Welcome to the wonderful world of Flemish folklore and folktales. In this corner, we dance on unearthly songs with ghosts, visit the dark abodes of witches and sign contracts with devils. We stroll along the same paths where Kludde, a mischievous shapeshifter, once walked, and soar through the clouds with the women who dwell in the wind.
The storytelling traditions of Flanders belong to an old and nearly forgotten realm, a realm that should be explored, for its dark and enchanting magic must not be lost. If there was a heksenkring, known as fairy ring in English, in which I could step and disappear forever, I would without hesitation step into the circle. Despite the sometimes friendly gnome-like beings who are known to blow out the light in your eyes, the witches who hide behind trees in the shape of cats and hares, the devils plotting at the crossroads, the ghosts whose eerie presence can be felt in every corner of the realm, and the beings who dwell in the water among other ghastly, but always spellbinding creatures, I would still disappear.
My books and blog are about these figures, often shunned, ostracised, and despised. In the stories, they don’t have a voice of their own and are not allowed to tell the tales from their perspective, but now it is time, time to hear their mysterious whispers in the wind, and to embrace the unembraceable.
About
Signe Maene is a Belgian writer of stories mainly inspired by Flemish folklore, and she shares her passion for this wonderful world on Substack. She is the author of Flemish Folktales Retold and The Witches of Flemish Folklore. Signe has worked on several projects for the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities Podcast that are based on folklore.
Her work has been published in The Copperfield Review, The Seelie Crow and Atrium Poetry among others. When Signe is not writing, she is sewing, reading, walking around in melancholic churches, or dreaming about haunted forests and mysterious creatures hidden in enchanted melancholic mist.
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Flemish Folktale: The Witch Who Left Her Body Behind
There was once a farmer who suspected that his maid was up to no good. She finished her work not only sooner than everyone else but better, too. Most farmers would have been glad to have such a diligent and energetic maid, but this one was not. He had once moved the broom she used…
Flemish Folktale: The Night the Sky Cackled
In the small village of Kerkom (Flemish Brabant), there once lived a man who listened to the name of Karel. Nothing remarkable here as half of Flanders was either called Karel or Jan during those days, but this Karel was said to be fearless. So fearless, in fact, that he was one of the very…
The Witch’s Downfall: How a Witch Paid the Price for Kindness
In most Flemish folktales, the people and especially farmers who are most often targeted by witches, don’t want to have anything to do with those who brew potions and chant spells. They are more than happy to make a detour if they have to pass by a witch’s cottage, but this isn’t the case in…
Signe Maene 