in the guise of religious propagandists. As time went on, physicians increasingly reframed ghosts as the conjurations of disturbed minds, but gothic and romantic literature revelled in the emotive power of the returning dead; they were placed against a backdrop of ancient monasteries,castles and mouldering ruins, and authors such as Robert Burns, James Hogg and Walter Scott drew on the macabre to colour their depictions of Scottish life. Meanwhile, folk culture used apparitions to talk about morality and mortality. Focusing on the period from 1685 to 1830, this book provides the first academic study of the history of Scottish ghosts. Drawing on a wide range of sources, and examining beliefs across the social spectrum, it shows howghost stories achieved a new prominence in a period that is more usually associated with the rise of rationalism. In exploring perceptions of ghosts, it also reflects on understandings of death and the afterlife; the constructionof national identity; and the impact of the Enlightenment. MARTHA MCGILL completed her PhD at the University of Edinburgh.

This book presents folktales in the Herati dialect of the Afghan Persian language, along with useful transcriptions and translations. This dialect is spoken by the sedentary population of Herat city and the adjacent area situated in the northwest of Afghanistan. Historically, the area in question was part of the Persian province of Khorasan that was known for its significant role in the development of Persian culture in general and literature and philosophy in particular. Suffice it to say that the classical Persian language (Farsi) is considered to have originated in that region. For centuries, Herat has been one of the main cultural centers of the Khorasan province, and according to a reliable historic source, it was in Herat that the first poetical piece in Farsi was composed. The area was the birthplace of many most prominent Persian-speaking poets such as Ferdowsi, F. 'Attar, Khayyam, to mention a few. Others such as Jami and Ansari were originally from the Herat area and their shrines are located in the city. Given the fact that many early Persian-speaking poets came from this region (Khorasan) and from Herat in particular, their native Khorasani dialects--including Herati-- considerably influenced the language of Persian classical literature. The Herati dialect linguistic importance from the synchronic perspective is based on the fact that it serves as a bridge between the Persian dialects of western Iran and the Tajiki of Central Asia. In addition, given the geographic position of Herat (situated on the border between modern Afghanistan and Iran), its dialect also shares many common characteristics with the Persian dialects of Iran and those of Afghanistan. Despite its cultural and linguistic importance for studies in Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia, this region has never been open to field research (especially by westerners) because of its long political instability and constant wars. There is no similar published work in English on this particular Persian dialect and its oral literature. Based on academically informed fieldwork and presented in a scientific fashion, this study provides information previously unavailable and is thus valuable to the academic discourse in Iranian linguistics. The materials were collected by the author during field research in Afghanistan in the 1980s from illiterate dialect speakers (a category which has preserved the dialect the most in terms of purity and entirety). The book helpfully provides a grammatical introduction to the Herati dialect, a glossary of dialectal and common words, as well as approximately 500 explanatory notes. This book will be of interest to linguists and language learners, especially those studying Afghan Persian. It will also be useful as a language learning aid for intermediate and advanced students of spoken Afghan Persian in general and of Persian (in the broader sense) dialectology in particular, foreign NGO workers or interpreters/translators who find themselves in the field in western Afghanistan or far eastern Iran. Though the present book is by no means a study in folklore literature or anthropology, these texts containing ethnographic data will also be of value to folklorists or ethnographers.

Time-tested folktale for audience participation and story play presented by children's librarian Macdonald. Twenty multicultural tales including riddle stories, improvisational stories, singing tales, tandem tales and more -- with tips for telling and extensive sources

This book examines magic's generally maleficent effect on humans from ancient Egypt through the Middle Ages, including tales from classical mythology, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim cultures. It shows that certain magical motifs lived on from age to age, but that it took until the Italian Renaissance for magic tales to become fairy tales.

The Serpent and the Swan is a history and analysis of animal bride tales from antiquity to the present. The animal bride tale, the author argues, is an enduring expression of humankind's need to remain close to and a part of nature.
Boria Sax traces the idea of the animal bride through history by drawing upon legends and literary works from throughout the world. He pays particular attention to Eurasian sources which support his thesis that the animal bride theme originated among the serpent cults of Mesopotamia and southeastern Europe. Through time, the details of the animal bride theme changed as a result of mankind's changing perceptions of the natural world. In general, this study is an account of myths and beliefs that have surrounded animals--and women--during the rise of modern humankind.
The Serpent and the Swan identifies and explains images of the animal bride that pervade, enliven, and enrich our culture. The bride becomes Eve taking an apple from the serpent, Medea casting spells, Cinderella riding to the royal ball in a pumpkin coach, and the Little Mermaid rising from the waves.
The Author: Boria Sax, who holds a doctorate in German and intellectual history, is the author of The Frog King and The Parliament of Animals, among other books.

The first and only comprehensive biographical dictionary devoted to mythological women. Divinities, humans, female monsters and animals, hermaphrodites, and transsexuals are all here. Women of Classical Mythology offers unprecedented access to information on women largely neglected in reference works on Greek and Roman myth and gives a fresh look at the better-known figures. Each of the 2,600 entries places its subject both in the overall context of classical myth, and in the frame of reference of her better-known counterparts. For each figure there is a description of her particular contribution to folklore, and a list of the various poems, tragedies, epics, and other types of stories in which she plays a central role. In addition, the handy special index, "The Men in Their Lives," allows readers to locate a particular woman known primarily through her relations. The female characters in classical mythology often provide clues to genealogical, chronological, and historical puzzles. This book will be welcomed by classical scholars for the insights and relationships it reveals. Over 2,500 A-Z entries detail the woman's contribution and places her in context with male associates Includes a special index titled "The Men in Their Lives" which makes it simple to locate a figure through her relations such as Theseus' mother or Achilles' wife Cross references and end-of-entry citations allow readers to go from most entries directly to the classical sources

This volume offers 59 of the world's great myths--including selections from "The Iliad and the Odyssey," "Beowulf," "King Arthur" and "Quetzalcoatl." Each myth is accompanied by an introduction that offers historical background and suggests avenues for literary analysis.

America's oldest city, St. Augustine, has its fair share of things that go bump in the night. With such a long and varied history, it's no surprise that a few restless souls have stayed on long after their lives ended.

Chart your way across continents and oceans built from the stuff of myths and legends and you will pass the winged Pegasus of Ancient Greece, come face to face with Anansi the Spider in West Africa and fly over the powerful Thunderbird of North America. Combining mythology and folklore from all across the globe, this 1000-piece jigsaw enables you to experience the fabled creatures in their places of creation, all from the comfort of your living room. 1000-PIECE PUZZLE: The 1000-piece fantastical jigsaw puzzle features the world as you've never seen it before: a magical place full of mythical creatures! FUN, COLOURFUL ILLUSTRATIONS: Feast your eyes on a the variety of colourful artwork across the mythical world map. Combining mythology and folklore from all across the globe. POSTER INCLUDED: Includes a keepsake fold out poster with a guide to the illustration. EASY HANDLING: The 1000 puzzle pieces are thick and sturdy, and the back sides are a white matte finish. The completed puzzle measures A2 in size and the jigsaw puzzle box measures 267 x 267 x 48mm. GIFTS: The perfect gift for anyone with the imagination and passion of the mythical world. Beautifully designed, The Mythical World Puzzle was created by Good Wives and Warriors, an internationally renowned duo of illustrators, and creator of Laurence King Publishing titles Myth Match and Mythopedia.

Originally published in 1870. Author: George W. Cox, M.A. Language: English Keywords: Religion / Mythology / Folklore Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

A collection of legends representing the rich tapestry of beliefs of Aboriginal people throughout Australia. Tales range from creation stories to legends of animals, birds, rivers, lakes and shores, as well as hero stories. A dictionary of Aboriginal words is included.