Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with folklore

Women who runs with the Wolf Lecture

Ambrosia Voyeur — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:34:02 -0800

What have you heard about werewolves? I need to know everything there is to know about the mythology of werewolves, from media, from folklore and especially from batshit cryptozoology circles, for a surprise (as in, surprise to ME) lecture I'll be delivering next week. I'll be doing academic research on the topic on my own, but I thought this would be a good place to get a broad pop-cultural base of different facets of this concept in a hurry.

Some sample ponderings I'm beginning with:

- What are the "rules" of werewolves? Are they strictly involuntary shape-shifters?
- What other kinds of were-animals have there been in myth? (Cat People comes to mind.)
- What are some weird werewolf anomalies from werewolf stories you know of?
- Werewolves: sexy? hungry? what's their motivation?
- Are there werewolf myths from foreign lands?
- What's the moon significance? Is that a jacked-the-hell-up gender thing or what?

I've seen: Teen Wolf and its sequel, Wolf, An American Werewolf in London, and am familiar with Remus Lupin in book and film. I think that's about the entirety of my werewolf exposure. Any movies I MUST see ASAP? The class will be screening Ginger Snaps.

Since the class I'm lecturing for thematically treats issues of wildness vs. domesticity, any anecdotes or examples of werewolves interacting with wolf-wolves or with pet dogs would be good to come up with.

Obviously lots of kinds of info or pointers are welcome.

Americans: Was your town a [rumored] Cold War missile target?

jeb — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:55:23 -0800

Americans: Was your town a [rumored] Cold War missile target? I grew up in New Jersey. When I lived there, people would sometimes say, "You know, after [DC|New York], our area is the number-two target on the Soviet nuclear ICBM list, because of Bell Labs." I didn't really think about this too much at the time, and it seemed at least somewhat plausible. But as I've gotten older, I've heard people from all over the country say, "You know, [my town] is #2 on the Soviet missile target list because of [$feature]."

I had a text file of them for a while, I was collecting them because I think they are interesting bits of folklore, but I can't find it now. I'm curious as to where this rumor got started, where people claim to find this information, etc., because it must be false, right? I mean the whole MAD strategy was predicated on the idea that the Soviets and the USA could pretty much totally wipe each other out in one go, so there were probably dozens or hundreds of places with equal target priority.

Mostly, though, I'm interested in these rumors. The commonalities are:
1) #2 target. There's always a credibility-adding reference to a clearly more-valuable target. In the Northeast, this is generally DC, the Pentagon, or New York.
2) A specific reason that points to some local feature as being of strategic import, and often one that you wouldn't immediately think of, like Bell Labs (really? A lab? that's going to be ahead of a SAC HQ?)

So my question is did you hear this about the place where you grew up or lived? What was the reason your town was supposedly targeted? What was the reference target of greater import?

A priest and his own stolen plates. Folklore?

leticia — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:05:54 -0800

Have heard a story told to me as a "true" story that someone supposedly has personal knowledge of, but I could swear I've heard this before, either as urban legend, or maybe from the plot of a movie or book. Does anyone recognize this story? It's been a while since I heard the story, but here it is in broad strokes:

A good-hearted priest goes to work in a poor community. Everyone tells him to beware of this community because they are beggars and thieves, but he brushes off the warnings, and goes ahead to work with them and live among them. He embraces them and does not judge them harshly, and treats them very well. One day the community decide to have a party for him, to thank him for all the good and kind things he's done for them. He goes to the party, and they serve him a cake they have made in his honor, but they serve the cake to him on his own plates -- which they have stolen from him.

When this was told to me, it just felt so familiar. I am almost sure this is either something from a story or fable, or just an urban legend that might be told about any looked-down-upon community in any culture. However, I don't have the first idea how I could possibly search for this online.

Does this story sound at all familiar to anyone?

Thanks in advance!

it's all good

Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:35:43 -0800

Any anthropologists, classicists, or world literature historians out there? Looking for stories (from any culture, era, or part of the globe) featuring what we would consider to be moral violations (human sacrifice, incest, slavery etc.), but which the culture or author would have considered morally righteous. Here's the tricky part: it needs to say, in the story itself, that the characters deem the act to be good. Also, it can't be a god who is doing this morally praiseworthy/blameworthy action, as I'll be asking my students to imagine how they would feel if the story from the myth happened in real life. The more "story-like" the format the better (i.e., told like a folktale or myth).

I am trying to avoid stories from the Bible, as for many students these stories would not considered hypothetical. ;)

Single stories, repositories, electronic databases, or books I could look in would all be useful. Thank you!

AnatomyFilter: What word am I trying to remember?

johnbaskerville — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 07:09:58 -0800

Is there a name for this kind of leg? Specifically, in mammals or birds? I swear I once read an article discussing typical folkloric drawings of the Devil wherein he was described as having the ________ legs of a goat. Google and Wikipedia have failed me, as have my well-educated friends. I'm starting to wonder if I never actually read the article, and perhaps it was some kind of vivid, reading dream.

Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today.

Steve_at_Linnwood — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 09:44:20 -0800

How accurate is Punxsutawney Phil? If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow we are supposed to in for six more weeks of winter. Clearly, this isn't science, but how many times has the little "rat" correctly predicted the winter?

Anime and Japanese Folklore

RubyDoom — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:40:37 -0800

Are these anime characters rooted in Japanese folklore? I've recently been watching an anime series named Hell Girl. I've noticed that there are some striking similarities in some of characters in this series to another series that I've seen called Requiem from the Darkness. The characters Mataichi, Ogin, and Nagamimi from Requim are all too similar to Ai's companions Wanyūdō, Ren Ichimoku, and Hone Onna in Hell Girl. I figure since both series have similar themes and symbolism that these characters have to related to some sort of folklore in Japan. So any explanations or stories that anyone knows of would be most helpful.

Stories about or featuring werewolves

Ritchie — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:36:14 -0800

I'm looking for werewolf literature. Any fiction with a halfway decent plot. Novels, short stories, folklore. Comics or graphic novels also okay. So far I already know about The Howling, Angua von Überwald (and others) from the Discworld novels, and Lupin from Prisoner of Azkaban, but I'd love to know of other sources.

Creepy children's book question -- probably Russian/slavic or Middle Eastern

icarus — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:07:22 -0800

Need help finding a book. I think it was a short stories collection. One of the stories was about a king that left his new bride alone when he had to go somewhere on business. He gave her a keychain with keys to all the rooms and an egg he told her to carry around... She was allowed to use the keys to open all the doors except one that was specified by the king as forbidden. The king left, she spent days walking around and opening doors and finally, of course, decided to open the forbidden door. She did, saw that it was full of dead bodies (the king's ex brides that ventured into the room?) and blood was all over the floor. She was so horrified that she dropped the egg/keychain and they were covered in the blood now.

All I remember from there is that she spent days trying to wash the blood out of the keychain/(and egg?) so that the king wouldn't find out she was in the room.

Anyone? Any ideas? Am I the only one that read messed up books in my childhood?

New England & American Studies Programs - Help Make Me Smart About Them

Miko — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:40:58 -0800

American Studies scholars, please help me compare 2 programs in New England and American Studies and get some general advice. I'm at the very beginning of the exploratory phase of choosing a graduate program in American studies. There are two programs in New England & American Studies that I'm seriously considering, and I'm interested in the reactions or comparisons that people familiar with the field, or the schools in question, can give.

They are:
American and New England Studies at Boston University
American and New England Studies at the University of Southern Maine

I don't have a background in American studies, specifically (I have a BA in English, and a lot of coursework and professional training in literature, public history, Museum Studies, history, and folklore, but need to complete a degree-granting program, preferably MA but with the possibility of a PhD). How do these programs compare? Are you aware of their reputations in the field? What sort of person is suited to which program? From my early perusals, it's clear the BU program is much older and has produced more heavy-hitting graduates and more career academics. I'm likely to have a mixed career that includes teaching college and adminstering public history or cultural heritage nonprofits. I'm looking for anything to help me think more clearly about each of these programs. I'm a bit biased toward the USM one, simply because it would be easy for me to live in Portland, not so easy to live in Boston. USM also seems to have a stronger relationship with the field of folklore, which is important to me. But BU seems to have the more established program.

Also, I'd love any general knowledge, links, or resources about American Studies, as a field. Since it's new to me, I don't know the foundations. Please recommend books, associations, etc. And feel free to let me know of the pros and cons of taking a degree in American Studies.

Thanks in advance!

This ain't your Auntie Dennitsa's harvest song. (Or maybe it is.)

mykescipark — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 23:02:44 -0800

Bulgarian speakers: What song is this? It's the first song you hear: a beguiling Bulgarian modern folklore arrangement for soloist and orchestra. But what's the name of the song? If you can't make out the lyrics (I can't), check the announcer between 3:17 - 3:58 for clues. I've asked all the Bulgarian-music experts I know, and Radio Bulgaria ain't sayin'.

Wendigo myth in the Northwest

Artw — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:36:03 -0800

Is the Wendigo purely a Northeast American (and Canadian) myth? If so is there a Northwest equivalent?

Beyond black cats and four-leaf clovers

Andrhia — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:39:46 -0800

Got any great books about luck? I'm looking for books or other great reference material about luck, chance, fortune, that certain something that makes the cards fall your way (or not). Not interested in pareidolia or confirmation bias - no science, please! Not really interested in numerology or kabbalah, either. What I want is folklore, superstition, mythology, from as many cultures and periods as possible. Particular emphasis on actions you can take to make your luck better or worse, and the more obscure the better.

Pickings seem to be slim so far, but there has to be something out there like that, right? ...Right?

Finished the first novel, in research mode for the second. :)

Explain this reference from Lords and Ladies to me

Many bubbles — Sat, 12 May 2007 01:58:38 -0800

There's a bit in Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies that's puzzled me ever since I read it. Spoiler, quote, and specific (possibly very silly, since it's not even mentioned in the annotations) question inside. Near the end (on page 227 of my 281 page edition) we find out that Nanny Ogg has brought a horseshoe into the mound, even though they weren't supposed to be able to bring any iron with them there:

"Because I have iron," said Nanny, her voice suddenly sharp.

"Of course you have not, little Mrs. Ogg. No iron can enter this realm."

"I have the iron that goes everywhere," said Nanny.

She took her hand out of her apron pocket, and held up a horseshoe.

So, my question is, how did she bring it in with her? And why were they surprised that she did it? I know the bit about nailing a horseshoe over your door to ward off fairies; is it something to do with that? Does it "go everywhere" because you put them on horses?

It seems especially odd since earlier (p 117) Granny had said that the shape wasn't important; it was just a handy bit of iron with holes in it.

(Under "society and culture" because it seems like it's got to be some kind of folklore reference.)

Is there a "universal" book?

Jaybo — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 13:41:49 -0800

Which book would you consider a "universal" book? As a new librarian who formerly worked in book publishing, I am well aware that there are hundreds of thousands of books published each year. Of course, some become bestsellers but many are never heard from again.

This led me to wonder which books (if any) could be considered "universal" books (for example, if you wanted to do a library display about these transcendent books.)

This is the criteria I came up with:
- a book that's likely to have been read by English-speaking readers anywhere in the world (and also widely in translation)
- people will have read it across multiple generations without it going in and out of fashion
- it's *not* a book that people widely own but often don't read thoroughly (ie. The Bible, A Brief History of Time)
- it's *not* a story that people know because it's part of our culture but that the majority might not have read in book form (fables, "A Christmas Carol")
- doesn't matter if its highbrow (Hamlet) or lowbrow (Stephen King), fiction or non-fiction (or any genre for that matter)

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Stories that involve shadows?

largecorp — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 10:57:36 -0800

Novels, short stories, movies--all are welcome. I find shadow stories spooky and interesting. My fave was a kid book called "The Shades" which explains how the shadows of people live their own lives. Know of any others?

So realistic they leaped off the page.

cmyk — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 07:10:40 -0800

Half-remembered fairy tale: a kid could only draw one eye on an animal, or else it would come to life. His secret is revealed when he's forced to draw both eyes on an animal, which then.. leaps off the page. What was this story? Where did it come from?

Do all cultures anthropomorphize?

PinkStainlessTail — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 07:38:23 -0800

Are there any cultures that don't anthropomorphize animals and other things (living or otherwise) in their myths, legends, folktales, etc.? Is this a universal thing? And if it is universal, are there any layman accessible books or articles on why?

Raw material for understanding subconcious and emotional undercurrents in situations

beatrice — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 09:59:59 -0800

The terrain of the subconscious. The stories we tell ourselves. Book recommendations to better pick out and respond to the undercurrents of situations. Maybe books on archetypes, folklore, symbols, fantasy. Maybe just books with strong character development. I've been reading pop psychology and business inspiration. (Who did move my cheese?) Great and all, but there has got to be more to life than knowing your bottom line and communicating it clearly. I mean, what truly motivates people? What are these subconcious drives driving me? I need an infusion of new ideas.

Looking at some of the patterned ways I see situations and react, I've started to realize that I have this sort of persona, there's a certain persona I always fall for, there's someone I'm trying to prove I'm not, etc. I can discern some of the easy patterns just by reading cognitive psychology (a la the Feeling Good Handbook). But it's more than just single recurring thoughts. It's a whole complex of ideas. In ways, I've gotten more insight by reading novels with strong character development. Learning how others see things, feeling what it's like inside others' lives and minds.

So I am looking for book recommendations, from non-fiction books that explicitly explain things like archetypes, to compilations of folklore, to great novels... Books that are complex and textured enough to serve as raw material for understanding myself and others, seeing the deeper dynamics in situations, etc.

All other tips, beyond book recommendations, are also welcome.

Hindu Folklore / Mythology Needed

Medieval Maven — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 19:26:32 -0800

Can anyone help me find Indian / Hindi folklore? ESPECIALLY illustrated or with photos of festivals and traditional costume related to those festivals. My limited understanding of the topic tells me that it's sort of regionally fractured, and that's fine. If there is a "major" set of myths/folklore, I'd love to know it. I've tried Googling for this, but I realized pretty quickly that I sort of don't know what I'm looking for or at, and therefore my ability to determine which resources are actually good is pretty limited.

I'm also up for book suggestions.

Red Riding Hood backwards?

DonnieSticks — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 22:24:28 -0800

Is anyone familiar with the comedy routine of Little Red Riding Hood told backwards? A teacher I had in jr. high just died and that was one of his trademark stories. I always thought it was an original, but then I heard it years later and now can't remember who did it. It basically involved telling the story straight but mixing up the sentence structure. At least that's what I recall some 22 years later.

Unknown instrument

klue — Sun, 20 Mar 2005 15:30:24 -0800

A few years ago my mother picked up this traditional(?) instrument in Hungary. What's it called and how do you use it?

What goes in the fridge and what doesn't?

soyjoy — Fri, 06 Aug 2004 10:52:44 -0800

In your house, what food does, or does not, need to be refrigerated? I say "in your house" because my mom and I were just discussing how some of these decisions seem to be purely based on one's upbringing rather than science. I'm willing to bet there's a good bit of regional/familial variation. Mom noticed my wife and I had ketchup in the fridge, which back when I was growing up I thought ludicrous, but my wife's family kept it there, so we just fell into it. What's the principle by which you definitively determine whether a food needs to be refrigerated after opening? (Stuff like dairy - other than butter - and berries is obvious, right? I'm talking about the borderline stuff.)

What is the origin of the schizophrenic bad guy character?

oog — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 03:36:32 -0800

This is an admittedly silly question, but I'm curious nonetheless. I'm battling insomnia and the new-generation Transformers cartoon comes on the television. The presumed villain is a schizophrenic character, whose head appears to have three faces side by side, and he switches faces, and the different personalities battle amongst each other.

I've also seen this in some really bad B Skiing movie from the 80's. No clue of the name. But I've seen it other places, too. My question is, does anyone have a clue where this concept originates? Is it some obscure R.D.Laing essay that I've overlooked? Some folklore I am not familiar with?