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The Snow Maiden: A Faerie Tale
Russia, 15 minute read The Snow Maiden, born to Father Frost and Spring has to protect herself from the indignant Sun God, but can she protect her icy heart? Happy New Years, Travellers! There are very few New Year’s stories or folktales that I could find, but I became fixated on King Frost, also known as Father Frost. I wanted to uncover the origins of the character- his stories, his symbolism, and anything else I could find. This research led me to Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden. I did recently release our first episode of 2026 which was the “King Frost…
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The Cobbler’s Son and the Serpent
The Cobbler’s Son and the Serpent Welcome travelers to another spooky tale to tell around the Campfire! If you missed our last post, you can read all about the Murder Maggot of Minnesota here! Now, I originally found this tale in Ask the Bones: Scary Stories from Around the World by David Holt and Bill Mooney, which includes “The Tale of the Haunted Forest” as a folktale from Uzbekistan. However, after looking into the references and trying to trace its origins, I was surprised to discover that the story actually comes from a collection of Central Asian folktales compiled by…
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The Shamans and Swords of K-Pop Demon Hunters
The Shamans and Swords of K-Pop Demon Hunters Welcome to Tales from the Box Office where Fox and Sparrow moonlight as TV and Movie reviewers who focus on the myths and monsters behind the fictional folklore fanfare! In this part, we will focus on Shamanism and Huntr/x. K-Pop Demon Hunters is the blockbuster of the summer and it was only just released in June! The movie which was produced by Sony Pictures Animation and co-directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans features a fictional K-Pop girl group called Huntr/x who just so happen to also be demon hunters. This post…
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Mullah Nasruddin
As many of our listeners know, the month of Ramadan is when Muslims worldwide fast and give thanks for all they have. Last year for Ramadan and Eid, we told the moral tales of the Wise Fool, a folk figure known as Mullah Nasruddin and now, following Eid al-Adha, we have our post! Of course, this is just one of his names since his tales come from many different regions. In Turkey, for example, he is known as Nasreddin Hodja of Anatolia and is believed to have been a real historical figure from the Seljuk empire. These stories are not…
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How the Rabbit Lost its Tail
How the rabbit lost its tail Brazil, 11 minute read This explanatory tale comes just in time for Spring and all things Easter. Did you know Rabbits used to have long tails? To find out how they ended up with just a tuft, be sure to listen to the episode or read the notes below! I’m sure you’re all gearing up to grab your Easter baskets, chocolates and, for some, preparing for your Easter festivals! In central Europe, our town centers are all decorated for Osterfest, while the Canadian supermarkets are bursting with their chocolate displays. And, of course, somewhere…
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Fatima and the Crow
Fatima and the Crow Iran, 11 minute read Forough Hekmat collected these tales from his own childhood in Iran. Fatima may be a little old woman, but her heart is massive and her courage in the face of injustice. A story for all of us who ask, how far can kindness go? Countries worldwide are ushering in the Spring Equinox with all kinds of festivals, but on March 20th, it was also the Persian New Year, Nowruz, so to honour that, we have a Persian folktale called “Fatima and the Crow.” This tale is from the “Folktales of Ancient Persia”…
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The Cleaning Pooka of Kildare
Irish Fairies are a hot topic in the folklore world, so whether you are looking for a romanceable one or just a lovable sidekick, there are plenty of fair folk to choose from. A personal favourite of mine is the cleaning variety, but I might be biased since I’ve just finished the Emily Wilde series about Professor Wilde’s scholarly adventures as a dryadologist. This story isn’t about the aloof and haughty fair folk, though we will hopefully cover them in detail later. Today, we have the trickster phantom fairy called the Puca or Pooka. These solitary creatures can take on…
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The Apothecary and the Mermaid
This episode was released last February to celebrate African-American storytelling traditions. For those of our listeners not from Canada or the United States, every February, we celebrate Black History Month with an emphasis in schools on learning about the slave trade, the Underground Railroad and the civil rights movement. Now, on this podcast, we aim to cover a wide variety of international stories, and while we’ve covered North American Native tales, this will be our first African American story. America is truly a mosaic of legends, fairy tales and folktales that are as rich and unique as the generations of…
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The Crystal Casket
The Crystal Casket Italian, 16 minute read Enjoy Giuseppe Pitrè’s Tuscan tale with us as we dive into the Eagle revenge story of the century. This story has fairies, a Witch who is frankly bad at her job, an evil stepmother, a casket obsessed King and his bewildered mother! Oh and our Snow White character, Ermellina! Who may or may not be twelve years old. This Tuscan tale comes to us from the 1883 book Italian Popular Tales. The collector, Thomas Fredrick Cane, was an American academic and lawyer who was passionate about languages, medieval history and folklore. While working…
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The Eagle and the Whale
Greenland, 8 minute read What happens when a brother mocks his unmarried sisters? Well, they get carried off by animal bridegrooms and must be rescued! Today’s story comes from the book, Eskimo Folktales, collected by Knud Rasmussen and translated by W. Wooster. Knud Rasmussen was an anthropologist and polar explorer in the early 20th century. His native name was “Kunúnguaq” and he collected tales from all over Greenland with a deep understanding of the role of the Eskimo storyteller. Some stories, like that of “The Eagle and the Whale,” are full of similar tropes that sprouted from ancient storytelling traditions…
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The Little Girl and the Whirlwinds
Bulgaria, 7 minute read A wicked Winter Witch decides to prolong winter forever and casts a spell to hide the sun from the Earth. No one volunteers to go seek help from the Frost Wizard- no one except a brave little girl with a warm heart. The Bulgarian tale of the “Little Girl and the Whirlwinds” or “The Little Girl and the Forever Winter” is hard to pinpoint. Our research led us to various retellings and other Bulgarian folktales, but no clear link to where this tale came from. Other versions are closely tied to the Russian story of the…
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Festive Folklore Figures
Festive Folklore Figures Various, 10 minute read Folklore Figures in January? Have we missed the memo or are we just recovering from the bliss of Folklore Festivities? No! It’s January 6th which marks Perchtatag and the end of the “Rauhnächten” (the time between the solstice and Epiphany). So in the spirit of Frau Perchta, here is our list of some monstrous creatures of Yuletide! We have previously covered many different types of Christmas tales so look at the list below if you are searching for something specific: If you are interested in Christmas ghosts and the Victorian obsession with them,…
Tales from the Enchanted Forest 