Happy 4th Birthday, #FolkloreThursday!

hile the Pied Piper of Hamelin is undeniably a fairy tale, it’s uniquely grounded in real-world specifics – the date

You turn around, and all of a sudden, you see that something is approaching, moving towards you. You notice a

nasyrma, or the lifting of one’s skirts to expose genitalia, has been used throughout history and mythology as a method

Twenty-two thousand words, research of folk tales from across the UK and 2 months to do it. What had I

King Leir and his youngest daughter, Queen Cordelia, were legendary rulers of the the Britons. Their story appeared in

Who are the folk, and what is their lore? Humans have been making and sharing culture from the time we

Up until the genocidal removal known as "the Trail of Tears" storytelling was an extremely important part of Cherokee culture.

Bees have been an ally to humankind since ancient times. Discover how even now we look to the wisdom of

German artist Florian Schäfer is creating life-like art dolls & figurines of strange but mostly unknown creatures to fight against

Fairy tales, myths and legends have always been central to our experience as human beings. They help us deal with

In the middle years of the 12th century, two green-skinned children mysteriously appeared in a field in Suffolk. But who

Japan is monster country. Nowhere else on earth has the sheer variety of bizarre beasties lurking in every shadow. And

A land’s topography speaks of the forces that have formed it and how it has endured; in Iceland, the shape

#FolkloreThursday talks to Beatrice Blue, author and illustrator of 'Once Upon a Unicorn Horn', a magical book for children from First

A horse or a dragon? Anyone who has seen May Day's ‘Obby ‘Oss of Padstow may conclude that it looks

Everyone's experience with cancer (and other life-threatening issues) is different but there are commonalities too, so to that end, here's

A griffin is a legendary beast believed to be the offspring of a lion and an eagle, depicted in various

British regional folklorists of the 19th century remain, in many cases, rather obscure figures. Margaret Helen James (1859–1938) deserves particular

“Hat, cat, rat,” Umakant would shout at the top of his voice whenever he would see cowherds around the Peepal

A story of love, betrayal and impending war became entwined with upheavals that affect the discipline of folklore to this

Spring is the herald of new life, and throughout the animal world, spring is a time to forecast the weather

ith its rich folklore, deep woods filled with wild boars, wolves and massive bison, and dark 20th century history, Poland

Stereotypes based on appearance are all too common, but redheads certainly seem to have a raw deal. Where might some

White blossom on the trees is one of the delights of springtime, but it masks a deeper magic in three

Daffodils are said to have dangerously toxic bulbs. Once, it’s claimed, they were used by Roman soldiers as a ‘go

hen a young woman claiming to be Princess Caraboo from a foreign land arrived unexpectedly in the Gloucestershire village of

The Cailleach, which translates as ‘old woman’, ‘hag’, and ‘veiled one’, exists in both Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and is

St Patrick’s Day, 17th March, is a key fixture in the Irish calendar, and indeed in many other places throughout

hither shall I wander? This question can be a delightful start to considering the history of the inestimable Mother Goose,

The first tale of Zoe Gilbert's wonderful novel, Folk, now out in paperback. Read more about the novel here. Listen, for the beat

The epic unfinished poem, The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser, published 1590-96, created a parallel of the medieval universe.

Psychopomps — beings who guide the soul to the afterlife — have long been part of mythology and folklore, ranging

The phrase "Tapping the Admiral" originates from a piece of folklore surrounding the death of Horatio Nelson at the Battle

For centuries, stories from Irish myth and legend have ignited imaginations all over the world. Today, mysterious records of seemingly-impossible

Many classical sculptures today have lost their penises to time and prudery but the ancient world was awash with explicit

Sending mean cards? Eating mashed earthworms? Using jack o’lanterns to light medieval love banquets? They’re all surprising yet vaguely sinister

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, is a fourteenth century poetic masterpiece. No mere Arthurian romance, it is a work

A year and a half after our call to action to support Unbound Publishing’s 21st century roadmap of British folktales,

The Norwegian folktale, “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” in which a white bear comes to take