I seem to remember watching black and white images of men wearing bandanas over their faces as they raced on horseback toward their hideout after a successful bank/train robbery. A lot of that imagery comes from schools that uses TVs on a carts, I think. Nothing would actually compare to the real deal that was Rogues Hollow, Ohio.
Continue reading The Dark Legends of Rogues Hollow, OhioCategory Archives: Folklore
Folklore: The Botched Destruction of a Vampire on Mykonos
When I was a kid, I had a book about vampires that explored a host of different undead lore. Also, how to stop vampires in their tracks. This book also mentioned some real-life examples of vampire slayings. As with many types of folkloric creatures, the monster in the following tale may inform us about more than the horror of the undead. Here is an interesting tale of one such re-killing that involves a vampire on Mykonos.
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Exploring the Origins of the Bogeyman in Folklore
What child has not had a million nightmares about creatures bursting out of their closet door or crawling out from underneath their bed? While the threat of a horrible creature is a fairly simplistic fear for a child, understanding the exact reason for the bogeyman’s existence is more complex. In this post, we will look at the origins of the bogeyman and how it has been used to keep children in line for centuries.
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The Michigan Dogman: Mystery and History
Have you ever seen bigfoot in the woods? What about the mysterious Michigan Dogman? You can be sure that many people in the Midwest have thought about a hairy cryptid from time to time. Whether that be Bigfoot or another unusual monster is up to the imagination. In this post, we are going to discuss the regionally specific cryptid known as the Dogman of Wexford Country.
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Folklore: Pressie, The Serpentine Cryptid of Lake Superior
Five Great Lakes surround Michigan and the waters run deep, especially in Lake Superior. The waters run so deep in fact, that entire ships have been lost to it over the years (the Edmund Fitzgerald for instance). Allegedly, there is also a serpentine cryptid in the depths of Lake Superior that goes by the name of Pressie.
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How to Use Folkloric Language to Convey Complex Ideas
There is a wealth of advice on how to write complex thoughts and feelings. Though technique and general advice typically muddle what’s not complex to understand. In other words, one simple way to write complex ideas is to do just that–write simply. Also, using a lens might help; in this case, folklore. Thus, using folkloric language to convey complex ideas is one way to approach writing.
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Folklore: The Legend of Lilac Lady at Landmark Inn
In Marquette, Michigan, far to the North of the state, there is a historic hotel: Landmark Inn. The hotel is located on Front Street. Inside, on the sixth floor, is the Lilac Room, which is beautifully designed and in lilac pink. Regardless of its beauty, it has a darker side, because according to legend–a ghost lives in this hotel. In this post, we will explore the the Lilac Lady of Landmark Inn, because who doesn’t love a good ghost story?
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Why Bigfoot Remains a Captivating Legend Today
Legends are a big part of oral storytelling. They help humans understand their past and create engaging stories where there are none. The folkloric Bigfoot is such a story because of its plausibility and what it symbolizes in the vast American wilderness. In this post, we are going to define a legend and see how Bigfoot fits within that definition.
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Myth vs Legend vs Tall Tale: What Sets Them Apart?
Zeus, The Headless Horseman, Paul Bunyan, and Bigfoot all share some commonalities. Clearly, there are supernatural and fantastical elements in each of their stories, but how do myths, legends, and tall tales differ? And, how can we distinguish between them? It becomes much easier to understand these differences if you consider the context and typical usage of each term. In this post we will understand how each of these terms share similarities and differences.
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