Trows, Changelings and Wise Women in Early Nineteenth Century Kirkwall
A nineteenth century autobiography written by the minister William Leask offers a fascinating insight into supernatural belief in contemporary Orkney.
The Boggart: A Study in Shadows
I became fascinated by boggarts about a decade ago. If I turned to the fairy and folklore dictionaries, I learnt that a boggart was a type of house goblin or perhaps, at a stretch, a poltergeist.
Animal Folklore: Chasing Hares Through Stories, Myth, and Legend
Hares are widespread geographically, so hare stories are widespread culturally. But hares take on a surprising variety of roles in folklore, myth & legend.
Engendering Folklore: Scheherazade & Empowered Folktale Curating
If contemporary versions of popular fairy tales are anything to go by, you could be left thinking that women are submissive and dependent on men.
Tanuki: Mischief, Magic and Change in the Japanese Countryside
The Japanese raccoon dog or tanuki, a shape-shifting, hedonistic and jovial trickster, has always lived in the borderlands between human settlement and the wilderness