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Famous American Folktales & Stories

Click on a letter to read a summary of the American folk tales beginning with that letter. Or browse by historical event or region.

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A

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B

  • Babe the Blue Ox
    Paul Bunyan finds a little blue ox the Winter of the Blue Snow.

  • Bear Lake Monster
    Be careful swimming in Bear Lake! (Utah)

  • The Bells
    A man encounters a ghost protecting buried treasure.

  • Bigfoot Wallace and El Muerto
    After getting the lay of the land, so to speak, Bigfoot Wallace moved from Austin to San Antonio, which was considered the extreme edge of the frontier, to sign up as a Texas Ranger under Jack Hayes. (Texas)

  • Bigfoot Wallace and the Gray Bean
    Turns out, Well, the rough and tumble life of a Texas Ranger wasn’t enough to satisfy Bigfoot Wallace. No sir! He hungered for adventure, and he found it.(Texas)

  • Bigfoot Wallace and the Hickory Nuts
    Bigfoot Wallace was as crazy an individual as they come. (Texas)

  • Bigfoot Wallace Runs the Mail
    Bigfoot Wallace – that wild and wacky Texas Ranger -- returned to the wilds of frontier life once the United States won the war with Mexico, and it suited him as nothing else could do. (Texas)

  • Big Liz
    A slave girl is murdered by her master when she turns spy for the Yankees.
  • The Birth of the Jersey Devil
    The origins of the Jersey Devil.

  • The Birth of Pecos Bill
    In which our hero --Pecos Bill -- is adopted by coyotes and grows up to become a cowboy.

  • The Birth of Paul Bunyan
    Paul Bunyan makes a big splash as a child!

  • Black Aggie
    An evil statue comes to life at night in the cemetery.
  • Black Bartelmy's Ghost
    Black Bartelmy was an evil, surly buccaneer who murdered his wife and children and went to sea with a band of pirates as nasty as he. (Nova Scotia)

  • The Black Dog of Hanging Hills
    A dog haunts the hills of Connecticut.

  • Blackbeard's Ghost
    Blackbeard's ghost continues to walk the shores on the Pamlico Sound, searching for his head.

  • Bloody Bones
    A witch summons a monster to destroy an old hunter who stole her pig.

  • The Bloody Knife
    Many and many a year ago, two Micmac warriors from rival villages got into a terrible argument. Harsh words were exchanged, and then knives were pulled. (Nova Scotia)

  • Bloody Mary
    The spirit of Bloody Mary returns to claim the lives of those saying her name in front of a darkened mirror.

  • The Bloodstain
    A murdered man haunts the house where he was killed.

  • Blue Hen's Chicks
    Why Delaware is the Blue Hen State.

  • The Blue Rocks
    The Devil has a temper tantrum and changes the landscape forever.

  • Boo Hag
    Bobby sets out to find a beautiful wife and ends up with a monster! (Texas)

  • Brer Fox Catches Old Man Tarrypin
    Brer Fox catches a big old turtle and tries to drown him.

  • Brer Rabbit Earns a Dollar-A-Minute
    Brer Rabbit gets caught stealing goober peas and has to talk his way out of the trap.

  • Brer Rabbit Falls Down the Well
    Brer Rabbit trys to find a cool place to sleep and falls down the well.

  • Brer Rabbit Fools Sis Cow
    Now Brer Rabbit was skipping down the road one day heading for his home in the briar patch when he spotted Sis Cow grazing in the field. It was a mighty hot day and Brer Rabbit was thirsty. Some milk would be real fine on such a warm afternoon...

  • Brer Rabbit Meets a Tar Baby
    Brer Fox tricks Brer Rabbit into fighting with a Tar Baby.

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C

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D

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E

  • Eavesdropper
    A Maryland man learns a hard lesson about eavesdropping.

  • Echoes
    A Minnesota settler longs for the echoing mountains of home.

  • Enchanted
    A little girl hears the voices of enchanted children coming from the woods near her home.

  • Ethan Allen
    Ethan Allen gets a toothache.

  • The Express Train to Hell
    The Express Train to Hell comes to Newark Central Station to take the soul of an old man.

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F

  • The Fifty-cent Piece
    A couple spend a night at a haunted house. (New York)

  • The First Tears
    Eskimo tale about the origins of tears. (Alaska)

  • First Things First
    What's more important than rescuing your neighbors from a flood? Rescuing the moonshine! (Vermont)

  • The Fisherman and the Bear
    An old fisherman meets his match. (Maine)

  • The Flying Canoe
    A group of lonely lumberjacks pay a bitter price when they go home for New Years. (Quebec)
  • Fog
    If you thought England's fogs were thick, you should see a fog in Maine.

  • Frozen Flames
    What do you do when the lanterns freeze? Call Paul Bunyan. (Michigan)

  • Fur-Bearing Trout
    Colorado Fisherman developed a new trout catching technique following the visit of a hair tonic salesman.

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H

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I

  • I'm All Right
    A soldier visits his mother after he is killed in action.

  • Invisible hands
    A couple of Comstock miners meet a couple of bucca working the late shift.

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J

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K

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L

  • La Llorona
    The ghost of a woman searches the river banks for her sons.

  • La Mala Hora
    A woman meets a spectre on her way to a friend's house.

  • The Lady in Lace
    A beautiful ghost walks the shores near Pebble Beach, California.

  • The Lady in Red
    A murdered woman haunts a Nevada hotel.

  • The Lincoln Death Train
    Every April, the ghostly Lincoln Death Train travels up to Albany from New York City bearing a skeletal orchestra and the coffin of Abraham Lincoln.
  • The Llorona, Omen of Death
    Two young men see the ghost of the Llorona as they drive home one evening.

  • The Log Jam
    Paul Bunyan and Babe clear a log jam in Wisconsin.

  • Lost!
    A prospector lost in the mire is lead to safety by a beautiful ghost.

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M

  • The Maid of the Mist
    The tale of the maiden who lived behind the falls of Niagara and the origin of the famous horseshoe falls.
  • The Melt Shop
    The horrible ghost of a dead steel worker haunts the melt shop at night.

  • Michigan Winds
    Michigan winds are a bit strong in the spring. (Michigan)

  • Milk bottles
    Day after day, a woman comes to the store for milk and leaves without paying.

  • Mississippi Mosquitoes
    And you thought your mosquitoes were bad!

  • Moll DeGrow
    A wicked witch plagues the good people living on Gully Road.
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N

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O

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P

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Q

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R

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S

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T

  • That Pesky Fellow
    A fisherman finds the perfect assistant in the Devil!

  • The Talking Mule
    Even mules deserve a day off now and then. (South Carolina)

  • Taming the Whistling River
    Paul Bunyan gets tired of being mocked by the Whistling River and decides to do something about it. (Minnesota)

  • The Telltale Seaweed
    An overnight stay in an abandoned Cape Cod house reveals a ghost. (Massachusetts)

  • Teething Toy
    What would you give your baby to teeth on if you lived in Deadwood, South Dakota?

  • Three Billy Goats Gruff
    Three Billy Goats want to go to the meadow across the ravine, but a fierce troll guards the bridge.

  • The Tolling of the Bell
    A bell mysteriously tolls in the night, foretelling the doom of the passengers of a local ship.

  • Tommy Knockers
    The spirits of departed miners help miners find ore and knock on the walls right before a cave-in.

  • The Trapper's Ghost
    The phantom of an evil trapper is doomed to roam the wilds of Labrador, helping lost travelers to atone for his sins.

  • The Trickster Tricked
    (In which Terrapin the Turtle outwits the Trickster Rabbit)
    Turtle and Rabbit decide to run a race. Guess who wins?

  • The Twist-Mouth Family
    Find out what a college education is good for.

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V

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W

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Y

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