Reading Plan

Week 9: California/Old Southwest

I chose this because a friend of mine, Christina, just told me a super freaky story yesterday and I want to see what kind of folklore I can match it against (if I can).  I'll share it here before I forget it.

So, Christina was out visiting an old museum/preserve out in Tuscon when she felt a chill - she felt something just wrong - come over her.  Now, this is a lady who doesn't believe in ghosts or God or goblins, anything - but when she turned around, she saw "an old Indian man - the dark skin, the leathery face, he was Indian - with shoulder length grey hair, and the palest blue eyes I have ever seen."  She immediately started fast walking out of the park and every time she looked behind her - that man was there, and he was keeping pace.

She stopped in the gift shop, but the man was still there.  The whole time, he's never looking her in the eye - he's looking at some point just over her head.  She said that she wasn't sure why she didn't ask anyone whether or not they saw this guy, instead, she just kept walking - going out to her car.

And there, beside her car - a coyote.  She glanced over her shoulder and saw that the man had finally stopped walking - and he was looking directly at the coyote.

Christina immediately jumped into her car and got out of there.  She said that just as she was reaching the gate - she saw a coyote, she doesn't know if it was the same one or if it was a different one, but it gave her a little headjerk - "As if it was saying, 'go on, git.'  And I did."

Week 10: Great Plains
Because Oklahoma.

Week 11: King Arthur
Because one of my favorite shows is BBC's Merlin and what's in the show is about as much as I know about Arthurian legends.

Week 12: Celtic Fairy Tales
I chose this because my paternal grandmother was Irish.  My grandfather, whose parents were from Sicily, always called her his "wild Irish rose"; they were married for 50 years before she passed away.

Week 13: Kalevala
I remember talking about singing Finnish bards in my folklore class with Dr. Marshall and these bards were just so fantastic!  I love that the power of words can be controlled by just tone and inflection.

Week 14: Russian Folktales
Because I'm taking a Russian history class this semester and because one of my favorite hockey players is a Russian.  Czech Folktales may be thrown in here somewhere between weeks 13 and 14.

Evgeni "Geno" Malkin (#71) in full on angry Russian bear mode.