r/folklore

Hi! I was just wondering what is everyones favorite Polish urban legend is! This includes the folklore, cryptids, ghost stories, anything like that! I know that Poland is rich with them and I’ve always thought they were way cooler than most legends and monsters that I’ve ever heard of. I’m a huge Witcher fan, too and they used a lot of really creepy Polish folklore in that book/game series which I loved. So, anything ya got that is Polish and spooky would be cool :-)

Do you guys know any folk takes from around the world? I want to know the different beliefs of people. Maybe some scary ones or ones that are really helpful for everyone. Maybe one folk tale in one country might be having a different name in another. Genuine curiousness and I am truly sorry if anyone gets offended

I was going down a folklore rabbit hole recently and realized just how common this specific element was. I knew the original Grimm stories were way darker than the Disney movies, but I didn't expect the villains to be so hardcore.

​Like, in the original Snow White, the Queen doesn't just want her dead—she explicitly asks the huntsman for her lungs and liver so she can boil them with salt and eat them. And in older versions of Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf actually tricks the girl into eating her grandmother's flesh.

​I was watching a video that breaks down these uncensored pre-Disney versions, and it just caught me off guard how often this happened in old stories. It’s wild to think these were standard bedtime stories back in the day.

​Has anyone else gone down this weird folklore rabbit hole?

The Rusalka

The Rusalka wades home after a long nights work.

Her last encounter held a white bouquet, maybe for a lover or aging mother.

The Rusalka thought he would not be needing flowers at the bottom of the river, and she thought they were so very pretty.

I am very excited (and shy) to share what might be my favourite painting to date. There is something about this siren like creature having big glittery brown eyes that makes me love her so very much. The original of this painting has sold already, but I have plenty of print options for you on my website www.steviepaints.co.uk

That said my numbers are way down and I can’t help but think that the algorithm is against me, please if you see my work in the wild do share and interact. It’s very disheartening to see my paintings being hidden in favour of ai slop. #girlsthatmakestuff #fae #rusalka #folklore

i am looking for a movie with that specific vibe of a connection with nature, ancient traditions and just slavic folklore and paganism i am not looking for a horor movie but you can suggest some.

Wikipedia's citations are pretty much useless when they fail to mention the title of the book or article they're citing.

I'm trying to find the source for a description of moss folk, but the citation only says "Classification as race of elves and description, Thistelton-Dyer, 1889". Google gives me nothing. Can anybody tell me where to read the darn thing?

TL:DR - recently came across a Tam Lin analysis website (https://tam-lin.org/), found out earlier today author died in April 2016, had asked for someone to take over the site, I wondered about asking here.

I AM NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE SITE.

Long version: I am neurodivergent, got interested in Tam Lin for making an RPG character. After a few searches, I found tam-lin.org, and started reading through the site material.

I had noticed that there wasn't anything new past 2016, but I put that down to the owner moving on. But after I finished reading the analysis articles, I remembered that the author had linked their Tumblr.

I read that post earlier today. The author has passed away ten years this April, as far as I know.

Similarly, I haven't managed to find anyone else saying anything about the site or the topic, probably because it's extremely niche. I do not know how to run a site, and my interest in Tam Lin is fleeting (again, neurodiversity). But, would anyone have any interest in adding to the site?

(Don't know if this fits this sub. Sorry in advance if it is the wrong kind of topic.)

Hi people of Reddit, I’m currently doing an art project on folklore and need some help. My idea is that my final piece is going to be a map of Europe but instead of places it will be designed like the folklore I’ve studied.
This is where you come in!
I need people from places in Europe to help. I want to have authentic folklore story’s that you grew up with, I can look online but I want to be as close as I can.

Country’s/ areas I need:
Spain/ Portugal
Germany/ Belgium/ Netherlands/Switzerland/ Austria
Italy
Slovenia/ Croatia/ Bosnia/ Serbia/ Montenegro/ Albania/ North Macedonia/ Kosovo/ Bulgaria
Poland/ Estonia/ Latvia/ Lithuania
Belarus/ Ukraine / Moldova
Russia
Turkey/ Cyprus
Norway/ Sweden/ Finland
Iceland

Question I know I’m going to have:
“Why are so many countries grouped together, they have there own identity and cultures” / “ Why are some countries by themselves?” / other
I know that, but I also know that in my studies so far folklore tends to be in surrounding country’s.
I can’t possibly do all the country’s and I need to simplify it as mush as possible. This list is based off location and proximity it each other. I apologise if this upsets you.

Or leave suggestions of YouTube videos or channel that cover the topics

I was reading an article about the Jiangshi at Baidu. Both English and Chinese. Even the Chinese Wikipedia about the Jiangshi.

In later volumes of Yuan Mei's Zi Bu Yu (What the Master Would Not Discuss), somewhere in volume 9, mention the classification of Jiangshi.

Classification and Ranks

Basic Forms

Purple Jiangshi (紫僵)/White Jiangshi 白僵/Green Jiangshi 绿僵/Furry or Hairy Jiangshi 毛僵: The lowest tier. Afraid of sunlight.

Prostrate Corpse (伏尸): A newly transformed corpse with a withered, blackened body, slow movement, and an inability to move freely. It often hides in damp, dark environments and preys on living beings through ambush.

High-Level Variations

Wandering Corpse (游尸) / Hopping Corpse (跳尸)/ Bronze Armored Corpse (铜甲尸): It possesses skin like bronze and bones like iron, making it impervious to blades and spears. Although its body is stiff, it can move by hopping and is not afraid of brief exposure to sunlight. ‌

Flying Jiangshi (飞僵): It can leap onto roofs and trees, bounding swiftly. It fears neither sunlight nor swords. It can only be subdued by Taoist ritual implements or a heavenly thunder tribulation.

Ultimate Forms

Unrotting Bone‌ (‌Ba)/不化骨（旱魃: A form of corpse that remains incorruptible for a thousand years. Having absorbed the Yin energy of the earth's veins over a long period, it loses its ability to move. While not aggressive itself, its presence can trigger regional calamities.

The Unrotting Bone (不化骨) are the dangerous variants. Unlike the basic one, they absorbs the essence of sun and moon over a long period and bring calamity to the world.

Ideally I’d like books I can buy and study. I want ones that include not just scholarly analysis’ and commentary of the folktales but also detailed versions and variations of the stories themselves. They’d ideally be able to discuss the origins around the myths and legends and be able to connect them to historical events and other folklore throughout time.

What are the best sources to find these as I’m interested in not just one region but as much as I can get my hands on

To summarize: I want reputable books that both analyze folklore and their history and provide detailed versions of the tales themselves.

Hi all! I’ve been thinking recently about getting a book or two on magic tales - structure, context, all that sort of thing. My preference is for European or Japanese. Anyone have any suggestions?

(Kicking myself a little for not doing more narrative classes back in the day-)