The American Folklife Center took part in the Library's Halloween-themed Family Day in October. In addition to showcasing a few items from the archive, AFC staff led visitors in an activity (making paper fortune-tellers) and encouraged participation in an engagement question around cryptids, ghost stories and urban legends.
We're back with another episode of the Folklife Today podcast! In this latest Halloween episode, John Fenn and I continue our discussion with Hanna Salmon about the new Research Guide "Folktales and Oral Storytelling: Resources in the American Folklife Center Collections." Then we introduce some of our favorite spooky stories: the ghost legend "The Vanishing Hitchhiker" as told by students Marty Weathers and Bill Henry of Georgia; the witch story "Skin, Don't You Know Me" as told by master storyteller J. D. Suggs of Mississippi and later Michigan; and the truly spooky tale of "The Two White Horses," told by the great Connie Regan-Blake, a leading Appalachian storyteller who has lived in Tennessee and North Carolina among other places. Of course, in addition to some chat about the tales, the episode showcases the stories themselves. This blog post shows you how to find the podcast and gives you some additional background on the stories and storytellers. So prepare for a scare and give us a listen!
In a recent lecture in our Benjamin A. Botkin Lecture Series, Conspiracy Theories, Folklore and Belief: Birds Aren't Real, Loch Ness Monsters and Microchips, folklorist Andrea Kitta discussed some definitions of conspiracy theories and how they fit into other belief traditions and narratives with a focus on understanding why people believe in conspiracy theories and how they function. This blog post includes the lecture video, an interview video with Dr. Kitta, and a set of links to related collections and programming.
Inspired by an annual re-watch of the alien invasion film "Independence Day," Folklife Specialist Meg Nicholas takes readers on a journey through some of the UFO-related stories found in the American Folklife Center's archives.
Bigfoot, a legendary creature known for its shyness and ability to blend in with its surroundings, can be found in the American Folklife Center and several other special collections throughout the Library of Congress.