#folkloremoment — Public Fediverse posts

#FolkloreMoment : A lot of people claim that folk tales convey "moral lessons". But apparently, the lesson can sometimes be:

"If a more powerful woman wants to sleep with your husband, you'd better let her and act like a complete doormat with you want to remain unscathed!"

https://archive.org/details/mythenundsagenau00krai/page/394/mode/2up

#FolkloreMoment : In the Silesian village of Hozeploz, the departed often return to their living kin after death.

They eat with the living, drink with them, and even mingle carnally with their wives!

And when travelers pass through the village at that time, the dead run after them and jump on their backs.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #vampire
https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/287638

#FolkloreMoment : There was once a man who lived in constant strife with his wife. He preferred the pub to staying home, and when he went home he frequently beat his wife so badly that their neighbors had to come and help her.

When he was finally nearing the end of his life, he asked his wife to forgive him, but she refused to do so.

One later evening, his wife walked past the graveyard when she suddenly felt a heavy load on her shoulders. She hurried home, but no matter what she did, she weight would not come off.

She then went to the priest, and told her story. The priest then admonished her to forgive her dead husband. Once she did so, the weight on her shoulders vanished.

And the moral of the story is... be careful before looking for moral guidance from old folk tales. 😉

#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/287638

#FolkloreMoment : A woman in Bensdorf fed bread to her pigs.

As punishment for this sin, she returned as a ghost in the shape of a black pig which appeared next to the other pigs.

#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/287638

#FolkloreMoment : It is a common belief in German #folklore that, if a woman dies soon after giving birth, she will return from the grave for several weeks to breastfeed the child until it is strong enough to survive without her.

#ttrpg suggestion: If you want to create a character with "innate" necromantic or other supernatural powers, this seems as good as a background story as any. 😉

https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/287638

#FolkloreMoment : I am currently reading through a folk tale collection from Silesia, and I love that there's an entire section of tales with the theme:

"Salvation-seeking castle maidens who transform into snakes"

https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/287638

#FolkloreMoment : In the year 1661, a murderous family of criminals was executed in Wohlau.

Among the other crimes they confessed under torture, they allegedly cut out the hearts of several murdered women and children and ate those in order to turn themselves invisible and ward themselves from harm.

https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/287638

#FolkloreMoment : I've read an Austrian folk tale about the origin of the "miracle doctor" Theophrast. And it says that, when he was born, his mother had to be cut into four parts in order to deliver him.

All I could think was: "This is the future the 'Pro Life' people want."

#FolkloreMoment : According to the #folklore of Silesia, particularly evil people would get a horse's hoof after death, and could be seen wandering around as revenants in this form.

https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/287638

#FolkloreMoment : Near Duderstadt there is a circular hill known as the "braune Bühel" - the "brown bag".

According to legend, this hill was formed when Heaven opened a hole at the bottom - and dumped its waste through this hole.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #giant
https://digitalisate.sub.uni-hamburg.de/recherche/detail?tx_dlf%5Bdouble%5D=1&tx_dlf%5Bid%5D=37161&tx_dlf%5Bpage%5D=216&tx_dlf_navigation%5Baction%5D=main&tx_dlf_navigation%5Bcontroller%5D=Navigation&cHash=962f23df25d66b1a0fc9d70c7b8c9559

#FolkloreMoment : According to legend, during a time when few communities in East Frisia were able to afford their own church bells, many such communities attempted to steal their neighbors' bells - although few such raids were successful.

#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://digitalisate.sub.uni-hamburg.de/recherche/detail?tx_dlf%5Bdouble%5D=1&tx_dlf%5Bid%5D=37161&tx_dlf%5Bpage%5D=150&tx_dlf_navigation%5Baction%5D=main&tx_dlf_navigation%5Bcontroller%5D=Navigation&cHash=9762af772d495720b7d1cbbdbad5bb51

#FolkloreMoment: I must say, the amount of literal child sacrifice in old German folk tales is... disturbing.

Usually this is done to fortify the foundations of a large building - by walling a small child into them alive.

In Celle, this was allegedly done during the construction of a church!

"If you do not bury a living child in the ground, the church will not be standing tall. Doesn't the little Baby Jesus the church so that it has a firm foundation? I am telling you: Only a live child will make your church stand firm!"

#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://digitalisate.sub.uni-hamburg.de/recherche/detail?tx_dlf%5Bdouble%5D=0&tx_dlf%5Bid%5D=37161&tx_dlf%5Bpage%5D=41&tx_dlf%5Bpagegrid%5D=0&tx_dlf_navigation%5Bcontroller%5D=Navigation&cHash=6061ffefd21ffaa2b253f49176438282

#FolkloreMoment : Once, the dike next to the river Weser burst at Rechtenfleth, and the locals labored for several seasons to repair it - but the hole never seemed to fill up, no matter how much sand they poured into it.

Then they asked a wise woman for advice. She told them: "You will labor until Judgment Day if you don't appease the Heavens. Grab the first person to pass by the next morning, throw them into the depths, and construct the dike above them."

The first person who passed by was a rich, prideful farmer named Heuer. Then they grabbed him, threw him into the hole, and built the dike above him like the wise woman said. The ground bekame solid, and the dike was soon completed with God's aid.

But the dike was called "Heuer's Dike" since then, and it is said that during quiet nights there is groaning and wailing in the depths at this site.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #dike

#FolkloreMoment: Once, a "devout and noble-minded" young man regularly visited his girlfriend who was equally "devout and noble-minded". She welcomed him into her chamber during every night of the full noon.

Once, he found her weeping and asked her what was wrong and how he could help her.

"You can't help me. Go and fetch me a woman!"

So he went out at midnight, and encountered Percht, a female spirit of the mountain. She asked him where he was going.

"I go to fetch a woman who can help my beloved!"

"Well, then I won't harm you - which I would have done if you were doing something bad. But I want to ask for a favor. Won't you carve a wooden nail for my wagon?"

The young man agreed to do so, and Percht told him to keep all the wood shavings, for he would regret it if he left one behind.

And when he finally returned to his beloved, she was well and healthy and "a large bird had lowered a little boy through the chimney".

Oh, and he discovered that all the wood shavings had turned into gold and silver coins.

... I think this is what the TV Tropes Wiki calls "Getting Crap Past the Radar". It sounds like the two of them could haveAnalyse und Review der Aktivitäten der Stadt zum Klimaschutz
used some sex education, but at least it all turned out well for them in the end.

#Austria #folktale #folklore
https://archive.org/details/mythenundsagenau00krai/page/400/mode/2up?view=theater

#FolkloreMoment : I've been translating a lot of vampire folklore from northeastern Germany as of late. And they are not at all similar to modern media portrayals of the phenomenon.

For starters, they rarely if ever actually leave their graves. Instead, all their "feasting" is usually done via some sort of sympathetic connection to their victims (usually their relatives).

The reason why someone becomes a vampire after death also varies a lot. But the account I am currently translating ("Der Vampyr im Wendlande"/"The Vampyre in the Wendland Region") has a particularly interesting take on this.

You see, people will become vampires if they have been weaned off their mother's breast twice as infants - that is to say, the first attempt at weaning them off mothers' milk didn't take. They must survive to become adults, but then, once they die, they will become vampires. They are also called "Dubbelsüger" or "Doppelsauger" - "Double Sucker" for this reason.

And then, once they are dead, they will sit up in their graves and _attempt to suck their own breasts_ - presumably because they are so used to sucking breasts during their infancy. And this "sucking" is then somehow transferred to their next of kin, who will become pale, scrawnly, and weak until they finally die.

Quite a difference to the usual Anne Rice-type vampire, isn't it?

(Incidentally, I will publish the full translation of this account on my Patreon page this December.)

#Germany #folktale #folklore #vampire
https://books.google.de/books?id=DYlUAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA924#v=onepage&q&f=false

#FolkloreMoment : In German-language folklore, when a woman from the spirit world lusts after a married human man, she will often give him a girdle "for his wife".

Fortunately, the mortals are usually suspicious and put that girdle around a tree first - which the girdle will then tear apart!

#Austria #folktale #folklore
https://archive.org/details/mythenundsagenau00krai/page/396/mode/2up?view=theater

#FolkloreMoment : Once, a "Wild Maiden", a spirit of the mountains, fell in love with a farmer - but the farmer was already married.

But the farmer's wife knew how vengeful the Wild Maidens could be if their wishes were thwarted in any way. Thus, she was careful never to display the slightest bit of jealousy, handed over all her conjugal rights, and even made sure that the Wild Maiden was comfortable when sleeping in the bed.

In gratitude, the Wild Maiden blessed the farm and the descendants of the farmer when she finally left.

#Austria #folktale #folklore
https://archive.org/details/mythenundsagenau00krai/page/394/mode/2up?view=theater

#FolkloreMoment : So, there's a certain folk narrative where a poor miner can't keep up with his costs of living due to circumstances (a large family, a poor mother, a frail constitution). He despairs, but a mountain spirit appears for him and takes pity on him. He offers to do his work on the condition that he must keep their association a secret.

Suddenly, the miner earns a _lot_ more money because "he" accomplishes a lot more work! But other miners get jealous, make all sorts of accusations, or get him drunk until he finally spills the secret.

Enraged, the mountain spirit kills the miner. Then he shows the corpse to the other miners who pressured him to reveal his secret, and berates them: "This is YOUR fault that I killed him, because you pressured him to reveal our secret!"

And I am like... DUDE, how about simply... _not_ killing him, due to extenuating circumstances? Don't act like you didn't have a choice in this matter!

#Austria #folktale #folklore #mining
https://archive.org/details/mythenundsagenau00krai/page/358/mode/2up?view=theater

#FolkloreMoment : A farmer once made a bet with a strange cattle trader. The trader gave him a small box with the instruction not to open it before his firstborn had died. If he managed to do that, he would have won the bet.

However, the farmer was soon overcome with curiosity and opened it - but found only dust inside. But when he sat down for dinner in the main chamber, he suddenly saw a brown skull next to his feet!

All attempts to get rid of it failed, for it always reappeared at the same spot. Even burying it in hallowed ground did nothing.

Finally, he constructed a wooden box around it so that no one would see it - for otherwise no maid and no farmhand would have stayed in his employ.

#Austria #folktale #folklore
https://archive.org/details/mythenundsagenau00krai/page/318/mode/2up?view=theater

#FolkloreMoment : Once, a man encountered a snake who followed him home. He grew very fond of the snake, and one day she told him: "If you were to marry me, you would have no cause for complaints."

After thinking it over, he agreed. Then he took a ring from her tail, and they went to an inn. In the evening, while the other guests were still dancing, the man and the snake went to bed.

Around midnight, the snake turned into a beautiful woman, and the man "found this shape very enjoyable". She kept this shape ever since.

#Austria #folktale #folklore #snake

#FolkloreMoment : Once, a huntsman slept in the forest. Then a snake came and crawled into his mouth.

A woman who witnessed this gave him warm milk to drink, and told him to lean over a pot full of warm milk and leave his mouth open. And indeed, the snake came out of his mouth again.

https://archive.org/details/mythenundsagenau00krai/page/182/mode/2up?view=theater

#FolkloreMoment : Once, a man in the village of Werkel discovered to his horror that his wife was a witch. To his great relief, she eventually fell sick and died.

But then he discovered that his young daughter had apparently learned witchcraft from her mother! Distraught, he went to the priest for advice.

"Well," said the priest, "we can't do anything here but to give her something so that she dies as well."

They did so, and since then the man had peace from witches.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #witch #witchcraft
https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb11014716?page=192,193

#FolkloreMoment : Near Dörnhagen, there is a large stone. Once, a woman gave birth to twins there, and since then the stone refuses to let anyone pass the road nearby who travels there around midnight...

...and no, I don't see how one logically follows from the other.

#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb11014716?page=176,177

#FolkloreMoment : This is the first time I saw a werewolf described as "a very long black dog" that "moved with snake-like movements.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #werewolf
https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb11014716?page=170,171

#FolkloreMoment : I really need to write a book on "Fortean phenomena" in German folklore one day.

But even among other weird phenomena, a cow stable that somehow transforms into a boulevard while a woman is milking cows inside is something special.

There is no explanation for this, either. It's just something that happens.

#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb11014716?page=170,171

#FolkloreMoment : In German folklore, it's very unwise to wish for a horse when you need to go somewhere.

A horse might appear - and if you climb on it, it will keep on _growing_ during the ride until it is taller than the trees.

I've only found two such accounts so far, but one of them is from Kassel, and the other one is from the Königsberg/Kaliningrad region - so it's possible that this is a more common tale type.

https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb11014716?page=168,169

#FolkloreMoment : While reading through a collection of folk tales from Hesse, I came across two stories featuring the American War of Independence.

One is about a potato soup made during the war with "special ingredients", and the other one features a Hessian general getting captured.

https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb11014716?page=136,137

#FolkloreMoment : Once, a woman said that she would like to marry - but she did not want to bear any children, as she was terribly afraid of the pains of birth.

The couple went to their local priest, who said that he was unable to help them. So he sent them to the pope.

The pope said that he could help her, if she followed his instructions exactly. Then the pope told her that he could help her - if she agreed to follow his instructions exactly.

The woman agreed, and then the pope arranged for her to spend the night in a room with a snake.

The next morning, the woman was dead - but her wish was fulfilled, for now she would never give birth.

#Germany #folktale #folklore #pope #snake
https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb11014716?page=70,71

#FolkloreMoment : In the early 17th century, innumerable dice carved made of bones - presumably of Roman origin - were found in the ground at a meadow near the Swiss town of Baden, and they were traded among collectors far and wide.

Then the church began to preach that God had multiplied these "as if from a seed" from the original dice of the Roman soldiers who had gambled for the gown of Jesus Christ at the cross. Which meant that these dice now were relics and thus worthy of the highly lucrative relic trade!

#Switzerland #folktale #folklore #ttrpg

EDIT - forgot the link:
https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb10454995?page=314,315

#FolkloreMoment : "Ghost of our family matriarch, how may we put your soul at peace?"

Ghost: "Pay for lots of masses in my name and give lots of grain to the poor to compensate for my miserliness in life!"

Relatives: "Oh, wow, that sounds really expensive, and would ruin our wealth. How about we... don't do that? Have fun in Hell, I suppose..."

#Switzerland #folktale #folklore #ghost
https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb10454995?page=192,193