Cuckoo Day and Animal Sacrifice: Folklore of the Creatures of Spring
Spring is the herald of new life, and throughout the animal world, spring is a time to forecast the weather – and more – for the summer to come.
Stories My Parents Tell Me: Bars of Flaming Swords
I asked my parents to tell me about folk beliefs in the Philippines. In the process, I learned some interesting family stories. “Mom, what do you know about the aswang?” My parents never told me much about Filipino folklore when I was growing up.
The Medieval Robin Hood: Folk Carnivals and Ballads
Robin Hood is known by everyone as the English outlaw hero, dashing through the greenwood with his band of merry men to rob from the rich and give to the poor, before feasting on poached deer under the stars.
Drowned Towns and Sunken Cities: The Legend of Lake Bala, Wales
Lake Bala is also known as Llyn Tegid, and in Welsh folklore is known for its legend of having a sunken town beneath its surface.
The Weardale Fairies
‘The Weardale Fairies’. Extracted from English Fairy Tales and Legends by Rosalind Kerven, published by Batsford. Illustration by Arthur Rackham, Mary Evans Picture Library.