Vampires Before Dracula
Two centuries before Stoker, villages were digging up their dead.
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The archive
Fiction, poetry, essays, reviews and art in one reading room.
Christmas Folklore
The twelve days, and the visitors who come with them.
Creatures of the British Isles
Black dogs, seal-women and the washer at the ford.
How Well Do You Know European Folklore?
Six questions across the continent, from the Alps to the Basque mountains.
How Well Do You Know African Folklore?
Stories, beliefs, creatures and tricksters from diverse African traditions.
How Well Do You Know South American Folklore?
Ghost ships, forest guardians, shapeshifters and strange tales from across South America.
Folklore or Fiction?
A singing log, a haunted well, and other tales. Which were really told, and which did we invent?
November Monster of the Month: Lussi
The Woman of the Longest Night Before the candlelit Lucia processions of modern Sweden, the night of 13 December had a far
At the Tarn
No halter. No brand. The white horse stood where peat had given way to open water, its fetlocks clean. My brother brought
Poem of the Week: The Witch’s Bargain
She didn’t want your name. She wanted the heat in your chest, the one that burns when you lie to your
Before the Pumpkin, There Was the Turnip
Long before the grinning pumpkin became the face of Halloween, people in Ireland carved something considerably less cheerful. The story of the
Alligators in the Sewers: Why We Can't Stop Telling This Story
On a February afternoon in 1935, a group of teenagers in East Harlem was shovelling snow into an open manhole on 123rd