By Alina Rezepova, Staff Writer
Have you ever wondered why adults are interested in stories about ghosts and monsters? The reason is that many adults are still children at heart, waiting for a bedtime story.
Folklore is a collective creation of tales, proverbs, and other traditions that originated among people in the past and have been passed down from generation to generation. It is so diverse that while studying this topic, you can hear the names of mystical creatures that you have never heard of before. Do you know about the “existence” of Vodyanoy, Baba Yaga, or Leshy?
One of the ways to think about why people come up with any mystical characters is by realizing that ancient people could use them to intimidate children so that they would not walk alone far from home or even fall asleep faster so that they would not be “eaten by a bogeyman”. Therefore, if you think deeper, every legend reflects a fear, a dream, or a hope of the people of a culture. Regardless of the continent or region of the world, legends have always existed among every people, from cold Europe to hot Asia, or the far-off Americas.
Europe: The land of mysterious forests
In Norway, you can still see the road sign “Beware of trolls!” especially if you decide to drive along the “Trollstigen.” Of course, this is more of a playful tradition, but people still cherish the ancient myths with trepidation. Trolls are stone creatures that can transform from stone to a stoneman. They are said to steal people’s belongings.
Asia: A world of spiritual wanderers
Have you ever heard of the evil triplets of the weasels? In Japan, there are popular stories about Kama-itachi—a yōkai also known as “evil weasel with sickles.” These creatures always act in threes: One of them knocks down the victim, the second one cuts off the person’s lower limbs, and the last weasel stitches the wounds and stops the bleeding. They manage to do all this in less than a second. It sounds so creepy that even just reading it gives you goosebumps.
In Kyrgyzstan, there is a legend about a girl in red who was raped and killed, and whose restless soul still searches for her attackers. One night, a driver was traveling down a lonely road and stopped to offer the girl a ride. But when she approached the car, he saw that instead of legs, she had hooves. Terrified, the driver hit the gas, but the girl clung to the car for a long time before finally letting go. Since then, people in Kyrgyzstan have avoided stopping on the road for strangers—especially for girls in red.
“In the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, drivers do not stop for girls in red—they say they have hooves,” said Karina Kadyrova, a Kyrgyz sophomore student in marketing.
America: A mystery that is always in the shadows
In the past, people working as forest road builders noticed huge human-like footprints. Later, someone filmed a short video of a monkey-like creature walking through the forest. Clearly, it was larger than a human. This led to the spread of the legend of the mysterious Bigfoot, and people began to fear it.
“Bigfoot is supposed to be out in the woods, like this giant hairy creature people are always spotting but never catching on camera,” said Haleigh Spinner, a junior student in contemporary studies and medical humanities.
Folklore is an integral part of cultures from all peoples of the world. Folklore was very popular in the past and is still a living part of modern society.
