Tomorrow is St Lucy’s Day and her being a light in the darkness is celebrated in many European regions. But on the eve of Lucy’s feast day, her dark counterpart Lussi rides through Sweden’s winter night with her demon retinue, the lussiferda. Read of her in our 13th #Yulefolklore tale below!

I’m excited to show you my finished Krampus marionette/puppet in action. look at him go! 🌲

El Caganer (which roughly translates to “The Shitter”) is a figurine that is crouched down, pants around its ankles and visibly defecating. A unique addition to the traditional Nativity scene in Catalonia. 🔗👇 #bookologythursday mythcrafts.com/2019/12/18/e...

Krampus’ name is probably from the German kramp/krampen, which means claw (though another possible etymology comes from the Bavarian word krampn, which means dead or rotten) #folklorethursday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2024/12/05/g...

Most accounts of Perchta concur on the major themes: she was associated with spinning, she traveled with a litany of others, and she loved slitting open the bellies of naughty children and stuffing them with straw or garbage. #folklorethursday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2024/12/12/t...

Who knew Santa was a necromancer!! 🎅 #LegendaryWednesday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2017/12/09/s...

From deep underground, the Kallikantzaroi spend their days sawing away at the roots of the Tree of Life hoping to destroy the world. And when the Winter Solstice breaks, they claw their way up to create chaos on the surface. 🔗👇 #WyrdWednesday mythcrafts.com/2022/12/15/i...

The Heroides are 15 poems, all written by Ovid. They are presented as love letters, sent from women who have been mistreated, neglected, or abandoned by classical Greek ‘heroes’. 🔗👇 #mythologymonday mythcrafts.com/2018/11/01/h...

Weasel myths warn against the wiles of women, especially outspoken women. They attempt to devalue women who refused to be domesticated and tamed by their male masters. mythcrafts.com/2025/04/18/g...

The Duat is the realm of the Dead in Egyptian Mythology. Ruled by Osiris it is not so much a realm of punishment, but a land of trials and tribulations… 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2021/09/09/g...

The Goddess Aphrodite is so ingrained within our linguistic memory that we commonly use the word Aphrodisiac to describe anything that induces desire within us. The Birth of Venus: Aphrodite through the Ages #mythologymonday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2020/06/18/t...

As a species we humans have been interpreting our dreams as far back as recorded history goes. The Ancient Greek and Romans were no exception to this fascination with our nightly dreams and what they may reveal. mythcrafts.com/2025/06/24/d...

Ever had the misfortune of being bootstrapped? Someone insisting that all that is needed to resolve systemic barriers increased effort? Bootstrapping comes from a satirical novel of impossible tasks misunderstood to become capitalist motivation. 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2025/03/28/a...

If you do any digging into the history of Robotics, you’ll eventually hear the tale of Talos, an ancient ‘machine’ that guarded the Isle of Crete. 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2024/02/29/a...

A myth about male arrogance and how the goddess Durga was invoked to defeat demons who never conceived a female could best them.... 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2025/10/18/a...

Rumors spread about Black Aggie’s paranormal activity; her demonic powers further evidenced by the fact that the earth before her figure remained a barren wasteland where even the green grass feared to grow. #FolkloreThursday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2019/10/31/b...

As the story goes, Cormac Laird MacCarthy was rebuilding a castle in County Cork when he got into some legal issues. And so, Cormac appealed to the Queen of the Banshees….. #FairytaleTuesday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2019/03/14/c...

Dotted with ancient castles and fortresses, the Upper Middle Rhine Valley in Germany has a haunting tale of a ghostly woman who lures sailors to their death with her songs. #FairytaleTuesday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2023/01/15/t...

When Rama returned home – and was crowned king – Sita was pregnant. Even though she had passed the trial by fire and established her faithfulness, the locals were talking…. #legendarywednesday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2017/05/23/s...

Anansi, the Great Trickster spider, was determined to collect all of the sky god Nyame’s stories. And so it was that Anansi, weaver of stories, master of tales, came into his own. #WyrdWednesday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2019/01/31/a...

The Metternich stele records the spells and talismans taught to Isis to restore life to her son, Horus. #mythologymonday 🔗👇 The Magical/Medical Cippi of Horus mythcrafts.com/2020/02/06/h...

A cross between between sea serpent, leopard and whale, the Dingonek was thought to help grow crops and cure illness. #mythologymonday 🔗👇 Waiting for Dingonek: An End to the Dread Plague. mythcrafts.com/2020/04/23/w...

In Tibetan, the word Ro means ‘corpse’. And Langs means to ‘rise up’. You can do the math… Touched by a Zombie: the Tibetan Ro-Langs 🔗👇 #WyrdWednesday mythcrafts.com/2019/10/29/t...

Carl Tanzler became fascinated with an apparition’s message showing him his one true love. Once he found her, he wasn’t going to let her death spoil their romance… 🔗👇 #wyrdwednesday mythcrafts.com/2020/03/03/t...

The Fenn Treasure was a $2M cache of gold and jewels that Forrest Fenn stashed in the Rocky Mountains. He then penned a poem full of clues, leaving many a treasure seeker looking for the loot. #MythologyMonday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2020/06/09/a...

Loadstones (magnets) always aligned themselves to Polaris, the North Star. So what could possibly be attracting all of these Magnets North? To famed cartographer Gerardus Mercator the answer seemed obvious: It had to be a Big Magnet. 🔗👇 #MythologyMonday mythcrafts.com/2023/01/29/t...

A #BloodMoon has been associated with the Apocalypse, wrathful rites of Thessalian witches, world devouring jaguars and celestial dragons. 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2018/07/24/l...

Nut (Nwt), the Egyptian sky goddess, is pictured stretched over the world as she forms the heavens above. Each morning she gives birth to the sun, a red disk that travels along the length of her body until it is swallowed whole each evening. #folklorethursday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2017/09/28/n...

The Onondaga story of the Pleiades revolves around dancing children and a mysterious elder, Bright Shining Old Man. 🔗👇 #folklorethursday mythcrafts.com/2020/05/01/t...

The Sphinx terrorized the people of Thebes; she asked all those that passed by her a riddle; those that were unable to solve it would be strangled and devoured. Can you solve them all? 🔗👇 #MythologyMonday mythcrafts.com/2018/08/23/r...

From the violence of a werewolf to the retribution of the Gods, here is a tale of cruelty that ends with an act of re-creation. Because after the Deluge, the World Begins Anew…. #FairytaleTuesday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2022/12/09/t...

The mythological origin story for the tropical breadfruit is quite literally 🤢🤮 #bookologythursday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2021/01/21/b...

The Grand Grimoire is a ~15th century text containing the instructions to signing a pact with Lucifer, The work is divided into two books (some editions contain a third, middle book on necromancy). #LegendaryWednesday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2019/07/30/d...

Was H.P. Lovecraft “inspired” by the poet Lord Tennyson in creating Cthulhu? #WyrdWednesday 🔗👇 mythcrafts.com/2018/09/04/t...

The notion of cats having multiple lives is cross-cultural, but the number of lives they are allotted isn’t. Cats in Spain are said to have 7 lives, while those in Turkey and in Arabic myths only get 6. 🔗👇 #FolkloreSunday mythcrafts.com/2017/04/06/w...

Sir Isaac Newton has been referred to as the last of the great magicians, and the first of the great scientists. He also created his own translation of Hermes Trismegistus’ mysterious alchemical text, the Emerald Tablet. 🔗👇 #BookologyThursday mythcrafts.com/2017/04/28/i...

A festival that celebrates the creation of a steel phallus, designed to break the teeth of a demon hiding within a young woman #LegendaryWednesday mythcrafts.com/2020/05/07/w...

The idea that women have teeth “down there” is common in mythology and folklore. This collection of stories from around the globe shows just how much this fear has taken root in society and impacted our cultural attitudes #LegendaryWednesday a.co/d/bq8kr1T

Once upon a time, Shiva and Shakti, Ganesha and Kumara’s parents, challenged their children to a race. Whoever could circle the wide expanse of the heavens first would be declared the winner. 🔗👇 #FairytaleTuesday mythcrafts.com/2018/01/11/w...

The Dao of Dying: Zhuangzi Dreams of Being a Butterfly After Lao-tsi’s Dao Teh Ching, perhaps the most important Daoist text is the Zhuangzi. It is mythic, poetic and satiric. 🔗👇 #MythologyMonday mythcrafts.com/2020/03/31/t...

Decoding Dream Symbolism in Ancient Greco-Rome Dreams were given great significance, especially as they gave the gods a medium to communicate with mortals. Oneirocritica were books written to help decode these symbols. 🔗👇 #MythologyMonday mythcrafts.com/2025/06/24/d...

Salamanders are connected with folk magic and were thought of as one of the 4 elemental creatures in Alchemy. They were also thought to be the source of a curious ancient relic: the fire cleansed cloth. mythcrafts.com/2025/08/09/b...

The god Shiva granted Markendaya’s father wish for a child, but not without a bargain. The child would either be brilliant and die at 16, or he/she could be dull and live out a long – but rather boring – existence. 🔗👇 #FairyTaleTuesday mythcrafts.com/2019/10/10/w...

Most of us have experienced the madness of lust and the all-consuming need it creates. Often, once it dissipates, we are left with no understanding of our temporary insanity and standing in the ruins of our lives. #FolkloreSunday mythcrafts.com/2018/02/13/c...

Scylla takes the form of her namesake - the hermit crab (skyllaros in Greek). The rocks from which she emerges act as her shell, her curled tail anchors her in place.  The dogs protruding from her waist representing the many legs. 🔗👇 #mythologymonday mythcrafts.com/2017/12/28/s...

Weasels were thought to have powerful magical abilities, and were associated with Hecate, the goddess of magic and witchcraft. 🔗👇 #FolkloreSunday mythcrafts.com/2025/04/18/g...

In the west Cats are said to have 9 lives, Cats in Spain have 7, while those in Arabic myths only get 6. Where did this idea of multiple lives come from? 🔗👇 #FolkloreSunday mythcrafts.com/2017/04/06/w...

Background into the “Mother & Babies” homes like Tuam where nearly 800 baby remains are being unearthed from a septic tank. These institutions, which operated until 1996, tortured women who didn’t conform to christian “values”. 🔗👇 #tuam #tuambabies mythcrafts.com/2024/11/07/m...

As the old saying goes, you can’t take it with you (when you die). This is a relatively new idea within the span of human evolution though, as many cultures have had, or still use, “grave goods” in their burial rituals. 🔗👇 #MythologyMonday mythcrafts.com/2018/03/15/y...