Folklore History

More Strange Scotland is a collection of anecdotes, facts, folklore, and legends about the strangeness of that little nation on the western fringe of Europe. From fairies to witches and the frightening water horses, Scotland has a host of legends. Add haunted castles, strange pub names, and devilish people to the mix, sprinkle with Aberlour spirits and the mists of Skye and then start listening to the audiobook. If ghostly bagpipers and unseen river monsters don’t scare you off, then you may revel in the stories from this most strange of all countries.

¿Qué tan chinescos y poblanos son realmente los orígenes de la china poblana, emblema de la feminidadmexicana? ¿Cómo fue posible que la imagen de la Patria, aquella que aparecía en la portada de los libros de texto gratuito, combinara elementos griegos y prehispánicos, con una toga heredada de la Revolución francesa, en una extravagante alegoría del progreso? José Luis Trueba Lara contesta a estas preguntas adentrándose en las historias detrás de ocho símbolos del nacionalismo

Jim Clary presents a compelling and riveting digest of beliefs, customs, and mystery in Superstitions of the Sea. Clary focuses on the vast array of strange, mythical, and often comical beliefs of mariners from ancient times to the present. Collecting the various topics for years, Clary found that maritime superstition was weaved throughout every fabric of his study. The folklore was so interesting that it often lured him far away from his subject search and held him spellbound for hours at a time.

The ancient Romans have one of the richest collections of myths of all the early civilizations. In this book you can discover all the most important Roman gods, important Roman myths, the history of Rome, and much more.

The legend of King Arthur and his castle Camelot has gripped people’s imagination for centuries. In this classic study, drawing upon myriad sources both literary and historical, the world’s leading Arthurian scholar Geoffrey Ashe digs deep into the important 12th century chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth to trace the origins of the myth. Through brilliant historical detective work, he shows that much of Monmouth's history, which sets out to describe fifth-century Britain, was based on fact.

In this second novel, the new American republic is struggling to reconcile its lofty principles with the practical realities of a rapidly expanding nation. Three fairy rangers who helped the country win its independence—Goran the Sylph, Har the Dwarf, and Dela the Water Maiden—now find they must seek new alliances with the likes of Davy Crockett, Johnny Appleseed, Ichabod Crane, and the Cherokee hero Junaluska to combat a monstrous new conspiracy against peace, justice, and freedom on the frontier.

Myths are usually seen as stories from the depths of time—fun and fantastical, but no longer believed by anyone. Yet, as Philip Ball shows, we are still writing them—and still living them—today. From Robinson Crusoe and Frankenstein to Batman, many stories written in the past few centuries are commonly, perhaps glibly, called "modern myths." But Ball argues that we should take that idea seriously. Our stories of Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Sherlock Holmes are doing the kind of cultural work that the ancient myths once did.

King David Kalākaua introduces us to the people upon whom the legend of the Pele family is based. They departed Samoa as war refugees in the 12th century, settling in the foothills of Mauna Loa. As earthquakes and eruptions occurred during their interactions with the Hawaiians, this family of kahuna were accorded what the king described as “unique sanctity and power”. Pele was as mighty as she was beautiful. The tales of the volcano goddess earned the attention of Kamapuaa, the outcast son of the chief of Oahu who terrorized the island with his band of renegades.

Tall Tales and Cornstalks is Iowa like you’ve never seen it. A place where ghost steamboats drift silently upriver, bulls bend rivers with their horns, and something with wings once clawed its way out of a coal mine near Van Meter. This isn’t your eighth-grade state history. Here, you’ll meet cryptids that lurk in cornfields, angels that turn black as night, and a hermit in the cliffs who may or may not have been talking to God. Some of these stories are straight out of newspaper clippings. Some come from the dusty corners of folklore. And a few? Well, they just felt too good not to ...

Traverspine is not a place you will find on most maps. A century ago, it stood near the foothills of the remote Mealy Mountains in central Labrador. Today it is an abandoned ghost town, almost all trace of it swallowed up by dark spruce woods that cloak millions of acres. In the early 1900s, this isolated little settlement was the scene of an extraordinary haunting by large creatures none could identify. Strange tracks were found in the woods. Unearthly cries were heard in the night. Sled dogs went missing.

Hercules, Zeus, Thor, Gilgamesh - these are the figures that leap to mind when we think of myth. But to David Leeming, myths are more than stories of deities and fantastic beings from non-Christian cultures. Myth is at once the most particular and the most universal feature of civilization, representing common concerns that each society voices in its own idiom.

Unveil the mystery of the banshee and other entities that bridge the gap between life and death with this book's extensive Celtic folklore and historic cases. From deities like the Morrigan to death-related beings such as the Doppelgänger, Steven J. Rolfes examines what banshees are and how they have captivated humanity for centuries.

King Arthur is one of the most famous names in history, and his name still evokes visions of fantasy, chivalry, bravery, and more even today. Arthur remains a pop culture fixture around the globe, made famous in various Arthurian tales written by writers like Chretien de Troyes. Arthur came to embody the ideals of the Middle Ages: strength, chivalry, bravery, and more. Along the way, his Excalibur sword, the Holy Grail, his queen, and more have all become household words.

This amazing collection of Chinese myths will allow you to enter the Chinese mind, so you can gather secrets and wisdom from a proud and respected country.

Breve Historia de la Mitología Griega nos ofrece un panorama completísimo de las deidades del mundo clásico. Fernando López Trujillo no se detiene en una enumeración de los Dioses Olímpicos y sus atributos, sino que primero nos hace ver la importancia rectora de la mitología en el mundo antiguo, para mostrar a continuación las apasionantes historias que pueblan esta mitología.

Warriors, poets, scholars, and visionaries—from the depths of time the ancient Celts have fascinated us. Their rich heritage lives on today. But who were they? From the Druids and fairies to King Arthur and Celtic Christianity, there is much to be learned about these natives of the British and Irish islands. Their stories are fantastic and stirring, and through them, you'll gain a glimpse into what life was like during the Iron Age.

This collection of essays by five notable Masonic scholars, discuses the single most important symbol that Freemasonry has. It covers the antiquity as well as the esoteric symbolism of our most valued vestiture and what is often overlooked by those outside of the fraternity: a simple, square, white, lambskin apron.

If you ask Delphinia Baker, she’d tell you she has all the family she needs. Sure, her mom passed away when she was young, her dad is often away on deployment, but even though Del has never had anyone she can call her people, she has always had her grandmother—and that’s enough. Besides, having no roots just makes it that much easier when you have to move again. All of that changes, though, when Gramma falls ill and Del is sent to stay with her great-grandmother. Del has never even heard of Nana Rose, and she has no interest in spending the summer on a hot island off the South Carolina coast.

Unravel the Mystery of the Blackwood Curse! Step into the spine-chilling world of The Blackwood Curse, a gripping tale that blends folklore, suspense, and the haunting whispers of a village on the brink of terror. In the idyllic English village of Warblington, tradition collides with the uncanny when the peaceful life is shattered by the inexplicable death of a beloved librarian, Miss Eleanor Ainsworth. With no clear cause of death and peculiar marks on her neck, the local police find themselves at a loss. Enter Professor Karl Murphy, a retired folklore expert, whose knowledge of myth and ...

With a rich geography and fascinating history, this continent is truly awe inspiring! It’s no wonder Africa has given rise to many of our languages, philosophies, and legends which we honor to this day. Using reliable, fact-checked written resources and discoveries from world-renowned archeologists, History Brought Alive presents African History.