#folklore

#folklore

National Geographic's newest documentary "The Tale of Silyan" explores the heartwarming story of a down on his luck farmer's unlikely bond with an injured stork. While chatting with On The Red Carpet, director Tamara Kotevska revealed the meaning behind the title, "'The Tale of Silyan' is a very popular tale in Macedonia. It's (as) popular as Snow White, you know. And uh, we grew up with this tale. This is the first story I heard from my farming grandparents."

From keeping your purse off the floor to skipping chicken on New Year's Day, these family superstitions didn't fade - they stuck. Call them cultural traditions, old wives' tales, or just "I'm not risking it." They promise good luck, ward off "the devil," and trace how beliefs travel from grandparents to Gen Z'ers. As bizarre as some of them sound, we keep them for the same reason we keep family recipes: they were handed down with love, warnings, and a little drama.

They say the Goatman prowls the woods at night near my home in Maryland. He was once a biologist named Stephen Fletcher at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. That was before the accident with goat DNA transformed him into a half-­human, half-­goat monster who devours victims that he slays with an axe. It's been decades since I first heard of the Goatman.

When you ask someone whether they have ever seen a ghost, you are asking them whether they believe in the inexplicable. Some people are more accustomed to the idea than others: In different folklores, throughout history, ghosts appear as omens and lost spirits; they signify regret, pain, open endings. Then there are the ghosts that haunt not a culture, but a person.

Called Loughareema and locally referred to as 'the vanishing lake', the natural feature is capable of a remarkable magic trick. It can be full in the morning but completely empty just a few hours later - as if the water has somehow 'vanished'. What makes Loughareema so unusual is there are no rivers flowing out of the lake, only three flowing in to it.

The latest work by Moreno-Garcia recounts the story of Minerva, a graduate student influenced by her great-grandmother's tales of witch encounters, leading to horrifying revelations.

Ben LaMar Gay's debut album, Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun, was a compilation of seven unreleased albums recorded over seven years, showcasing Chicago's hidden talent.

The project combined digital artists' talents to create a fantasy mystery novel showcasing England's folklore through vivid illustrations.

Isabella Lovestory's "Vanity" is inspired by folkloric vampires, exploring themes of beauty, self-perception, and contrasts across its 13 diverse tracks.

"This performance is a descent into a world where Filipino and Latine legacies fuse with folklore, revealing mysteries behind mermaids, gods, and pirates."

Under the guidance of Peruvian artist Luis Valverde, the Bay Area will experience unique folkloric dance pieces from the Andes in a cultural showcase.

The Green Children have consistently been viewed as mere curiosities of superstition, but a deeper examination reveals the rich social tapestry they represent in medieval life.

In early modern Europe, werewolf trials fell under secular or local judicial authority, prosecuted not for heresy, but for acts of violence, murder, and madness.