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Legend

The little-known medieval hero known as Hereward the Wake. Source: Kathy / Adobe Stock

Hereward the Wake – Original Robin Hood or Fictional Medieval Hero?

Famous legendary figures like King Arthur and Robin Hood have one foot planted in fact and one firmly planted in fiction. This is also true for Hereward the Wake, an Anglo-Saxon nobleman who helped...
Medieval Knight. Many of the Knights of the Round Table were fated to an early death. Source: Tony Marturano / Adobe Stock

King Arthur's Tragic Knights of the Round Table

Few stories in English folklore have had the staying power of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. While many people are familiar with the legend, few people realize how many different...
Legend has it that Robert the Bruce was inspired to continue his struggle for Scottish independence by a spider in a cave. Source: pedro / Adobe Stock

A Spider Had a Leading Role in the Story of Scottish Independence

Inspiration can come in all shapes and sizes. But the story of the downtrodden Scottish national hero Robert the Bruce, who ruled Scotland in the 14th century, being motivated to continue his...
Illustration of a dream-eating Baku monster from Japanese mythology. Source: Fair Use

Baku: The Legendary Dream Eating Monster of Japanese Mythology

The Baku, otherwise known as the dream eater, is a mythological being or spirit in Chinese and Japanese folklore which is said to devour nightmares. The Baku cannot be summoned without caution,...
Mermaid image with inset image of the Japanese mummified mermaid. Source: yukinya / Adobe Stock and Asahi Shumbun Company / Youtube

Mummified “Mermaid” CT Scanned by Japanese Scientists

The origins of a bizarre creature that resides in a Japanese temple are being studied. While the so-called mermaid is worshipped as such, a folklorist suspects this is another P. T. Barnum special...
There are stories of ever burning lamps throughout history and in different parts of the world. Source: Kanea / Adobe Stock

The Ancient Mystery of the Ever-Burning Lamps

Fire is only produced when certain materials – a combustible material, an oxidizer, and a source of heat – are present in the right proportions. The absence of one or more of these elements would...
The Origins of the Faeries: Encoded in our Cultures

The Origins of the Faeries: Encoded in our Cultures – Part I

The faeries appear in folklore from all over the world as metaphysical beings, who, given the right conditions, are able to interact with the physical world. They’re known by many names but there is...
According to folklore and myths, certain Finnish trees hold spirits and deities and hugging them brings people in closer contact with these.  Source: leonovo / Adobe Stock

Greeting Old Friends: Sacred Trees in Finnish Folklore

Finland is known as a country with many forests. In fact, over 75% of Finland is covered in forests. Therefore, it is not surprising that Finnish folklore includes several myths and stories told...
The strange Merman of Banff, Alberta (Canada).

The Strange Merman of Banff: Legendary Lake Monster or Just a Trading Post Treasure?

As a researcher of unusual historical phenomena, I investigate strange stories, but I had no intention of doing so in Alberta, Canada. Nevertheless, I came across something that was truly odd in the...
The Green Children of Woolpit, created from Babes in the Wood illustration by Randolph Caldecott. Source: Project Gutenberg / Public Domain

The Green Children of Woolpit: Legendary Visitors from Another World

The 12th century tale of the Green Children of Woolpit, in Suffolk, is a bizarre medieval folk story which has been remembered for generations. It isn’t often we hear of children appearing at the...
: Interior of Lovelock Cave located next to the former lakebed of Lake Lahontan in Nevada. Source: BLM Nevada / CC BY-SA 2.0

Lovelock Cave: A Tale of Giants or A Giant Tale of Fiction?

The Paiutes, a Native American tribe indigenous to parts of Nevada, have an oral tradition that they told to early white settlers of the area about a race of red-haired, white giants or “barbarians”...
The Jersey Devil

The Devil Walks Among Us: The Legend of The Jersey Devil

Inhabiting the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States, is a creature known as the Jersey Devil. This legendary being has been described as a kangaroo-like creature with the head of a goat...
Does the fabled 1,000-ft White Pyramid of Xian in China really exist? Source: EvgeniyBobrov / Adobe Stock

In Search of the Fabled 1,000-ft White Pyramid of Xian in China

Scattered across an isolated, flat plain in Shaanxi Province, near the ancient capital of Xi’an, lie dozens of spectacular pyramid mounds that are little known outside of China. Mixed in with the...
The legend of Princess Tuag is a tragic tale in Irish mythology. Source: Вероника Преображенс / Adobe Stock

The Legend of Princess Tuag: An Irish Tragedy

Tuag is a princess in Irish legend. Stories say she was so beautiful that she even attracted the attention of a god, who sent a bard to kidnap her. However, tragedy struck, and the princess lost her...
The Living Dead: Chinese Hopping Vampires

The Living Dead: Chinese Hopping Vampires

The Hopping Vampires (jiang shi) are a type of undead creature found in Chinese folklore. Although its Chinese name is often translated as ‘Chinese hopping vampire / zombie / ghost), its literal...
Detail from one of the fragments showing the name Merlin.  Source: University of Bristol

13th Century Magical Merlin Manuscript Shares Original Legend

After two years of hard work, scholars have now finished an Old-French-to-English translation of a centuries-old manuscript that tells of the adventures of Merlin the Magician , King Arthur, and...
The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon.

Solomon and Sheba: Were a Famous Pharaoh and Queen the Real Protagonists in this Love Story?

The story of Solomon and Sheba is well known as one of love. But it is only when we learn their true identities that we see how much affection and adoration Solomon had for his favorite Queen. He...
Where's the evidence for Robin Hood?

Why is the Evidence for Robin Hood as Elusive as the Man Himself?

The historic existence of the legendary English hero who ‘stole from the rich and gave to the poor’ is a perennial source of debate. Every few years, new evidence emerges of authenticity and possible...
A woman capable of shapeshifting into various animals.

Evolving Forms: An Intriguing Look at Shapeshifting

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...
Haunting and beautiful Middle-Earth-like elves by artist

Icelanders Believed in Elves, But it is Probably Not What You Think

Icelanders believe in elves. They refuse to begin major construction projects unless they consult with elves first. They lobby their politicians on behalf of elf colonies. They run “elf schools” and...
Beowulf & Grendel: Monsters, Mistranslations & A Genetic Interpretation

Beowulf & Grendel: Monsters, Mistranslations & A Genetic Interpretation

The 6th century epic poem Beowulf echoes as loud today as it did when it was written fifteen hundred years ago. Ink has been spilt, careers made, films produced, and academic wars have been waged in...
A Cycle of Life and Death: Slavic Goddesses Morana and Vesna

A Cycle of Life and Death: Slavic Goddesses Morana and Vesna

Forever intertwined, Morana, goddess of winter and death, and Vesna, goddess of spring and rebirth, could not exist without each other. However, they could not possibly exist in the same place at the...
 ‘An Arab Caravan outside a Fortified Town, Egypt.

Inside Rhinocolura, The City Of Noseless Criminals

Near the city of Gaza, 3,000 years ago, laid a city unlike any other in the world. The Greeks called it Rhinocolura, named for strange faces of the people who lived there – because every person there...
Deriv; Ancient Celtic dolmen from Poulnabrone, Ireland and carved Egyptian deity Thoth

Thoth’s Storm: New Evidence for Ancient Egyptians in Ireland?

When ancient Egypt and Ireland are spoken about in the same breath it usually results in the rolling of eyes, polite exits and the sound of murmurs citing pseudo-history and new age babble. At least...

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