a less whimsical illustration that encapsulates the fun of searching an archive of over 15

The Archive...

Have a wander through the Fireside folktale archive below, and see what you stumble into. Use the filters to narrow the world down, or fling the doors wide and browse by country, region, theme, collector, or whatever takes your fancy, then let the table do the rest. A few clicks can carry you from storm-tossed coasts to mountain villages, from clever tricksters to quiet miracles, and you will often find that the story you meant to read is not the one that chooses you.

Archive under construction...

Structured Filters

Use these drop down lists to choose one or more filters to select groups of tales to investigate in more detail

Other than my own versions of tales (as indicated), the stories in this archive are in the public domain

Stories in this view:

3988

Title	Book	Author / Collector	Country	Subject	Year
Rent-Day (2)	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	Rent-Day: poverty, landlord pressure, anxiety, rural hardship, luck, supernatural intervention, peasant life, survival	1844
The Lucky Guest	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Lucky Guest: hospitality, blessing, unexpected fortune, stranger motif, reward, domestic generosity, fairy favour, household luck	1844
The Haunted Cellar	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Haunted Cellar: haunted house, buried secret, fear, nocturnal disturbance, uncanny dwelling, local rumour, hidden presence, suspense	1844
Master And Man (2)	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	Master And Man: social hierarchy, loyalty, supernatural trial, dependence, reversal of power, fear, service, folk morality	1844
The Wonderful Tune (2)	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Wonderful Tune: irresistible music, fairy melody, trance, enchantment, longing, artistic gift, supernatural inspiration, altered reality	1844
The Spirit Horse	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Spirit Horse: phantom animal, dangerous ride, night terror, shapeshifting force, fairy transport, loss of control, uncanny travel, fear	1844
Diarmid Bawn, The Piper	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	Diarmid Bawn, The Piper: music, fairy enchantment, gifted musician, otherworldly influence, festivity, danger of charm, rural Ireland, supernatural art	1844
The Enchanted Lake	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Enchanted Lake: submerged mystery, water magic, lost realm, beauty and peril, secrecy, local legend, supernatural landscape, longing	1844
The Good Woman	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Good Woman: virtue, charity, domestic wisdom, moral testing, reward for kindness, humility, folk piety, household ethics	1844
The Legend Of Lough Gur	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Legend Of Lough Gur: lake legend, submerged past, enchantment, local memory, beauty and ruin, supernatural guardianship, landscape myth, loss	1844
The Legend Of Knocksheogowna	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Legend Of Knocksheogowna: fairy palace, hill of the fairies, local lordship, enchantment, hidden court, music, prestige of place, supernatural nobility	1844
Hanlon’s Mill	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	Hanlon’s Mill: haunted workplace, labour and folklore, local haunting, uncanny noise, fear, rural economy, supernatural intrusion, place-memory	1844
The Confessions Of Tom Bourke	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Confessions Of Tom Bourke: drink, confession, comic narrative, boasting, misadventure, unreliable teller, rural sociability, self-exposure	1844
The Brewery Of Egg-Shells	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Brewery Of Egg-Shells: changeling lore, fairy theft, domestic cunning, motherhood, child danger, household ritual, hidden knowledge, fairy detection	1844
The Legend Of Knockgrafton (4)	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Legend Of Knockgrafton: fairy music, reward and punishment, hunchback tale, song, envy, transformation, wit, otherworld judgement	1844
The Legend Of Bottle Hill	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Legend Of Bottle Hill: fairy mound, local topography, hidden world, ancestral memory, folklore of place, enchantment, hill legend, supernatural geography	1844
The Bunworth Banshee	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Bunworth Banshee: banshee, family death omen, keening, loyalty beyond death, hereditary haunting, grief, noble household, Irish death lore	1844
Clough Na Cuddy	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	Clough Na Cuddy: sacred landscape, cursed stone, local legend, supernatural warning, memory of place, folk belief, uncanny punishment, rural mystery	1844
The Lady Of Gollerus (2)	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Lady Of Gollerus: sea mystery, beautiful stranger, otherworld bride, loss, longing, western coast legend, love and separation, supernatural femininity	1844
Dreaming Tim Jarvis	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	Dreaming Tim Jarvis: dreams, illusion, wish-fulfilment, comic misfortune, sleep and reality, self-deception, peasant humour, fleeting fortune	1844
The Little Shoe (2)	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Little Shoe: fairy token, lost object, delicate enchantment, chance encounter, gift, small marvel, domestic wonder, luck	1844
The Headless Horseman	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Headless Horseman: spectral rider, death warning, night journey, terror, Irish ghost lore, liminal roads, omen, decapitated revenant	1844
The Legend Of Cairn Thierna	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Legend Of Cairn Thierna: burial mound, ancient chieftain, heroic memory, sacred landscape, local legend, death and honour, supernatural association, antiquity	1844
Linn-Na-Payshtha	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	Linn-Na-Payshtha: dangerous waters, serpent or monster lore, fear, landscape legend, warning tale, wild nature, local memory, peril	1844
The Rock Of The Candle	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Rock Of The Candle: treasure legend, guiding light, coastal or rocky peril, supernatural sign, hidden wealth, temptation, place lore, mystery	1844
The Crookened Back	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Crookened Back: fairy reward, deformity, transformation, song, envy, moral contrast, otherworldly justice, luck	1844
The Giant’s Stairs	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Giant’s Stairs: giants, heroic landscape, mythic origins, monumental nature, ancient power, wonder, place legend, supernatural scale	1844
Fairies Or No Fairies	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	Fairies Or No Fairies: belief versus scepticism, uncertainty, testimony, folk superstition, the unseen, rural debate, uncanny encounter, ambiguity	1844
Ned Sheehy’s Excuse	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	Ned Sheehy’s Excuse: comic evasion, Irish cunning, storytelling as defence, mischief, wit, social embarrassment, verbal ingenuity, everyday folklore	1844
The Priest's Supper (2)	Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland	Thomas Crofton Croker	Ireland	The Priest’s Supper: clerical life, comic unease, fairy mischief, hospitality, night encounter, religion and folklore, rural humour, supernatural interruption	1844
The Princess And The Friendly Animals	Fairy Tales From Far And Near	Katharine Pyle	Lithuania	The Princess And The Friendly Animals: kindness, gratitude, animal aid, virtue, reward	1922
The Quack Doctor	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Quack Doctor: fake medicine, comic cure, hopeless patients, wit, improvisation, laughter, fraud, court humour, unexpected success, friendship.	1913
The Man With The Two Faces	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Man With The Two Faces: childhood fear, curiosity, monster, eagle and squirrel helpers, mountain quest, dual nature, terror, perseverance, escape, triumph.	1913
The Treasure Of The Dragon	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Treasure Of The Dragon: dragon, island treasure, cabin boy hero, sea adventure, bravery, vengeance, hidden grotto, disenchantment, princess, reward.	1913
The Island Of Brilliants	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Island Of Brilliants: shipwreck, diamonds, dwarfs, greed, courtesy, survival, comradeship, strange island, fortune, reward.	1913
The Devil's Tournament	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Devil’s Tournament: bargain with the devil, tournament, ambition, princess, faith, temptation, repentance, angelic intervention, chivalry, salvation.	1913
The Three Questions (2)	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Three Questions: riddles, kingly tests, clever answers, disguise, religious allusion, wisdom, verbal ingenuity, social reversal, mercy, triumph of wit.	1913
Trompetilla And Trompetin	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	Trompetilla And Trompetin: hunger, magical palace, accordion, tiny helpers, wizard monkey, toothache, enchanted hair, comic fantasy, hidden world, reward.	1913
The City Of Fortune	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The City Of Fortune: ambition, wealth, sacrifice, hard-heartedness, loss of humanity, temptation, steel heart, moral warning, false prosperity, redemption.	1913
Carabi! Carabo!	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	Carabi! Carabo!: enchantment, transformed children, wicked magician, flying horse, rescue, courage, compassion, breaking spells, captivity, wonder.	1913
The Author Of The Wall	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Author Of The Wall: insomnia, troublesome mouse, irritation, writing, comic exasperation, domestic nuisance, vengeance, confession, deception, satire.	1913
The Captain's Exploit	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Captain’s Exploit: buried treasure, haunted ruins, dwarfs, midnight adventure, bravery, cunning, hidden signal, greed, talisman, reward.	1913
The Treachery Of Micifuf	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Treachery Of Micifuf: mouse, deceit, nightly disturbance, frustration, violence, household comedy, revenge, confession, irritation, moral unease.	1913
The Topsy-Turvy World	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Topsy-Turvy World: world turned upside down, animal reversal, cruelty to animals, comic fantasy, disorder, moral lesson, role reversal, absurdity, punishment, reform.	1913
Don Suero The Proud	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	Don Suero The Proud: pride, feudal arrogance, illiteracy, royal power, trickery, humiliation, rough justice, social satire, revenge, downfall.	1913
The Drawing School	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Drawing School: naughty boy, living drawings, punishment, enchanted figures, fear, imagination, artistic talent, cautionary lesson, transformation, reform.	1913
The Man With The Nose	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Man With The Nose: oversized nose, royal whim, court satire, appearance, disguise, wit, marriage test, inner worth, mockery, cleverness.	1913
The Judgment Of The Flowers	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Judgment Of The Flowers: talking flowers, beauty, jealousy, vanity, innocence, garden debate, floral hierarchy, childhood curiosity, courtesy, personification.	1913
The Garden Of Health	Fairy Tales From Spain	J. Munoz Escomez	Spain	The Garden Of Health: sick sister, magical ring, healing plants, life and death, quest, talking kid, courage, mercy, recovery, disenchantment.	1913
The Swineherd (2)	Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen	Hans Christian Andersen	Denmark	The Swineherd (2): pride, love tested, vanity, folly, rejection	1914

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