Dragon Legends: Myth or Half-Truth?
Dragons play a popular role in legend, Where might their origins have begun, and can we see parallels between them and other creatures, mythical and real?
Fairy Folklore: Come Away, O Human Child
To be led astray, Peter Pan style, by a fairy – ‘pixie led’ – is an old fear from isolated communities where weather and terrain seemed to judge and punish.
Easter Folklore: Spring Festivals and Forecasts
With the renewal of the natural world in spring comes the celebration of Easter, when many ancient traditions are still kept alive today.
Bold Sisters in Fairy Tale Families
Fairy tales often focus on relationships within families — interrogating the many ways in which these can break down, but also celebrating family.
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