#appalachianfolklore — Public Fediverse posts

Fairies of Northern Appalachia is OUT NOW!

I’m so excited to say that “Fairies of Northern Appalachia: A History of the Little People of the Mountains” is out everywhere now.

The book collects old and new folklore from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, eastern Ohio, Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and western Maryland. It features Pennsylvania Dutch, Scots Irish, Irish, and Cornish traditions, among others.

Here you’ll find stories about banshees, tommyknockers, gnomes, mountain dwarves, household spirits, wassernixen, fairy queens, fairy witches, Appalachian pygmies, and arrow-shooting elves.

The painting on the cover is “The Fairy Favourite” by John Anster Fitzgerald, which I thought perfectly captured the strangeness and diversity of Appalachian fairies. The carving on the back cover is by artist Joan Reed.

You can find it at your local bookstore or at Amazon. The book is also available in a beautiful hardcover (see below).

#MythologyMonday 🍇🌿🧙‍♀️🫖
In Appalachian folklore, boneset tea was a fever remedy when “witch’s breath” (illness) swept the mountains. 🤒⛰️🌳🌡️

💮 #Yarrow was brewed to “sweat out” sickness, and elderberries offered magical protection and healing from colds. Herbs hung above doorways guarded families from plague.
#BonsetTea 🌿🫖#Witchsbreath #AppalachianFolklore ⛰️🌳#HerbalWellness 🌿🍵

Sources: Foxfire Books; Phyllis D. Light, Southern Folk Medicine

📷by Barbi Gardiner

Legends tell of small, pale-skinned people that once lived in the Southern Appalachians. The Cherokee called them the Moon-Eyed People because they only emerged from their subterranean homes at night due to their eyesight being so poor that sunlight blinded them. #FolkloreSunday

📷: Aron Visuals

#Folklore #MoonEyedPeople #Moon #Appalachians #Cherokee #AppalachianFolklore #CherokeeFolklore #NorthAmericanFolklore

I was remembering that I’d read a small collection of Manly wade Wellman’s John the Balladeer stories and wanted to read more. These stories are about a man with a silver-stringed guitar who meets some pretty scary creatures in the hollers of Appalachia, published in the 30’s-60’s. I found the book I originally read, which has stories by Eric Flint, David drake, and Ryk Spoor . I found another one and put it on my wishlist. #horror #folklore #AppalachianFolklore

Belated #Introduction

30+ years in workplace safety. No real name due to employer. #safetyatwork

I have a lot of unconventional interests:
#cryptozoology
#UFOs
#UAPs
#Forteana
#Writing
#Dogs
#3dprinting
#3dmodeling
#HorrorLit
#SciFiLit
#ttrpg
#DND
#python
#GodotEngine
#LowCode
#GameDev
#vegetarian
#pescatarian
#Americana
#Folklore
#AppalachianFolklore
#Appalachian

I'm an amateur at pretty much everything.