Sara C. Snider's Blog, page 25

Sleipnir

Sleipnir is Odin’s eight-legged horse and is the bestest of all the Aesir’s horses. Apparently, Sleipnir’s story of how he came to be begins with when the gods had just established Midgard and a builder came to offer to construct a mighty fortification that would keep out the pesky giants. For payment, he wanted Freyia for his wife, and the sun and moon, too. The gods agreed, but with the stipulation that he would build the fortification in one winter, and that no man would help him with the...

Redcap

Redcap is a rather unpleasant fellow who lurks in ruined towers and castles, especially if they have a wicked history. It’s said that Redcap kills travelers who wander into his ruined home, using the blood of his victims to dye his cap.

Redcap holds a particularly creepy place in my heart, mainly because I saw something very similar as a young child, long before I ever heard of such a creature. I was sleeping in my mother’s bed and in the doorway I saw the silhouette of a man. His form was dar...

The Quillwork Girl

“The Quillwork Girl and Her Seven Star Brothers” is a Cheyenne story of a beautiful girl who is gifted in the art of quillwork. She could decorate anything from clothing to tipis, and her work was the best in the land.

One day, she started making a several sets of men’s clothing of fine white buffalo skin, all embroidered with her beautiful quillwork. When asked, the girl said she is making them for seven brothers that will one day be admired by all the world and that, as an only child, she wo...

Phooka

The phooka is a tricksy shape-shifting goblin of Irish lore. He can take on various forms such as a dog, bull, or even an eagle. Most frequently, however, he appears as a black horse or pony with glowing eyes. He approaches unwary travelers and offers them a ride on his back. Once he has them, the phooka then takes them on a harrowing gallop across the countryside before unceremoniously dumping them into a ditch or mire. Then he laughs at them. If he had fingers, I imagine he’d point, too.

The...

The Owl Husband

The story of “The Owl Husband” originates from the Passamaquoddy. It’s a tale of how a father—in a desire to marry off his snooty daughter—said he’d give her to any man who could make the embers of a fire blaze by spitting on it.

Doing such a thing is, of course, impossible. Unless you are an owl, with an owl-auntie that has a knack for making potions. Such was the case for the Great Horned Owl in this story. He took on the disguise of a handsome young man and, having drunk a potion from his a...

Nick Fish

Nick Fish is an individual who is one half man, one half fish. He has webbed feet like a duck and a throat like a frog. He got this way from being cursed by his mother, who was so frustrated with him swimming in the water all the time and not heeding her. After his transformation, Nick Fish never set foot on dry land again. This upset his mother so much that she died soon after. (So, you know, don’t curse your children if you can’t deal with the consequences.)

Nick Fish later gets the attentio...

Maresch the Midwife

There is a story in Michael Scott’s book Irish Folk and Fairy Tales Omnibus, of a Sidhe named Maresch who helps deliver the early arrival of a baby while the husband is absent having been caught in a storm. Once the baby is born, Maresch then burns a fire that makes the new mother groggy, and essentially convinces her to hand her the child. When the mother comes to, Maresch and the baby are gone.

The couple does, however, get their baby back. The employ the help of an old wise woman, who then...

Lamphyr

Lamphyr are my own creation. They are gaunt, wraith-like men shrouded in dark grey cloaks. The most notable feature about them is that they have no eyes, yet they can still see with the aid of the lamps they carry with them. They are generally unpleasant fellows who don’t play well with others.

“It is said that the lamphyr were once sailors, charged with lighting the fires on the cliffs along the sea so that ships would not wreck upon the rocky shores in foul weather.

“But these men, being sail...

Kannon

Kannon is the Japanese goddess of mercy, compassion, and pets. She is usually depicted as female, but can also be depicted as male, which I think is pretty interesting. I’ve read somewhere that androgyny is quite prevalent in myth and lore, but it’s not something I’ve had the opportunity to look into deeper. Perhaps for another day and another blog post.

Of the stories I’ve read that feature Kannon (and there are quite a few, though I’ve not read them all) my favorite is the one where a girl s...

Janus

I was a big fan of Greek and Roman mythology as a kid. When I first read about Janus, he became an instant favorite, though that might have been influenced by the fact that he seemed to be the only god that was uniquely Roman.

Janus is a two-faced god that is ever looking forwards as well as backwards. As such, he is a keeper of gateways, and of beginnings and transitions. When studying archival science, I was delighted when I found out the National Archives in Sweden has Janus on their coat o...