For this folktale we’re meeting a nixie in the municipality of Lichtervelde in the province of West-Flanders, although it’s not a creature you would have liked to encountered in the flesh. The story goes that many moons ago there was a ditch that was feared and avoided by the locals who often woke up in …
According to a Flemish folktale a man no longer wished to be a werewolf. Howling at the moon and terrorising villages were no longer any fun. In fact, it had become boring. To cease to be transformed into a werewolf against his will the man had to revisit all the villages he had brutally attacked. …
Continue reading Short Folktale: The Werewolf Who Went on a Tour of Redemption
Besides the medieval facades, the cobbled alleys and the charming bridges, the city of Bruges is also well-known for the elegant swans that majestically swim in the narrow canals, and several folktales tell the story how these swans came to Bruges. The first tale is my favourite and the lesser-known narrative of the two. According …
In a small town near the Belgian city of Antwerp there once lived a free-spirited lady who was feared and shunned wherever she went. Not that she minded. The unnamed woman dragged her spinning wheel outside every day and spun until the sun went down while a black cat rested at her feet. The other …
In the city centre of Ghent there’s a stunning piece of 13th century Gothic architecture known as Geeraard de Duivelsteen or Geerard the Devil castle. The building was named after a knight who in all likelihood wasn’t as much as a villain as legend wants you to believe, but since I’m all about folklore this …
Naart Stuyck is a short piece of fiction that is based on ghosts who are said to haunt the Belgian city of Ghent. It is part of Ghostlore: An Audio Fiction Anthology produced by the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities Podcast and edited by Lyndsey Croal. You can find part one of the podcast which …
The Karnemelkbrug or buttermilk bridge in Ghent, Belgium is first mentioned in the city archives in 1199. The bridge was demolished in 1900 but fortunately the folktales that were set there didn’t disappear along with the bridge. It was a place where water devils lurked, a place associated with witchcraft and the spot where the …
Continue reading The Belgian Karnemelkbrug: Ghosts, Water devils and Witchcraft
As long as you’re not driving your car on a zigzag road on a misty morning, mist can be beautiful, mysterious and sometimes even magical. There’s always this sense that something otherworldly might be hidden behind that cloudy veil. The idea that mist is something more than just tiny droplets of water that are suspended …
Continue reading Magical veils of mist and smoke in folklore
How to Create a Fictional Elf Readers Will Love Since the publication of J. R. R. Tolkien’s adventures in Middle Earth, Lewis Carroll’s plunge into Wonderland, and C. S. Lewis’ step into Narnia, fantasy has become one of the most popular genres in literature. Bookworms and geeks alike cherish their next escape to a magical …
A Dreadful Fairy Book I started reading this book on a Tuesday evening. In the first chapter we meet our heroine Shade. She is devastated after her house burns down and all of her precious books are lost in the fire. I immediately put the book down. This wasn't the kind of book that I …
Continue reading Book review: A Dreadful Fairy Book by Jon Etter
Signe Maene 