Myth-Folklore 2020

 These notes are based off Blue Beard which is from The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1889).  This is a story that I've seen referenced, but I've never read it myself! It was scary. I thought the bride was going to die. She honestly got lucky I don't like that it was her brothers that saved her If I rewrote it, I would make her fight Blue Beard, or outsmart him somehow Maybe she could hide in the bloody closet and pounce on him Also, she could've just run away after she found out! Anyway, so Blue seems like a pretty sweet guy.  He has an ugly blue beard, so no one wants to marry him. They are also weirded out because a bunch of his old wives have gone missing (clue), which is fair However, with all his money, he is able to woo a new bride He went away on a trip, and gave her all the keys to his mansion She can open all the doors BUT not the secret closet (familiar rule...) She obviously goes into the closet and sees dead women. There are bodies all over the floor  ...

 These notes are from The Robber Bridegroom which is part of Household stories by the Brothers Grimm translated by Lucy Crane and illustrated by Walter Crane (1886). So, I've always heard that the Grimm fairy tales are much more gruesome than people realize. They're often read to children (and remade) for young audiences, but are quiet dark.  This is one of the dark ones! That's why I wanted to read these, to find the scary stories. I'm taking notes over part 2, but part 1 is the set up. The miller's daughter is visiting her groom's house. She's never been there, and he told her to visit so that she could get to know him better (lured her!) Never go to someone's house if you don't know them. That's the moral of this one  She has a weird feeling about this whole thing, so she sprinkles pea's on the ground during her journey. I love that this girl is smart! Always trust your instinct When she arrives, there's a creepy bird that's singin...

 These notes are based off The Shee An Gannon and the Gruagach Gaire by Joseph Jacobs (1892). Okay, usually I take pretty detailed plot notes for my story notes. However, I've done so many of these in a row, so I'm getting tired of this format. PLUS this story is much longer than usual, and has many parts. I'm going to do something new for this reading, I'll just give brief examples of the story, but focus on characters and how I could change the story into something new So the main characters: The Fairy of Gannon wants to marry King Gannon's daughter he is sent on a quest by the king If he can get the goblin to start laughing again, he will be allowed to marry the princess why is it so important for the goblin to laugh? Maybe the king was former friends with the goblin or the goblin's laugh has certain powers This character is a typical hero! Brave and kind. He does a favor for the goblin, slays the giant, gets the evil king to bring back the goblin's son,...

 These notes are based off The Horned Women  from Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1892). This is another story that would fit in with my storybook Again, this isn't super scary or unsettling, but it's "strange" I also think I could add in a story that's more on the goofy side, so it's still weird, but also a bit funny! So, a rich lady is staying up at night I would make this a teen girl (or maybe a couple of stereotypical teens)   Suddenly, there's a knock on the door, calling out for the woman to open up! I don't know why you would answer this lol Maybe in my story (modern teens would never), the teen can be tricked into opening the door The witch with one Horn enters I guess the lady of the house thinks that other women set it up for her Now they work on carding wool ( I think this is getting wool ready to use) Maybe I could make them prepare charm bracelets or something 2000's Soon enough, there's a second knock at the door This time, i...

 These notes are based off The Camp of the Ghosts  which is a Blackfoot tale found in Blackfeet Indian Stories  by George Bird Grinnell (1915)  Again, I'm being inspired by "spooky" tales for my portfolio This story really isn't scary, it's actually kind of nice I wouldn't try to make this one scary, instead I would make it more heartwarming The man travels into the land of the dead to bring back his wife The ghosts are pretty nice and helpful to the man, which I would keep! The strange happening would be about the woman dying and amazingly coming back to life! I be the community would have a lot to say about that! I would change the ending of this story! I want the man and the woman to live happily ever after (she disappears)  This story is a bit long, so I'll be summing up a lot of what happens. I usually take more detailed notes about the plot) Okay, so man and wife are married. They love each other very much and have a son together.  For my story, I co...

  These notes are based off Qalaganguase, Who Passed to the Land of Ghosts which is an Inuit Folktale, found in Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen (1921). ·         I’m looking for stories to work in my spooky story portfolio ·         This one almost works, since it’s a ghost story. However, to me, it’s not that creepy ·         It’s kind of calm and relaxing o    Should I change it? o    Or should I just add in a story that is strange, but not sad/scary ·         Anyway, this story is about Qalaganguase. His entire family died after eating seaweed o    At first, his sister was left (alive) to look after him, but she soon died also ·         One day, Qalaganguase had lost some of this strength. The lower part of his body didn’t work ·     ...

 These notes are based off The Treasure which is a Russian Folktale from Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S Ralston (1887).  This story is so crazy! I know it's like a moral tale, and seems to fit the normal "fairy tale" vibe, but it gets so creeepy! I definitely add a version of this to my portfolio It starts out like a normal story There is an old poor couple that lives in an a far away kingdom When a harsh winter hits, the old woman dies, leaving the old man alone Since he is poor, he is unable to give his wife a proper burial. He begs friends and neighbors, but no one will help him. Everyone is greedy So where does he go? To the pope! Popes are usually helpful, right?? Nooo For some reason, the pope demands that he pay  The man is too poor, but he does tell the pope that he will be able to pay him back eventually The pope still refuses, and kicks the man out of the church :( So the man has no choice. He tries to bury his wife by himself If I was writing this story for cla...

 These notes are based off The Wizard-Dervish from Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos (1913). So this is part 2 of the story. So far the youth and the maiden are together! But, the mother is a witch, and doesn't want them to be together. In this story, I'm interested in the witch figure and all the shape-shifting. Super cool stuff, and I can probably make it scary. The maiden sees that the witch is following them She turns the man in a garden, and she turns into a gardener when the witch catches up with them, she has no idea! she questions "the gardener" and the youth and maiden are able to escape This keeps happening. The only thing that changes is what they shift into Oven and Baker Duck and pond Each time they escape the witch  After they get away from the witch the final time they make it to an inn The youth sets out to get a carriage for the girl He is seized by a dervish The Prince is taken to his father's palace and in the great hall Is this al...

 These notes are from The Fetish of Chilunga which is found in Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett (1898). My portfolio is about creepy things happening in a creepy town I think that this story would work nicely in my portfolio! I like the urban legend feel that this story has. It has 2 or 3 incidents that happen to different people in different situations. It's one man telling these stories, but I could change it to multiple people telling stories around a campfire, or at night before bed.  This story centers around a fetish named Boio (the human representative is a princess) He dwells in the earth, and calls to people for offerings Voice of a bird The first story: A woman is gathering sticks when she hears a bird singing  She rudely tells it to be quiet Some invisible force ties her hands behind her back, she is kept there until her husband comes to find her He knows about Boio. The wife didn't know that the bird was Boio They go to the princess...

 These notes are from The Wicked Husband   from Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett (1898).  This is such a short story, but I think that I could write an interesting version of this little tale Maybe a microfiction or just a story with a low word count. I like that a lot happens in such a short amount of time.  The couple is getting into an argument! It seems to be a silly argument-- It's over the amount of palm-nuts.  It's hard for me to understand the dialogue--but the man is forcing the wife to go with him into the woods (for palm-nuts). This is where is gets violent, so I'm going to quickly summarize without a lot of detail  He kills his wife! Over a petty argument I thought that this story might be okay with the husband killing his wife Like she disobeyed, so it was okay. BUT no:) The husband is punished for his crime He is burned on a fire, while the smoke is used to dry his wife's body So I don't really want to write th...

 These notes are from "The Envious Neighbour" from The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1901). I wanted to do notes over this story because it's about a dog!! When I saw "envious neighbor" I thought they would be fighting over land or a lady, but I was pleasantly surprised that the neighbor is jealous of their pet dog.  A little old couple has a dog instead of a child, they love this and treat it well.  But this dog is magic! I love this dog So the man is working on the garden,  when he notices that the dog is digging at a little spot.  The dog starts to bark, alerting the man of something Like a good owner, the man digs to where the dog is gesturing. Always trust your dog! When he digs it up, it's treasure--go little doggy Now the family is rich! Word travels (not always a good thing...) A neighbor hears about the dog and wants to "borrow" him so that he can also get rich Owners say "No!", but the man insists.  The dog is lent out to t...

 These notes are based off The Physician's Revenge from Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang (1898). Since this story is a frame narrative, things have gotten a little bit confusing I understand what is happening, but I think it might be hard to retell in a cohesive way Right now, Scheherazade is telling a story about a genie and a fisherman The fisherman is now telling the story of the king and the physician, to the genie  Last time, the vizir told a story to the king-- from this story, the king began to distrust the physician (that saved his life), and now wants to execute him I think if I were to retell this story, I would have to only focus on the king v. physician part of the story. It would be hard to tell all the background info, but maybe I could add in a little bit of outside narrative at the beginning of the story.  The Greek king was fooled by the vizier's story. He now wants to execute the physician He brings the physician to him, and tells him that h...

 These notes are based off The Goblin of Adachigahara from Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki  I'm now in a halloween mood, so I'm loving these tales about goblins that eat people! In this one, a goblin has been eating travelers, but the priest has yet to run into him Of course, he's really in the goblin's house right now! He's in the house with an old woman in the middle of the woods (totally safe) The woman allows him in and feeds him She leaves to get firewood and tells him, "Don't look in the inner room" The man swears not to, but it's calling to him! He goes into the room, and it's filled with bones! "In once corner skull upon skull rose to the ceiling, in another was a heap of arm bones, in another a help of leg bones" This is a good description!  He figures out that the woman is the cannibal goblin (smart guy) He runs away, but she chases him With a knife! The man prays to the buddha and he is saved! The goblin disappea...

 These notes are over The Man Who Did Not Wish to Die from Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki.  This is the third part of the story A man didn't not want to die, so he traveled to an island where people never die (perpetual life) On this land, people actually want to die or get sick. They get tired of the long, exhausting thing that is life. lol At first, Sentaro is happy about the island. This is what he wanted! He will never die. Instead, he will live for 100s of years and enjoy his life Time moves quick for him, and he isn't has happy as he expected. things start to annoy him  He wants to go back to his old town, but if he does, he will grow old and die  If I were to write this, I would make a modern city that never ages Maybe this man does try to die--like the others I could change this into teens that are scared to become adults They want to be young forever But, they get tired of being 17 The crane comes back to get Sentaro The man regrets his choice as...

 These notes are from Twenty-Two Goblins: The Girl and the Thief  translated by Arthur W. Ryder (1917) = A love story! Kinda lol Again, the frame narrative starts with the king and the goblin Could I make it a love story in a love story?  If the princess gets the riddle correctly, she gets to save and marry the prince! The riddle: A merchant has a beautiful daughter: modest, pretty, and charming  He tries to marry her off, but she doesn't like men! Great character She didn't want a husband, and would rather die than talk about marriage Then, the story switches There is a thief, and he is noticed by the king The king tries to trick him The king pretends to be a thief, so the thief treats him kindly The thief brings the king to his house, and treats him like a guest The king runs away, and brings an army to kill the thief The thief destroys the army--he's a really cool fighter Now, the king fights with the swordsman!  The king wins, and takes the thief to be execu...

These notes are from Twenty-Two Goblins: The Three Delicate Wives translated by Arthur W. Ryder (1917) Since this story is a frame tale, it has the usual goblin and the king.  If I rewrote this story, maybe I could give it a different setting/ narrator I've been wanting to do teen tales, so maybe I could do a halloween type story I could keep the goblin, maybe have the background be teens in a graveyard, doing dares when they run into trouble. Then they die/disappear if they answer wrong Anyway- here is the riddle King has 3 wives  Crescent, Star, Moon He goes to a magic garden and drink a magic type wine (blood of Love?)  Crescent is the first wife to fall a lotus-petal falls and wounds her she faints until a servant fans her with water to wake her up king wants on her  Now, Star is injured While sleeping moon beams burn Star There are blisters on her skin Servants dress her wounds Moon is next!  She is walking down the hall Hears a noise, and gets bruises on h...

 These notes are based off of this selection of videos from Crash Course Myth: Monster, Horses, Dragons I'm watching these for more information on monsters. For my storybooks, I'll be focusing on sea monsters, so I want ideas about how to write monsters and how to use them in my stories!  Video #1: Monsters. They're Us, Man" what do mean by monster?  look and act outside of the normal, natural boundary  transgress social boundaries  describe the other (to show!) Look and act monstrous Dracula: Human bat-but have thirst for human blood (transgress sexual boundaries as well!) I wrote an essay on thisss lol Why do they exist? Sent by gods to punish humans  Sea monster sent by poseidon to drown andromeda--  mother bragged about beauty Monster story cycle  repetitive monster appears--menaces   death and destructions the hero saves! (my sammy) monster returns though (power puff girls) episodic monster story these are good things to keep in min...

 These notes are based off Sinbad: Sixth Voyage that is part of The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang.  I've started to notice that most of these stories are very similar. They start the same, and end the same Sindbad's friends or fellow sailors usually die, and he is left alone to have his adventure He's always rescued by more sailors/people of the island Sometimes an old captain recognizes him   He always ends up with treasures and riches! This is very episodic He simply fights a different monster or ends up on a different type of island  I want my storybook project to avoid this I want an arch, not just a collection of events, but I don't know if I can pull it off.  Anyway the story notes: Sindbad get bored (as usual), and sets sail! This time he travels far away and sets off from an Indian port Stormy weather hits, and the ship gets lost They end up in the most dangerous part of the sea-the current is about to destroy them The ship crashes ...

 These notes are from Sindbad: First Voyage that is part of The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang.      I'm taking these notes because this is an idea that I had for one of my storybook project stories.  I wanted my main character to rest on a "island" that was really a sea monster.  This is exactly what happens to Sindbad, so I want to see how he deals with it.  Since my character will also be a sailor, I think this story will be helpful for my writing.  Sindbad is rich, and he uses his money at first solely for pleasure (he wastes it!) Anyway, eventually he gets tired of this and ends up on a ship, ready to experience life.  He arrives at the island, a green meadow, along with the rest of the crew  It's very low--it only barely comes out of the water.  The crew starts to relax. Build a fire, etc The island starts to quake! The island is really a whale! The whale was asleep but comes back to life It seems like the whale...

 These notes are based off The Iliad: The Ransoming of Hector, retold by Alfred J. Church  I am so over Achilles at this point I really don't know why he's even considered a hero He's arrogant, rude, and cruel Justice for Hector! He's already dead, so why is Achilles trying to dishonor his body? He's dragging it around daily...why???? At least Zeus is mad about it! He needs to get Achilles in trouble  He's crying over his friend--but other people died too! So King Priam is Hector's dad. He's upset (obviously)  Zeus is on his side though Priam has to PAY to get Hector's body back That's messed up. He takes so many things with him All his riches and items Zeus lets him pass through the gates without being seen So the Gods seem to have liked Hector and Priam, even though he died  Priam runs into Myrmidon-- he fought with Achilles and saw Hector often The body of Hector is in perfect shape-even after being dragged around by Achilles That must be anot...