Folklore

All posts tagged Folklore

Cryptids: Mermaids – Tales and Legends

Posted by Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB) on May 30, 2013
Posted in: Bizarre, Creatures, Mysteries, Pseudoscientific, Urban Legends. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

In the modern age, tales of mermaids fall under the same category as stories of minotaurs or dragons. Sure, they seem like neat ideas, but no one actually believes such creatures could exist. If that’s the case, then why have sailors across centuries reported seeing humanoid, aquatic creatures on the waves? Is there any grain of truth within the claims? Tune in to learn more about alleged mermaid sightings, the problem of evidence (or lack thereof) and more.

via Cryptids: Mermaids – Tales and Legends – STDWYTK – YouTube.

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A Time for Reflection: Mirrors in Folklore and Superstition

Posted by Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB) on September 13, 2012
Posted in: Psychology, Story Telling, Superstition. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 comment

By Josh Sanofsky via Who Forted? Magazine

Since mankind first saw its own reflection, we have been fascinated by surfaces that cast our image back to us. Possibly because of that fascination, there is an incredibly wide variety of superstitions, myths and urban legends surrounding mirrors specifically and reflective bodies in general.

Everyone has heard, for example, that breaking a mirror will bring seven years of bad luck. This superstition dates back to the Romans, who believed that life renewed itself every seven years, and that breaking a mirror would thus cause damage to the soul it was reflecting at the time for that duration.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that there are a number of folk remedies for relieving the seven years of bad luck. Early American slaves believed that the bad luck could be washed away by immersing the pieces of the broken mirror in south-flowing water for seven hours. Another tale says that the seven years of bad luck may be kept from taking effect by grinding the shards of the mirror into a fine powder so that they no longer reflect any images at all. Still another says that putting the broken pieces in a bag and burying it will accomplish the same thing.

Mirrors were often used in magical and psychic rituals for scrying – remotely viewing another person or place – and communicating. They could also be used in magical rituals of divination – fortune telling and reading of the future. This was known as catoptromancy or enoptromancy, and was described in an ancient Greek text as being performed by lowering a mirror on a thread until

Keep Reading: A Time for Reflection: Mirrors in Folklore and Superstition | Who Forted? Magazine.

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25 Greatest Scientific Hoaxes In History

Posted by Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB) on July 21, 2012
Posted in: Hoax. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Although we like to think of scientific inquiry as being completely objective, unfortunately there have been times in the past that it has been biased by our human desires. Whether it is for fame, fortune, or simply to mislead, some people will occasionally go to great lengths to deceive the world. You’ll probably notice, however, that not all of these are malicious cases of deception. Some are in fact quite amusing and meant to be little more than practical jokes. Either way though, these are the 25 greatest scientific hoaxes in history.

25 Greatest Scientific Hoaxes In History – YouTube.

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Beastly Madness

Posted by Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB) on July 15, 2012
Posted in: Creatures. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

For those who believe in the existence of literal werewolves, the image of the hairy shape-shifting beast that is part-human and part-wolf, and that embarks on a marauding killing spree at the sight of a full moon, is no joke.

But if such creatures really exist, are they true werewolves of the type that have been so successfully portrayed on-screen time and again by Hollywood movie-moguls? Could they be deranged souls, afflicted by a variety of mental illnesses and delusions? Or might they have distinctly paranormal origins? Paradoxically, the answer to all three of those questions might very well be: “Yes.”

… I fully believe in the existence of a phenomenon that is responsible for reports of werewolves. But, I do not for one minute believe that people are morphing into savage animals by the light of a full moon.

Keep Reading: Beastly Madness | Mysterious Universe.

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Curses! 4 Tales of Sinister Forces

Posted by Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB) on July 15, 2012
Posted in: Educational, Psychology, supernatural, Superstition. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Whether they are supernatural or not, curses can have powerful, devastating effects

ARE CURSES REAL? Or are they just the stuff of superstition? You might have heard stories and legends of Gypsy curses and witches’ curses (you’ll find more of those below), but do they have real supernatural power?

A curse is an expression of or wish for misfortune, harm, evil, or doom by a person for another. Curses are not taken seriously by most educated people in the western world, yet they might retain their power and influence over those who believe in them. Belief could be the key to a curse’s power. If a person believes – even on a subconscious or psychological level – that he or she has been cursed, then its effects can be just as powerful as if it is supernatural in nature.

Consider the following reports of curses and their sometimes devastating effects, and judge for yourself whether they are produced by dark, sinister, external forces, or are brought about from the minds of those who have been cursed.

Keep reading: Curses! 4 Tales of Sinister Forces.

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