#FolkloreMoment : A lot of people claim that folk tales convey "moral lessons". But apparently, the lesson can sometimes be:
"If a more powerful woman wants to sleep with your husband, you'd better let her and act like a complete doormat with you want to remain unscathed!"
https://archive.org/details/mythenundsagenau00krai/page/394/mode/2up
#FolkloreMoment : In the Silesian village of Hozeploz, the departed often return to their living kin after death.
They eat with the living, drink with them, and even mingle carnally with their wives!
And when travelers pass through the village at that time, the dead run after them and jump on their backs.
#Germany #folktale #folklore #vampire
https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/287638
#FolkloreMoment : There was once a man who lived in constant strife with his wife. He preferred the pub to staying home, and when he went home he frequently beat his wife so badly that their neighbors had to come and help her.
When he was finally nearing the end of his life, he asked his wife to forgive him, but she refused to do so.
One later evening, his wife walked past the graveyard when she suddenly felt a heavy load on her shoulders. She hurried home, but no matter what she did, she weight would not come off.
She then went to the priest, and told her story. The priest then admonished her to forgive her dead husband. Once she did so, the weight on her shoulders vanished.
And the moral of the story is... be careful before looking for moral guidance from old folk tales. 😉
#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/287638
#FolkloreMoment : A woman in Bensdorf fed bread to her pigs.
As punishment for this sin, she returned as a ghost in the shape of a black pig which appeared next to the other pigs.
#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/287638
#FolkloreMoment : It is a common belief in German #folklore that, if a woman dies soon after giving birth, she will return from the grave for several weeks to breastfeed the child until it is strong enough to survive without her.
#ttrpg suggestion: If you want to create a character with "innate" necromantic or other supernatural powers, this seems as good as a background story as any. 😉
#FolkloreMoment : I am currently reading through a folk tale collection from Silesia, and I love that there's an entire section of tales with the theme:
"Salvation-seeking castle maidens who transform into snakes"
#FolkloreMoment : In the year 1661, a murderous family of criminals was executed in Wohlau.
Among the other crimes they confessed under torture, they allegedly cut out the hearts of several murdered women and children and ate those in order to turn themselves invisible and ward themselves from harm.
#FolkloreMoment : I've read an Austrian folk tale about the origin of the "miracle doctor" Theophrast. And it says that, when he was born, his mother had to be cut into four parts in order to deliver him.
All I could think was: "This is the future the 'Pro Life' people want."
#FolkloreMoment : According to the #folklore of Silesia, particularly evil people would get a horse's hoof after death, and could be seen wandering around as revenants in this form.
Jürgen Hubert
LightCaptured