Many would have heard the childhood tale of the Pied Piper who freed a town of rats by leading them away with his music and, when he wasn’t paid, he returned and led away the town’s children, who...
The notion of shapeshifting has been around for nearly as long as human beings. The possibility that a person can take the shape of another being—most often an animal—can be traced back thousands of...
When, lo! as they reached the mountain-side, A wondrous portal opened wide, As if a cavern was suddenly hollowed; And the Piper advanced and the children followed, And when all were in to the very...
There are many stock characters that are present in folk stories, fairy tales, and legends from all over the world. However, few are as constant as the figure of the Big Bad Wolf, a giant predator...
A figure from Slavic folklore , Koschei the Deathless (aka Koschei the Immortal) was known for his titular characteristic: his inability to die. What is most interesting about this figure, however,...
For thousands of years, shanty tales of half-human, half-marine beings called mermaids , selkies , and finfolk have drifted ashore with sea beaten sailors. They stitch together the mythologies of...
Lydia Zeldenrust / The Conversation Black Panther looks to be another hit for Marvel . The film has been highly anticipated, not least because it is a milestone in cinema with a black lead superhero...
“Little Red Riding Hood” is a fairytale most children have heard. But if you’re not familiar, it tells the story of a young girl who wears a red velvet hood and cape and travels alone through a...
Numerous folk stories in Galicia, Spain, tell of supernatural spirits that dwell in forests, among the waters of the rivers, or on sandy beaches. Many of them are related in some ways to ancient...
One of the most famous fables of all, variations of Snow White appear in more than 400 versions of fairy tales around the world. The most well-known version is actually called “ Snowdrop ” and comes...
Fascination with the Danish ballad Agnete og Havmanden , or "Agnete and the Merman", has long been prominent in the Scandinavian countries. In spite of arguments over origin and dating, the poem has...
Myth, legend and literature are full of tales about people ending up in either Heaven or Hell. However, every now and then a story arises about someone who belongs in neither. Such is the tale of...
Before there was Cinderella, there was Ye Xian. Undeniably one of the most well-read fairy tales made popular by Disney’s 1950s film, Cinderella describes the life of a young woman forced into...