Folklore Creatures
The Water Horse of the Lochs: Tracing the Kelpie Beyond the Postcard
Before it was a tourist mascot, the kelpie was a warning shouted near deep water. We trace the shape-shifting horse from medieval record to modern myth.
Folklore Travel
Routes and places where the legends can still be tracked in person — with the context to read them honestly when you arrive.
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Omens & Superstitions
Meeting at the Crossroads: The Strange, Sensible Logic of an Old Superstition
Why did so many cultures treat the crossroads as a place of danger and decision? The answer has less to do with the supernatural than you would think.
World Folklore
The Cottage at the Forest Edge: How a Single House Became a Whole Country's Warning
From Baba Yaga's hut to the gingerbread house, the lone cottage in the woods is one of folklore's most durable images. Here is what it was really teaching.
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On the Trail Next
Our editors are researching the following stories for this section. Each is grounded in primary sources and field reporting before it runs.
- A walking route through the legends of the western Highlands
- Seven small museums that take folklore seriously
- How to visit a 'haunted' site without insulting the locals
- Reading a landscape: spotting the legend before the plaque