Have you listened to our podcast yet? The Shropshire Witches Podcast is dedicated to sharing forgotten folklore and the history of those left out of traditional narratives. You can listen anywhere you get your podcasts, or via the link below.
https://media.rss.com/the-shropshire-witches-podcast-pod1/feed.xml
"There was once upon a time a young boy who inherited a small mountain farm from his parents. He held his father’s farm so dear that he thought to himself that he would live here all his life. But often, when he looked out over his small plots of land, he wished that they might grow into large rolling fields and meadows. And when he looked at his two solitary cows, he wished that he could own a whole herd. And when one evening he took the time to properly consider the small, grey buildings, he wished that they were large and fine, both those for the crops and those for the livestock and those he lived in himself. Yet there was one thing he was wholly certain of, and that was that he would never trade away or sell his father’s farm – no, not for all the goods or gold in the world. After all, it was here that he had been born and raised - and round about stood the quiet forest and the mighty mountains, and the view down to the broader settlement and its sparkling river was so pleasant and so beautiful. And just below his best field lay the bluest of blue mountain lakes, blinking at him, reflecting the surrounding mountains."
I’ve got a “LIttle Mermaid" Art Nouveau greeting card up for sale o my Goimagine art shop!
It was done in Procreate, taking 3449 strokes and 6h10m to complete. No artificial generating ridiculousness involved!
https://goimagine.com/little-mermaid-single-illustrated-greeting-card-5x7-with-envelope/
It’s also part of a pack of cards that feature a variety of fairytale images. They’re all 5x7 and blank inside with an interesting wrap-around-the-spine-crease effect I like to do on most of the cards I make.
https://goimagine.com/art-nouveau-fairytale-variety-pack-1-of-greeting-cards-5x7-with-envelopes/
I print, package, and post all these from my own home studio. No manufacturing or drop shipping.
Hungarian Roma #FolktaleMoment
A man catches a glimpse of the Fairy Queen and starts saying that even the sole of her foot is prettier than the King's only daughter. He almost gets executed for this, but the Fairy Queen shows up in the last moment to prove that the sole of her foot IS indeed prettier than the princess.
(The King at this point decides to marry the Fairy Queen, and goes through a whole lot of adventures to win her. Also, Fairy Queen has flying elephants.)
And now a troll has creeped me out:
“Now a troll lived in the mountains there in those days, and had been desirous of the girl ever since she had begun to herd her father’s cows, when she was but small. One day, when the girl was scarcely grown up, it spoke to her father, saying that if it could have the girl, then it would do what it could for her father and her folk.”
Be kind to cats!
“‘Shoo, cat!’ the girl cried, kicking at it.
“The boy picked up the cat and held it in his arms, gently stroking its back. ‘Promise that you shall never be mean to the cat,’ he said.”
I'm about a quarter of the way through translating Astrid and Olaf Thalberg’s Sagn og huldre-eventyr from 1929. It's moving along quite nicely.
Some good stuff here.
“Old Jon Berget knew a thing or two; he could make twisted limbs whole again and recite some words over sick livestock so it would recover. Folk said he owned a black book.”
In the myth of Sleeping Beauty, the earth-goddess sinks into her long winter sleep, pricked by winter’s sharp thorn. All is locked in icy repose. Naught thrives save the ivy defying the cold, till the kiss of the golden-haired sun-god stirs a reawakened life.
I have discovered eight volumes of Norwegian folktales that are in sore need of translation. Each tome has around 100 pages, and should thus take less than a year to complete. These, the Swedish folktales of Hyltén-Cavallius and Stephens, together with the Christmas album and the forgotten Norwegian variants that I'm pottering around with, and I won't have to surface in the real world for the foreseeable future.
Bliss.
Now, how can I take along with me those who are interested in coming?
“My horse is small but my sleigh is steady. Cast your lot with me! Cast your lot with me! Jump on! Don’t spare the mouse!” said the hen.
#Folklore #NorwegianFolktales #SwedishFolktales @norwegianfolktales #Folktales
3 things about Masahiro Shinoda’s DEMON POND [1979]
1. Peeling a pear. “Well chilled,” he tells her approvingly.
2. They protest–their daughter isn’t beautiful, then add grudgingly that she’s no longer a virgin.
3. Batting away at the desperate villagers with his cane.
#FolktaleMoment of the day (Hungarian Roma folktale):
A mother sheep craves watermelons. After many adventures to acquire some, she meets Jesus Christ. Jesus responds to her wishes by creating a girl who cries red apples.
Sheep says "I want watermelons, not apples."
Jesus re-creates the girl who now cries whole watermelons.
Sheep is happy. The end.
Today is the 5 year anniversary of NearlyKnowledgeable! I am grateful for all the support I've received on this journey! Being able to share Shropshire's story means so much to me. I'm feeling rather emotional thinking about how far I've come!
https://nearlyknowledgeablehistory.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-sin-eater.html
Looks like the reply guy lost interest. But I think my last toot in the thread may interest those who appreciate the concept of #EthicalFolklore.
So, the Swedish folktale Andersen based Princess & the Pea on has the exact opposite message. It's a "Puss in Boots" tale about a girl who pretends to be a princess dainty enough to feel the pea in her bed. To prove she's worthy of the prince's hand.
I see a lot of people criticize this tale for the girl "being a liar." Which kinda surprises me.
If royalty really wants to decide a woman's worth by being dainty enough to be bruised by a pea... joke's on them.
Going down the rabbit hole about the Welsh Triads. Organizing random mythical things in threes is one of the most delightful storytelling systems I know.
Conservative folklore peeps in Hungary: "Folktales carry our Traditional Values and the Ancient Wisdom of Our Ancestors. They follow a strict set of Traditional Rules"
Literal Hungarian folktales I found in archives:
- Princess Rosalia Lemonfarts
- The Diamond Prince in a Rubber Suit
- The Magic Flying Penis
- Rapunzel, but it's a bloke who makes a rope from his body hair
- Saint Peter got drunk and puked the first 
- The Princess who became a Prince
The best story in the #Grimm collection is still the one where a miller marries an earth spirit and ends up with a magical mill, but his son wants to study magic, so he spreads the word that the mill is cursed and defends it with various traps, but people still keep bothering him because the mill makes amazing flour, and eventually a girl with an emotional support beaver shows up and the miller's son is like sure fine whatever here is a bunch of gemstones leave me alone.
Impossible to go past a tourist stop that has a giant fiberglass Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.
Today is officially 2 YEARS! since The Best of Men was released! I'm still so proud of my little folk horror. Thank you to everyone who listened and supported us. I'm still planning to revisit the story 
https://www.buzzsprout.com/411730/episodes/12499890-the-best-of-men-an-audio-drama-part-one
