Laughter from Empty Rooms: More Stories my Parents Tell Me
My parents tell me more family stories, this time about haunted houses. But what haunts a house? Ghosts, or fairies?
Welsh Mythology and Storytelling: Telling the Mabinogion
In the nineteenth century, Lady Charlotte Guest (with a team of Welsh scholars) translated a series of stories from Welsh into English. It was she who gave them the collective title ‘The Mabinogion’.
Kissing under the Mistletoe? Not in Medieval Herefordshire
Mistletoe is the stuff of folklore. It is found in Norse, Greek and Roman mythology, a plant of power and magic.
Haunted by Monsters: Top 5 Wicked Creatures in Polish Folklore
ith its rich folklore, deep woods filled with wild boars, wolves and massive bison, and dark 20th century history, Poland often feels haunted by monsters. I first went to Poland when I was eighteen and among the places I visited was the fairy-tale city of Kraków. Although I traveled extensively afterwards, I found myself returning […]
Spirit Possession and Shamanic Ritual in South Korea: Business is booming
Whilst shamans and their rituals can vary widely from place to place, never in world history has a country industrialized at such breakneck speed as the case of South Korea. Should we be surprised to find new expressions of old shamanic traditions on the high street today?