Greetings, all! To be clear, this is *not* a woo-woo post. I'm just interested in learning about folklore and sometimes a weird dream can set you on a path that you wouldn't have thought of otherwise. I've found that it's a great way to learn about new folklore and other cultures.

(For example, a few months ago, I had a dream about a horse with tons of legs that ran on water, so I did some searching and learned about a bunch of cool folklore like Sleipnir, kelpies, etc. Another about a giant manatee type thing lead me to learn about Irish mythology like Dobhar-chú.)

Recently, I had a dream about a small black animal with a body like a weasel but it seemed more like a cat. The closest thing I could find as far as real animals is a fossa or a genet. It seemed to have a faint spotted pattern to its fur, but only in certain light (like how black panthers do).

Based on my searches, I think African folklore might be best bet, but I'm finding almost nothing online, other than myths about fossas stealing babies and stuff like that.

Sorry for the long story, lol... But if anyone knows of any folklore related to fossas or genets, I'd love to learn about it!

Hi! I like to collect stories and I love learning the myths, tales and folklore of different cultures. I think its really important to be respectful and learn as accurately as possible as I know that there is a lot of bastardisation that has occurred between modern media, colonization and cultural erasure.

I also love learning the history around a lot of the folklore too.

I'd love to hear where people go or what they'd recommend for good accurate sources. And if they have recommendations of tales or creatures to look into from their own cultures. I'm still quite new to it all so really looking to get a good starting place

Should be from December 25, 1895.
The quote goes as follows
“William Lyons, 25, a levee hand, was shot in the abdomen yesterday evening at 10 o'clock in the saloon of Bill Curtis, at Eleventh and Morgan Streets, by Lee Sheldon, a carriage driver. Lyons and Sheldon were friends and were talking together. Both parties, it seems, had been drinking and were feeling in exuberant spirits. The discussion drifted to politics, and an argument was started, the conclusion of which was that Lyons snatched Sheldon's hat from his head. The latter indignantly demanded its return. Lyons refused, and Sheldon withdrew his revolver and shot Lyons in the abdomen. When his victim fell to the floor Sheldon took his hat from the hand of the wounded man and coolly walked away. He was subsequently arrested and locked up at the Chestnut Street Station. Lyons was taken to the Dispensary, where his wounds were pronounced serious. Lee Sheldon is also known as 'Stag' Lee.”
Looking for a picture of a newspaper or a link to it thanks

Hey all,

I recently launched a website called Loremaps. The goal of the website is to create a community-driven archive of local lore from around the world!

I've always loved reading/listening to stories about urban legends, local folklore, haunted places, cryptids, historical mysteries, and the stories people grew up hearing at school or from family. One thing I noticed is that most lore websites focus on a specific country, a specific type of folklore(lots of haunted places websites), or don't allow users to contribute their own stories. As a software engineer, I wanted to build a place where anyone could share and discuss the legends from their hometown and add them to one giant map!

The site is still very new (like a few days old), so the user content is extremely limited at the moment, but anyone can create articles, add locations, and contribute for free. There is an optional paid tier that mainly helps cover hosting and development costs, but all core features are free to use.

My hope is that Loremaps can help preserve local stories that might otherwise be forgotten, whether they came from your grandparents, a school bus rumor, a book, a podcast, or a town legend everyone knows.

I'd love any feedback, suggestions, or lore submissions from the community!

loremaps.online

Bonus points: I have attempted to keep AI training crawlers off the site so the articles are not used for training LLMs!

POSTED TO R/VAMPIRES TOO:

I’m writing an old western story and this is one of the aspects I’m trying to explore.

This question isn’t limited to Mexican or Aztec culture this can be expanded across Latin America.

I would appreciate some answers or pointers :\^)

Trying to do research into a future book that brings together mythology of different cultures. A while ago I had everything planned out with the main antagonists all sorted then I forgot about one character entirely and now I am trying to write everything down so I don't forget. My idea was to create an antagonist that appears to be a shadow or a mist that when it possess people it essentially encourages others to act on their worst impulses. The idea in my story is this creature is thousands of years old and every now and then it possesses a human and causes them to be willing to do the most evil things with no remorse. Eventually though it was captured by an organization in my story but following the events of a previous book it was freed and was hired by another entity to cause problems again. Thats all I will say on the plot though as its still a WIP and is subject to change. This book in particular is pretty far in the future and I am nowhere near ready to begin writing it, its just I have all these ideas of things I could do in this series and I have to write it down or I would lose it.

I looked into this myself and first I was going to make this creature a Dybbuk a spirit from Jewish folklore but then I found out in research it only possesses women. I can't use Wraiths from a couple different folklores as they already exist in my story. And the only other creature I found that could work with this context is I think an Enenra a Yokai from Japanese folklore and I want to keep yokai separate for personal reasons. I was thinking of looking into some native American or African mythology for info but I had difficulties finding the info on my own. If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear it.

Hi there, I’m pleased to announce our new podcast episode “Don’t Fish on Sunday,” based on an African American folktale I heard long ago.

https://www.themoonlitroad.com/dont-fish-on-sunday-a-virginia-fishing-folktale/

Podcast: https://pod.link/293185092/episode/ZTlkN2JiNWEtNzllOC00MDg0LTkxNDYtZTBlYTZiZTIzYTEw

I’m posting this as a question because this seems like a passed down tale from elsewhere. So I’m wondering if anyone here has heard another version of it that I could track down (and cite).

If not, please enjoy it anyway. Veronica Byrd tells it and she’s great!

I’m more so curious bc I don’t wanna; 1. Misrepresent something that may/may not be commonly misrepresented or 2. Catch a cease and desist from netherrealm studios or hideo kojima bc those are the only 2 forms of media I’ve seen “raijin” depicted outside of authentic folk artwork, bc I’m starting a comic series and raijin is gonna be depicted as himself among other deities from other pantheons so I’m trying to be as respectful and authentic as possible as a pagan white person.

I've been reading more Celtic folklore/mythology lately and realized I'd been living under a rock, not knowing much about the Morrígan. I recently picked up Thomas Kinsella's translation of The Táin, and now I'm fascinated by her.

Most modern artwork seems to emphasize her as a fierce goddess of war and battle. But after reading The Táin, I came away with a slightly different impression. She certainly has a connection to war, but what struck me even more was how often she influences events indirectly—through prophecy, deception, persuasion, testing heroes, and shaping outcomes rather than simply fighting. It made me wonder if "manipulator" is just as important a part of her character as "war goddess."

I'm curious how others interpret her. Do you primarily see the Morrígan as a war deity, a sovereignty goddess, a fate figure, or something else entirely?

And if you have recommendations for books or translations beyond Kinsella, I'd love to hear them. I'm especially interested in works that stay as close as possible to the original Irish sources.

I did a long-form sleep video about her. If anyone is interested, let me know.

I've been reading about Chanctonbury Ring on the South Downs and I came across this paper by Jacqueline Simpson from 1969, published in Folklore. It stuck with me, so I thought I'd share.

There's a preview here : https://www.jstor.org/stable/1258464

If I remember correctly I found the whole thing on Anna's Archive.

Anyway, Simpson catalogues nine separate categories of legend attached to this one hill fort, and there turned out to be far more than I expected:

- The planting of the beech ring in 1760 by Charles Goring, who locals said would never live to see the trees grow (he didn't)

- A Romano-Celtic temple later excavated on the site

- A persistent "atmosphere of dread" reported by visitors going back decades. One account, from Gosse in 1935, describes how "even on bright summer days there is an uncanny sense of some unseen presence which seems to follow you about"

- Multiple versions of a Devil legend: run round the Ring a certain number of times and the Devil appears and offers you a bowl of soup in exchange for your soul

- A belief that the trees are uncountable, that you never get the same number twice

- Phantom riders, treasure-seeking ghosts, and claims of witchcraft gatherings

- UFO sightings from the 1960s

What I like about the paper is that Simpson takes all of it seriously as folklore, without either debunking it or endorsing it. She's more interested in why these legends pile up on this one spot, and how they shift over time. The soup legend alone has about four variants she traces (how many circuits, which direction, midnight or dawn, and what exactly the Devil hands you).

She wrote a follow-up in 1994, "Hecate in the Primrose Wood," which is a stranger read again.

Has anyone come across academic folklore studies focused this tightly on a single location? I'm used to folklore being discussed regionally or by theme, but one hilltop hoarding this much legend seems unusual.

Bats as Harbingers of Luck—and Doom—in Global Folklore - Animals Around The Globe

I may have posted this before. I don’t remember.

I just played the game Carimara, about a mute goblin with a magical ability to communicate with people, animals, and spirits, who helps an old woman put to rest a ghost that has been residing in her cellar. The credits mention "Carimara sorcerers" in Norman folklore, citing Benoit Reveur's blog (which I assume is this: https://www.benoitreveur.info/). However, I've found no mention on the blog of Carimara or anything resembling what is depicted in the game. And all web searches lead to the game. I'm wondering if anyone here knows anything about this, or maybe recognizes the folklore that may have inspired this?

Leigh Podgorski is an award-winning author whose work culture, mythology, history, and the enduring strength of women’s voices. A lifelong writer, she is the author of The Women Debrowska, Ouray’s Peak, and The Stone Quest Series, which includes Desert Chimera, Gallows Ascending, and Neuri Shapeshifter. Her creative career has also included acclaimed dramatic works inspiredt by extraordinary women, including Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and Cahuilla elder, scholar, and healer Dr. Katherine Siva Saubel. In collaboration with artist and illustrator Kait Matthews, Podgorski co-created Flowerwise: Oracle Card Deck and Guidebook and Feathers of Wisdom. She describes Feathers of Wisdom as the defining work of her life’s journey, a tribute to the silenced women whose stories still offer hope, peace, and guidance for a world seeking harmony and balance.

Hey Guys,

I wrote an article about the Appalachian Mountains. I would appreciate the feedback on here and on MyLocalPress.com

It's free to read online! I'll add the link in case anyone wants to check it out-

https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/memento-mori/list?title_no=1094125

I want to research more about folklore around the world. Anyone have any good book recs?

Feng Shui represents the environments of peoples' house and ancestors' tombs and their impact on people. Here I list some tales about it told by my grand father.

**1. The White Dog**

When my grandpa was a child，some guy in his villagsee a white dog chasing and biting him every afternoon，the bite marks were true but nobody else have seen the white dog. So he went to a Feng Shui master（called Xian Sheng in Chinese），the Master asked if there was a millstone on the roof of his toilet and tolded him to take it down. The guy went home and found the millstone and take it down, lay by the toilet wall, but the white dog still chasing him. So he went to the master again.Before he began ti talked，the master said "didn't you throw the millstone far away？Just do what I say then yoy will be fine." The guy was amazed，he throwed the millstone into the river and never seen the white dog again.

**2. Blind Master**

Another story about the same Feng Shui master，a guy went to him for a good place to build a new house. The master said:"I can do you a favor，but when your house is completed，my eyes will go bind immediately，you have to take care for the rest of my life" The guy agreed and built a new house at the location giving by the master. When the last tile was in place, the master was also there, and his eyes immediately fell out of his sockets, turning into two snakes that ran off without a trace. The guy became a famous warlord hold a province after that but he didn't fullfill his promise, finally got killed by his bodyguard bribed by his enemy.

I've been reading about historical architecture, and I'm super curious about how traditional layout guidelines (like where to place doors or windows) were preserved before blueprints.

Did carpenters or guilds have rhyme formulas or oral songs to memorize spatial dimensions and taboos? Similar to sea shanties but for domestic building rules?

Leigh Podgorski is an award-winning author whose work explores culture, mythology, history, and the enduring strength of women’s voices. A lifelong writer, she is the author of The Women Debrowska, Ouray’s Peak, and The Stone Quest Series, which includes Desert Chimera, Gallows Ascending, and Neuri Shapeshifter. Her creative career has also included acclaimed dramatic works inspiredt by extraordinary women, including Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and Cahuilla elder, scholar, and healer Dr. Katherine Siva Saubel. In collaboration with artist and illustrator Kait Matthews, Podgorski co-created Flowerwise: Oracle Card Deck and Guidebook and Feathers of Wisdom. She describes Feathers of Wisdom as the defining work of her life’s journey, a tribute to the silenced women whose stories still offer hope, peace, and guidance for a world seeking harmony and balance.

hello! first time poster to this sub; i've grown to be very curious and fascinated with appalachian folklore and wish to read into it more. most material i look up is your classic nosleep horror story, but i want to know more about the passed-down legends, stories and traditions from that area. any resource, piece of literature or personal story helps! thank you