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
The Playroom Wedding	Sandman's Goodnight Stories	Abbie Phillips Walker	USA	The Playroom Wedding difference, prejudice, toy society, marriage	1921
What The Flowers Told Martha	Sandman's Goodnight Stories	Abbie Phillips Walker	USA	What The Flowers Told Martha loneliness, imagination, companionship, listening, flowers	1921
Mr Fox Cuts The Cottontails	Sandman's Goodnight Stories	Abbie Phillips Walker	USA	Mr Fox Cuts The Cottontails reputation, hospitality, mistrust, carelessness, blame	1921
The Tell-Tale Goblin	Sandman's Goodnight Stories	Abbie Phillips Walker	USA	The Tell-Tale Goblin secrecy, obedience, betrayal, punishment, curiosity	1921
Mr Crow Goes And Tells	Sandman's Goodnight Stories	Abbie Phillips Walker	USA	Mr Crow Goes And Tells gossip, deceit, suspicion, exposure, trickery	1921
The Revenge Of The Fireflies	Sandman's Goodnight Stories	Abbie Phillips Walker	USA	The Revenge Of The Fireflies exclusion, resentment, revenge, friendship	1921
Pussy Willow's Furs	Sandman's Goodnight Stories	Abbie Phillips Walker	USA	Pussy Willow’s Furs fashion, vanity, gossip, self-acceptance, seasonal display	1921
The Eatyoup	Sandman's Goodnight Stories	Abbie Phillips Walker	USA	The Eatyoup pride, danger, warning, naming, survival	1921
Jack The Preacher	Sandman's Goodnight Stories	Abbie Phillips Walker	USA	Jack The Preacher spring awakening, hidden authority, nature, renewal	1921
Sallie Hicks's Forefinger	Sandman's Goodnight Stories	Abbie Phillips Walker	USA	Sallie Hicks’s Forefinger temptation, childish mischief, self-control, consequences	1921
Dame Cricket's Story	Sandman's Goodnight Stories	Abbie Phillips Walker	USA	Dame Cricket’s Story survival, adaptation, caution, family wisdom, nocturnal safety	1921
The Peacock Butterflies	Sandman's Goodnight Stories	Abbie Phillips Walker	USA	The Peacock Butterflies envy, beauty, imitation, transformation, self-image	1921
The Haunted Bath	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Haunted Bath: sinister bathroom, domestic haunting, dread in everyday space.	1911
The Bounding Figure Of "---- House," Near Buckingham Terrace, Edinburgh	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Bounding Figure Of “–– House,” Near Buckingham Terrace, Edinburgh: violently moving apparition, upper-class house, psychical investigation.	1911
The Top Attic In Pringle's Mansion, Edinburgh	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Top Attic In Pringle’s Mansion, Edinburgh: haunted attic, childhood fascination, concealed Edinburgh house.	1911
The Room Beyond An Account Of The Hauntings Of Hennersley, Near Ayr	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Room Beyond An Account Of The Hauntings Of Hennersley, Near Ayr: beloved house, family spirits, hidden room beyond.	1911
Glamis Castle	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	Glamis Castle: legendary castle hauntings, secret chamber, aristocratic curse.	1911
The White Lady Of Rownam Avenue, Near Stirling	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The White Lady Of Rownam Avenue, Near Stirling: white lady apparition, grief, injustice, lingering female spirit.	1911
The Hauntings Of "---- House," In The Neighbourhood Of The Great Western Road, Aberdeen	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Hauntings Of “–– House,” In The Neighbourhood Of The Great Western Road, Aberdeen: troubled house, witness testimony, persistent supernatural disturbances.	1911
The Drummer Of Cortachy	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Drummer Of Cortachy: family ghost, ominous drumming, death-warning apparition.	1911
The Floating Head Of The Benrachett Inn, Near The Perth Road, Dundee	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Floating Head Of The Benrachett Inn, Near The Perth Road, Dundee: severed head apparition, inn haunting, travelling witnesses.	1911
The Sallow-Faced Woman Of No- Forrest Road, Edinburgh	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Sallow-Faced Woman Of No- Forrest Road, Edinburgh: pallid female apparition, dubious investigators, urban haunting.	1911
Jane Of George Street, Edinburgh	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	Jane Of George Street, Edinburgh: restless fashionable woman, urban apparition, unresolved death.	1911
The Choking Ghost Of "---- House," Near Sandyford Place, Glasgow	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Choking Ghost Of “–– House,” Near Sandyford Place, Glasgow: nocturnal oppression, choking presence, haunted lodging.	1911
The Phantom Regiment Of Killiecrankie	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Phantom Regiment Of Killiecrankie: ghost soldiers, battlefield memory, spectral military procession.	1911
The Inextinguishable Candle Of The Old White House	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Inextinguishable Candle Of The Old White House: death omen, uncanny light, lingering domestic haunting.	1911
Pearlin' Jean Of Allanbank	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	Pearlin’ Jean Of Allanbank: betrayed French nun, vengeance, notorious house haunting.	1911
The Ghost Of The Hindoo Child, Or The Hauntings Of The White Dove Hotel, Near St Swithin's Street, Aberdeen	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Ghost Of The Hindoo Child, Or The Hauntings Of The White Dove Hotel, Near St Swithin’s Street, Aberdeen: child ghost, nurses, colonial mystery, haunted hotel.	1911
The Grey Piper And The Heavy Coach Of Donaldgowerie House, Perth	Scottish Ghost Stories	Elliott O'Donnell	Scotland	The Grey Piper And The Heavy Coach Of Donaldgowerie House, Perth: spectral piper, phantom coach, doomed household.	1911
The Story Of The Princess Nang Kam Ung	Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country	William C. Griggs	Myanmar	The Story Of The Princess Nang Kam Ung: self-made fortune triumphs over royal pride and exile.	1913
The Two Chinamen	Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country	William C. Griggs	Myanmar	The Two Chinamen: magical gifts, brotherhood, peril, and destructive intention.	1913
How Boh Han Me Got His Title	Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country	William C. Griggs	Myanmar	How Boh Han Me Got His Title: cowardice exposed, accidental heroism rewarded with honour.	1913
How The King Of Pagan Caught The Thief	Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country	William C. Griggs	Myanmar	How The King Of Pagan Caught The Thief: royal cunning defeats violent banditry and arrogance.	1913
A Laung Khit	Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country	William C. Griggs	Myanmar	A Laung Khit: miraculous birth, patience, transformation, and rewarded devotion.	1913
The Story Of The Tortoise	Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country	William C. Griggs	Myanmar	The Story Of The Tortoise: jealousy, witchcraft, suffering, and virtue finally vindicated.	1913
How The World Was Created	Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country	William C. Griggs	Myanmar	How The World Was Created: a spirit-spider creation myth of earth and ancestry.	1913
The Sparrow's Wonderful Brood	Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country	William C. Griggs	Myanmar	The Sparrow’s Wonderful Brood: divine protection, strange births, and providential justice.	1913
How The Hare Deceived The Tiger	Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country	William C. Griggs	Myanmar	How The Hare Deceived The Tiger: wit repeatedly outmanoeuvres brute strength and hunger.	1913
The Broken String	Specimens of Bushman Folklore	W. H. I. Bleek	Generic	The Broken String: grief, loss, severance, memory, absence, lament	1911
Habits Of The Bat And The Porcupine	Specimens of Bushman Folklore	W. H. I. Bleek	Generic	Habits Of The Bat And The Porcupine: animal nature, behaviour, origins, observation, difference, wit	1911
The Death Of The Lizard	Specimens of Bushman Folklore	W. H. I. Bleek	Generic	The Death Of The Lizard: mortality, transformation, fate, passage, song, myth	1911
The Son Of The Wind	Specimens of Bushman Folklore	W. H. I. Bleek	Generic	The Son Of The Wind: ancestry, elemental power, speed, mystery, kinship, mythic being	1911
A Lion's Story	Specimens of Bushman Folklore	W. H. I. Bleek	Generic	A Lion’s Story: animal perspective, power, survival, pride, wilderness, voice	1911
The Lion Jealous Of The Voice Of The Ostrich	Specimens of Bushman Folklore	W. H. I. Bleek	Generic	The Lion Jealous Of The Voice Of The Ostrich: jealousy, rivalry, voice, beauty, pride, animal conflict	1911
The Children Are Sent To Throw The Sleeping Sun Into The Sky	Specimens of Bushman Folklore	W. H. I. Bleek	Generic	The Children Are Sent To Throw The Sleeping Sun Into The Sky: cosmic order, children, duty, dawn, renewal, creation	1911
The #Nerru And Her Husband[1]	Specimens of Bushman Folklore	W. H. I. Bleek	Generic	The #Nerru And Her Husband[1]: marriage, kinship, transformation, gender, domestic tension, myth	1911
#Kaga'Ra[1] And !Haunu, Who Fought Each Other With Lightning	Specimens of Bushman Folklore	W. H. I. Bleek	Generic	#Kaga’Ra[1] And !Haunu, Who Fought Each Other With Lightning: conflict, lightning, elemental force, rivalry, power, mythic combat	1911
What The Stars Say, And A Prayer To A Star	Specimens of Bushman Folklore	W. H. I. Bleek	Generic	What The Stars Say, And A Prayer To A Star: stars, prayer, divination, reverence, guidance, celestial speech	1911
The Moon Is Not To Be Looked At When Game Has Been Shot	Specimens of Bushman Folklore	W. H. I. Bleek	Generic	The Moon Is Not To Be Looked At When Game Has Been Shot: taboo, hunting, ritual, moon, restraint, observance	1911
The Song Of The Springbok Mothers	Specimens of Bushman Folklore	W. H. I. Bleek	Generic	The Song Of The Springbok Mothers: motherhood, tenderness, animal voice, lament, nurture, song	1911

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