The Old Man of Storr – Scotland
From rock-dwelling giants to mermaids and seals who steal the hearts of local women, Scotland’s islands still today teem with tales of their legendary pasts. We are in the Isle […]
Portland Troll Bridge – Oregon
There is a popular story, “Three Billy Goats Gruff”, in which three little goats are trying to get across a bridge, but a troll who lives underneath it threatens to […]
The dark origins of the fairy tale “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is one of the most famous (and appreciated) fairy tales in the world, first related in 1812 when the Grimm brothers published their collection […]
La Giubiana: a curious tradition linked to the last Thursday of January in Northern Italy
A great fire that will illuminate the darkness, with the hope that it will burn well and quickly so as to drive away the winter and propitiate the year that […]
Chinese New Year 2020: the year of the Golden Rat. History and traditions of a millenary festival.
Two days ago, on January 25, the new year began according to the traditional Chinese calendar, a holiday period that will end on February 8, with the start of the […]
Inez Clarke, the haunted statue of Chicago’s Graceland Cemetery that lives again whenever there is a thunderstorm
At Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois, a statue stands out among the tombstones, protected behind glass. But this statue, as ordinary as it may appear, is unlike the others. Some […]
Son-in-Law Eggs: The curious story behind this Thai food delicacy
In Thai legend, a probably devious protective mother’s led to the creation of son-in-law eggs or, locally, kai look keuy. As story goes (and, like most stories, its origins and […]
The Wonders of New York: a Midcentury Map packed with weird local stories
There is an old board game, in which someone throws a die at a map, and then dreams traveling wherever it lands. However, If you happened to find yourself in […]
How do people celebrate New Year around the world?
Even if people celebrate New Year in a number of ways, on 31st December, the festivities hit all places across the world at slightly different times too, due to the […]
How to predict winter weather using a persimmon seed: a curious peasant legend
According to weather folklore, you can predict winter weather with a persimmon seed. The seeds of the persimmon, scientifically known as Diospyros kaki, are small grains of a few centimeters […]
The Snow Child: a black humor medieval folktale
In medieval France a few different type of story was told as an alternative to the fairy tales or the popular fables, know as “Fabliaux”, in French, with a simple […]
Fengdu: the Chinese Ghost City
High on the Ming Hill, Fengdu, or the “City of Ghosts,” is situated at the northern end of the Yangtze River, China. It attracts tourists from all over the world, […]
The mysterious 12th century story of green children of Woolpit
The legend of the Green Children originated in the village of Woolpit, in the county of Suffolk, England, in the early part of the 12th Century, during the reign of […]
La Pascualita: the Mystery of the “Corpse Bride” exhibited in a shop window in Mexico
Embalmed corpses are not an unusual tourist attraction. Several popes are on view at the Vatican, and it’s normal that visitors still flock to see Lenin’s preserved body in Moscow’s […]
Fontanelle Cemetery, Naples, and the cult of “pezzentelle” souls.
The Fontanelle cemetery is a place of worship located in in a cave in the tuff hillside in the Materdei section of the city of Naples, Italy. Inside there are […]
Hinnagami: the spirit that possess japanese dolls and grant their owners any wish
Hinnagami are powerful spirits from Toyama Prefecture, Japan, that live inside in dolls. In Japan dolls take on an important meaning, and this is why once they become old they […]
