The Fairy Tellers: Recent Episodes
The Fairy Tellers
Welcome to The Fairy Tellers podcast! We explore what myths, legends, folklore, fables, and fairy tales say about cultures both then and now. So grab a hot cup of cocoa and a comfy seat while we retell you a thing. New episodes released twice a month.
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina go back to the previous episode's topic of moralizing fairy tales. If anyone can get a moral out of these tales…seek help. Our brains naturally want to make sense of, and gain life lessons from, the stories that we hear, especially when they are told to us in fairy tale forms. Thanks to people like Charles Perrault and centuries of children’s publishing, fairy tales have gained a reputation for being a teaching tool. But that was not the original intent. Some stories were meant to amuse with their raucous and ridiculous situational comedy. And some teach the beautiful moral (that Katrina made up), “You can’t outsmart a helpful idiot.”
Stories Told:
The Louse and the Flea from the Brothers Grimm collection
Freddy and Katy from the Brothers Grimm collection
Other Episodes Mentioned:
134 The Fisherman and The Stonecutter
Episode Description: #134
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina tackle a sticky question that comes up time and again when talking about and defining the genre of fairy tales. Are fairy tales supposed to teach a moral? Or are the morals something that readers bring into the tales for themselves? Geoff and Katrina test the theory while looking at a tale type that really lends itself to moralizing, ATU 555 The Fishman and His Wife. While Geoff and Katrina agree that these tales might be easier than others to bookend with some moralizing, what does our time, place, and culture bring to the discussion? Regardless of whether the storytellers of the past meant for us to get any meaningful life lessons out of these stories, we're gonna do it anyway. It's our right as listeners and consumers of tales.
Stories Told:
The Fisherman and His Wife by Grimm Brothers
The Stonecutter as found in The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew and Leonora Lang
Books and Essays Cited:
Teaching Fairy Tales edited by Nancy L. Canepa
Morals and Miracles: The Case of ATU 555, “The Fishman and His Wife” by Victoria Somoff
The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm Translated by Jack Zipes
The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew and Leonora Lang
Other Episodes Mentioned:
82 Disability in Fairy Tales: Riquet of the Tuft
119 Tales of the French Salon
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States declaring independence from Great Britain. Katrina wanted to acknowledge the occasion by indulging in the story tradition of "tall talk" or more commonly "tall tales". Geoff retells the story of Stormalong, which is a great story to represent America because while these tales became common in the northern east coast, they have old sea shanty roots from African song traditions that traveled through Mobile Bay. Then Katrina retells the tale of The Iron Moonhunter, which is a west coast legend of new Chinese immigrants who built the railroads while holding onto the spirits of those they loved and lost.
Stories Told:
“Stormalong” found in American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne
“The Iron Moonhunter” retold by Kathleen Chang
Books and Essays Cited:
American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne
Shanties from the Seven Seas collected by Stan Hugill
From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs compiled by Amy L. Cohn
Other Episodes Mentioned:
80 Mothman and Other American Cryptids
5 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
42 Sea Shanties and Folk Songs
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina talk about the social historical interpretations for fairy tales. Using the essay Fairies and Hard Facts: The Reality of Folktales by Eugen Weber, we move from talking about fairy tales using the psychoanalytic approach to using historical perspectives to find out when forest might simply be a forest and when famine makes monsters of mothers. Katrina starts off by retelling The Children of Famine before Geoff retells the tale of The Three Journeymen. Finally Katrina retells Eve’s Unequal Children to discuss how while these tales might not sit well with modern audiences, they might have rang true to the tellers when they were circulating around the hearth.
Stories Told:
The Children of Famine by Brothers Grimm
The Three Journeymen by Brothers Grimm
Eve’s Unequal Children by Brothers Grimm
Books and Essays Cited:
The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm Translated by Jack Zipes
Teaching Fairy Tales Edited by Nancy L. Canepa
Fairies and Hard Facts: The Reality of Folktales essay by Eugen Weber
Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston
The Great Cat Massacre: And Other Episodes in French Cultural History by Robert Darnton
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina dive back into Little Red Riding Hood variants in other parts of the world. ATU 123 and ATU 333 can be found in China, Korea, Japan, and the African Diaspora. But while Bruno Bettelheim and others want to talk a big game about the wolf being a representation of the dangers of sexuality, what can we glean from a shapeshifting tiger/old woman, a yokai, and ...a rabbit? Find out as we have a fun time retelling these tales to explain how some "universals" might not be so universal.
Stories Told:
Grandaunt Tiger found in Little Red Riding Hood: A Casebook pg 23 Essay by Wolfram Eberhard
The Golden Chain from Heaven found in Folktales of Japan by Keigo Seki
Cutta Cord-la found in Afro-American Folktales: Stories from Black Tradition in the New World by Roger D Abrahams
Books and Essays Cited:
Little Red Riding Hood: A Casebook Edited by Alan Dundes
The Story of Grandaunt Tiger essay by Wolfram Eberhard
The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim
In this episode, Katrina and Geoff use what we've covered in episodes #126 and #128 to examine one of the most famous fairy tales of all time, Little Red Riding Hood. First, Katrina retells the tale from Charles Perrault and then goes into the Brothers Grimm. But she tells their ATU 123 tale, The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids before Geoff retells the classic Brothers Grimm ATU 333 tale, Little Red Cap. As we look at all of these fairly short stories, we're ready to dive into research from Little Red Riding Hood: A Casebook by Alan Dundes, where he examines the history of the psychoanalysis done on this tale starting with Freud, himself. But most importantly, Dundes discusses the flaws in only looking at the Brothers Grimm or Perrault's versions when forming an analysis.
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina talk about Northern European folk and the tales they tell. Last year, Geoff reached out to Free League Publishing to ask them about their role playing game, Vaesen and was gifted some books to explore. While he and Katrina try to figure out the best use of RPGs for them and the podcast, Katrina has dived into the folklore that inspired the game. She starts with a fan favorite, The Devil, and a folk song with a deadly fiddler. Geoff retells a tale of a boy and his beer (with a splash of Death). Then Katrina tells us a Norwegian tale about a blustering pastor.
Books Used in this Episode:
Vaesen by Johan Egerkrans
Norwegian Folktales by Peter Christen Ashjornsen and Jorgen Moe
In this episode, Katrina and Geoff continue on with this year's curriculum project by talking about the psychoanalytic approach to fairy tales. We're talking Freud. We're talking Jung. We're talking Bruno Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment. But mostly we are talking about the story Snow White and Rose Red, found in the Brothers Grimm collection. In this story, a bear comes to stay with these two girls in their idyllic cottage all winter. But what can it teach a child's subconscious mind about sexuality before marriage? Everything. Or...maybe nothing. Understanding different lens and frameworks that fairy tales have been examined through is important. What's also important, is to understand when to question at what point those lens become cloudy.
February is the time of year where we are all sitting in liminal space. We're waiting for the seasons to shift and change. In this episode, Katrina and Geoff are embracing this space and retelling tales of ghosts and fairies. Do the dead walk among us? Are they partying way too hard? Which would you prefer? Ghosts or fairies? Katrina begins the episode by talking about Daniel Crowley, the anthropologist and partygoer. Then Geoffrey tells a completely different tale about a Daniel Crowley that was a coffin-maker and partygoer. Finally Katrina pulls us away from ghosts to talk about strange men that we meet on the side of the road.
New Year, New Project! In this episode, Katrina and Geoff kick off their new project and take a break from talking about ATU tale types and motif indexes, to discuss a different way of examining tales, structuralism! Now, don't run off all at once! We're going to break down Vladimir Propp's approach to tales and discuss how being able to recognize Baba Yaga as a villain or a donor character actually makes it a very powerful tool to analyzing these wonder tales. Katrina and Geoff take turns retelling tales so that we can use Vladimir's functions to see what is and what is not in the tales. And they also discuss what works about this approach and what doesn't.
In this episode, Katrina and Geoff journey into Norse mythology. The tale of The Mead of Poetry has many twists and turns with a wide cast of characters from dwarves, giants, and gods. How does a vat of godly spittle turn into a much sought after beverage? Its a winding road that Katrina is happy to travel in search of the gift of storytelling.
Check out: Not My Fantasy Podcast and our latest episode with them where we talk about Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina issue two rare corrections. After falsely claiming in episode #123 that there isn't an ATU type 666, they set the record straight by apologizing for the terrible lie and righting their wrongs. With the tale of Hero and Leander, they show that everyone makes mistakes. Some mistakes (like tempting Fate) are worse than others but even Renaissance historians got things wrong and had to reverse course. They once thought that the story of Hero and Leander pre-dated Homer by mixing up two guys with the same name. Next, Geoff and Katrina apologize for mixing up two guys with the same first name. Giovanni Boccaccio and Giovanni Straparola were both Italian storytellers but were alive over a hundred years apart and the later recorded an ATU type 666 variant in his collection of tales that Katrina retells to finish off the episode. Will they banish themselves to a hut on an island to repent of their sins? Nope. So hopefully this episode is repentance enough.
In this episode, Katrina is back from another year of the American Folklore Conference. She talks about the fun of academic conferences and being around the same nerds that understand a good ATU type joke. In the course of some of that joking, Katrina ended up with a ribbon on her name tag that said ATU SIX SEVEN, which then prompted academics to ask her "What's ATU 67" which allowed her to take part in current slang that made her "cringe". So in honor of being cringe, Katrina and Geoff dive into this tale type, that takes us to Aesop Fables and also to Irish Folktales featuring fox being as clever as ever.
And for good measure, Geoff retells ATU 670, with a story from France. Come with us on our exploration of brainrot!
Content Warning: Suicide and Murder
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina dive back into the world of the French salons to talk about Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy and further their discussion on Specters of the Marvelous: Race and the Development of the European Fairy Tale by Kimberly J. Lau. While France was spreading their imperial reach, the imagination of the French salons were abuzz with travelogues coming back from the "New World". Katrina retells the tale of Prince Marcassin, the prince that was born a wild boar. Will the power of love save him? No. Put probably something will...even if it is just meddling fairies.
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina discuss stories that look at the corrupting power of wealth. While doing an Instagram challenge in July, by Tish Black (author of Ebony, Blood, and Snow: New Stories from Old Tales), Katrina kept finding stories from around the world talking about how growing wealth can cause a degrading of the soul. They take three of those tales and retell them while discussing, Should a person be able to live an evil life as long as they read their bible? Would you love me if I was an evil CEO worm? Is there a way to live without causing harm? Are ghosts shadows of the scales of time collapsing in on themselves? And most importantly, how do demonic pots run on their little three legs?
We might not be philosophers but at least we aren't billionaires.
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina talk about the upcoming "posthumous partnering" of Stephen King and Maurice Sendak in a children's book of Hansel and Gretel in September. The news of this collaboration reminded Katrina of another book Maurice Sendak did with a dead partner, Wilhelm Grimm. In the 1800's before the Grimm Brothers were a household name, Wilhelm penned a letter to Mili, which contained a tale. Over a hundred and fifty years later, that letter was sold at auction and then turned into a book with the art of Maurice Sendak.
Katrina retells the tale found in Dear Mili and then shows how the tale contains elements from three different stories found in the broader Brother's Grimm collection. Geoff and Katrina discuss how this letter might be a beautiful moment where Wilhelm Grimm stopped writing for a broader audience, and instead, wrote for an audience of one. Dear Mili.
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina delve into the world of King Louis XIV's French Salons. During this time period, many women of the nobility were meeting together in the salons and stretching their creative skills in storytelling and writing. While Charles Perrault was trying to prove that the French folktales carried as much weight as the myths of ancient Greece, his niece, Marie-Jeanne L'Heritier was hosting salons and crafting tales of her own. Geoff retells an ATU 480 tale by Charles Perrault and Katrina counters with a tale from Marie-Jeanne L'Heritier. And they both give a prayer of thanks for Jack Zipes saving the day with his excellent translations.
In this episode, Geoff shares that his son is currently having him read through ALL of the Grimm Brother's collection of tales. And while on this journey, his son has really gotten a kick out of some tales more than others. And Geoff shares one of those tales with us; the tale of Clever Gretel. Armed with a quick wit and a desire for good food and drink (and a pair of red shoes), Gretel is ready to take on the world...or at least, her employer. Then Katrina shares a story with the same tale type (ATU 1741), that came from Sir Richard Burton's "Thousand and One Nights". Listen through to see if everyone leaves with all of their body parts still attached.
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina fight to break their Mer-MAY curse by attempting to get an episode all about the most famous seductresses (or kidnappers) of the sea (or lakes). These little (or big) mermaids might come from different lands but they have one thing in common, they are man hungry. With three different tales, Katrina and Geoff take turns telling tales of female heroines, magic (or not magic) food, and daring escapes. And one rocking chair surfing great grandmother.
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina turn to a pair of tales from Ethiopia that illustrate how stories can talk about what we value without being overly didactic.
They retell two stories stories come from Elizabeth Laird’s When the World Began: Stories Collected in Ethiopia. Katrina starts us off with "The Shield of Kindness," where three sons are tested not on strength or bravery, but on kindness and compassion. Then Geoff retells The Best Home, a tale of two brothers who take very different approaches to building a home.
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina celebrate Shakespeare Day on April 23rd! Shakespeare employed folklore in his tales to connect his audience with the familiar while also reworking it enough to pull a new message into the forefront. Our patrons on Patreon picked out "All's Well That Ends Well" and Katrina enjoyed learning about a tale that was unfamiliar to her. And Geoff retold the tale of Catherine the Wise, another ATU 891 The Man Who Deserts His Wife tale type.
Check out Shakespeare and the Folktale: An Anthology of Stories edited by Charlotte Artese
And listen to our recap of the Live Action Snow White on Not My Fantasy podcast.
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina dive back into The Tale of Tales by Giambattista Basile. Is it violent? And misogynistic? And unnecessarily sexual? Yes. But it's also racist. Katrina was sent a copy of Specters of the Marvelous: Race and the Development of the European Fairy Tale by Kimberly J. Lau, a professor of literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz. This book was chocked full of fascinating research about how the tales that most famously make up the genre of fairy tales, have unique place and time specific types of racism. Katrina retells the tale of The Golden Trunk, which reveals what we can learn about how Italians in the late 1500's viewed Black people, particularly those that were enslaved. Not only that, but the audience also gets to hear a classic Basile variant of the Cupid and Psyche story, which is a precursor to Beauty and the Beast.
Content Warning:
Violence, Racism, Sexual Assault
Not My Fantasy- Live Action Snow White
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina talk about some of the work of Lady Jane "Speranza" Wilde. An Irish nationalist who was gathering the lore of the folk, Lady Jane Wilde believed that the heart of the Irish culture could be found in its myths, legends, and superstitions. Katrina discusses some of what can be found in Lady Wilde's folklore collection, including how to become invisible, cure a toothache, and remove the Evil Eye. Unfortunately, in the discussion, Katrina becomes aware that she might have accidentally placed the Evil Eye on some people in her own life. Oops. Next, Katrina tells a tale of a woman who is lured into the fairy realm but saved by a mysterious red haired man. Then, Geoff retells a tale of a leprechaun. Katrina gives a final pitch for why everyone should grab a copy of Lady Jane "Speranza" Wilde's book and give it a read for themselves.
Other Podcasts Mentioned:
Not My Fantasy Podcast - Specifically the episode on Disney's 1935 Snow White
Fairy Tale Fix- Specifically episode 83
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina take a trip to several different cities of fools (and feel right at home). First Katrina explains how the folkloric village of Gotham ended up turning into a city of Batman. Then the pair travel backwards in time to take a peek into one of the oldest joke books, from the 4th century AD. They discuss how common it is for people to come together to bad mouth the people one town over. Katrina takes a couple shots at LA and her own cousins, while Geoff wants to talk Florida Man and Idiotsville, USA. And then they dive into the Jewish folkloric town of Chelm for several fun stories that illustrate the power of these silly stories to showcase human nature.
Books Used:
The Jar of Fools by Eric A. Kimmel
Yiddish Folktales by Beatrice Weinreich
Favorite Folktales from Around the World edited by Jane Yolen
Book Mentioned at the Beginning of this episode:
Specters of the Marvelous by Kimberly J. Lau
For National Tell a Fairy Tale day, Katrina and Geoff decided to hop on and do an Instagram Live and Katrina tells the story of The Dog and the Sparrow straight from the Brothers Grimm. This was one of the first fairy tales that Katrina encountered way back almost a decade ago that made her go, "What the freak did I just read?!" A classic tale with some classic Grimm Brothers violence. 95% of the characters die so don't get attached to any of them.
In this episode, Katrina and Geoff talk about stone soup and the travels this story has gone on. This ATU 1548 tale might have started off as a story where a clever man does what he can to trick unsuspecting people out of their food and resources, but over time it has come to be a symbol of communities learning to come together in love to make sure that everybody has enough. Katrina and Geoff retell a couple stories that feature so called "clever men" who lie, cheat, and steal to illustrate what kind of company the story of Stone Soup kept in the ATU Index before launching into a retelling of this ubiquitous tale.
Content Warning: Animal on Animal Violence
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina welcome the new year by retelling tales of slapstick violence and murder. In ATU 210, a bunch of random objects team up to create an ending with a domino effect of violence. But it's FUN! Katrina starts off by telling a Brother's Grimm version of this story called Riff Raff or A Pack of Ragamuffins. Reading this short story in the German collection might feel random and weird but it is part of a story tradition where the listener knew what kind of tale was being set up. Geoff then tells another tale from the Brother's Grimm following this pattern before Katrina takes us all the way to Japan. And now that the audience knows where the story is going, we demonstrate how this story can be mixed and matched to bring pleasure even when it reaches its familiar conclusion.
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.
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
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Katrina and Geoff have been traveling! And they came back with some fascinating folklore from their travels. Join us for the recording of our Instagram Live episode all about it.
Content Warning: Child Abuse, Infanticide, Suicide, Domestic Violence and Assault
In this episode, Geoff and Katrina talk magic mirrors in another installment of the Snow White project. We dissect the importance of the mirror in the Snow White tale by telling a tale of vanity and another of tools for divination. The first tale is the story of Narcissus from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Tales of reflective surfaces serve the important function of communicating the theme of vanity. But if this was the only purpose, why do some Snow White variants not have a mirror but instead feature magical trout and the anthropomorphic sun?
Links to Some Sources (These are unaffiliated links and I don't receive compensation for you using them):
SurLaLune
The Fairest of Them All by Maria Tatar
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Content Warning: Greek/Roman Gods, sexual assault, physical assault
After making a joke months and months ago on one of our LIVE events on Instagram, we make good on the episode devoted to bug names and how they got them. Geoff takes the lead in this episode while Katrina literally lies back and relaxes (while her back is healing). But first she retells the story of Arachne weaving truth to power against Athena. Then Geoff tells us the story of Scorpio and Orion followed by a tale from Romania of how the dragonfly got its name.
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Join us for this recording of our first Fifth Friday Fable Fest of 2023. In this Instagram Live event, we retell a variety of Friendship Tales and discuss what we can learn from them.
Geoff and Katrina talk Turkish Tales! A collector of tales over a hundred years ago tried to determine if tales from Turkey are more European in flavor or Southwest Asian. This leads to conversation we had in our Zora Neale Hurston episode where she was quoted talking about universality of stories but the flavors that ever region adds. These tales are richly flavored and extremely entertaining.
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Does the title sound like click bait? It is because in this episode, Geoff and Katrina are talking about a tale that, in 1892, shocked Joseph Jacobs as he was looking for Celtic Fairy Tales for his book of the same title. After our episode on the Lai of Eliduc, we're uniquely situated to talk about why he was off the mark when he said that this Snow White variant couldn't have originated in Europe. But it isn't the only Snow White tale from this area with polygamous wives saving the day and each other. Katrina tells the tale of Lasair Gheug, the King of Ireland's Daughter. In this episode we also start to collect helpers in the woods and reflective surfaces that are too honest for our dormant heroine's good.Join Us on Patreon to Support Our Endeavors!
Katrina and Geoff talk Zora Neale Hurston, ethnography, and why women rule over men! In this episode, we discuss some of the amazing work to preserve African American folklore in the South done by the incredible Zora Neale Hurston. We compare two tales that are almost identical when Zora Neale Hurston collected them but differ slightly between the genders. Through these stories we also get to discuss how much richer books from Zora Neale Hurston (such as "Mules and Men") are because she included the context about the setting and conversations that take place around the telling of tales.
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Katrina and Geoff talk little known medieval women, specifically Marie de France, for our 2nd installment of our Snow White project. But first, has anyone ever told you that the tale of Snow White was based on a true story? Katrina explains how that theory came to be before diving into this episode's tale, The Lai of Eliduc. A story of a knight who falls in love while serving a new king...the only problem? He's already married. But when the princess swoons, see how quickly this tale becomes relevant to our project.
Katrina and Geoff are letting fate lead with this episode as they explore ATU 47A (Fox Hangs Onto the Horse's Tail). That's right. Fate led us right back to fox, a character that's impossible to get away from. Interestingly, this also leads us into a Grimm's story that would probably have readers today scratching their heads if they didn't know about the history of Reynard the Fox.
Trigger Warning: Greek Mythology...so literally everything. Sexual Assault, Infanticide, Suicide, Desecration of a Corpse, War, and Zeus.Katrina and Geoff are starting out the year strong with our first episode on the road to Snow White. The first stop on the journey is a look into Greek Mythology, specifically the tales surrounding The Trojan War to pick out motifs that echo through the centuries. Specifically, apples. But less specifically, soft power and the commodification of beauty.
We tried to finish out 2022 with as much enthusiasm and silliness as possible. We announced our new project for 2023 AND we used some divination methods to help us pick out a few episodes for the year. But first, Katrina quickly retold the Norse myth of Idun and her apples of eternal youth. Apples were a major theme of this episode and Katrina had no idea how sticky apple seeds could be until they were stuck on her face.Happy New Year! And thank you for all of the support through 2022!
Happy Holidays to One and All from The Fairy Tellers! All during 2022 we were taking audience requests and suggestions. We are happy to present the last one (for this year) which is both a Ukrainian literary folktale by Nikolai Gogol and a story featuring the devil. What more could you want from a story about Christmas Eve, on Christmas Eve? Katrina and Geoff have fun laughing as Old Sly ruins the evening for himself and everyone else.
In one of the last listener requests for 2022, Geoff and Katrina turn to a discussion on disability in fairy tales. A lot has been said through the years about disability representation in fairy tales but not all of it is helpful. In this episode, Geoff and Katrina turn to a story recorded by Charles Perrault where he makes some almost insightful comments on the social model of looking at disability.Katrina and Geoff also encourage listeners to learn more about disability studies and finding out what activists in this space are already doing.
Katrina and Geoff dive back into the collection of Hans Christian Andersen to have a look at one of his tales that comes almost directly from the folk, Great Claus and Little Claus. Hold on to your horses, hug your grandma, and punch a sexton because this story is wild. And wilder still is how far afield this story has traveled. Katrina retells this story from the African diaspora and you'll never expect where the devil shows up.
Katrina and Geoff are back from a hectic October and ready to jump into cryptids! Katrina retells the story of The White Screamer which oddly tied in with Geoff's retelling of the Mothman legend. And even though this episode was NOT about aliens and UFOs, it's pretty hard to escape their presence. Finally, Katrina and Geoff talk about The Lizard Man of South Carolina, tourism and ostension.
Also, Andy of Mr. G's Pizza and our friend who produces our music has written a children's book called The Nice Witch and it can be found for purchase at this link.
After a month of life throwing curveballs, Katrina and Geoff decided to have a surprise LIVE in Instagram, both to explain their absence and to share two tales fit for the campfire. Geoff shares a tale of "Grandfather's Eyes: The Story of Three Wicked Yezinkas" where we see plenty of familiar motifs and Katrina does a quick search for the magical properties of brambles. Then Katrina retells the tale of "The Corpse that Died 4 Times" from Japan where the town wise man has a bit of "Weekend at Bernie's" level fun.
Between Katrina being back in the hospital (finally getting rid of her kidney stone), computer crashes, and traveling, we're once again behind in posting an episode. But have no fear, we'll make sure to load you up on October content when Katrina gets her life back together. Until then, please enjoy September's 5th Friday Fable Fest Live!
CW: Cannibalism, sort of. In this episode, Katrina takes Geoff on a journey down a research rabbit hole into stories of the Dodo. The bird? No. The Swallower-of-Men. After researching African Cinderella tales, Katrina followed a trail of sources that led her back to a story she had read years before but found difficult to get more information about.
Katrina and Geoff celebrate 3 years of podcasting! As is our tradition, the topic of the day is ATU 510A or Cinderella and this time we are in Africa, specifically Nigeria and South Africa. The "Cinderella" tale in Nigeria gives Geoff the most happy of ever afters and the "Unkind and Kind Girls" tale in South Africa makes us contemplate how we are treat people on our journeys through life.
Happy Three Years of The Fairy Tellers! And thank you to everyone who has been listening and supporting us along the way!
Katrina and Geoff tackle Oscar Wilde, Hans Christian Andersen, and literary fairy tales in this listener requested episode. How are literary fairy tales different from other fairy tales? How do you define art and love? And can a boy live on metaphysics alone? We answer one of these questions...maybe. We retell two tales in conversation with each other from two fabulously famous European writers.
On the 5th Friday of July, we had a LIVE Event on our Instagram page thefairy_tellers where we discussed frogs and politics. Katrina was grateful to be doing the Fable Fest at all since she had a rough medical month and barely made it home from a doctor's appointment. "Physician, heal thyself!" Join us as we discuss a character that we haven't explored in fable form before, Frog.
Katrina (and Geoff) lived through JULY although a little roughed up. But they are returning with a listener request, "The Old Woman in the Woods". While the title might sound like it's describing every other Grimm's Fairy Tales, this one has a flavor all its own and was made into an 1980's Japanese cartoon series, Grimm's Fairy Tales Classics. Join us while we talk about other stories that share motifs.
Katrina and Geoff talk about Inuit mythology! Katrina retells the epic (and gruesome) origin story of Sedna, the life and death-giving goddess of the artic. We use this as a launching point for discussing Inuit mythology and how it related to the lived experience of the various Inuit peoples.
Katrina and Geoff talk Japanese festivals and star stories! The Tanabata Festival is coming up on July 7th and that makes for an episode full of some of our classic tale elements. Celestial stories, holiday origins, and women being interrupted while they are trying to bathe. And as a bonus star story, the Ainu story of The Seven Lazy Sisters.
Katrina and Geoff are BACK from their month-long break and ready to jump into audience questions. This episode focuses on a question about appropriation and appreciation in regards to storytelling. Katrina starts off the episode with a personal story about a Hawaiian boy in her son's class and then retells two tales of Hawaiian lore, the second of which features some Geomythology Lite.
The Fairy Tellers is on a break until June 10th. But while you wait for more episodes, please enjoy the audio from our Instagram LIVE Event that took place on April 29th. The video and audio are also available Instagram with our account thefairy_tellers .
If you can't wait for more episodes, check out our Patreon and become a supporter for exclusive bonus content.
Katrina and Geoff talk about the moon! This week we delve back into the world of astronomical folklore by telling stories about the moon. We finally get to the bottom of whether or not people actually believed that the moon was made of cheese, and what the moon is up to when we can't see it in the sky.
If you are enjoying the podcast and want to contribute while also getting more fairy tale content, check out our Patreon.
Katrina and Geoff talk Mr. G's Pizza and geomythology! While the term "geomythology" was coined fairly recently by a geologist, the ideas behind looking for the science within ancient stories is anything but recent. In this episode we discuss dragon teeth and Cadmus, primordial chaos monsters, and how the scientists have uncovered a mystery about the Oracle of Delphi.
If you are enjoying the podcast and want to contribute while also getting more fairy tale content, check out our Patreon.
Katrina and Geoff talk Vampires of Eastern Europe! This episode combines two listener requests. One for tales created around pandemic and plagues and another request for a tale from Ukraine. Katrina tells a quick history lesson of the Carpathian mountains before retelling the story of "The Vampire and St. Michael", were a young man is helped by an archangel to exorcise a vampire.
If you are enjoying the podcast and want to contribute while also getting more fairy tale content, check out our Patreon.
Geoff and Katrina take a request, from a long time listener of the podcast who inspired the 2022 fan lead project, and retell the Thai story Phikul Thong. A familiar tale type (ATU 480) to our podcast but with a twist we haven't discussed before that is more famous in a Charles Perrault tale, The Fairies. Geoff and Katrina take it a step further and retell another ATU 480 tale that stretches the boundaries of the tale type, with a Japanese tale of The Old Man Who Made Flowers Bloom.
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Katrina and Geoff wander into the Russian woods to talk about the most famous Slavic witch, Baba Yaga. After a fan request to discuss this cannibalistic character after her appearance in Netflix's The Witcher, Katrina knew exactly the tale that would lead our discussion. We also look at the Russian collector of tales, Aleksandr Afanasyev who's efforts to preserve folklore might be one of the reasons that we know as much about Baba Yaga as we do today.
Katrina and Geoff journey into African Dilemma Tales and note how important it is to record the context for tales when they are performed. The text of a song might stay the same, but the texture and context can change the experience completely. For instance, the tune of the Star-Spangled Banner may not change... But you wouldn't want it played on the kazoo by a circus clown at a presidential inauguration. And that's how it is with storytelling too.
Inspired by a listener request, and the debut of season two of The Witcher on Netflix, Katrina and Geoff get into The Law of Surprise. If you're anything like Geoff, the origins of this tradition may surprise you, as will its relationship to the story of "Hans the Hedgehog" as collected by the Grimm brothers. Come for the fun facts you can use to impress your friends, and stay for a delightfully strange story about the worlds second most famous hedgehog.
Remember to head over to Patreon for exclusive content!
Katrina and Geoff get sent questions about fairy tales and folklore fairly frequently and this year we want to focus on answering those questions. We're starting off the year by answering the question, "Are fairy tales for children? And what are the most important fairy tales to tell my children?" It isn't a quick answer, but using Katrina's background in Early Childhood Development and Geoff's unsuspecting son, we examine two stories from the Grimm Brothers' collection to examine this question.
Note: In this episode, Geoff says that Tuesday, February 2nd, 2022 has been declared as "Twosday." However, February 2nd is, in fact, a Wednesday. The good news is he misunderstood. Twosday is on February 22nd which IS a Tuesday. So not only does the pun stand but it is 25% more two to celebrate!
Katrina and Geoff finally get to the end of the 1001 Nights! Well, sort of. It's kind of a long story. Literally. But we finally finish out our year of tales from this incredible ever changing collection of stories. It all culminates with the tale of Ma'rouf the Cobbler (whose story might share common details with a tale we never discussed by most people know). Katrina and Geoff finish off the project by getting extremely meta about the framed narrative and discuss why these tales are still relevant today.
Katrina and Geoff talk Tomte! In a personal quest to reconnect with her cultural roots, Katrina started to explore Scandinavian folklore and was delighted to find Tomte eating her family's rice porridge. But what are Tomte and where do they come from? And what are they willing to do for a bowl of rice porridge with butter on top? Enjoy this winter time episode while Katrina and Geoff tell and retell you some things!
Katrina and Geoff talk about dreams! This week we learn a new word, oneiromancy, the use of dreams to fortell the future, and use it as a vehicle to explore the difference between folk belief and religious mythology (and the very specific definition of myth used in the study of folklore). We cover a bunch of quick stories in this episode all related to dreams. First Katrina walks us through the Biblical story of Joseph who used the ability to interpret dreams to win the favor of the pharaoh. Then Geoff retells the (surprisingly kind of historical?) love story of "al-Mutawakkil and Mahbuba," from The Thousand and One Nights. And finally Katrina ends the episode with another tale from The Nights, "The Rich Man Who Lost and then Regained His Money."
Geoff and Katrina have been podcasting for two years! In this, slightly delayed, two year anniversary episode, Katrina and Geoff retell some more Cinderella tales. This time from the Middle East! In the process, we get a chance to look back on familiar themes and story elements from other tale types besides ATU 510A (the common grouping of "Cinderella" tales from cultures around the world).
And here is a link to our interview with Folkwise's Dom and Daisy!
Katrina and Geoff go sailing... seven times! That's right, we're getting into the Sindbad the Sailor cycles of stories from The Thousand and One Nights. Sindbad is one of those characters with massive name recognition throughout the western world but you'd be hard pressed to find someone who could actually tell you anything about his travels. Well after today YOU can be that someone. Also hear the surprisingly convoluted way that this ancient set of tales was added to The Thousand and One Nights surprisingly recently. Spoiler alert: It involves Fairy Tellers Frenemy #1, Antoine Galland. Because of course it does...
Katrina and Geoff ain't afraid of no ghosts! In this episode, we kick off spooky season by diving into the world of Japanese ghosts. We explore what different types of ghost stories we tell say about us and our culture. And we learn that stories of ghosts hitching a ride in taxis are so common that basically every taxi driver in Japan expects to experience it for themselves at least once.
This episode is also in partnership with Aloreing, who has created a podcast play list on Spotify that you can find here with other podcasts sharing spooky content for October.
Katrina and Geoff talk caliphs, real and imagined! In this episode, Katrina and Geoff retell the tale "Harun al-Rashid and the Second Caliph" from The Thousand and One Nights. But first Katrina tells us who Harun al-Rashid was in real life (along with a cast full of real characters). The Thousand and One Nights is filled with stories featuring Harun al-Rashid and looking back to the 8th and 9th centuries gives us a clearer understanding of why this Abbasid ruler is so important in the folk culture.
Katrina and Geoff kick off the holiday season! That's right, the holidays are just around the corner, starting with the Mid Autumn Moon Festival, an immensely important holiday throughout eastern Asia. In celebration, Katrina retells a Vietnamese folktale brought to our attention by a listener suggestion. We also discuss another tale from Vietnam about why some people believe that they see the image of a very important rabbit on the moon.
Katrina and Geoff talk wily women (and vile viziers)! In this complex and in no way controversial cycle of tales within tales a king's seven viziers engage in a high stakes storytelling battle for the ages. On one side the viziers are trying to save the king's son from execution by convincing the king that women are not to be trusted. Meanwhile, a singing girl who has wrongly accused the king's son of making moves on her tries to get him killed with her own tales of cruel and distrustful men, especially scheming vizier. And boy oh boy do we get into the layers upon layers upon layers of meaning that can be taken by the way these tales interact with the overall frame story of The Nights.
Spoiler Alert: If you don't want to have the end of The Green Knight spoiled for you, wait on this episode.
Katrina and Geoff get medieval! Many have wondered how Hollywood could take the 50 page poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and turn it into a 2 hour movie. Well buckle up, because we've taken that same poem and turned it into a 2 hour podcast! To start this episode, Katrina gives us a quick and dirty rundown of European history, and introduces us to the world of Arthurian legend (or as Geoff likes to call it, The Arthurian Literary Universe). Katrina then regales us with a retelling based on the absolutely BEAUTIFUL translation by none other than J.R.R. Tolkien. Afterwards, Geoff gives us a run down of differences between the poem and the recently released film, The Green Knight, starring Dev Patel. And our intrepid hosts discuss what these differences say about the cultural values of the 14th and 21st centuries respectively.
Katrina and Geoff discuss death (again)! In this super-sized edition of our Thousand and One Nights series we dive deep into The City of Brass. What starts off as a quest to bring the caliph his very own jinni in a bottle takes a hard turn for the philosophical when the squad decides to detour through three increasingly creepy ruins of lost civilizations.
Katrina and Geoff talk Shakespeare! In this episode Katrina educates us on the tale type that was the basis of The Taming of the Shrew. Even though the tale type far predates Shakespeare's play, scholars straight up retconned the name to match his title because it was just that big of a deal! We discuss what Shakespeare changed and why and how the tradition of folklore adaptation continues to this day (or at least until the release of 10 Things I Hate About You in 1999).
Content Warning: Domestic and Psychological Abuse
Note: Katrina was recording in a different environment for this week so there is quite a bit of echo. I'll make sure she doesn't record while on the toilet going forward so it doesn't happen again!
Katrina and Geoff talk samurai! In this episode, Geoff leads the discussion on the legend of the 47 Ronin (masterless samurai) and their quest to avenge the death of their lord. While this story is based on actual historical events, it has achieved a legendary status as it has captured the imagination of storytellers, novelists, playwrights and audiences in Japan and throughout the world and morphed into what we know today. We explore how the stories commonly told about the 47 Ronin compare to the actual historical event and why we think they differ.
CW: Discussion of self harm and suicide in the context of forced suicide as a form of execution.
Geoff and Katrina talk animal tales in The Thousand and One Nights! In this episode we check in with King Shahryar and Scheherazade, when the king starts actively engaging with her stories and even begins making requests. And what kinds of stories do you think the most powerful man in all the land wants to hear? Stories about animals of course! And Scheherazade is happy to oblige. Katrina retells the story of The Wolf and the Fox. And lemme tell ya, this tale gives off MAJOR Aesop vibes as the two titular characters sling proverbs and poems at one another in an attempt to teach a lesson.
Katrina and Geoff talk the best (or worst?) trade deal in the history of trade deals! That's right we're talking all about Jack tales. Who is Jack? Are all fairy tale Jacks ACTUALLY the same character? (Spoiler: No). And while you may have heard the story of Jack and Beanstalk from England, it's doubtful you've heard the tale of Jack and the Beantree from the Appalachian region of the United States. And in this episode, we tell both!
Katrina and Geoff celebrate Mer-May! Making up for our oversight last year, we go all in with a mermaid tale from The Thousand and One Nights, "Julnar of the Sea." Besides the Nights, this story also appears in Tales of the Marvelous and News of the Strange, an older, raunchier, more racist, and "problematic" collection of tales from the Middle East that was translated into English for the first time in 2014. Before getting into the tale, Katrina gives us some back story into the history of this new collection. And then we dive into the odyssey that is the tale "Julnar of the Sea".
Our May release schedule will be shifting to the 2nd and 4th Friday so there is no regular episode this week. However, in this minisode Katrina retells her favorite Aesop Fable of all time: The Sorceress. Enjoy!
Katrina and Geoff talk tricky foxes! This week, we dedicate an entire episode to our favorite Aesop Fable character, the fox. This sometimes lovable trickster is both clever and sneaky, and easily the most nuanced of Aesop's characters. While we are often encouraged to be smart like the fox, he also occasionally uses his intelligence to the detriment of others.
Katrina and Geoff back at it again! In this episode we continue our discussion of The Thousand and One Nights by delving deep into the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. While this tale has some major name recognition, I would bet several dinars that most people don't actually know what it is about (I know I didn't). Katrina retells the "orphan tale" of Ali Baba which includes a much overlooked character. But first! Geoff retells a story from the Grimm Brothers' collection that is clearly inspired by Ali Baba but inexplicably ends halfway through the tale!
Katrina and Geoff talk superheroes in antiquity! In this tale from the Ming Dynasty, we are introduced to the original super-humans, the Ten Chinese Brothers. Before Katrina tells their story, Geoff retells a surprisingly similar story from the Grimm's brother collection called "How Six Got on in the World." Forget the Snyder Cut, these are the superhero stories that you need to hear.
Katrina and Geoff dive back into The Nights and find "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Jinni" and it's many tales within tales. But first Katrina fills us in on all the things we didn't learn about King Solomon in Sunday school, or watching Indiana Jones. Through these stories Scheherazade really hits us HARD with the theme of enacting justice on the appropriate people for the appropriate crimes. I wonder how that could be relevant? Also... How does King Solomon play in to all of this? Strap in folks. It's gonna be a wild ride.
Katrina and Geoff celebrate Saint Patrick's Day! In this episode, we discuss the man himself and the various legends that surround him. Including the time he got into a fight with a druid priest over an Easter bonfire, and why everyone thinks he drove all the snakes from Ireland.
Katrina and Geoff tell tales within tales within tales! In this episode we dive deep into a listener question about scholars who argue that The Thousand and One Nights was complied by a single author for a specific narrative purpose. Then we get into the The Tale of the Three Sheiks, which encompasses the first three nights of tales, and what happens as Scheherazade carries out her plan to survive.
Katrina and Geoff talk tea and sugar and rum! Piling on to the current sea shanty craze, we discuss the surprisingly specific form of folk song called sea shanties, and other songs of the sea. A highlight is the retelling of the true story of Timothy Connor, an American privateer who became an accidental archivist when he wrote down a collection of songs collected by fellow sailors while spending time in an English prison. We also get to the bottom of WTF a Wellerman actually is.
Katrina and Geoff get dishonorable! In this Fifth Friday Fable Fest, Katrina and Geoff retell a number of Aesop's famous fables around the theme of "honor among thieves" or the lack thereof. This topic was inspired by a conversation Katrina had with one of our listeners about our first Aesop's Fables episode.
Content Warning: Sex, Coercive Sex, Rape, and Domestic Violence
Katrina and Geoff are back! This episode launches an ongoing project for this year to cover ALL one thousand and one nights worth of tales.... Just kidding. But we will be talking about them a lot! In this episode, Katrina instructs us on the complicated nature of this collection and how it is paradoxically both much older and much newer than you might think. She then retells the elaborate (and often overlooked) backstory of King Shahriyar and his brother that sets up the familiar frame story of Scheherazade and her thousand tales.
Katrina and Geoff get frozen! In this Queen-sized Yuletide Special, Katrina and Geoff tag-team retell a much requested audience favorite, The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. Though this literary fairy tale served as the inspiration for the 2013 mega-hit film Frozen, the two could not be more different. But fans of Frozen and The Snow Queen alike are bound to learn something new.
Katrina and Geoff talk parenting! We decide to get into the holiday spirit by recounting the various ways cultures across the world scare their children into behaving. Forget Elf on the Shelf. We've got a whole slew of new ways to terrify your children into acting right this holiday season, from Europe to South America to the African Diaspora.
Katrina and Geoff return to Nepal! In a follow up to our partnership with the Nepal Youth Foundation in the spring, we find out what projects they've been working on to assist during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the suggestion of a Nepali listener, Katrina retells the story of Don Cholecha (meaning Nanny Goat), another Cinderella adjacent tale from Nepal.
Visit https://www.nepalyouthfoundation.org/donate/ to make a donation to The Nepal Youth Foundation.
We are launching a Patreon! Learn more here: https://www.patreon.com/thefairytellers
Enjoy this free preview of our exclusive bonus content for Patreon supporters including a retelling of Abu Hassan and his Epic Fart (AKA "Abu Hassan Breaks Wind" from A Thousand and One Nights) and a blooper reel.
Katrina and Geoff talk Tall Tales! In this week's episode, Katrina regales us with the story of The Skeleton Hand. In this tall tale, legendary (and probably fictional) frontiersman Jacob Schutz goes on a quest to hunt down four of the "New" World's most fearsome cryptids: The Great Fanged Death, the Loup-Éclair, the Gormagunt, and the big boss daddy of them all, The Great White Hart.
We discuss Thomas Jefferson's surprising connection to this story, geomythology, racism, Christianity, and a bunch of exciting new vocab words to discuss sexual anatomy.
CW: Racism
Katrina and Geoff discuss urban legends! In this episode we relied on feedback from our audience to discuss some of your favorite urban legends. Katrina's "I Dove You Mug" was overflowing with great suggestions leading to a discussion about The Ring, Korean fan death, Wrinkles the Clown, 'Orang Minyak, Tsunami Ghosts, UFOs and other amazing tales.
CW: Infanticide Katrina and Geoff keep getting spookier! Katrina uses her confusion at a scene in the heartwarming 2017 Disney/Pixar hit film Coco as an entry into the hauntingly sad and creepy story of La Llorona. From there we take a detour through Ireland to learn about banshees and for whom they keen before jetting to Brazil for Geoff to retell the story of the Yara, a dangerous creature of the forest who tries to lure young men to their deaths on the eve of their wedding. But most importantly we learn why you never, I repeat NEVER, bring a gun to a supernatural ghost fight.
CW: Desecration of corpses, supernatural feline abuse, implied necrophilia.
Katrina and Geoff get spooky! Katrina rings in October with this spooky tale from the Brother's Grimm about a youth who is seemingly incapable of feeling fear. In his quest to learn to shudder, our hero encounters numerous horrors from demonic cats from hell to dismembered and reanimated corpses, none of which are creepy enough to make him bat an eye. Is there anything scary enough to make him squirm? Tune in and find out.
Katrina and Geoff discuss the moon! In this episode Geoff retells the story Chang'e and her expert archer husband Ho Yi. Afterwards Katrina expands this tale into what we've lovingly dubbed the Mythological Chinese Universe (or MCU for short). Hear stories of a heroic monster slayer shooting extraneous suns out of the sky, elixirs of immortality, why there is a rabbit on the moon, and why earthworms are the world's biggest tattletales.
Katrina and Geoff celebrate a year of podcasting! On this one year anniversary special we go back and revisit even more Cinderella tales. Most importantly we discuss what it really takes to be considered part of this tale type. Spoiler alert: It's not the shoe!
Geoff retells the story of Ye Xian, a Chinese tale that dates back a couple thousand years, in which our heroine is granted wishes by the bones of her beloved pet fish.
Katrina retells a Cinderella tale from the Philippines that starts off with it's own unique perspective then takes a sudden European turn reflective of the history of colonization in the country.
Katrina and Geoff right a wrong! Waaaaay back in Episode 19, Katrina told the first half of "Hassan of Basra" from One Thousand and One Nights. But in that episode she only told the first half, simplifying the EPIC conclusion to a few sentences. It's time to make things right! In this episode, Katrina retells "Hassan of Basra" in its entirety. Strap in and enjoy a tale of jinn, magi, fierce Amazon warriors, and magic wands.
Katrina and Geoff discuss grief! Hilarious. Katrina retells her favorite fairy tale of all time, Death in a Nut. Equal parts poignant and comical, this Scottish folktale really gets to the heart of the important fact of life that is death and how we need to come to terms with it. Along the way we'll learn the difference between flotsam and jetsam in maritime law, witness a young man literally conquer death, and see for ourselves the unintended consequences of a world where nothing dies.
Then Geoff retells the Buddhist Parable of the Mustard Seeds (not to be confused with a similarly titled Christian story) where we learn how to find peace by letting go of our grief.
Katrina and Geoff discuss fables! On this edition of our Fifth Friday Fable Fest we parse through a series of fables related to marriage. In the process, we talk about all the hit topics: male pattern baldness, insecurity, polygamy vs. polyamory, and why men look best with a little bit of gray in their hair. And that's only the first fable.
CW: Brief discussion of lynching, castration and racially motivated violence.
The episode you've all been waiting for... BEAUTY AND THE BEAST! Strap in folks. Katrina and Geoff finally retell the tale that they've been building up to since Valentine's Day. First Katrina takes the tale back to the 1st-6th century with The Woman Who Married a Snake, a tale from the Indian Panchatantra, to complete the necessary background information. We discuss how a translation of this tale bumped into the story of Cupid and Psyche in the late 1400's to become the Beauty and the Beast story that we know today. Finally, Geoff retells Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's shortened version of the tale based on the novel by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in an episode that is almost as long as those two women's names put together!
Required listening
- Episode 14: https://thefairytellers.podbean.com/e/episode-14-cupid-and-psycheeast-of-the-sun-west-of-the-moon/
- Episode 19: https://thefairytellers.podbean.com/e/episode-16-animal-brides/
- Episode 24: https://thefairytellers.podbean.com/e/episode-24---bluebeard-and-the-fitchers-bird/
Katrina and Geoff discuss mermaids! Geoff retells a Jamaican Anansi story where the mischievous trickster god ends up at the bottom of the ocean and encounters a mermaid-like being called Sea-Mahmmy. Then Katrina retells an Afro-Brazilian story of a poor farmer who marries a "mother-of-the-water" who brings him great prosperity. Katrina refutes the idea that this must have come from a European influence by tracing it back to a similar tale from the Yoruba people of West Africa.
Katrina and Geoff are surprised to find a folklore connection to current events! What does a petition to rebrand Splash Mountain have to do with folklore? Katrina takes us back through the history of this controversial theme park ride, Disney's Song of the South, Joel Chandler Harris's collection of Uncle Remus stories and the problems that arise when outsiders are the ones that record folklore and cultural traditions.
CW: Discussion of enslavement
Katrina and Geoff discuss murderous grooms! In this episode we continue toward our eventual Beauty and the Beast episode with two more tales involving monstrous grooms (animal or otherwise). Geoff retells the story of serial wife killer, Bluebeard, and how Charles Perrault apparently thinks these murdered brides got what they deserved. Afterwards, Katrina tells us two versions of The Fitcher's Bird recorded by The Brothers Grimm. Both versions are very similar except one is completely nonsensical intended for children and the other deserves a content warning all its own.
CW: Graphic descriptions of violence and murder
Katrina and Geoff discuss fables! Again. On our second ever Fifth Friday Fable Fest we retell a number of Aesop's famous fables that feature gods of the Greek pantheon. In the process we discuss how the peacock got all those sick eyes on the end of its feathers, why Greek gods in a collection of stories by a Greek author go by their Roman names, and how Katrina's husband spending two months in the hospital can teach us to better cope with this world altering pandemic. Let the fest begin!
Katrina and Geoff talk textiles! Following up on a listener suggestion, we delve a little deeper into seidr, a magic practice of shaping and influencing fate that is closely related to Norse mythology. First, Geoff retells the story of Nora-Gest whose amazing life and untimely death (in a good way, the dude lived over 300 years) was foretold from the time of his birth by three Norns (mythological beings who record the fates of all). Katrina then retells an action packed story from the Eyrbyggja saga that gives hints to scholars and Modern Pagans about how different aspects of seidr may have been used in Icelandic society to protect, to attack, only to be foiled by having your head stuffed in a sack. Grab your distaff and drop spindle while we retell you a thing.
Support the Nepal Youth Foundation by visiting www.nepalyouthfoundation.org/donate/
Katrina and Geoff discover the REAL Tiger King! Katrina retells the story of The King Who Rides a Tiger, an epic Nepali fairy tale about a humble farmer who saves a talking cobra from a mongoose, finds himself living in a golden palace, and has to face a series of challenges from the king to keep his wife. If you thought Netflix's Tiger King was wild, you are not gonna believe what happens in this story!
Support the Nepal Youth Foundation by visiting www.nepalyouthfoundation.org/donate/
Katrina and Geoff go to Nepal! In support of the Nepal Youth Foundation we spent some time getting familiar with Nepali fairy tales. Geoff retells the story of Soonimaya, a young girl who endures the unfair treatment of an evil stemother, enlists the help of talking animals, and ends up marrying into the royal family, with lots of fun twists and turns along the way. We discuss ant anatomy and physiology, the difficulty of retrieving tiger's milk in a monsoon, and how storytelling is a uniting pastime across cultures.
Katrina and Geoff discuss shape-shifting animal brides! Katrina starts us off with a retelling of Hasan of Basra from One Thousand and One Nights. In this story a young goldsmith gets tricked by an alchemist, saved by God, and falls in love with the swan-princess daughter of an all powerful jinn. Afterwards, Geoff retells The Frog Princess, a Russian fairy tale, with a cameo from the Baba Yaga herself. In this tale, pessimistic grump, Prince Ivan, is forced to marry a frog, falls in love with her, and faces off against Kushchey the Deathless by getting to the center of the most complex Russian nesting doll of all time.
Katrina and Geoff get silly! Inspired by the legendary meme status of the D&D alignment chart, we pull fairy tale character names from a hat and decide where they fall. Is Cinderella really Lawful Good? Or could she actually be Chaotic Evil? Is Sleeping Beauty the closest thing we can get to a True Neutral princess? Some of our answers might surprise you.
Katrina and Geoff discuss Mulan! In an episode that's been on the calendar for over 4 months, and specifically scheduled to coincide with the release of the, now delayed, live action remake of Disney's Mulan, we retell multiple versions of this well known Chinese folktale. We compare each version and talk about how and why they changed with each retelling. Let this episode fill the hole in your heart where the new movie was supposed to be.
Katrina and Geoff retell three veeeeery different versions of Sleeping Beauty! Geoff starts off by retelling the Brothers Grimm version, which is probably the version of the story you are most familiar with today. Then Katrina takes us on a journey back through time by telling the earlier Charles Perrault version, complete with a baby eating ogress-in-law. After that we go back even further with the Giambattista Basile version, the most graphic and disturbing of them all. We discuss the similarities and differences between the versions and make some educated guesses about why the story changed along the way.
CW: Rape. Cannibalism. Infanticide.
Katrina and Geoff discuss voodoo! Katrina retells the totally true (but probably not) story of how the Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau ruined the last public hanging in New Orleans. We briefly discuss the origins of the voodoo religion in America, how it was used to help the people of New Orleans, and how it got an undeservedly bad rap due to, you guessed it, racism.
Happy Mardi Gras! Enjoy the king cake.
Katrina and Geoff discuss love! Geoff retells East of the Sun West of the Moon, a Norwegian fairy tale about a poor peasant girl who is sold off into marriage to a White Bear and the trials she endures to be with the man she loves. Katrina retells the story of Cupid and Psyche, a Roman mythology-adjacent story, which is the basis of soooooo many other fairy tales around the world including, you guessed it, East of the Sun West of the Moon. In this episode we get into the nitty gritty on love, marriage, troll anatomy and physiology, and what an absolute hunk Jack Black is. Settle in for the long haul while we retell you a thing (or two).
Katrina and Geoff dip back into the well of Aesop's Fables! This time we retell four fantastic fables about fairytaledom's most infamous villains, wolves. For real. Why are they always the bad guys? We do our best to figure it out. And though Aesop's fables weren't meant for kids, we can't help but draw parallels to our favorite pieces of children's entertainment.
In this episode Katrina is a little too excited to talk about the devil! Geoff retells The Devil and His Grandmother, a lesser known Grimm fairy tale about, well, the Devil and his sweet adorable grandmother. Then Katrina introduces us to the world of Tall Tales by recounting the totally true, in no way made up, 100% factual story of how real life Revolutionary War hero Major Robert Stobo cheated the Devil out of claiming his soul. CW: Suicide
Geoff retells Hansel and Gretel, specifically the 1857 version made famous by the Brothers Grimm. Katrina compares this version to the first publication from 1812 and the changes made along the way. We also learn that people (AKA buzzkills) have been complaining about the graphic content of these tales from the beginning.
Bundle up! We're going to Russia! In this episode, Geoff retells the story of Morozko, Russia's Father Frost. And in return Katrina repeatedly traumatizes him with various tales of Snegurochka, the snowmaiden. We discuss the kind/unkind girl tale type and how the Russian people stuck it to the man by disguising critiques of the Soviet Union among innocent-seeming stories. And in a bit of a tangent, Geoff forces Katrina to recount a personal story of the time she was almost arrested in Russia for antiquities smuggling.
Katrina retells the story of Mother Holle, German folk goddess of winter, industriousness, and lost and troubled children. Join us on a journey to find out how the mythology surrounding this kindly figure leads directly to the wild and rambunctious Krampus tradition that continues in Germany today.
Katrina and Geoff continue their discussion of geomythology. Geoff recounts the tale of the giant catfish responsible for earthquakes in Japan and shares his own experience of the infamous 2011 earthquake. Katrina retells the story of Ngurunderi and how she stumbled upon this tsunami tale while researching how to catch a ferry to Kangaroo Island in Australia.
Katrina and Geoff discuss geomythology! Join us as we retell the story of the formation of the Hawaiian islands by the volcano goddess Pele and why actual geologists are obsessed with her tears and hair, the dueling volcanoes that lead to the formation of Crater Lake in the northwestern United States, and the heartbreaking story of an impact crater created by a fallen baby star in the Australian Outback.
Katrina and Geoff discuss monsters from around the world and discover that the true monster was us all along.
CW: 10 minute discussion of cannibalism. Brief mention of rape.
Katrina retells "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving, a single author story that has ascended to "folklore" status in the eyes of many Americans. We discuss the possible folklore origins for Irving's headless horseman, including the story of the Dullahan, quite possibly the most terrifying creature that Geoff has ever heard of, and why we think shared stories are so important.
Katrina and Geoff retell Momotaro or the Story of the Son of a Peach, a Japanese fairy tale about a young boy who comes into the world by way of, you guessed it, a giant peach. He grows big and strong, befriends wild animals, and takes on an island full of demons. We discuss the fascinating reasons so many Japanese fairy tales were translated into English in the early 1900's and why reading different versions by insiders and outsiders of a culture can give different perspectives on the same tale.
Katrina and Geoff retell eight of Aesop's famous fables. We discuss how these nearly 3000 year old stories function in a modern context. What exactly is so relatable about talking animals?
Katrina and Geoff retell two versions of an obscure little tale called Cinderella. We discuss the similarities in this tale type and what the differences can tell us about what the storytellers valued.
We had a complication with the sound quality and would plead for mercy since this is our second episode and we're still learning.
Katrina and Geoff discuss terminology! What exactly is the difference between a fairy tale and a folktale? What are fables? Myths? Legends? Tune in and find out.
*Note: In this episode we briefly cover the history of Aesop's Fables and I want listeners to know that it is a very brief run down and doesn't entirely cover the mystery of the author "Aesop". Folklorists might be concerned by the simplified history presented.