Mythology & Folklore | Fairy Tales 4 Kids

Vampire Bats in Folklore

July 25th, 2010 by Al

Maree Tozer asked:

Recent Folklore abounds about the humble Vampire bat who is said to have supernatural powers, being able to change shape from bat to man. In many of our Vampire horror movies the Vampire bat is used in just this way.

In South America stories have been told of large bats who kill and eat people and bats have been linked to ceremonial knives and artifacts of sacrifice. These sacrificial items were used in decapitation to supply blood to appease the gods.

Almost no country is free from the folklore of blood sucking creatures. Gypsy groups coming from India tell of Bhuta, Brahmaparusha, and Rakshara roaming the night killing and sucking the blood of humans. Indian folklore also believed Vampires could change into not only bats but chickens, horses, dogs, cats, snakes, fleas and even fruits such as pumpkins,watermelons and household tools.

When all is said and done the Vampire bat is really very nondescript. He is tiny and at full growth is only as big as an adults thumb. He mainly feeds off livestock and birds by using his sharp teeth to leave a gash and then lapping the blood and feeding on the red cells. This little bat has special anatomy adapted to its liquid diet allowing it to separate the red cells which it needs to survive.

Now some positives to this little fellow

The unique properties of the vampire bats’ saliva has been used in the study of Stroke patients. This study which appeared in the January 10, 2003 issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, tested a genetically engineered drug called desmoteplase, which uses the anticoagulant properties of the saliva of Desmodus rotundus, and was shown to increase blood flow in stroke patients.

In my opinion,although Vampire bats have been known to feed on people I would be more worried about catching rabies than suffering blood loss which is minimal. Studies have found that 0.5% of bats carry rabies and most rabie reports in the united states are caused by bat bites. In Trinidad at least 8 varieties of bats have been found to have rabies.

That old saying there is good and bad in all things I think it appropriate to the Vampire bat and it would be a sad loss without him both to folklore and as a member of our earth.

Bud1% @

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Fairies and Folklore

July 24th, 2010 by Al

Jaime Lyons asked:

“…When the first baby laughed for the first time, it’s laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.”
- Sir J.M. Barrie

The origins of fairies are unclear. It is said that fairies were mainly a pagan belief, wiped out by Christianity. While stories of fairies are popular the world over, the folklore prominently comes from Ireland,Scotland, and England. One Irish belief was that fairies were once Gods and Goddesses, and after Otherworld beings had defeated them in a series of battles, and then defeated by Irish ancestors, they retreated into hiding. Another is that the angels revolted and God ordered the gates to Heaven shut. Those that were in Hell remained, those that were still in Heaven stayed angels, and those left on Earth became fairies. Although, the common Celtic belief is that fairies were driven away by humans to live in the Otherworld. The green clothes worn by faeries is to camouflage them. Fairies fear of iron coming from the superior weapons made by the humans.Northern England believed them to be the ghosts of the dead transformed into household sprites. Mainly, they’re believed to live underground or in Hades.

Folklore – The Dark Side of Fairies

Many believed that fairies kidnapped people, being babies or adults, and put changelings in their place. There are many stories of trickery by the faeries. Some eat stray children, hurt them when unsupervised in an orchard, and some have enough discretion to only hurt murderers and liars. When invited to Fairyland, some have spent centuries there (days in Fairyland time), escaped only to have time catch up with them and turn them into very old men or dust. It is believed that if worthy, the Fairy Queen will give you a silver branch. She promises safe passage for your stay. Other stories are of fairy gold and fairy ointment. Gold being a payment which turns into leaves. Fairy ointment can be given to you by the fairies enabling you to see them. Unfortunately, the ointment can blind you, should you let your power be known.

Fairyland

The popular belief is that fairies live in the wood amongst the trees and hills. They are also believed to live in ancient burial mounds and across the Western Sea. A fairy would find a hero, sing into his ear, take him across the Western Sea and no one would hear from him again. There is also Mag Mell, Emain Ablach, and Tir na nOg.

Mag Mell, or the Pleasant Plain, comes from Irish mythology. One could only reach the utopia through glory or death. This is a place void of sickness or death where there is only happiness, beauty, pleasure, and eternal youth. A hero could easily end up in Mag Mell when thrust off course by tempests.

Emain Ablach is otherwise known by many names. Fortress of the Apples, Isle of Women, and the Land of Promise, and Avalon being a few. It is folklore that this is where King Arthur was taken to heal from Camlann and where Excalibur was forged.

The Land of Youth, Tir na nOg, was believed to be visited by some of Ireland’s greatest heroes. Which is probably why this is the most popular with the Irish. Located on an island far west, beyond the edge of a map, it could only be visited on an arduous journey or with an invitation by a fairy. Oisin arrived on a magical horse that could gallop on water. Niamh was his guide ,you cannot get there without one. When Oisin becomes homesick, he leaves for home on his horse. She warns him not to touch ground, for 300 years of age would hit him at once. While helping his friend, he fell from his horse and the years aged him.

Fairy Gardens

If you would like to attract fairies to your garden, you need to plant certain flowers. Fairy gardens are very beautiful when planned. Fairy gardens consist of wysteria, foxglove, hyacinths, primroses, periwinkle, roses, wood violets, lilacs, rosemary, lily-of-the-valley, toadflax, and the like. Many flowers have pixie names. These are welcome as well. These are all, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful flowers. They should be planted anyway. And of course, there are many ceramic fairies to hide between flowers.

Bud1% @

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Fairy Tales With a Twist

July 21st, 2010 by Al

Kathy Rupert asked:

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

This book is an alternate story of The Wicked Witch of the West. It is the story of her birth, life and death. The author tells the story with great passion and believability.

The book tells of the birth of Elphaba (the witch) and how she is green at birth. It tells of her growing up years and the trials she must endure. Trials such as a mother who cannot stand her, a father who believes the child is his punishment, and people who make fun of her as a small child. It tells us of her siblings, Elphaba’s sister, who is known as The Wicked Witch of the East, and her brother. The story also tells of her college years, her friends, and her enemies. It tells of her years after college and how she became known as The Wicked Witch of the West along with her death.

The book explains how the wizard came to be in Oz and who the rulers of Oz were before he came along. It gives the geography of the Land of Oz and the many different people who live in each region. The book also tells of Glinda and how she became known as the Good Witch of the North.

The book is very well written and holds the reader’s attention all through the story. The story is told in such a way that the reader finds himself/herself believing it is true. This is the story of an underdog and how she tried to overcome all the trials in her life.

This is a great read!

fairy tales

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The Trickster of Folklore

July 6th, 2010 by Al

Susanna Duffy asked:

Folklore includes a traditional trickster figure, the subject of many stories in a cycle. Trickster tales are in the animal tales genre, with the trickster himself — he seems always to be male — identified with a particular animal. These include the fox in Japan, mouse deer in Southeast Asia, the coyote and the spider among the Native Americans, the tortoise and spider in West Africa, and the mantis in Southern Africa.

These tales feature a trickster-hero who may be regarded as both creator god and innocent fool, evil destroyer and childlike prankster.

Tricksters are usually small in size next to the large, strong animals that appear in the same folktales. Tricksters survive by their wits, but they do more than just survive. They constantly play tricks on the animals around them, outwitting and mistreating their powerful neighbours even when these larger animals haven’t done anything to deserve it. Occasionally he overreaches himself and finds that he’s been too clever for his own good.

It’s the Trickster who points out the flaws in our carefully managed societies. He rebels against authority, pokes fun at the overly serious, creates complex schemes and generally plays with the Laws of the Universe. He constantly questions the rules, and causes us to question these same rules. The Trickster appears when a way of thinking becomes outmoded, when old ways need to be changed.

The Trickster is a creator, a joker, a truth teller, a story teller, a transformer. We are most accessible to the gifts of the Trickster when we ourselves are at, or near, boundaries – when we are experiencing transition states. As an archetype, the Trickster, the boundary dweller, finds expression through human imagination and experience.

Trickster tales are great favourites in many cultures. They represent the underdog who uses skill and cunning to outwit a superior. West African trickster animals have a significant presence in the New World, when they travelled as part of the folklore of enslaved Africans. The rabbit is best known as Br’er Rabbit in the folktales documented by Joel Chandler Harris in the USA. We also find him in his modern avatar, Bugs Bunny !

The spider is best known as Anansi, and you find him throughout the former English and French colonies of the West Indies.

The role of the slave trickster tales was an important one giving a sense of pride and hope for the future. They showed that the weak could conquer the strong. The tales were devices that taught helplessness can triumph over virtue and mischievousness is better than malice. For the slaves, trickster folklore was also a weapon by which they were able to take subtle revenge on their masters.

Kansieo.com