Tales about changelings - human infants switched for dwarves or other spirits - get very disturbing once you realize they are basically folkloric excuses for #ableism .
"This baby is not right in some manner, and thus I must maltreat it until the spirits bring me my real baby back!" 😬
Editing a story for our Anti-Caste SF book, I have just been alerted to the fact that the colloquial expression for a "sunshower"--in languages ranging from the southern tip of India all the way to Korea and Japan--is "a wedding of foxes/jackals".
My mind is a little blown!
In the Philippines, it's a wedding of Tikbalangs!
There's a cool-looking academic paper about how this might have been transmitted, but it's in Korean
Here’s a classic bit of stoney #folklore in the run up to my Puddingstone Trail talk and walk at the Grime’s Graves festival on 15/16th June. This is the Beauchamp Roding #Puddingstone at St Botolph's church near #Harlow, #Essex. #SteepleSaturday Read on: 1/ 🧵
Legend tells that this stone stood on a hill top some distance from the intended site of the church. When the stone was dragged to this site to be incorporated into the church structure, it returned overnight to the hilltop. /2
It was wonderful to finally visit Dairy Pit. It's the subject of a great body of folklore. The water is riddled with spirits, and lost souls still wander nearby. Locals report ominous feelings, and other tales talk of a mermaid who once guarded the depths. I'm currently writing a post about the Dairy Pit- I can't wait to share!
In the ballad of Thomas the Rhymer, Thomas encountered a woman so beautiful that he initially addressed her as the Queen of Heaven. However, she corrected him by identifying herself as the Queen of Elfland before taking Thomas away to her realm for seven years. #MythologyMonday
In parts of the United Kingdom, seeing a single magpie is considered a bad omen. However, saluting the magpie by tipping your hat and giving it a friendly greeting as a sign of respect can ward off any bad luck that could result from the encounter. #FolkloreSunday
@EssAeEm Here magpies are symbols of glad tidings.
I feed the magpies in my neighbourhood. They look like this. They're really smart little beggars too; we don't hang sausages out to cure at Spring Festival anymore because these little tricksters have defeated every attempt we've made to keep them from the sausages.
Disney had a lot to answer for. Apart from Ursula. Mermaids are horrible in folklore and mythology. Beautiful woman with the lower half of the body the tail of a fish. They enchant people with their song and lead them to their death by drowning them for shits and giggles. If they do fall in love with a human they drag them underwater as they think they can breath. #folklore#mythology#mythologymonday
Could some theme park malfunctions in Orlando actually be ghostly pranks? According to some Walt Disney World employees, a spirit named George haunts the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and will make it break down if no one wishes him a good morning that day. #FolkloreSunday
In the late 1800s, Jamaican children would play Moonshine Baby on the night of a full moon. Claude McKay recalled his father telling them that “the making of these moonshine babies was an old African custom and that different villages used to compete in the making of them.” (“Boyhood in Jamaica”, Phylon (1940-1956), Vol. 14, No. 2 (2nd Qtr., 1953), pp. 134-145)
Olive Senior wrote about this game in her poem “Moonshine Dolly”.
We have a matter of hours left of our kickstarter to fund series 2! Please share and spread the word. I am so grateful for all the love and support you've given me 💚
I've uncovered more information about Nanny Morgan! I'm just trying to dig a bit deeper now, but I'm definitely in need of a rewrite! It makes me so happy to add more depth to her story!