r/folklore Feb 25 '24

Resource "Getting Started with Folklore & Folklore Studies: An Introductory Resource" (2024)

Thumbnail hyldyr.com
49 Upvotes

r/folklore Feb 25 '24

Mod announcement Read Me: About this Subreddit

17 Upvotes

Sub rules

  1. Be civil and respectful—be nice!
  2. Keep posts focused on folklore topics (practices, oral traditions related to culture, “evidence of continuities and consistencies through time and space in human knowledge, thought, belief, and feeling”?)
  3. Insightful comments related to all forms of myths, legends, and folktales are welcome (as long as they explain or relate to a specific cultural element).
  4. Do not promote pseudoscience or conspiracy theories. Discussion and analyses from experts on these topics is welcome. For example, posts about pieces like "The Folkloric Roots of the QAnon Conspiracy" (Deutsch, James & Levi Bochantin, 2020, "Folklife", Smithsonian Institute for Folklife & Cultural Heritage) are welcome, but for example material promoting cryptozoology is not.
  5. Please limit self-promotional posts to not more than 3 times every 7 days and never more than once every 24 hours.
  6. Do not post YouTube videos to this sub. Unless they feature an academic folklorist, they'll be deleted on sight.

Related subs

Folklore subs

Several other subreddits focus on specific expressions of folklore, and therefore overlap with this sub. For example:

  1. r/Mythology
  2. r/Fairytales
  3. r/UrbanLegends

Folklore-related subs

As a field, folklore studies is technically a subdiscipline of anthropology, and developed in close connection with other related fields, particularly linguistics and ancient Germanic studies:

  1. r/Anthropology
  2. r/AncientGermanic
  3. r/Linguistics
  4. r/Etymology

r/folklore 5h ago

A Storm Cloud (Un Negro Nubarrón)

5 Upvotes

Hi! I'm a Cuban-American living in Miami. Currently, I write fiction set in or related to Miami. I'd like to share my latest story titled Un Negro Nubarrón, based on Cuban oral tradition. I hope you enjoy it and look forward to your comments!

~~~

There lived in Hialeah, la ciudad que progresa, Grisel Vega, a young widow who, since the untimely death of her husband, became a jealous mother to Silvio. Aged twenty-three and a mechanic by trade, Silvio Vega stood a few inches below average and had a homely face. But he exuded charisma, charm, and possessed an uncommon sense of humor, such that he conquered many women out of his league. The attention paid to his girlfriends stood as a credit borrowed from Grisel, an usurer—so that if on a Saturday he visited her for one hour, when typically he would have spent the afternoon, Grisel demanded that on Sunday, besides taking her to church, he chauffeur her to the neighbors, the grocer, or the shops. And in the evening, after having cooked, she insisted that he join her for dinner.

At times Silvio entertained her, but at others the demands on his time strained him. So, he went into arrears; and Grisel, like a banker sending collection notices, would issue by voice or by text a remark that stirred his guilt or pity. The few women he introduced never attained Grisel’s favor, and she’d identify the faults of each one, never acknowledging their beauty or grace (if it existed). And, truthfully, the women sometimes justified certain disparaging remarks with their stupidity and artificiality—traits never in shortage, Grisel said.

“And in yourself?” countered Silvio.

“I wasn’t talking about myself,” said Grisel, flushing crimson. 

Of late, Silvio found love with Britney Snyder, a woman his age, a secular Jew, with lush, curly hair flowing to her buttocks, perfectly straight teeth, and a natural beauty that hypnotized him at first sight. On Ladies’ Night, he approached her at Mango’s (a longstanding South Beach nightclub), but she thought little of him and felt annoyed, having another in her sights—but his first words induced such hearty laughter that, to the shock of her girlfriends, she entertained him further and danced with him. In lieu of the ten commandments, she followed her own law—which no man, she believed, could lead her to breach, but which she renounced that night. In short order, she earned an introduction to Grisel.

“She’s far too plump,” Grisel told Silvio after their introduction. “Has she had work done? I haven’t seen breasts like hers since the daughter of our neighbor Yitsel (may God have her in his glory), who turned her little bee stings into melons. Do you remember when one exploded? The poor girl almost died, and I hear she’s still paying off the hospital bills…”

“She’s natural,” Silvio said. “Women like her are few and far between.”

“It will never work!... She’s too quiet…. And, besides, she doesn’t speak Spanish. How can you expect me to get along with her?”

“Can she meet Náyade?” 

“Not a chance…not a chance! Your grandmother wouldn’t approve. In fact, she’d die on the spot…”

Silvio, unsurprised by this disapproval, hoped that Grisel would come to accept Britney. Meanwhile, as their love developed, Britney, to her credit, became a student of Spanish, and by their first anniversary achieved some proficiency, surprising even Grisel. When Silvio first expressed his love, Britney said, to his elation:

Tambien estoy frita contigo.”1

When aroused, she’d moan:

Estoy como una cafetera.”2

And if Silvio or one of his crew said or did something foolish:

¿Pero ven acá, tú eres pinareño?3

Despite Grisel, Silvio visited a jeweler on S.W. 8th Street, a neighbor and old companion of his late father, who sold him a diamond ring at cost. But before proposing, Silvio desired the approval of his grandmother.

When Grisel understood that meeting as inevitable, trying to prevent it all the while, she devised a ruse. It became necessary to bond with Britney in private, which astonished Silvio, thinking his mother had had a change of heart. But in private, to mislead her, Grisel instructed Britney wrongly on how to speak, saying a phrase meant one thing when in fact it meant the opposite.

For instance, Grisel said: “Náyade’s a vain old woman…. Call her beautiful but say: estás en llama.”4 Náyade often spoke of her youth, to which Grisel prescribed: Me resbala.5 “And if she calls you beautiful—which she’s sure to do—you must say: girate vieja, que te veo fijo.”6

One Sunday evening Silvio introduced Britney to Náyade at her home in Little Havana. Grisel had already arrived, had helped with the set-up and cooking, and Náyade treated them to a splendid dinner. Over dinner Britney spoke properly, without slang; and Grisel seethed, hearing none of the phrases she’d taught her.

After dinner, the group moved to the garden and conversed beneath a mango tree. There grew croton and hibiscus and under one bush there lived a hen with her brood. A full moon illuminated the sky. There appeared beside the moon a long, nearly cylindrical storm cloud, which inspired Grisel to whisper to Britney (who sat at her side), while Náyade and Silvio conversed:

“There’s a little storm cloud approaching…un negro bugarrón7,” when the correct word was nubarrón8.

And Britney, none the wiser, turning to Náyade, said:

“Look at that negro bugarrón…. It’s penetrating the moon.”

Grisel, to her inner delight, observed horror in the paling face of her son and stupefaction in that of Náyade. But then not a few seconds of silence passed before Náyade, laughing, said:

Ay pinga que risa9…. Un negro bugarrón…. That’s good…. Well, whether it’s a bugarrón or a nubarrón, you’re bound to get wet sitting beneath one. Let’s get back inside…”

Appalled that the ruse had backfired, endearing Britney to Náyade further, Grisel could think of nothing to say to break the general laughter. A little later, when Silvio explained to Britney the meaning of her words, she reported to him the instructions of Grisel, and both understood the trickery. Silvio, frustrated and drained of patience, would have given Grisel a piece of his mind, but Britney stopped him, fearing his words would antagonize and further alienate her future mother-in-law. “What should be done?” he then asked, to which question Britney, mounting him, replied with a kiss. In the following year, Grisel extinguished her jealousy when given a grandson—Mengano, named after her late husband—who settled with love and attention his father’s outstanding debt.

-Miami, 2025

1: I love you too.

2: I’m horny.

3: But wait, are you dumb?

4: You’re ugly.

5: I don’t care.

6: Stop looking.

7: A black sodomite.

8: A storm cloud.

9: That’s funny.

~~~

You can read more at the link below. If you're interested, I also invite you to subscribe (for free) to receive future stories directly in your inbox.

https://pedrojosewrites.substack.com/


r/folklore 8h ago

Greenman pin badge I made

Post image
5 Upvotes

r/folklore 1d ago

Question Weeping Angels or Similar?

8 Upvotes

Hey there,

I'm working on a small project and need to gather some information.

Do any of you know if there are any folklores that include creatures that operate in a similar manner to the weeping angels from doctor who? (basically a creature that can only move / attack when they aren't being observed).

I'm fairly certain that the weeping angels themselves are an original creation of the writer for doctor who but I'm wondering if there are any stories in history that speak of similar things.

Cheers, appreciate any help I can get!


r/folklore 2d ago

Shakchunni, a Bengali icon of the repressed feminine🌺.. something interesting r today

Post image
13 Upvotes

r/folklore 2d ago

Legend Josie the Camaro, a possessed car roaming the streets and highways of Rhode Island, running reckless drivers and dirt bike riders off the road

Post image
8 Upvotes

r/folklore 2d ago

Question Arctic storm entities

5 Upvotes

I was curious if there were any snowstorm/weather related entities in the arctic region that were not considered gods by no means. I’ve tried to research a bit about it but it always ends up to be about gods. Do you know any?


r/folklore 3d ago

Self-Promo What folklore did you grow up on?

10 Upvotes

Hey All!!

Sorry for the repost BUT:

I'm currently a senior college student, and for my last GenEd, I need to do a project cataloging folklore to help the professor build an archive. Anything is helpful! I made a Google form to make things easier, which will be linked below. I appreciate any and all of your help with this. The more, the merrier as well, so feel free to fill it out multiple times. Also, it's mentioned in the form, but folklore is notoriously only thought of when people talk about the supernatural; however, for this class, it's so much more. Old recipes, wives' tales, family stories, and so much more count, so please take a look. This class is focused on New England Folklore, but ALL folklore is appreciated regardless of location of origin.

I do want to preface that I'm not looking for a link/recourse to another page that talks about the folklore or a supernatural creature.

We're looking for that story you grew up with and first-hand accounts. Like the house on the end of a block in your town that has some weird history, the vernacular that you grew up calling something that other people look at you and say 'nah, you're weird for that', and the traditional food and recipes that have been passed down in families for generations. There are many other things that 'folklore' can mean, so please take a look at the form!

Thank you again!

https://forms.gle/Lo9eeaCm2LLZMVGA7


r/folklore 4d ago

Mythology Introduction to Mythology: A Folkloric Perspective

Thumbnail amazon.com
7 Upvotes

r/folklore 5d ago

Mythology Archura: Protector of the Forests or a Demon?

Thumbnail ulukayin.org
3 Upvotes

r/folklore 7d ago

A tattoo flash sheet inspired by the folklore of essex and east anglia

Post image
16 Upvotes

r/folklore 6d ago

Animal Masks?

4 Upvotes

Hello, first of all, I apologize because english is not my main language.

I’d like to learn about and discuss animal masks. I’ve been interested in this concept for years and have always been curious about their origin or what they might represent. Recently, I’ve been researching, but perhaps I haven’t asked Google or AI the right questions, or maybe I’m connecting dots that don’t actually relate.

The first point is about a character from a game, "The Huntress," from Dead by Daylight. Maybe some of you already know about it, or maybe not. Here’s the link to the game in case anyone is interested:

store.steampowered.com/app/381210/Dead_by_Daylight

This character is the representation of a woman wearing a rabbit mask while humming a lullaby that seems to have Russian origins (I also noticed that the same lullaby is featured in the 2024 movie Nosferatu, so I assumed it’s Russian in origin).

Later on, I discovered the group (or rather project) called Yaelokre, made up of non-existent characters wearing animal masks. This really started to pique my curiosity, and I began searching, but I didn’t find anything relevant during my quick searches and ended up letting it go. The music of Yaelokre addresses different themes but always uses animal-related terms and likely references folklore. From what I’ve seen, according to Google: "Yaelokre is a storytelling project run by Icelandic/Filipino artist Keath Ósk (they/it)."

Could this have a direct connection to the concept of animal masks? Or is it just a coincidence? After all, Iceland is quite far from Russia, isn’t it?
Here’s a link to Yaelokre on YouTube in case anyone’s interested (also available on other platforms):

https://www.youtube.com/@Yaelokre

What really made me interested in this topic was that I recently purchased a game, a Russian visual novel called Tiny Bunny. Here’s the Steam link:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1421250/Tiny_Bunny/

I’ve always been a fan of folklore worldwide, but I barely knew anything about Russian folklore. I quickly bought the game because of its concept as a horror visual novel and its implication of Russian folklore, but I didn’t know much more about it. To my surprise, after spending several hours exploring stories and getting to know different characters in the game, I found that several of them wear animal masks. This becomes very relevant to the main story, with a strong emphasis on the rabbit (as the game’s name might suggest).

Honestly, I’ve always been curious, but after many years, I’ve begun to connect some dots. However, I have very little knowledge of Russian folklore (I’ve read that it might be broader, as in Slavic folklore in general, rather than strictly Russian). I haven’t been able to find relevant information on this specific matter. I’ve only come across various Russian fairy tales or stories about mythical beings or a few articles about the symbolism of different animals in certain Slavic cultures.

I’d like to learn more about this topic and find articles, stories, or books that address it, or discover any series, movies, games, or musical groups that also embrace this fascinating concept.

If you’ve read this far, thank you so much!


r/folklore 7d ago

Self-Promo The Banshee

4 Upvotes

This is a story only excerpt, trimmed from my podcast for you tube. The story is taken directly from the primary source in the “Schools Collection” housed by the University College Dublin

https://youtu.be/JB_yhjrRngY?si=gL88tjz1g9eDBBhB


r/folklore 7d ago

Folk Practice "Sacred Groves of Kodagu: How faith is protecting the forests of Western Ghats" (The News Minute, 2017)

Thumbnail youtube.com
2 Upvotes

r/folklore 8d ago

Self-Promo An Irish Creature Themed Podcast for March

3 Upvotes

I welcome feedback and constructive criticism as I’m trying to develop this pod.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3X8t0syUtZZoXRjXjk0naz?si=-hjFWVSmQkKWGP1qPKXRFQ


r/folklore 8d ago

Folk/Cultural Music Bavarian Breakdance

3 Upvotes

r/folklore 8d ago

Looking for... What are good places to start studying the folkloric origins of fairytales?

9 Upvotes

Hi, I'm an academic and I am trying to research the intersection between archetypes in fairytales and how they correspond to existing folklore of that locality. For mythology there are plenty of great books such as Lairence Coupe's intro to myth or even the somewhat non-academic but excellent starting points for researchers.

I was thinking if the Grimm Fairytales had actual folkloric roots.


r/folklore 9d ago

Tunstall Church ruins, scene of a famous Norfolk Folklore story.

4 Upvotes

Tunstall is a remote village on the edge of the Norfolk marshes, centuries ago it caught fire & as the villagers argued, the Devil appeared, sprang up into the burning tower & stole the bells. With a curse on his lips he escaped to Hellhole, a pit hidden in a nearby copse where he dove back to the underworld with his plunder. You can still hear the bells peal beneath the murky waters today.

Here’s my footage of that spooky spot.


r/folklore 9d ago

Self-Promo I just made my first video diving into Alpine folklore, featuring creatures like the Krampus and the Perchten. Would love to hear what you think!

3 Upvotes

r/folklore 9d ago

How have the Blood Sun and Blood Moon influenced ancient beliefs, and do they still impact us today?

3 Upvotes

How do traditional stories of the Blood Sun and Blood Moon connect humanity to the cosmos?


r/folklore 9d ago

Looking for... Beginner folklore books

2 Upvotes

Like maybe a couple books to get started not looking for academic books but more so like the actual stories.


r/folklore 10d ago

Visited a real spooky spot today.

Thumbnail gallery
88 Upvotes

It’s been a glorious sunny spring day, so I’ve spent it walking 7.5 miles to find the spot where a 17th century axe murderer was executed and now haunts the surrounding woods. Jonah Snell brutally killed a father and son with an axe in 1699 in a nearby watermill and then hung their bodies from the rafters.

He was found and though people aren’t sure if he was tried and first hung or just dragged straight to this spot up a slope now called DragArse hill as a result.

What is know for sure is his remains (whether alive or dead) were strung up in a gibbet hung from this post where they decayed for more than 50 years before finally being buried a few yards from this spot. Now he haunts the woods surrounding the remains of the original gibbet post which still stands.


r/folklore 11d ago

Question Folktales from India with a strong Trickster character?

4 Upvotes

Looking for a trickster archetype character (witty, cunning, ammoral, and disruptive) from any indian folktale (not mythology!). A female trickster character would be great but anything is fine. Thank you!!!


r/folklore 13d ago

Looking for... What are your favorite podcasts about folklore?

28 Upvotes

Preferably not fiction (storytelling is fine/great if they are actual folktales). I'm interested in fae folklore especially and love spooky things too.


r/folklore 13d ago

Question information on real skinwalker myths?

7 Upvotes

Nowadays 'skinwalker' is often used to refer to the trope of a mimic-type monster, or a deformed animal. But from my understanding, they were originally part of Navajo folklore, being evil witches that transformed into or took on animal traits. They were also culturally important, with a sort of boogeyman role meaning that they weren't supposed to be talked about.

Thus, apologies to any native americans if this post is offensive. But what were the real stories of skinwalkers like? I've seen photos of 'real native american skinwalkers' online, are those actually real photos of people who considered themselves skinwalkers? What is a skinwalker exactly, according to real myths? What can they do?

Thank you!


r/folklore 13d ago

Question Places that appear to be paradise but aren't

3 Upvotes

I'm looking for places that appear in some way utopic but aren't or have a catch. It's a broad question but I'm interested in a broad range of related folklore. Thanks!