Before we understood the nature of sleep, and how our brain and body interact while we're sleeping, it was believed that this paralysis was caused by a literal demon, or night hag, sitting on the sleeper's chest. These night hags, or night mares, would ride the sleeper, leaving them terrified and exhausted come morning.
Tag: folklore
#FolkloreThursday: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
The general idea--which I think arises from the fact that so many poor women were accused of witchcraft--is that these women were often illiterate. As such, written spells and incantations would be useless.
Fairytale/Folklore Hiatus
My comps have to be completed by April 15th and my oral defense has to be completed by April 30th. So, I'll get back into the good stuff after that. I promise...
#FolkloreThursday: The Poisoned Dress
As you can imagine, the idea is relatively simple. An item of clothing has been coated with poison on the inside so that when it touches the flesh of the victim, the poison is absorbed into their skin and they die a horrific and painful death. It's not fun but it's apparently pretty popular.
#FolkloreThursday: Hekate
It was Hekate and her torch that assisted Demeter in her search for Persephone, and it is Hekate who leads Persephone back and forth on her yearly journey between life and death. Hekate's transformation into the patron of witches arose out of this chthonic and nocturnal nature and she became heavily associated with herb-lore and the use of poisonous plants. It was written that Hekate was the patron of the witch Medea, which helped to further her reputation as the Goddess of Witches.
#FolkloreThursday: The Ceasg
Stories of the ceasg tell that it is not uncommon for them to come to land and take a human lover. It is believed that they are able to shed their mermaid skin and become human while on land, which allows for these assignations. If any children should be born from these unions, the ceasg, even once she has returned to the water, will continue to watch over her her children and their descendants by protecting their boats from storms and guiding them to the best fishing areas.
Fairytales or Folklore?
It feels like I'm always online and especially always on Twitter. Having said that, I do miss things occasionally. When I re-started with the Grimm fairytale sharing, I automatically went with #FolkloreThursday to post them on Twitter. I didn't realize that, in my long absence, #FairytaleTuesday had been started some years ago. So, I'm going … Continue reading Fairytales or Folklore?
#FolkloreThursday Returns
Over the last five years or so most of my social media has been all "steampunk, steampunk, steampunk" and "libraries, libraries, libraries." While both of these subjects are near and dear to my heart, they have also been a huge focus of my graduate studies, both as a masters and as a PhD student. They have absorbed my thoughts to the point that I haven't really had the bandwidth to read or even think about much else. And that's a shame, because one of my very favorite things is folklore and fairytales. They were the first stories and books that I loved and that love has never gone away.
Bluestocking Writes... 