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Just dropped by to say "Duh"
Just wanted to stop by to apologize for not posting here in awhile. Midnight Movies has been testing my ingenuity so much that I haven't been able to think of anything relevant to mythology or folklore, and I haven't run across anything naturally either. I'm lurking, though! :-)
Incredible Greek Mythology Site
Quite by accident I stumbled across an amazingly extensive site on Greek Mythology called "Theoi" -- tons of information about all the Greek Gods and Goddesses, Fabulous Creatures, Myths, Cults, etc.
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I love classical mythology and will probably spend a lot of time checking it out (provided I ever have a lot of time!) :-)
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I love classical mythology and will probably spend a lot of time checking it out (provided I ever have a lot of time!) :-)
The Ultimate Werewolf Book
I just added this PDF to the group's Files: "The Book Of Werewolves," by Sabine Baring-Gould, a folklorist minster who also wrote the hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers." It's a survey of the folklore and also has historical information on famous accused werewolves, their trials, etc.
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Chinese Foo Lions
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chinese guardian lions, also called Fu (Foo) Lions, lions of Buddha, or sometimes stone lions (石獅, Pinyin: Shíshī) in Chinese art, are a common representation of the lion in pre-modern China, which is believed to have powerful mythic protective powers that has traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, temples, emperors' tombs, government offices, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), until the end of the empire in 1911.
Lions of Fo are always created in pairs, with the male playing with a ball and the female with a cub. They occur in many types of Chinese pottery and in Western imitations.
Pairs of Chinese guardian lions, also called Chinese stone lions are still common decorative and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other structures, with one sitting on each side of the entrance, in China and in other places around the world where the Chinese people have immigrated and settled specially in local Chinatowns.
The lions are traditionally carved from decorative stone, such as marble and granite or cast in bronze or iron. Because of the high cost of these materials and the labor required to produce them, private use of Imperial guardian lions was traditionally reserved for wealthy or elite families. Indeed, a traditional symbol of a family's wealth or social status was the placement of Imperial guardian lions in front of the family home. However, in modern times less expensive lions, mass produced in concrete and resin, have become available and their use therefore no longer restricted to the elite.
The lions are always presented in pairs, with the female on the left and the male on the right. The male lion has his right paw on a ball, which represents the "Flower of life" The female is essentially identical, but has a single cub under her left paw, representing the cycle of life. Symbolically, the female fu lion protects those dwelling inside, while the male guards the structure. Sometimes the female has her mouth closed, and the male open. This symbolizes the enunciation of the sacred word "om". However, Japanese adaptions state that the male is inhaling, representing life, while the female exhales, representing death.
Other styles have both lions with a single large pearl in each of their partially opened mouths. The pearl is carved so that it can roll about in the lion's mouth but sized just large enough so that it can never be removed.
According to feng shui, when facing the entrance the male lion with the globe should be placed on the right with the female on the left.
Interestingly, the lion is not indigenous to China; however Asiatic lions were once quite common in neighboring India. These Asiatic lions found in nearby India are the ones depicted in Chinese culture. As Buddhism was spread in China by traveling Buddhist priests and monks from India, they brought with them stories about stone Asiatic or Indian lions guarding the entries to Indian Buddhist temples & monasteries and the palaces of Indian Kings.
Chinese sculptors modeled lion statues after native dogs (compare the Chow Chow, Pekingese, Shi Tzu, Shar-Pei, Pug, etc., and closely related dog breeds originating in ancient China called Foo Dogs) for use outside their temples and palaces, as nobody in ancient China had ever seen a real lion before. The mythic version of the animal was known as the Lion of Fo, the word Fo 佛 being Chinese for Buddha. The Chinese word for lion is "Shi" which was adopted from their Sanskrit name "Sinh" in the neighboring India.
Big Fish Stories
Sea Serpent, Cape Ann, MA, 1639
I just added a book to the group’s files called “Sea Folklore And Superstitions”.
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HOW THE DUCKS GOT THEIR FINE FEATHERS
HOW THE DUCKS GOT THEIR FINE FEATHERS
ANOTHER night had come, and I made my way toward War Eagle's lodge. In the bright
moonlight the dead leaves of the quaking-aspen fluttered down whenever the wind shook
the trees; and over the village great flocks of ducks and geese and swan passed in a
never-ending procession, calling to each other in strange tones as they sped away toward
the waters that never freeze.
In the lodge War Eagle waited for his grandchildren, and when they had entered, happily,
he laid aside his pipe and said:
"The Duck-people are travelling to-night just as they have done since the world was
young. They are going away from winter because they cannot make a living when ice
covers the rivers.
"You have seen the Duck-people often. You have noticed that they wear fine clothes but
you do not know how they got them; so I will tell you to-night.
"It was in the fall when leaves are yellow that it happened, and long, long ago. The Duckpeople
had gathered to go away, just as they are doing now. The buck-deer was coming
down from the high ridges to visit friends in the lowlands along the streams as they have
always done. On a lake Old-man saw the Duck-people getting ready to go away, and at
that time they all looked alike; that is, they all wore the same colored clothes. The loons
and the geese and the ducks were there and playing in the sunlight. The loons were
laughing loudly and the diving was fast and merry to see. On the hill where Old-man
stood there was a great deal of moss, and he began to tear it from the ground and roll it
into a great ball. When he had gathered all he needed he shouldered the load and started
for the shore of the lake, staggering under the weight of the great burden. Finally the
Duck-people saw him coming with his load of moss and began to swim away from the
shore.
"'Wait, my brothers!' he called, 'I have a big load here, and I am going to give you people
a dance. Come and help me get things ready. '
"'Don't you do it,' said the gray goose to the others; 'that's Old-man and he is up to
something bad, I am sure.'
"So the loon called to Old-man and said they wouldn't help him at all.
"Right near the water Old-man dropped his ball of moss and then cut twenty long poles.
With the poles he built a lodge which he covered with the moss, leaving a doorway
facing the lake. Inside the lodge he built a fire and when it grew bright he cried:
"'Say, brothers, why should you treat me this way when I am here to give you a big
dance? Come into the lodge,' but they wouldn't do that. Finally Old-man began to sing a
song in the duck-talk, and keep time with his drum. The Duck-people liked the music,
and swam a little nearer to the shore, watching for trouble all the time, but Old-man sang
so sweetly that pretty soon they waddled up to the lodge and went inside. The loon
stopped near the door, for he believed that what the gray goose had said was true, and
that Old-man was up to some mischief. The gray goose, too, was careful to stay close to
the door but the ducks reached all about the fire. Politely, Old-man passed the pipe, and
they all smoked with him because it is wrong not to smoke in a person's lodge if the pipe
is offered, and the Duck-people knew that.
"'Well,' said Old-man, 'this is going to be the Blind-dance, but you will have to be painted
first.
"'Brother Mallard, name the colors -- tell how you want me to paint you.'
"'Well,' replied the mallard drake, 'paint my head green, and put a white circle around my
throat, like a necklace. Besides that, I want a brown breast and yellow legs: but I don't
want my wife painted that way.'
"Old-man painted him just as he asked, and his wife, too. Then the teal and the woodduck
(it took a long time to paint the wood-duck) and the spoonbill and the blue-bill and
the canvasback and the goose and the brant and the loon -- all chose their paint. Old-man
painted them all just as they wanted him to, and kept singing all the time. They looked
very pretty in the firelight, for it was night before the painting was done.
"'Now,' said Old-man, 'as this is the Blind-dance, when I beat upon my drum you must all
shut your eyes tight and circle around the fire as I sing. Every one that peeks will have
sore eyes forever.'
"Then the Duck-people shut their eyes and Old-man began to sing: 'Now you come,
ducks, now you come -- tum-tum, tum; tum-tum, tum.'
"Around the fire they came with their eyes still shut, and as fast as they reached Old-man,
the rascal would seize them, and wring their necks. Ho! things were going fine for Oldman,
but the loon peeked a little, and saw what was going on; several others heard the
fluttering and opened their eyes, too. The loon cried out, 'He's killing us -- let us fly,' and
they did that. There was a great squawking and quacking and fluttering as the Duckpeople
escaped from the lodge. Ho! but Old-man was angry, and he kicked the back of
the loon-duck, and that is why his feet turn from his body when he walks or tries to stand.
Yes, that is why he is a cripple to-day.
"And all of the Duck-people that peeked that night at the dance still have sore eyes -- just
as Old-man told them they would have. Of course they hurt and smart no more but they
stay red to pay for peeking, and always will. You have seen the mallard and the rest of
the Duck-people. You can see that the colors Old-man painted so long ago are still bright
and handsome, and they will stay that way forever and forever. Ho!"
A Native American Why Story
ANOTHER night had come, and I made my way toward War Eagle's lodge. In the bright
moonlight the dead leaves of the quaking-aspen fluttered down whenever the wind shook
the trees; and over the village great flocks of ducks and geese and swan passed in a
never-ending procession, calling to each other in strange tones as they sped away toward
the waters that never freeze.
In the lodge War Eagle waited for his grandchildren, and when they had entered, happily,
he laid aside his pipe and said:
"The Duck-people are travelling to-night just as they have done since the world was
young. They are going away from winter because they cannot make a living when ice
covers the rivers.
"You have seen the Duck-people often. You have noticed that they wear fine clothes but
you do not know how they got them; so I will tell you to-night.
"It was in the fall when leaves are yellow that it happened, and long, long ago. The Duckpeople
had gathered to go away, just as they are doing now. The buck-deer was coming
down from the high ridges to visit friends in the lowlands along the streams as they have
always done. On a lake Old-man saw the Duck-people getting ready to go away, and at
that time they all looked alike; that is, they all wore the same colored clothes. The loons
and the geese and the ducks were there and playing in the sunlight. The loons were
laughing loudly and the diving was fast and merry to see. On the hill where Old-man
stood there was a great deal of moss, and he began to tear it from the ground and roll it
into a great ball. When he had gathered all he needed he shouldered the load and started
for the shore of the lake, staggering under the weight of the great burden. Finally the
Duck-people saw him coming with his load of moss and began to swim away from the
shore.
"'Wait, my brothers!' he called, 'I have a big load here, and I am going to give you people
a dance. Come and help me get things ready. '
"'Don't you do it,' said the gray goose to the others; 'that's Old-man and he is up to
something bad, I am sure.'
"So the loon called to Old-man and said they wouldn't help him at all.
"Right near the water Old-man dropped his ball of moss and then cut twenty long poles.
With the poles he built a lodge which he covered with the moss, leaving a doorway
facing the lake. Inside the lodge he built a fire and when it grew bright he cried:
"'Say, brothers, why should you treat me this way when I am here to give you a big
dance? Come into the lodge,' but they wouldn't do that. Finally Old-man began to sing a
song in the duck-talk, and keep time with his drum. The Duck-people liked the music,
and swam a little nearer to the shore, watching for trouble all the time, but Old-man sang
so sweetly that pretty soon they waddled up to the lodge and went inside. The loon
stopped near the door, for he believed that what the gray goose had said was true, and
that Old-man was up to some mischief. The gray goose, too, was careful to stay close to
the door but the ducks reached all about the fire. Politely, Old-man passed the pipe, and
they all smoked with him because it is wrong not to smoke in a person's lodge if the pipe
is offered, and the Duck-people knew that.
"'Well,' said Old-man, 'this is going to be the Blind-dance, but you will have to be painted
first.
"'Brother Mallard, name the colors -- tell how you want me to paint you.'
"'Well,' replied the mallard drake, 'paint my head green, and put a white circle around my
throat, like a necklace. Besides that, I want a brown breast and yellow legs: but I don't
want my wife painted that way.'
"Old-man painted him just as he asked, and his wife, too. Then the teal and the woodduck
(it took a long time to paint the wood-duck) and the spoonbill and the blue-bill and
the canvasback and the goose and the brant and the loon -- all chose their paint. Old-man
painted them all just as they wanted him to, and kept singing all the time. They looked
very pretty in the firelight, for it was night before the painting was done.
"'Now,' said Old-man, 'as this is the Blind-dance, when I beat upon my drum you must all
shut your eyes tight and circle around the fire as I sing. Every one that peeks will have
sore eyes forever.'
"Then the Duck-people shut their eyes and Old-man began to sing: 'Now you come,
ducks, now you come -- tum-tum, tum; tum-tum, tum.'
"Around the fire they came with their eyes still shut, and as fast as they reached Old-man,
the rascal would seize them, and wring their necks. Ho! things were going fine for Oldman,
but the loon peeked a little, and saw what was going on; several others heard the
fluttering and opened their eyes, too. The loon cried out, 'He's killing us -- let us fly,' and
they did that. There was a great squawking and quacking and fluttering as the Duckpeople
escaped from the lodge. Ho! but Old-man was angry, and he kicked the back of
the loon-duck, and that is why his feet turn from his body when he walks or tries to stand.
Yes, that is why he is a cripple to-day.
"And all of the Duck-people that peeked that night at the dance still have sore eyes -- just
as Old-man told them they would have. Of course they hurt and smart no more but they
stay red to pay for peeking, and always will. You have seen the mallard and the rest of
the Duck-people. You can see that the colors Old-man painted so long ago are still bright
and handsome, and they will stay that way forever and forever. Ho!"
A Native American Why Story
The Biology Of Movie Monsters
from The Incredible Shrinking Man
One popular contemporary myth that has come to us from science fiction and horror literature and movies is that radiation, or chemicals, can cause living creatures to grow to far beyond their normal size, or shrink to a tiny fraction of it, and still look like they normally do (only bigger or smaller). Here's a fascinating article I found by University of Chicago professor Michael C. LaBarbera that explains what would actually happen if such growth or shrinkage really occurred. He applies this knowledge to several familiar movies, ranging from "The Incredible Shrinking Man" to "Jurassic Park".
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Bloody Mary
Probably you're all familiar with the urban legend of "Bloody Mary". This legend was the inspiration for the Clive Barker character Candyman.
I heard the story like this: Bloody Mary was a woman disfigured by her killer, who left her face covered with scratches. If you turn out the lights, stand before a mirror and say her name three times, Bloody Mary will come out of the mirror. If you don't turn the light back on, she'll chase after you and try to disfigure you, too.
This is a story kids use to scare each other, and occasionally inspires a scary party game. I also once saw an episode of "The X Files" that depicted teenage girls playing this game, with disastrous results.
There's a fascinating detailed article by Dan Norder about this legend called "The Face In The Mirror" at this link:
view link
I heard the story like this: Bloody Mary was a woman disfigured by her killer, who left her face covered with scratches. If you turn out the lights, stand before a mirror and say her name three times, Bloody Mary will come out of the mirror. If you don't turn the light back on, she'll chase after you and try to disfigure you, too.
This is a story kids use to scare each other, and occasionally inspires a scary party game. I also once saw an episode of "The X Files" that depicted teenage girls playing this game, with disastrous results.
There's a fascinating detailed article by Dan Norder about this legend called "The Face In The Mirror" at this link:
view link
The Jersey Devil
An area in New Jersey, near my hometown Philadelphia, has its very own Bigfoot-type creature of which there are still regular sightings: the Jersey Devil.
Shroud House, the Jersey Devil’s alleged birthplace.
And ad for a Ripley’s-type Philly exhibit claiming to include the Devil.
Map highlighting the Devil’s alleged stomping grounds.
See information from an Elk Township site in the first Response.
Shroud House, the Jersey Devil’s alleged birthplace.
And ad for a Ripley’s-type Philly exhibit claiming to include the Devil.
Map highlighting the Devil’s alleged stomping grounds.
See information from an Elk Township site in the first Response.
Medusa
Medusa has always been a favorite mythological figure for me – probably because two of my poetry teachers wrote substantial poems about her, and I’ve always wanted to do one of my own. I made several attempts that didn’t work, and I finally came up with one I liked in 2007 when I tried writing from her point of view. The poem is here:
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