Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with legend

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.

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!

Book-footed vampire?

brownbat — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:39:18 -0800

Where did I read about a book footed vampire? When I was very young, I often read short horror anthologies for children, and about vampire legends from around the world. I distinctly remember one account of a vampire with books for feet that sucked blood out of people's toes.

Googling "book-footed" doesn't seem to help very much, nor do the other searches I can think of. Maybe this was just a crazy dream I've carried over as a real memory? It's certainly an absurd image to base a legend around...

Witches, Wizards, and the American Civil War

robocop is bleeding — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:38:59 -0800

What was going on with the occult and belief in the supernatural in Civil War-era America? I'm aware of Spiritualism, but in researching the background for a story idea I have, I seem to be drawing a blank for anything outside of the talking to the dead movement.

What's a good source for the folk beliefs of the 1860s?
Did "Louisiana Voodoo" exist in a recognizable form then?
Were there myths and legends that were well known then that have since fallen out of favor?

Any sources, anecdotes, or ideas you have pertaining to the mysterious and the occult of the 1860s is welcome. Lots of the stuff I've seen that covers that vague period veers into steampunk territory which I'd rather avoid.

Where can I find information on historical paladins?

magodesky — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:28:01 -0800

Where can I find information on historical paladins? I'm trying to do some research on historical paladins and medieval paladins legends. Wikipedia has a decent article as a starting point, but I'm having some trouble finding any other information that isn't about WarCraft or Dungeons & Dragons. I was wondering if anyone here could suggest some good sources to look into.

I've also heard some interesting stories about Middle Eastern paladins from the Byzantine Empire, but I haven't found much about them in writing. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated as well.

FroggyBack

kittens for breakfast — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:02:29 -0800

Is anyone familiar with ancient Native American legends of giant frogs riding people? Well. That's about it. This is yet another one of those books I remember reading as a little kid. Giant, malevolent frogs that got on people's backs and forced them (the people) to carry them (the frogs) around piggyback. This wasn't a work of fiction -- well, I mean, it was, in the obvious sense that giant frogs probably never enslaved humanity, but the book itself was about folklore. ...Anybody?

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?

Identify the legend: How Shiva tricked the human soul to jump into a body.

andreinla — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:13:17 -0800

I am trying to identify/verify the existence of a legend told to me by a friend. Goes something like this: Human soul, free of body for some reason.

Shiva to soul: Go back into body!

Human soul: No way, I am not going back to this trap of suffering and pain and ignorance! I want to be freeeeeee!

Shiva: Go!

Soul: No!

Shiva starts playing flute.

Soul wants to dance but has no body!

Soul: Damn it!, Jumps into the body so it can dance.

Shiva: Who's your daddy now, bizatchi!

Soul in body, dancing: Ai ai ai ai ai!

The End.

Identify legend, please! Could be another god, we all know Indians have lots of them!

Book identifying mythical archetypes?

Andrhia — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 09:24:21 -0800

BookFilter: Looking for a book a friend once found containing every myth, fable, and legend the author could find from multiple cultures, with analysis breaking them down into (I believe) a hundred or so archetypes. Other information: The book is on the older side, and doesn't appear to be any of the books suggested in this thread.

Toilet getaway folklore question

rongorongo — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 07:28:25 -0800

In his book "Catch me if you Can", Frank Abagnale claims he evaded arrest by removing a panel in the toilet of a VC10, climbing through it and hence escaping out of the (taxi-ing) aircraft through a hatch. Could this actually have been done?

Ford! You 'ol scoundrel!

nihlton — Wed, 23 May 2007 13:14:41 -0800

I have heard that during the 20's when capitalism was hot shit, many municipalities decided to privatize their public transit systems. The legend goes that Ford bought up a bunch and promptly shut them down. True or false? Couldn't find anything on google or snopes.

Where are these legends from?

dmaterialized — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:06:07 -0800

NordicFolkMusicFilter: I'm writing about folk legends and myths in Scandinavia and the development of Nordic music (both in the past and in the modern era). Two bands that I think deserve specific recognition for their blending of ancient and modern, and for which I plan to highlight, are Garmarna and Sorten Muld. The only problem is, I'm not finding a lot of detail about the myths/legends these bands allegedly take their texts from. (I'm aware that much of their works are modern compositions and don't stem from ancient stories, etc., but I know that many of them do). Though I have found some information (including--thankfully--evidence of "Margjit" and "Venelite" as preexisting tunes), I'm curious if anyone is aware of existing stories, folktunes, or events in Scandinavian history related to the following: The legend of the "two sisters", Herr Holkin, "Hilla Lilla", King Vallemo, a fable about a young girl being stuck in the mud after using her mother's bread as stepping stones, a legend about a young girl and a werewolf that bears significant resemblance to our "Little Red Riding Hood", a girl named "Maya of the Mountain", a (very old) Danish poem about the Linden tree, Ramund, a king of Havsgaard, and especially "Kirstin", whose father forces her to eat her secret love's heart. Are any of these real stories/songs? Have any of you Danes/Swedes/Norweigans/Finns ever heard them?

How can I find more information about this Seneca Indian legend?

magodesky — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 18:48:53 -0800

How can I find more information about this Seneca Indian legend? So I was reading the book Weird Pennsylvania from the Weird U.S. series. One of the local legends in it, titled "The Lost Hills of Eternal Youth," is about a Seneca brave who wins a bet with the deity known as Flying Head and is shown a view of two mountaintops that grant eternal youth to anyone who looks at them. According to the book, this is supposedly somewhere around what is now Mercer county.

Anyway, now we get to my question. I wanted to read more about the details of this legend, but I can't seem to find anything other than the few paragraphs in the book. Does anyone know about this story or at least where I might start looking? Is it possible that the authors just made this up for the book?

Irish rebel fights his own double?

Baldons — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 01:16:31 -0800

Irishlorefilter: I once heard a brief reference to a fascinating irish legend/tale/fictionalized episode. This was many years ago, back when ask Metafilter didn't exist, so I don't know if everything I say is true or I made it up. - An irish leader / rebel / revolutionary / independentist, etc; (don't know when)
- Probably drunk;
- Maybe in a raft going down by the river? (Liffey?);
- This is the interesting part, he FIGHTS with HIS OWN shadow / double / doppelganger
- Convincing him / her / it that VIOLENCE IS GOOD.

Again, some or many of this details may not be correct, but I think if someone knows that story they will probably recognize it. Is it a song? A novel? A legend? A movie? Does it exist? Please, hive mind, scratch this particular itch of mine!

Efficient drinking technique?

B-squared — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 18:20:59 -0800

Frat boy wisdom(?) filter: When I was in college, it was common beer drinking wisdom that dropping by the lou too early in the evening was ill-advised and known as "breaking the seal", the idea being that you would be dashing to the bathroom all evening long as a result. Is there any physical or psychological reason why this would be true?

Perfect souls? Huhwha?

Windigo — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 12:40:49 -0800

I once heard a belief, a tale, a myth (not sure which it falls under) that there are a certain fixed number of "pure" or "perfect" souls roaming the earth, and that the existance of these people is the one thing keeping God from throwing the towel in. Where did I hear this? Have any of you heard a tale like this? Can anyone tell me more? The closest I have been able to find is from Genesis 18 with Abraham's questioning God about Sodom and Gomorrah, but I am sure that's not at all the story I heard.

Help! It's driving me nuts! What IS this idea from??

"We're not in Kansas any more! We're in New York."

matteo — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 10:46:29 -0800

Rufus at Carnegie Hall. Were you there? How was it? And if you weren't there, did you read online an especially good review? Thanks.

The Protagonist: An Overview

0bvious — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 22:16:33 -0800

The Protagonist: What can you tell me? I am fascinated by the concept of 'The Protagonist'. Whether this be in fiction, mythology or used as a metaphor for how one perceives oneself (your 'life' being the narrative within which you exist) I desire a few new angles on this ancient human construct.

- Do you know of any theories / research / writings on the protagonist?
- What books / movies / myths etc. have you come across from which a protagonist is COMPLETELY absent?
- Or any such fiction/mythology with an interesting spin on the traditional protagonist?

Basically anything which comes to mind would be fascinating, thanks a lot...

"Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night."

blueberry — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 04:56:51 -0800

I'm looking for a certain story or legend about a woman who's village was invaded by troops. She kills them with kindness (or, more probably, knives) I was talking with my aunt a few days ago and she told me she'd heard a story about Chiang Mai, Thailand. The story she had heard was this:

The Chinese were coming to invade a town. (my aunt thought Chiang Mai)
There's a woman that knows they're coming and, being vastly outnumbered, she convinces the men of the village to run off and hide somewhere.
The army rides into the village the next day to find only the women.
The women act happy to see them, maybe talking trash about how all of the men had left the village weeks/months/years before.
The army doesn't attack and stays the night in the town.
The women treat them like welcome guests, serving them food, maybe getting them good and liquored up.
Night comes and the men of the army go to sleep.
(you see where this is going?)
During the night while they sleep, the women kill them all.

My aunt thought she had heard that there was a statue that commemorated this woman in Chiang Mai. But, having spent some time there, I had heard of neither the story nor the statue.

Googling for different sets of terms like women men fled/hid killed sleep/slept Chinese don't bring me much other than horrible recent stories of war crimes and such.

As a boy I can remember reading a beautifully illustrated children's book—I think it was Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves—which involved a woman convincing the bad guys (a bunch of 'em) to hide in these big ceramic water jars. Then she and her friends filled them through holes in the lids with boiling oil.

My point being that maybe this is just an old fairy tale or something. Either way, it'd be nice to be able to let me aunt know for sure.

Any good info on the asbestos in tampons hoax?

mdbell79 — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 11:27:27 -0800

Anyone know any good books or internet sites relating to the asbestos in tampons hoax? I'm doing some research on it, but I can't find anything more than surface level info.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, check here for the basic idea.

Pyramid blade sharpener - real or urban legend?

afroblanca — Sun, 20 Feb 2005 11:43:43 -0800

I remember reading a while back, possibly in Cosmic Trigger or some other such book, that the pyramid shape is naturally conducive to the sharpening of blades. According to this source, if you put dull blades inside a pyramid-shaped object, they will naturally sharpen over time. I don't think it matters what material the pyramid is made from, or how big it is. Anyway, as implausible as this idea seems, I know that I've heard it at least a few times, and cannot find anything about it on Snopes. So my question to the MeFi Mythbusters- real or urban legend?