T is for Tooth In South Africa we have the tooth mouse, but it seems the tooth fairy is much more popular in other countries. Let’s look at these tooth-obsessed creatures. Folklore The Good People: New Fairylore Essays edited by Peter Narvez In the normative Tooth Fairy ritual, the child, following parental instructions, places the …
S is for Solitary Fae wandering the world on their own, doing things without others — they have to be weird, right? After all, humans who do things on their own are considered weird — especially writers. Folklore Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry Edited and Selected by W. B. Yeats, [1888] SOLITARY …
R is for Rabbit I love watching hares run and graze. Though I might accidentally call them rabbits, it’s not that big a deal: at least I’m not calling them something outside of their family. Besides, I write fiction and that place where reality and fantasy meets isn’t really keen on technicalities (until revision time). …
Q is for Quandary When I was about seven or eight years old, a teacher told a story where fairies painted flowers. The point of the story was that one fairy didn’t work, but rather played and left her painting until the very last moment when it started raining and all the paint washed off, …
P is for Paladin Knights in shining armour are always fun to read about. Add some magic… Folklore Legends and Romances of Spain By Lewis Spence, [1920] The rise of a caste of itinerary poets in France supplied the popular demand for story-telling, and the trouvères of the twelfth century recognized in the glorious era of Charlemagne …
O is for Odin A one-eyed king of the gods with two pet ravens — and he’s a warrior, sorcerer, mystic and more. Folklore Teutonic Myth and Legend, by Donald A. Mackenzie, [1912] ODIN was the chief ruler of the gods. He was tall and old, and his aspect was wise and reverend. White was …
N is for Nightmare Stories involving headless horsemen are prevalent throughout folklore, myth and legend. The scariest one, though, is the Dullahan. It is said that none can ignore his call to death for he is the herald of Death itself. Folklore Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry Edited and Selected by W. …
M is for Morrígan Crows. Ravens. Battle. Death. Foretelling the future. This triple goddess can do it all. Folklore The Ancient Irish Goddess of War, by WM Hennessey, [1870] The discovery of a Gallo-Roman inscription, figured in the Revue Savoisienne of 15th November, 1867, and republished by M. Adolphe Pictet in the Revue Archéologique for July, 1868, forms the subject …
L is for Ly Erg The misty glens of Scotland is home to many fae, none quite as terrifying as the Ly Erg. Folklore Illustrations of the Topography and Antiquities of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff by Joseph Robertson [1847] There is much talking of a spirit, called Ly Erg, that frequents The Glenmore. …
K is for Kappa Amphibious creatures have always caught the imagination of surface dwellers. The Kappa from Japanese folklore is perhaps the most famous of its kind. Folklore Ancient Tales and Folk-lore of Japan, by Richard Gordon Smith, [1918] The pond was old and deep, covered with water plants, and had never been emptied within …
