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“Hey there folks! Welcome to the American Folklore site, which features retold folktales from all 50 states. We answer those pesky folklore questions that keep you up at night, such as: “Why is a black cat bad luck?” and “Who the heck is Paul Bunyan?” So, grab a cup of coffee, pull up a comfy chair, and stay awhile.” –S.E. Schlosser, author of the Spooky Series.

New Folklore Stories

Rising of Gouverneur Morris
The Rising of Gouverneur Morris

Gouverneur Morris, American minister to the court of Louis XVI, was considerably enriched, at the cl…

Ghost of Sunrise Rock
The Ghost of Sunrise Rock

Some years before the outbreak of the Civil War, a man with his wife and daughter took up their resi…

Strangers
Strangers

Wallen's Ridge, a rough eminence about a dozen miles from Chattanooga, Tennessee, was once an abidin…

Scary Ghost Stories

Pull up a chair or gather round the campfire and get ready to read creepy tales of ghostly hauntings, eerie happenings, and other strange occurrences across the United States. Set in America’s big cities, historic towns, rugged lakes, and sparsely populated backwoods, the stories will have readers looking over their shoulders again and again

The Rising of Gouverneur Morris

Gouverneur Morris, American minister to the court of Louis XVI, was considerably enriched, at the cl…

The Ghost of Sunrise Rock

Some years before the outbreak of the Civil War, a man with his wife and daughter took up their resi…

Strangers

Wallen's Ridge, a rough eminence about a dozen miles from Chattanooga, Tennessee, was once an abidin…

Armadillo’s Song

There once lived an armadillo who loved music more than anything else in the world. After every rain…

Banshee of the Bad Lands

“Hell, with the fires out,” is what the Bad Lands of Dakota have been called. The fearless nomenclat…

Coyote and the Columbia

One day, Coyote was walking along. The sun was shining brightly, and Coyote felt very hot. "I would …

Myths & Legends

Heroes, villains, gods and devils lurk within these tales from times long past, and just yesterday… What happens when mere mortals encounter the divine?

Famous Folktales

Boo Hag

Boo Hag

You know how they say some folks are lucky at cards and some are lucky at love? Well, that fit Bobby…

Benny the Little Blue Ox

Benny the Little Blue Ox

Because he was so much younger than Babe and was brought to camp when a small calf, Benny was always…

Paul Bunyan and the Mosquitoes

Have you ever encountered the Mosquito of the North Country? You thought they were pretty well-devel…

Dueling fiddlers

Dueling Fiddlers

There was once a man named Joost who was plodding home on Saturday night, his fiddle under his arm. …

No Room: A Christmas Legend

No Room

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, on the night before Christmas, a little child was wandering…

Saint Nicholas and the Children

St. Nicholas and the Children

Two little children lived with their old grandmother in a remote place in the Canadian forest. They …

Benny the Little Blue Ox

Because he was so much younger than Babe and was brought to camp when a small calf, Benny was always called the Little Blue Ox although he was quite a…

Mrs. Crockett Saves the Day

Shortly after I got married, I went to settle on the north side of the Big Muddy with my new wife, Mrs. Davy Crockett. Now a cousin of my wife's packe…

Paul Bunyan and the Mosquitoes

Have you ever encountered the Mosquito of the North Country? You thought they were pretty well-developed animals with keen appetites, didn't you? Then…

Tall Tales

A tall tale depicts the wild adventures of extravagantly exaggerated folk heroes. Often told around the campfire, these stories are meant to entertain their audiences, who appreciate the wildly outsized claims of the storyteller.

United States Folklore

 Snippity-snip, snap and store,
Of American Folklore there’s plenty more!

Haunted Christmas

The soft thud of following footsteps echoed behind him as he hurried through the snowflakes toward home. They kept pace with him, quickening when he …

Madrone Monkeys

Something people often ask about, and you might be curious also, are the trees you see along the river with the kind of yellowish orange trunk, skin-l…

Pickled!

Dr. William Kiel, a radical preacher who broke from the Methodist church, formed his own church and decided to emigrate with his followers to the Paci…

Sasquatch and the Bear

Take a look over at this gravel bar on our left. It's called Bony Point, and we saw something here the other day that I thought was kind of interesti…