The Fairy Tellers

#109 Albuquerque Ghosts

In this short episode, Geoff and Katrina talk ghost stories in Albuquerque. This year, the American Folklore Society conference was being held in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Katrina is still recovering her brain from working over time all week. So, to recuperate, she retells some ghosts stories from locations that she was able to go to while in town. Besides revisiting the classic La Llorona story that has a New Mexican flavor, she tells about ghosts holding grudging and preforming on stage.   

#108 Jack and the Northwind and Muncimeg

In this episode, Katrina and Geoff dive back into the tales of Jack in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. First Katrina does a quick review of how Jack tales crossed over the ocean and wound up in the Americas before Geoff tells us the tale of Jack and the North Wind. After a quick conversation about similar tales types and the differences to be found back in Europe, Katrina introduces us to a new kind of Jack tale as we go on an adventure with Muncimeg.

Books to Check Out:

The Jack Tales: Folk Tales from the Southern Appalachians by Robert Chase

Mountain Jack Tales by Gail E. Haley

#107 Just So Stories and Rudyard Kipling

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina bring us back to the topic of Pourquoi tales, by way of literary folk tales. In 1902, Rudyard Kipling published his own tales that he wrote for his daughter in the style of pourquoi tales. The title "Just So Stories" have stuck in the mind of the public and became synonymous with Pourquoi tales because they answered such questions as "Where Did the Camel Get His Hump?" and "Why Does Elephant Have Such a Long Nose?"
But as Katrina points out in this episode, Kipling's stories are literary works from the brain of one man and even though people use the term "Pourquoi tales" and "Just So Stories" interchangeably now, these tales are not what they seem.

#106 Flying Witches: Tatterhood

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina fly into the world of witches, thanks to an article by folklorist Kay Turner. In her article titled, "The Witch in Flight" published in the Winter 2023 addition of the Journal of American Folklore, Turner discusses some of the reasons why we encounter so many winged females in myths, folklore, and fairy tales. Katrina describes some of the mythical magical flying females and how cultures have shaped how we view witches in the modern day. And then she tells the Norwegian tale of Tatterhood and the many witches and their personalities on display in the story.

For further reading: Check out "Women Who Fly: Goddesses, Witches, Mystics, and Other Airborne Females" by Serinity Young. It is an incredibly fascinating book.

#105 Donkeyskin: The Fifth Anniversary Episode

TW: Incestuous desires

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina are celebrating 5 years of podcasting myths, legends, folklore, and fables with another take on Cinderella. While we normally talk about ATU 510A, or Cinderella tales, for our 5th Anniversary, we're shaking things up with ATU 510B! In this tale type, we explore a tale of riches to rags and back to riches again. Filled with magical dresses, real fairy godmothers, and persecuted heroines, it's clear why this tale type falls under the same number in the index as Cinderella. But what makes this a "B" tale? 

We're back to podcasting after a long hiatus! Welcome back to the podcast!

# 104 - [FIXED] The Grateful Dead

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina fight burn out by talking about one of their favorite things...the dead. While attending the Western State Folklore Conference in 2022, Katrina was inspired by an essay written by Christopher James Blythe "The Legend of the Naked Dead: Apparitions and Proper Burial in Latter-day Saint Folklore", which led to a stunning bonus episode for our patrons. Recently published in the Journal of American Folklore Spring 2024, Katrina was inspired to head toward the fairy tale stories of The Grateful Dead. Join our hero on his adventure to win the heart of his "dead crow on snow" looking dream girl.

 

And if you haven't listened to the podcasts that we featured on back in March 2024, check out these links.

Not My Fantasy podcast: In this episode, Cullen and Hannah look at the lore that inspired the Disney 2015 Cinderella.

Fairy Tale Fix podcast: In this episode, Abbie and Kelsey listen to stories read by Geoff and Katrina from Ireland in celebration of Irish month.

#103 Pourquoi Tales: Ancestorial Wisdom

In this episode that Geoff and Katrina recorded back in March, they delve into one of the "why"s of Pourquoi tales, the passing on of Ancestorial Wisdom. Whether it is the knowledge of where their people came from or how best to behave in the environment, these tales are found throughout the world. Katrina and Geoff tell tales from Australia, southern Africa, and North America.

Also, a much overdue shout out to Fairy Tale Fix podcast and Not My Fantasy podcast for having us as guests back in March!!
Fairy Tale Fix had Geoff and Katrina come and read stories from Ireland for the month of March and there were many laughs shared with the ridiculousness of priests cursing people to die and cats getting kings pregnant.
Then Katrina went onto Not My Fantasy podcast to discuss the live action Disney Cinderella from 2015. Not only did we find ourselves laughing while dissecting the differences found in this new remake but Katrina started to think that maybe she needed to give a therapist a call.

Surprise Live: Nepal Youth Foundation in honor of Olga Murray

Olga Murray, who founded the Nepal Youth Foundation, passed away at the age of 98 in February of this year.  Founder's Day, an annual celebration of the creation of this nonprofit, will be held on May 30th. While this event will include a celebration of life for Olga Murray and all she was able to do in her life, it will also be a time to look forward and walk a path that was started by this hardworking and loving woman.

After a member of the Nepal Youth team in Nepal reached out to The Fairy Tellers podcast, Katrina and Geoff decided to come back from their current hiatus to tell some tales specifically requested by listeners in Nepal. Please enjoy the tales, what they communicate about the Nepalese culture, and what they can teach about life.

 

The Nepal Youth Foundation

#102 The Brave Little Tailor/Dyjhycon the Coward Hero

In this episode, Katrina and Geoff retell a tale from Armenia that was recommended to them by one of our wonderful Patreon patrons! The tale of "Dyjhycon the Coward Hero" has many similarities to the tale of "The Brave Little Tailor" found in western Europe except for some vast personality differences between the two protagonists. The cultural differences between what makes a person worth rooting for are very stark in these two tales. And of course, plenty of jokes are made about "7 in one blow".

 

If you like what we are doing and wish to support our endeavors please consider becoming a patron of the arts over on Patreon.

#101 The Why of Pourquoi Tales

Katrina and Geoff are back at it again with a new series to kick off the next 100 episodes of the podcast! Even though Geoffrey joked that the last episode we would ever do would be an episode on "Pourquoi Tales", we've decided to use it as a jumping off point for more fun. In this episode, Katrina starts off the series by telling us what Pourquoi Tales are NOT, and that is stories that have to be believed to be True to carry truths. She retells a tale from Ghana and then focus in on tales recorded by Zora Neale Hurston in her book Mules and Men.

 

If you love what we are doing with the podcast and want to help us create more content, please consider becoming on of our Patreon supports! You would receive bonus content and our undying gratitude!

#100 CinderSnow White

Happy 100th Episode from Geoff and Katrina to you! This year had a ton of milestones and we're excited to send off 2023 with our 100th episode. We've had a blast the last 4 years podcasting about myths, legends, folklore, and fables. To celebrate we had another installment of Cinderella tales but this one comes with a Snow White twist. This tale from India recorded in the 1800's starts off with a princess missing a shoe and ends with our heroine coming back from a death like state from her Rajah. 
Thank you to everyone who has been sticking with us this year while we've worked through life, death, sickness, school, and travel. It's been a wild year and we're hoping that 2024 will allow us to create even more fairy tale content.

#99 Holiday Plants

It's winter time once again in the Northern Hemisphere and we're getting ready for winter celebrations.  Plant life plays a lot into the season and while there are plenty of traditions associated with these plants, there are also stories. Geoff and Katrina talk about a few of holiday plants and stories surrounding the mysterious properties of plants that appear to be evergreen. They also talk about the tradition of wassailing and pour one out for our plant homies.

Books Mentioned:
Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland by Lisa Schneidau

 

If you want to support the podcast and get to hear some bonus material, consider joining our Patreon!

#98 2 Baba 2 Yaga

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina get into more tales featuring the iconic Baba Yaga. During the December Divinations episode, the Fates decided that we needed more Baba on the podcast and who are we to deny fate? We discuss two tales which show how differently Baba Yaga can appear in stories. When men are bumbling through the woods looking for help saving their lives, they can count on Baba Yaga to save the day with her advice. When little girls need help in the woods, they better bring some magic of their own.

#97 Snow White

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina complete their shining tiara of a series, with this crown jewel. After a year devoted to exploring the motifs, themes, and elements that have traveled through the ocean of stories for centuries, we cover the story of Snow White. Crafted and created by the Brothers Grimm, Little Snow White is a tale that most people feel familiar with, but there are still surprises to be had in this episode. 

If you are enjoying the content that we are creating and you are interested in listening to more or want to support our efforts, consider becoming a patron of the arts on Patreon.

Book that we used in this episode:
The Fairest of Them All by Maria Tatar
The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers' Grimm translated by Jack Zipes

#96 Bestiary of Bakemono: The Yokai Party

CW: Violence and Death of Children

Fate dictates that we provide our audience with a “B” inspired episode and Geoff does not disappoint with his Bestiary of Bakemono. In this Geoff-isode, we dive into tales of Japanese spirits that explain why things so often go bump in the night. While some might be downright silly sounding, with eyeballs for buttholes, others are waiting to bounce at the least provocation, frighten you by bodies of water, or marry you. Geoff has us all exploring the line between monstrous creature or beautiful gods.

If you like the work that we are doing and would like to encourage our efforts monetarily, please consider joining our Patreon.

For more information on Michael Dylan Foster and his work, check out this FolkWise episode (FolkWise: Michael Dylan Foster)

The Book of Yokai

Tree Stories | Fifth Friday Folklore Fest LIVE

The 5th Friday in September was a special selection of tree tales from various locations around the world. With the prompt for "plant tales" picked out by our Patreon subscribers, we decided to do an episode on trees. We retold tales of Baobab trees, which were flipped upside down for their ungratefulness and Hera's marriage present of citrons. Greeks weren't the only people to have a special relationship with citrons. And we also talked briefly about items made of trees and how their tie in to folklore help give them context.

#95 Tale of Tales PART 2

Katrina and Geoff are back to finish up the frame story of The Tale of Tales by Giambattista Basile but first, one last story about a hunt for a woman started by the colors red, white, and black. But unlike the other tale, the color black is framed as a force for harm, giving us some cultural context on how to view the tricolors in the tale. With Diarrhea Linda out of the picture, we see if Zoza is able to outwit Lucia and claim the prince that she cried a bucket of tears for. And Katrina ends with a mic drop quote from Maria Tatar.

$94 The Tale of Tales PART ONE

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina dive into The Tale of Tales by Giambattista Basile for another installment of the Snow White series. The tri-colors of fairy tales (white, black, and red) appear over and over but in Snow White we think of these elements being embodied by one beautiful woman. Retelling these tales inside The Tale of Tales requires an understanding of the frame narrative that The Crow/The Raven is found in so Katrina embarks on framing the stories with the trials and quest of Zoza, no matter who many nuts and tears are required.

#93 The Story of Hedgy

In this episode Katrina and Geoff fight their burnout by turning to ATU 650 Strong John, an episode that the fates decided we would do during our December Divinations episode. While researching this tale type, Katrina came across a wild tale with twists and turns that happens to take place in The Un-United Kingdoms of America. Throw away your textbooks and get ready to hear the history of castles and kingdoms that never were. This tale is a crazy ride with the prince of West Virginia trying to claim his rightful crown, while falling in love with his coworker Tom (at least in Katrina's version), fighting dragons, and saving his mother. Buckle up for one of the most unhinged stories of the year!

#92: The Little Mermaid

Happy Mer-MAY...or rather...this episode was recorded in Mer-MAY in anticipation of the release of the new Little Mermaid movie coming out in theaters. In our most long awaited episode, after a very unplanned hiatus, we are back talking about mermaid lore and the Christian tone that this story was originally written with by Hans Christian Andersen. We first start the episode with two short mer-man tales from the area that Hans Christian Andersen grew up that might have helped inspire his tale that has long since left the confines of the shores of Denmark. Please enjoy this 2 and a half hour long special. We are happy to be back.