Piskies, Knockers and Tommyknockers – Cornwall’s Misunderstood Folklore

Wayland Hand (1907-1986) documented American miners making clay effigies of tommyknockers. © Ronald M. James

The Folklore of Cornwall: The Oral Tradition of a Celtic Nation addresses everything from piskies – south west Britain’s fairies – to mermaids, harvest festivals, a corpse visiting his betrothed, and the giants long noted for making the Cornish peninsula their home. And amid all this are the spirits of the mines – knockers together with the tommyknockers, their New World descendants.

Folklore Festivals: Five Italian Folklore-Filled Weekends in October

Folklore Dancers Performing the Tarantella at Ottobrata Zafferanese © epanto https://www.flickr.com/photos/epanto/6303001780/

Italian festivals offer glimpses of life in a previous time through food, re-enactments and sporting events. These events will satisfy history buffs and foodies alike. PALIO degli ASINI – Race of the Donkeys October 2 – Alba, Piedmont/Piemonte Region, Italy When one thinks of the words “Italy” and “Palio” in the same sentence, it is […]

Top Five Mythical Birds in Legend and Folklore

Sirin & Alkonost By Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=216018

The alkonost, the sirin, the roc, the phoenix and the caladrius are all five mythical birds from legend and folklore. Each were attributed their own magical qualities and roles by various human societies in history and presented here is a brief description of these five fabled creatures.

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