Welcome to Folklore and Mythology Part 4: Life After Death

Happy New Year everyone - let's talk about death!

Or at least the stories associated with death because there are a lot.

Confused about why I chose this topic as my kick off to 2018? That's alright, I'm often confused by where my mind goes when it's left to wander around without a focal point to focus on. But I've been traveling around the Internet (and received a request to look into the myth of Sisyphus - basically the story of a guy trying to get out of dying) and stumbled upon a ton of mythology and folklore about that unknowable experience that is death and the afterlife.

I'm not really surprised by the number of stories associated with death, the afterlife, and dealing with the dead. It's one of the greatest mysteries about life. What happens after we die?

There are a lot of theories. The atheists I've talked to all say that there's nothing after death. Basically we just go poof. Reincarnation is another popular possibility and one I favor (one life time is just too short to experience everything this world has to offer). However, places such as underworlds seem to pop up a lot in the different mythologies and religions I'm most familiar with.

Growing up as a Protestant Christian, I was taught that good people go to Heaven and bad people go to Hell. My Catholic relatives might have talked about Purgatory on occasion (and were a little confused as to what happened to the Souls there when the Papacy no longer recognized it), but it wasn't really part of my belief system.

Of course, Christianity isn't the only religion in the world and doesn't have a monopoly on afterlife doctrine and it has gone through a number of changes over the years. There are a number of influences from Greek and Roman mythology (*cough Hades *cough), not to mention Norse mythology (*cough Hel *cough).

In fact, one of the most famous depictions of Christian afterlife, Dante's Divine Comedy, could easily be described as gratuitous self-insert fanfiction. Sadly, these aren't my words, I stole them from Overly Sarcastic Productions (I might reference this YouTube channel a lot in this post).

I could go on about the many depictions of Heaven and Hell (like I've written in all my posts about Folklore and Mythology), but that would create a sub-series into this series and I would prefer to avoid doing that. I also don't want to just list off the many different afterlife places that ancient people said they were going to. That would take forever and require more research than I'm willing to put into this post.

With that written, I want all of you reading to take a quick detour to YouTube to watch this video on underworld mythology and this one about a guy kidnapping death by Overly Sarcastic Productions (see, I told you guys they'd be referenced again) you can get a quick overview of a few myths I've been looking into. I'll wait for you to come back...

My general feelings on underworld and death mythology is that it's trippy as all get out. They have two basic flavors such as when one member of a loving breeding couple dies tragically or someone doesn't want to die, captures death, and causes tons of problems because of the situation (insert facepalm here).

Then there's the mythology and folklore about Death itself (not the act of dying, the physical embodiment of death). Usually, I think of Death as the skeleton like figure cloaked all in black, carrying a scythe known as the Grim Reaper. It's the image that has been ingrained in America's popular culture. Lindsay Ellis did a really interesting YouTube video on the depiction of Death in popular culture (mainly movies) and how this image has barely changed over the years.

The idea of Death as a person has actively been a part of my culture since I was a kid. I remember watching the shows "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" and "Dead Like Me". J. K. Rowling and Sir Terry Pratchett created their own versions of Death for their respective fantasy worlds. The common denominator between all of these versions is that Death just kind of wants to do their job and doesn't like it when the natural order is messed with.

The dementors from Harry Potter look a lot like the modern interpretation of the Grim Reaper

Or at least that's my interpretation of all the folklore and mythology about this subject that I've been exposed to.

Also if you do try to rescue your dead loved one from death/the underworld, don't turn around until you've gotten back to the land of the living.

I'm off go back to working on my coming-of-age-horror novel (which is partially why I did this research in the first place - no spoilers). Hopefully I'll be able to finish it before it's 2019. Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to Folklore and Mythology Part 3: A Very Merry Christmas Eve

Happy Holidays everyone! It's Christmas Eve and I thought I'd take a quick peak at some of the mythology and folklore of the Christmas season. Believe it or not...there's a lot.

Now, since I'm from the United States, I've been immersed in the American version of Christmas. I have a Christmas Tree with either an angel or star on top. I learned about Santa Claus and watched the strange stop motion animated features every year. Occasionally I set up an advent wreath and light the candles in the correct order.

But this wasn't how Christmas was always celebrated in the United States.

Most people are familiar with the fact that it was the German immigrants that brought the Christmas Tree to the United States, but before the tree came into popular culture the Colonial Americans had very different traditions. They celebrated Christmas for 12 days and often featured a Yule Log as part of the celebration. The College of William and Mary has a Yule Log ceremony every year, though it's not accurate to what colonial America would have had.

Santa Claus wasn't even part of Colonial American culture.

Speaking of Santa Claus, I've heard a lot of different origins for Santa Claus. Now, there was a real life Saint Nicholas who was known for giving gifts to people in need and was a Bishop of Myra of modern day Turkey. I find it more interesting that he's the Patron Saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers and students (depending on where you are). His feast day is also in December (the 6th if you’re curious).

He certainly doesn't sound like a jolly old elf who lives in the North Pole...

I've heard some people suggest that the origin of our modern Santa Claus comes from a combination of European cultures and Norse mythology. They suggested that Odin had somehow merged with Saint Nicholas to become our version of Santa Claus or Father Christmas. I'm not sure how much I buy that explanation, but it was very interesting.

Lego even put out Santa's workshop as a set!

I could go on and on about the different versions of Santa Claus or his nastier counter parts like Krampus, but there are so many and I'm unfamiliar with most of them. I would like to mention that many Christmas celebrating nations have had changes to their mythos. In Iceland for instance, they have the Yule Lads (each with their very own ridiculous names). They were originally mischievous spirits or trolls, but eventually began to take on the qualities similar to Santa Claus.

If you've never heard of the Yule Lads or their child eating mother Grýla, I suggest looking into them.

Some countries don't even have a Santa Claus in their Christmas tradition. In Spain, it was tradition to give children presents on Epiphany rather than Christmas (though Wikipedia says that this is changing) and it wasn't Santa who gave these presents, but the Three Kings or Magi.

If you’re a person of faith, you guys might have noticed that I've left out the most important person when it comes to Christmas: Jesus.

Every Christian has heard the story of Jesus's birth. The Angel Gabriel announced the birth to the Virgin Mary, had to convince Joseph that his wife didn't cheat on him, and summoned the shepherds and wise men to witness the birth. As far as I know, there isn't that much variation between stories that are told.

The only real controversy is when Jesus was actually born.

Yeah, believe it or not no one can seem to decide when Jesus was actually born. Some modern scholars put the date at some point in March based on the astrological charts we have on record. There are all sorts of theories as to why we celebrate Christmas on December 25th and keep the traditions we do.

The most likely explanation (and the one I typically go with) is that the early Christian Church was trying to prevent major culture shock with their new converts. It was easier to absorb and appropriate many pagan traditions (like decorating a dead tree with lights) than completely wipe away the local customs.

No matter how you celebrate the holiday season, I hope it's fun and peaceful. Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Merry Festivious (the holiday for the rest of us), Happy Hanukkah, a Good Winter Solstices, and a Happy New Year!

Until next week!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Onward to 2018!

Welcome to Folklore and Mythology Part 2: The American Tall Tales

As I said in the introduction to this series, folklore and mythology are often a reflection of a society's values and fears. America is a rich melting pot of cultures. We're a big country with a ton of different people of all sorts of backgrounds.

Legend has it if you walk across the Crim Dell Bridge alone you're doomed to stay single forever, but if you kiss your significant other at the top of the bridge, you'll love each other forever.

I've heard around the Internet (and possibly a few classes back in College) that America's modern mythology lies within the comic industry. I think I agree with that idea. Our superheroes and villains can easily be equated to the demigods of Greek and Roman mythology. We don't worship them as deities, but we do portray them as upholding or reflecting our society, much like how Hercules and Achilles.

But before our popular culture was flooded with super geniuses, super strong aliens, multi billionaires with too much time on their hands, and mutants, the United State had tons of local legends that spread like wildfire.

Many of them are still taught to our children today as stories and songs. Most kids who grow up in the US know a little bit about Johnny Appleseed, John Henry, and Paul Bunyan. A few might have read the Legend of Sleepy Hollow or seen the Disney movie (or even the Johnny Depp movie). And nearly everyone has heard the story about George Washington chopping down a Cherry Tree (regardless of how true it is).

The heroes of these stories aren't royalty. There's very little magic in them and if there is, it's more of a hyperbole or magical realism than actual magic. One of the overarching themes of these stories are that the heroes are strong, hard workers who are dedicated to serving their communities. Johnny Appleseed is helping to plant apple trees. John Henry helped build the American rail system and raced a steam powered machine that was trying to replace his job. Paul Bunyan along with Babe and Blue Ox were well known for their super human strength as a lumberjack.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox!

Then there are the creepier tales that have snuck into the American mythos. Everyone has heard a story about Big Foot and UFO encounters around Area 51. The Jersey Devil is a famous legend that most people have heard about, even outside of New Jersey. These stories fuel our curious nature and give us a glimpse into the darker side of our society.

Big Foot sightings continue because there are some parts of the US that are still largely unexplored. Anything regarding government secrets is going to draw curious onlookers. While the story of the Jersey Devil features a creepy curse and the dark superstitions of a deeply religious society (most accounts of the story set it somewhere during the colonial period).

Don't forget that the United States is a huge country and there are a lot of regional legends and folklore (especially of the ghost variety). I could tell dozens of stories about my home state of Virginia. The town of Williamsburg has many ghost stories as well as a few urban legends that don't seem to want to fade with time.

But if you were to ask someone from outside of Northern Virginia about The Bunny Man Bridge, they might give you a funny look. I know I would have been very confused as a young kid if I'd been asked if I had ever seen a Melon Head (no I'm not making this up - here's the wiki page to prove it) or what the Mothman was.

If there was one aspect of American folklore and mythology I wish I knew more about it would be the Native American stories. I've been able to read a few stories and go to the National Museum of the American Indian, but I'd love to learn more.

I'd like to end this post with one of my favorite stories from my home city of Washington D.C. There's a huge mural in the National Air and Space museum (not the one in Virginia) in the World War 2 Air Force exhibit. The story goes that the gentleman who painted this mural insisted on having a beer everyday with his lunch, but the museum wouldn't allow the consumption of alcohol on the grounds. Much to his annoyance, this gentleman would leave to have his lunch outside of the museum everyday. It annoyed him so much in fact that he painted a can of beer into the mural as part of his signature.

I don't know how true the above story is. I do know that my dad once overheard a tour guide tell the story and there's definitely a can (though it's hard to tell if it's beer or not) in one of the guy's hands in the mural. It's a fun tale to tell when taking people to that museum and it usually gets a laugh out of anyone who overhears us tell the story, especially when they find the can.

What this does tell us is that Washington DC loves it's rules, but some people are really good at circumventing undermining them. It's also just a funny story.

I know I didn't cover nearly everything that I could have in this post. There are tons of tall tales I could have written about. Heck, I didn't even touch on the stories that have popped up like rabbits in heat that have come about because of the Internet (*cough slender-man *cough creepypastas *cough).

Let me know what some of your favorite American myths, legends, and folklore are in the comments.

Until next week!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to Folklore and Mythology Part 1: A Modern Appropriation

So based on the number of clicks on last week's blog, I'm going to assume that people are interested in me going looking into Folklore and Mythology. I just wanted to thank you guys for reading and giving me my second blog post with over 1
00 hits (the first being the one where I declared my love of all things pumpkin...go figure).

So let's start by taking a quick peek at how the modern world has been telling some of our favorite myths.

How DC and Marvel Confused My Inner Nerd...

Thor and his hammer!

It might be fair to say that my first introduction to European mythologies was by reading comic books and watching Disney's Hercules. Now the main comic book series I was reading as a kid was Asterix and the only time mythology really turned up was when they were taking their respective gods' names in vain. It took me a little longer to dive into the more popular (at least in the US) DC and Marvel comic books, but when I did I was very confused by some of the characters they were representing.

Now, it would be a missed opportunity for me if I didn't start this series off with a lot of American's introductions to mythology: DC and Marvel. It also helps that Wonder Woman came out this summer and I recently saw Thor: Ragnarok in theaters.

[WARNING: There will be spoilers for Wonder Woman and Thor: Ragnarok in the upcoming post. If you haven't seen the movie yet, read at your own risk.]

DC and Marvel have managed to appropriate two entirely different mythologies and bring them to the forefront of American Culture. DC's Wonder Woman is clearly depicted as being part of Greek Mythology and Marvel has explicitly stated (at least in the movies) that Thor's people influenced Norse Mythology on Earth (insert complicated explanation here).

And yes, I am going to say that these two comic book giants appropriated these mythologies.

There are very few similarities between what the comics, TV shows, and movies present and the actual mythologies. Some examples include Thor being a red head (extremely minor) and Ares being a battle crazed super-villain since even the slightest injury would send him running to his father Zeus to whine (see The Iliad for details). It's even harder to imagine Ares actually being able to kill all of the other gods on Olympus.

And don't even get me started on the crazy changes between the comics and movies that just came out totally throw the original mythologies out the window. I think the one I am most confused at is Hela being Odin's daughter and not Loki's (that and Fenrir is kind of her brother...not a pet she brings back to life). In both the comic books and the original mythology Hela is Loki's daughter, though her personality is very different between the two mediums (same is true for Loki).

Then there's Wonder Woman's parentage. Apparently, in the New 52 universe and the movie that came out this summer, Zeus is her father, but in Justice League Hades says he's her father. I've already mentioned above that Ares was the "father" of the Amazons in Greek mythology, but Diana isn't a Greek Amazon. She's the Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon, and nature (the equivalent of Artemis in Greek mythology).

Basically, DC and Marvel took preexisting stories and remade them for a modern audience. The fundamental characteristics are still sort of present, but there are a lot of changes. The story lines are a little more "family friendly". Roughly 75% of the original stories I've read with Zeus as the protagonist are who he's sleeping with, which kid is now his, and how Hera is going to torment everyone because Zeus can't keep it in his pants. Then there's the story about how Loki transformed into a mare and became pregnant with a six legged horse. It was bizarre to say the least.

DC and Marvel taking these stories and making them their own is nothing new. Greek and Roman mythologies have a ton of similarities. A few of their gods even share names. Disney's version of Hercules is another take on Greek mythology, even though they use the Roman version of his name and for some weird reason make Hades the bad guy (yeah, Hera's the one who's pissy in that story).

Which brings me to another confusing point. Why is Hades constantly being updated as the "bad guy" in a lot of the modern stories? He's probably one of the few Greek gods who isn't a total dick (minus the whole thing with Persephone...depending on how you interpret the myth).

Maybe it has something to do with the influence of Christianity on these myths. I'm sure I'll get around to ranting about that at some other point.

Until next week:

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. If you have a folklore or mythology you'd like me to look into (or even just read) let me know.