European Folklore

This collection of 10 time-honored tales brims with enchantment, whimsy, and sly humor. Assembled by a renowned poet and student of Gaelic language and culture, this edition includes "The Birth of Bran", "The Little Brawl at Allen", "The Enchanted Cave of Cesh Corran", "Becuma of the White Skin", "Mongan's Frenzy", and other stories.

Magic and myth inhabit these chapters in figures both familiar and strange. Giant trolls and talking animals are everywhere. The winds take human form. A one-eyed old woman might seem reminiscent of the Norse god Odin. We meet sly aunts, resourceful princesses, and devious robbers. These stories, set in Norway's majestic landscape of towering mountains and dense forests, are filled with humor, mischief, and sometimes surprisingly cruel twists of fate. All are rendered in the deceptively simple narrative style perfected by Asbjørnsen and Moe.

This new English translation of Icelandic Fairy Tales marks the first time these stories have been translated from German to English, bringing Josef Calasanz Poestion’s celebrated 1884 collection to a new audience. Poestion’s dedication to capturing Iceland’s rugged beauty and mystical heritage shines in each tale, offering a window into a land shaped by glaciers, volcanic peaks, and an enduring love for storytelling. Within this collection, readers will meet a captivating range of characters central to Iceland’s folklore. Giants and giantesses stride through these pages, as noble ...

After the catastrophic events of Eclipse of Destiny, Elena Petrova is desperate for silence, but the dead refuse to let her rest. The eclipse may have passed, yet its shadow still bleeds across Transylvania—widening cracks between the living and the forgotten. When a series of spectral disturbances ripple through Brașov, Elena discovers that the fall of the Strigoi priesthood has awakened something older and far more patient. A surviving priestess, bound to a fractured prophecy, believes Elena carries the bloodline needed to resurrect a long-buried empire. And she intends to claim it—...

Dive into the shadowy realms of folklore and legend with 'Cryptid Chronicles: Myths and Monsters of Europe.' This captivating book is a mesmerizing journey through the ancient lands of Europe, exploring the mysterious and often chilling tales of its legendary creatures. From the murky depths of Scotland's Loch Ness to the enigmatic forests of Slavic folklore, each chapter unfolds the stories of Europe's most intriguing cryptids. Witness the elusive Loch Ness Monster, lurking in the still waters of the Scottish Highlands, and traverse the Alpine peaks in pursuit of the serpentine Tatzelwurm....

The Faces of Krampus by Joe Moore (illustrated by Mary Moore) is a darkly enchanting book blending folklore, fantasy, and redemption in a tale that explores the shadow side of holiday tradition. Overview Set on December 5th—Krampusnacht—the story follows Santa Claus as he honors his relative, St. Nicholas, by visiting the good children of Europe with treats and cheer. But for those who’ve misbehaved, Santa doesn’t come alone. Enter Krampus, the fearsome enforcer of St. Nicholas, known by many names: Black Peter, Pelznickel, Knecht Ruprecht, Hanstrapp, and more. Once a humble chimney...

Quote from Albert Einstein: 'If you want your children to be smart, read them Fairy Tales. If you want them to be smarter, read them more Fairy Tales. Once upon a time... hundred's of years ago... many fairy tales were published throughout Germany and Europe... most notably by the Brother's Grimm, whose stories like Snow White, and Cinderella, are well known all over the world. However, many other authors also published their fascinating Fairy Tales during that time, with many of their stories never reaching the USA...they have remained buried on book shelves in old castles amid the fog of ...

"[Narrator] Nikki Massoud's strong performance complements this audiobook...Massoud draws out Malka's and Nimrah's opposing energies with clear, emotionally engaged characterizations, imbuing their journey with depth." — Kirkus “A dark and endlessly enchanting fairy tale ... I adored every...

A Tale of Alchemy, Ancestry, and Ash In a forgotten village nestled deep within the Carpathian mountains, where fog clings to the trees and the past refuses to die, a wandering healer arrives bearing nothing but tinctures, haunted dreams, and a vow to never look back. But some bloodlines don’t stay buried. What begins as a quiet attempt to start over becomes a descent into ancestral secrets, soul-forged rituals, and an impossible bond with a blacksmith who shouldn’t be alive. When silver-laced curses bleed into bone and monsters wear familiar faces, Marina must decide if love can ...

Quote from Albert Einstein: 'If you want your children to be smart, read them Fairy Tales. If you want them to be smarter, read them more Fairy Tales. Once upon a time... hundred's of years ago... many fairy tales were published throughout Germany and Europe... most notably by the Brother's Grimm, whose stories like Snow White, and Cinderella, are well known all over the world. However, many other authors also published their fascinating Fairy Tales during that time with many of their stories never reaching the USA...they have remained buried on book shelves, in old castles, amid the fog of...

This program features multicast narration. When Among Crows is swift and striking, drawing from the deep well of Slavic folklore and asking if redemption and atonement can be found in embracing what we most fear. We bear the sword, and we bear the pain of the sword. Pain is Dymitr’s calling...

Debunks the pervasive and self-congratulatory myth that our country is proudly founded by and for immigrants, and urges readers to embrace a more complex and honest history of the United States Whether in political debates or discussions about immigration around the kitchen table, many Americans...

When Dr. Frederick Miller—a charming, ambitious Manhattan physician—accepts an invitation to meet his influencer girlfriend's family in their secluded upstate village of Dysgood, he thinks he’s securing wealth, legacy, and the perfect life. The Jones family offers him a warm welcome, a lucrative position, and a seat at their impossibly curated table. But Dysgood is not a town. It is a trap. Crowned the "King of May" in a wedding that feels more ritual than romance, Frederick soon finds himself at the center of ancient traditions and seasonal ceremonies that defy modern logic. As the ...

Some deaths are final. Some are just the beginning. But erasure? Erasure means you never existed at all. Elena Andrei has survived the impossible—ancient curses, islands frozen in time, creatures that hunger for more than blood. She has become a scholar of the uncanny, documenting the folklore that others dismiss as myth. But her knowledge has made her dangerous. The Council of Folkloric Guardians doesn't kill those who threaten their carefully constructed reality. They erase them. Elena's name begins vanishing from her own research. Colleagues insist they've never met her. Her reflection...

Beneath Europe’s cobblestone streets and candlelit plazas lie stories never meant to be written down. Urban Legends: Short Stories from Mysterious European Cities is a chilling collection of eerie, atmospheric tales inspired by old-world cities where history refuses to stay buried. From fog-soaked alleyways in medieval towns to silent train stations, locked cathedrals, and rooms that should not exist, each story explores the thin line between folklore and lived experience. These are not loud horror stories filled with monsters and gore. Instead, they are quiet, unsettling legends—...

The myths of Ukraine were never written in ink; they were whispered by the wind and carved into the banks of the Dnipro. Step into a land defined by extremes – where endless golden steppes meet the crushing density of the Carpathian forests. For centuries, the people here lived by a "dual faith," a survival strategy where the church provided salvation, but the spirits of the earth provided the rules. Whispers from the Dnipro is not just a collection of fairy tales; it is a record of the negotiations between humanity and the wild. In these pages, the spirits are not monsters to be slain by...

Internationally acclaimed Irish folksinger Maura O'Connell narrates seven of the brightest jewels from the Irish storytelling tradition in this magnificent, unabridged recording of Malachy Doyle's Tales from Old Ireland. With its captivating language, larger-than-life characters, dramatic landscapes, and magical happenings, this enchanting collection of favorite Irish folk tales will transport listeners to another world for many happy hours.

Midnight Pavements gathers urban legends from the UK and Ireland as they are still passed on—at bus stops, in pubs, on late walks home, and along roads people mention by name. Entries are brief and clear, drawn from oral tellings and printed sources where they exist. Where possible, the book notes early mentions, common variants, and places linked to a tale; where details are uncertain, that uncertainty is stated directly. Stark black-and-white ink drawings hold the atmosphere. This first volume follows the folklore of ordinary routes after dark: the stretch of road, the house with a ...

In a magisterial work, Jaan Puhvel unravels the prehistoric Indo-European origins of the traditions of India and Iran, Greece and Rome, of the Celts, Germans, Balts, and Slavs. Utilizing the methodologies of historical linguistics and archaeology, he reconstructs a shared religious, mythological, and cultural heritage. Separate chapters on individual traditions as well as on recurrent themes—god and warrior, king and virgin, fire and water—give life to Comparative Mythology as both a general introduction and a detailed reference.

Employing the popular Don't Know Much About style, with its familiar question-and-answer format, DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT MYTHOLOGY will explore the myths of the world, their impact on history, and their continuing role in our lives. It will offer listeners a wide-ranging, comprehensive...