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
Concerning Cats	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Concerning Cats: cats, superstition, domestic lore, mystery, omens, independence, folklore, uncanny nature	1919
Seanchan The Bard And The King Of The Cats (1)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Seanchan The Bard And The King Of The Cats: poet, cats, supernatural kingship, satire, wit, honour, marvel, folklore	1919
The Legend Of Ballytowtas Castle	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Legend Of Ballytowtas Castle: haunted place, local memory, ruin, nobility, curse, ghost lore, history, landscape	1919
The Butter Mystery	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Butter Mystery: domestic magic, dairy lore, theft, superstition, household economy, charm, suspicion, rural belief	1919
St Patrick And The Princesses	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	St Patrick And The Princesses: conversion, baptism, nobility, encounter, faith, innocence, miracle, Christian legend	1919
The Well Of The Book	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Well Of The Book: sacred well, wisdom, poetry, knowledge, mystery, pilgrimage, inspiration, legend	1919
The Mayo Captain And Feenish The Mare	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Mayo Captain And Feenish The Mare: horse lore, local hero, adventure, cunning, travel, loyalty, regional legend, vigour	1919
Cat Nature	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Cat Nature: cats, superstition, mystery, cunning, omens, domestic folklore, otherworld, animal character	1919
Ethna The Bride	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Ethna The Bride: marriage, love, fate, beauty, sorrow, family, transition, legend	1919
The Farmer Punished	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Farmer Punished: greed, disrespect, supernatural retribution, moral lesson, fairies, rural life, consequence, warning	1919
The Holy Well And The Murderer	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Holy Well And The Murderer: sacred place, guilt, justice, miracle, repentance, curse, divine witness, retribution	1919
The Fairy Spy	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Fairy Spy: secrecy, surveillance, fairies, intrusion, trickery, hidden knowledge, danger, suspicion	1919
The Stolen Bride	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Stolen Bride: abduction, marriage, jealousy, fairies, rescue, loss, liminality, suspense	1919
The Fairy Doctor (2)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Fairy Doctor: healer, folk medicine, fairies, second sight, curing, ritual, liminal knowledge, superstition	1919
Fairy Justice	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Fairy Justice: fairies, punishment, balance, wrongdoing, supernatural law, retribution, moral order, warning	1919
The Phouka	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Phouka: shape-shifter, mischief, wildness, horse spirit, danger, trickery, night rides, fairy folklore	1919
The Blind Poet	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Blind Poet: inspiration, loss, poetic vision, wisdom, endurance, song, dignity, memory	1919
Fairy Wiles	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Fairy Wiles: deception, enchantment, temptation, trickery, fairies, danger, illusion, cunning	1919
The Bride’s Death-Song	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Bride’s Death-Song: lament, death, marriage, sorrow, foreboding, grief, song, tragedy	1919
The Hartpole Doom	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Hartpole Doom: family curse, inherited fate, prophecy, downfall, warning, ancestry, tragedy, doom	1919
Captain Webb, The Robber Chief	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Captain Webb, The Robber Chief: outlawry, rebellion, leadership, banditry, adventure, fear, justice, legend	1919
The Fairies As Fallen Angels	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Fairies As Fallen Angels: theology, folklore, liminal beings, Christian interpretation, exile, ambiguity, supernatural order, belief	1919
The Trial By Fire (1)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Trial By Fire: ordeal, innocence, proof, justice, purification, courage, ritual, divine judgment	1919
The Fenian Knights	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Fenian Knights: heroism, comradeship, mythic warriors, honour, adventure, martial glory, loyalty, legend	1919
The King Of The Cats	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The King Of The Cats: cats, otherworld royalty, mystery, omen, household folklore, transformation, eerie humour, hidden kingdom	1919
The Dark Horseman	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Dark Horseman: ominous rider, death, warning, night, supernatural visitation, fear, fate, mystery	1919
The Poison Cup	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Poison Cup: betrayal, treachery, court intrigue, death, suspicion, vengeance, danger, fatal gift	1919
The Poet’s Spell	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Poet’s Spell: words as power, enchantment, bardic authority, incantation, wit, folklore, influence, mystery	1919
The Fairy Rath	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Fairy Rath: ancient mound, sidhe, sacred landscape, taboo, haunting, buried past, threshold, folklore	1919
The Bards	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Bards: poetry, memory, honour, tradition, satire, learning, social rank, oral culture	1919
The Doom	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Doom: fate, curse, inevitability, inherited guilt, prophecy, downfall, warning, sorrow	1919
St Patrick	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	St Patrick: conversion, miracles, faith, Ireland, missionary zeal, holiness, legend, sacred power	1919
Legends Of The Dead In The Western Isles	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Legends Of The Dead In The Western Isles: ghosts, islands, death, afterlife, haunting, memory, liminality, western seascape	1919
Charm For The Fairy Stroke	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Charm For The Fairy Stroke: healing, fairies, protection, folk medicine, prayer, superstition, affliction, ritual	1919
The Dead Soldier	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Dead Soldier: ghost, war memory, unfinished business, haunting, honour, return, sorrow, death	1919
The Tuatha-De-Danann	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Tuatha-De-Danann: divine race, mythic Ireland, magic, sovereignty, ancient gods, otherworld, conquest, memory	1919
The Leprehaun	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Leprehaun: trickster, hidden gold, shoemaker, cunning, capture, escape, fairy lore, comic danger	1919
The Fairy Child	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Fairy Child: otherworld child, innocence, mystery, beauty, strangeness, crossing worlds, longing, wonder	1919
The Priest's Soul (2)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Priest’s Soul: afterlife, conscience, redemption, haunting, religion, sin, spiritual reckoning, wonder	1919
Edain The Queen	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Edain The Queen: queenship, beauty, sovereignty, tragedy, love, transformation, memory, mythic past	1919
Legend Of Neal-Mor	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Legend Of Neal-Mor: giant strength, fame, heroism, memory, challenge, local legend, prowess, honour	1919
Fairy Music (1)	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Fairy Music: enchantment, music, trance, otherworld, beauty, seduction, time, longing	1919
The Irish Fakir	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Irish Fakir: asceticism, wonder-working, spiritual discipline, exotic comparison, mysticism, endurance, marvel, belief	1919
Cathal The King	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Cathal The King: kingship, honour, rule, legacy, power, duty, heroism, memory	1919
The Fairy Dance	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Fairy Dance: enchantment, circle dance, night, seduction, time distortion, otherworld, music, peril	1919
King Arthur And The Cat	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	King Arthur And The Cat: heroism, marvel, cats, kingship, contest, wit, legend, strangeness	1919
Concerning Dogs	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	Concerning Dogs: dogs, loyalty, instinct, folklore, omens, guardianship, companionship, animal belief	1919
November Eve	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	November Eve: Samhain, thresholds, spirits, darkness, omen, seasonal rites, fairies, the dead	1919
St Ciaron	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	St Ciaron: sainthood, holiness, miracles, monastic life, animals, devotion, early church, legend	1919
The Farmer’s Wife	Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland	Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde	Ireland	The Farmer’s Wife: domestic life, labour, shrewdness, marriage, hardship, superstition, resilience, rural world	1919

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