I still think that my favorite urban legend/folklore fact is that there are certain areas in New Orleans where you cannot get a taxi late at night not because it isn’t safe, but because taxi companies have had recurring problems of picking up ghosts in those areas who are not aware that they are dead and disappearing from the cab before reaching the destination and therefore stiffing the driver on the fare causing a loss for the company.
What this means is, that ever single one of the following
Jack Be Nimble (who jumped over burning candles for fun)
Jack the Giant Killer (who sold his cows for magic beans then robbed and killed a giant)
Stingy Jack (who tricked the devil so many times he was banned from both afterlives)
Jack of Jack and Jill (who splattered his head open falling down a hill)
Jack o’ Lantern (the headless horseman spirit of halloween)
Jack Frost (the spirit who heralds the end of autumn and the start of winter)
Are literally the same jackass who made so many bad life choices he ended up an immortal ice dullahan with a pumpkin serving as both his head and flashlight
but what an incredible journey he had getting there
In the heart of the fairy mound, there were two identical
cradles, each with an identical infant inside.
“One of these babies is the one you bore,” said a fairy.
“The other is the changeling we left. You may leave our hall with whichever
child you claim as your own. Choose wisely.”
“But they are both
my children,” the human mother protested indignantly.
The fairies whispered amongst themselves in surprise and
confusion. At last, one asked, “How do you mean?”
“I came to get back the child you stole from me, the one who
is mine by blood. I never agreed to give my adopted child back to you.”
Perhaps her words touched the fairies’ hearts; or perhaps
her stubbornness impressed them; or perhaps they simply found the argument
amusing, novel enough to merit a reward.
She left the fairy mound, an infant in each arm, and brought
them home.
I don’t know why, but I think about this all the time.
Concept: elves who fully fail to grasp the difference between their lifespan and that of humans. Coming back to a town like “wtf this shop was JUST HERE last decade years ago I don’t understand” “what do you mean Philipp isn’t here this is his house I just visited him 50 years ago” “I’m sorry this potion is HOW MUCH I should be able to get TWELVE for that price!”
Elves still using human slang from 100 years ago because this is how the young people speak these days, yes?
Elves with a smug sense of superiority because their clothing is appropriate trendy who just happened to revisit humans when the fashion had cycled back around.
Elves apologizing profusely because the item they gave a human hero was passed down through three generations and then broke, it lasted less than a century they have embarrassed themselves and their kinfolk with such a shoddy gift.
Elves who commisioned a human craftsman than return to the shop 50+ years later confused that the item has long since been sold to someone else, or hidden away
men in greek mythology? scoundrels. just terrible. woeful social skills. murderers. kidnappers. violent misogynists. most of them… never described as handsome so we have to assume they were ugly.
narcissus? unproblematic. beacon of transformative self love. king of the swerve. gay icon. couldn’t recognize his reflection but neither can my dog, we aren’t holding that against him.
Narcissus wrote this
I refuse to believe Narcissus could read.
i’ve been thinking about this response for the better part of 2 hours and it hasn’t gotten less hysterically funny to me
my fave bit of black dog folklore is that in some folklore there is a belief that the first person buried in a cemetery stays there and doesn’t cross over and helps other spirits move on and protects them from evil spirits, now naturally people want to avoid this fate for their loved ones and themselves so they would sometimes bury a dog first and it would return in the shape of a big black dog and protect the newly dead from evil spirits and occasionally the living as well
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