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
Taghairm, Or “Giving His Supper To The Devil	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	Taghairm, Or “Giving His Supper To The Devil”: black rite summoning the devil by torture.	1900
Black William The Piper	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	Black William The Piper: piper trapped in fairy revels and dancing.	1900
Ready Wit Repulses The Fairies	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	Ready Wit Repulses The Fairies: clever verbal answers protecting a child.	1900
Callum Clark And His Sore Leg	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	Callum Clark And His Sore Leg: fairy vengeance after disturbing a hillock dwelling.	1900
Tiree Banshi	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	Tiree Banshi: fairy lover following emigrant across the Atlantic.	1900
The Woman Stolen From France	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	The Woman Stolen From France: hunter lore of fairy kidnapping across distance.	1900
The Crowing Of The Black Cock	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	The Crowing Of The Black Cock: black cock and steel rescue fairy-taken wife.	1900
The Bridegroom's Burial	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	The Bridegroom’s Burial: fairy abduction, false burial, recovered bridegroom.	1900
The Nine Children At Sunart	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	The Nine Children At Sunart: children drowned by deceptive water-horse.	1900
The Battle Of Trai-Gruinard	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	The Battle Of Trai-Gruinard: clan battle decided by elf-bolt intervention.	1900
The Carlin Of The Spotted Hill	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	The Carlin Of The Spotted Hill: giant fairy woman, deer herd, hunter’s arrow.	1900
Fairy Assistance	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	Fairy Assistance: fairies helping with harvest and farm labour.	1900
The Harris Woman And Her Baking	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	The Harris Woman And Her Baking: woman compelled into fairy household service.	1900
Iona Banshi	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	Iona Banshi: banshee-like female apparition pursuing and beating a fisherman.	1900
The Pig In The Indigo Pot	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	The Pig In The Indigo Pot: comic devil panic caused by a pig.	1900
Pennygown Fairies	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	Pennygown Fairies: helpful fairies finishing tasks until mocked.	1900
Throwing The Arrow	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	Throwing The Arrow: human forced to cast deadly fairy arrow.	1900
Donald Thrashed By The Fairy Woman	Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland	John Gregorson Campbell	Scotland	Donald Thrashed By The Fairy Woman: man pursued and beaten by fairy mistress.	1900
Tobacco	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	Tobacco: appetite, temptation, and comic excess.	1870
An Indian Tale	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	An Indian Tale: wonder, testing, fortune, and moral consequence.	1870
Sell Dear, Don'T Sell Cheap	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	Sell Dear, Don’T Sell Cheap: shrewdness, bargaining, greed, and the price of cunning.	1870
Goso, The Teacher (1)	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	Goso The Teacher: absurd revenge, folly, and comic misunderstanding spiralling outwards.	1870
The Story Of Hasseebu Kareem Ed Deen And The King Of The Snakes	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	The Story Of Hasseebu Kareem Ed Deen And The King Of The Snakes: fate, hidden worlds, wisdom, danger, and uneasy alliances.	1870
The Hare And The Lion (2)	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	The Hare And The Lion: clever deceit, survival, and brains over brute force.	1870
The Spirit Who Was Cheated By The Sultan's Son	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	The Spirit Who Was Cheated By The Sultan’s Son: trickery, courage, and outwitting the supernatural.	1870
The Story Of The Washerman's Donkey	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	The Story Of The Washerman’s Donkey: stubbornness, exploitation, and comic misadventure.	1870
The Hare, The Hyæna, And The Lion	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	The Hare, The Hyæna, And The Lion: trickery, survival, rivalry, and wit defeating strength.	1870
The Lioness And The Antelope	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	The Lioness And The Antelope: predation, vulnerability, and the precarious balance of power.	1870
Blessing Or Property	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	Blessing Or Property: blessing outweighs wealth, envy, endurance, and eventual justice.	1870
The Ape, The Lion, And The Snake	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	The Ape, The Lion, And The Snake: alliance, betrayal, danger, and animal cunning.	1870
The Story Of Liongo	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	The Story Of Liongo: heroism, betrayal, martial prowess, and legendary resistance.	1870
The Cheat And The Porter	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	The Cheat And The Porter: fraud, gullibility, and trickster justice.	1870
The Kites And The Crows (2)	Swahili Tales	Edward Steere	Zanzibar	The Kites And The Crows: conflict, strategy, and factional rivalry.	1870
The Swan Maiden	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Swan Maiden: transformation, enchantment, marriage, loss, otherworld, longing	1890
The Treasure In Säby Creek	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Treasure In Säby Creek: hidden treasure, creek, mystery, greed, place legend	1890
Lady Rangela Of Edsholm	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	Lady Rangela Of Edsholm: nobility, pride, loss, haunting, local legend, fate	1890
The Golden Cradle	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Golden Cradle: treasure, royal child, destiny, loss, wonder, folklore	1890
Katrineholm Manor	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	Katrineholm Manor: manor, haunting, aristocracy, place legend, memory, secrecy	1890
The Urko Of North Wij	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Urko Of North Wij: monster, local legend, fear, wilderness, mystery, place	1890
Bishop Svedberg And The Devil	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	Bishop Svedberg And The Devil: clergy, devil, temptation, wit, piety, supernatural, moral trial	1890
The Pigmy Of Folkared’s Cliff	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Pigmy Of Folkared’s Cliff: little people, cliff, hidden folk, wonder, place legend	1890
The Trolls Of Skurugata	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Trolls Of Skurugata: trolls, ravine, place legend, fear, wilderness, wonder	1890
The Troll Shoes	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Troll Shoes: magic object, trolls, trickery, wonder, transformation, folklore	1890
Bolstre Castle	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	Bolstre Castle: castle, haunting, nobility, ruin, legend, memory, place	1890
The Old Man Of Logga	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Old Man Of Logga: elder figure, wisdom, haunting, memory, local legend	1890
The Stone In Grönan Dal	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Stone In Grönan Dal: standing stone, place legend, memory, mystery, antiquity	1890
The Polite Coal Burner	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Polite Coal Burner: humility, courtesy, peasant virtue, humour, reward	1890
The Wood And The Sea Nymphs	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Wood And The Sea Nymphs: nature spirits, forest, sea, enchantment, peril, beauty	1890
The Bridge Over Kalmarsound	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Bridge Over Kalmarsound: bridge, passage, danger, supernatural, local legend	1890
The Freebooter's Grave	Swedish Fairy Tales	Herman Hofberg	Sweden	The Freebooter's Grave: outlaw, grave, haunting, violence, memory, local legend	1890

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