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Myths and Folk Tales
Wash
Sweet ChristmasRegistered User regular
Sweet ChristmasRegistered User regular
So I've been on a bit of a reading frenzy, and one thing that's always caught my interest has been the stuff you'd see in shows like Supernatural or Buffy the Vampire Slayer - monsters, mythological creatures, demons, gods, etc. A lot of the monster of the week creatures I see in those shows I've seen elsewhere, maybe done a little differently, but for the most part the same. This leads me to believe that these creatures and stories originated somewhere, and there's probably a number of books out there on the things that make up folk tales and whatnot.
What I'd like to know is what books I should check out to read more on these things. I don't have a preference towards any specific type of mythology - just as long as the stories are detailed and interesting, I'm interested. I realize this is vague, but I just want to read up on the monsters and other supernatural creatures that seem to dominate my favourite shows.
What I'd like to know is what books I should check out to read more on these things. I don't have a preference towards any specific type of mythology - just as long as the stories are detailed and interesting, I'm interested. I realize this is vague, but I just want to read up on the monsters and other supernatural creatures that seem to dominate my favourite shows.
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Read it. Now.
edit: I just realized that it's not exactly what you wanted but read it anyhow. It does a pretty good job on being awesome and containing a lot of Mythology.
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http://www.amazon.com/Scary-Stories-Tell-Dark-Anniversary/dp/0064401707 and its two sequels. My mom purchased them for me way back in elementary school from the scholastic book club and I really enjoy them, I've kept them to this day. I started watching supernatural last week actually, and that show is basically these books translated into a weekly show, so I'm loving supernatural. You might enjoy these books in the reverse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RSH4hipqvA&feature=related An example of the stories.
Seconded.
But really, depending on what mythologies you're interested in, the original materials aren't going to be much fun to read. The Poetic Edda of the norse mythology, for example. I'll be watching this thread, though. I love mythological stuff of almost all varieties.
For something like this, checking wikipedia is a good start. You will get a general description as well as source books to perhaps look for at your local library.
The A-number-1 source of classical references in modern Western popular culture is, of course, The Bible. Believe what it says or not, you can't throw a rock in modern pop culture without hitting two or three biblical references. The problem with the Bible is that 1) it is long, and 2) not all of it is very interesting. However, there are dozens of stories in there that are referenced all the time. A lot of people have never sat down and read the Bible, but they know the stories because they are told weekly in Church, so it's a powerful set of memes. If you want to focus on something, try the first five books and the Gospel of John.
Next at bat is Greek and Roman mythology. Not as popular as the Bible, but still permeates pop culture. If you're looking for something academic, try Hamilton. Admittedly it's a little dry, but it should get you up to speed on a variety of classical myths, mostly Greek. Greek mythology (Zeus, Hera, Jason and the Argonauts, etc.) is probably the most popular version of classical mythology; as the Roman empire grew the Romans co-opted it into their own system, renaming all the gods and such but keeping the basic stories.
Much of the reason Greek mythology is so popular is that we have two wonderful books that are both myths themselves and also recount or reference other Greek myths in the story; these are, of course The Odyssey and The Iliad by Homer. These books are at least 2500 years old and probably more like 2800 or 3000, and are constantly referenced by popular culture. Everything from the Brad Pitt spectacle Troy to Freddie Prinze Jr.'s successful navigation of "Scylla" and "Charybdis" in the awful movie adaptation of Wing Commander draws from these.
You might also delve into Norse Mythology, which is rich, but not quite as popular as Greek and Roman mythology. I can't recommend a specific book but there are many available. I'm not sure if it's getting more popular because the Greek myths are getting worn out, but the recent World of Warcraft expansion draws heavily from Norse mythology.
It's not quite mythology, but very few modern fantasy or horror series can go long before giving a nod to H.P. Lovecraft and his "Cthulhu mythos." His stories, only loosely connected to each other, are referenced constantly in pop culture: the Evil Dead movies, Batman (Arkham Asylum), Stephen King's The Mist, again several encounters in World of Warcraft, and even a completely unexpected episode of The Real Ghostbusters cartoon series.
Another modern reference would be the works of William Shakespeare. Remember the Disney film The Lion King? It's a very close adaptation of the story of Hamlet. The movie 10 Things I Hate About You, recently turned into a TV series of the same name? Adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew.
Remaining in Europe, Westerners are particularly fond of European fairy tales such as those documented by the Brothers Grimm.
A branch of mythology that, in my opinion, gets short shrift is Ancient Egyptian Mythology. It is also rich with detail, and you certainly see characters from Egyptian mythology showing up in pop culture, but you don't see the close allegories to their stories so much. Ancient Egypt is also a sort of special case, because their mythological world was closely tied to their real world: their Pharaohs were considered living gods. I presume you've seen at least the modern adaptations of The Mummy with Brendan Fraser et. al. There, the mummy, Imhotep, was almost certainly a real person, and one of the first known architects who designed the earliest pyramids, among other achievements and being a sort of all-around genius.
There is also a tremendous set of Eastern mythological traditions that just sort of remain at the edges of, or barely creep into Western pop culture. The Bhagavad Gita is the root of many Indian/Hindu traditions. Also you see individual stories like the ballad of Fa Mu Lan (adapted into another Disney movie, Mulan), or the epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms, both from China. Then there are the stories of Viziers and Genies from One Thousand and One (Arabian) Nights.
And then there are the instances where pop culture will just pick and choose individual myths that resonate, without importing the entire culture or mythos. Although there have been stories and myths of vampires going back centuries, modern conceptions about them derive largely from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, as well as Bela Lugosi's portrayal of him. Have you ever encountered a creature called a 'golem' in a video game? That's a Jewish myth.
It's a little meta, but you might also consider The Power of Myth, in which Joseph Campbell ties together the threads that run throughout mythological stories. While not a compendium of myths itself, he discusses his ideas in the context of many (some popular, some obscure).
If you're a fan of Neil Gaiman and pretty much any modern horror, then a mythology you should really brush up on is H.P. Lovecraft's stuff. I don't think you can't get much better written horror and his stuff is aped by everyone. Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, they all owe something to Lovecraft. Not really the kind of stories told around a campfire or molded into a world religion but elements of his stuff is seen all over. You can find collections of his stories at any decently stocked bookstore(most were short and few published as stand-alone novels). My personal favorite collection is Dreams of Terror and Death which incidentally has a foreword by Neil Gaiman.
Don't forget O Brother Where Art Thou.
http://www.godchecker.com
It's not a great source for information, but has a good database of deities from all over the world. Find one you're interested in and maybe check Wikipedia. I'm sure there are countless books about mythology from every corner of the earth.
I do think you've got a good grip of things, but I think my original point still stands. If the OP mentions Supernatural and Buffy, I don't think he's going to dive headfirst into the Illiad or the Bible for his mythological cravings. While I think it's a really good idea to read those if you really are interested, striking a middle ground between modern entertainment and what basically amounts to studying is key for maintaining a budding interest in a field such as mythology.
That said, I think Lovecraft is an excellent source to check up on and modern shows draw heavily upon stuff that he basically snatched out of thin air as he went along.
I wish some of the books I've read were available in English, but I'm not sure that they are.. Some scandinavian writers have some really awesome takes on the different branches of Norse mythology and it's deep, intertwined stuff that just makes for a better fantasy world than high fantasy.
In particular reference to shows like Buffy like the you mentioned in the OP, I'm sure that extensive collections of demonology are available. These might not be prose reading, but they're usually pretty interesting all the same. The thing about modern referencing to demons and such is that the writers usually draw inspiration from a muddled pool of various religions (many of which also overlap, of course), but the source materials often have only passing mentions of said things, so they're not that interesting to read.
Man, long post that said nothing.
Oh, I just remembered, thanks to this thread, that I need to read up on Native American mythology. That's one branch that I rarely see explored through fiction writing. Well, I guess Lovecraft did mention something about Wendigo in that one short story where there's a writer in a hut in a forest. Except now he's from an alternate dimension in space - Oh, Lovecraft, you silly bastard.
I digress, however, and will hit 'post' now.
"Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry" by W.B. Yates is a great read if you are interested in the tales as they were told in the olden times and shows a lot of these tales in their natural context.
You can read the full text at sacred-texts.com which is a great site for reading up on mythology and folklore and has a really broad variety of different texts.
Actually, this is probably the best site if you are interested in mythology, because you will not find any derivative dribble, but original texts and tons of these.
And I mean, there is really everything, Illiad, Beowulf, medieval monks writing about fairies, victorian scholars musing about werewolves and the undead, the complete writings of Charles Fort, it`s all there.
And they got tales from all continents and cultures.
They also offer printed editions of these books on amazon, I'd advise buying them, if you are really interested, since reading long texts on screen or printout can be a pain, and its a great project to support.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Penguin-Book-Norse-Myths-Vikings/dp/0140258698/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249047711&sr=8-1
And just because the OP's interest in Myth was awakened by Buffy, does not mean he/she can not grasp the old tales.
And while Lovecraft has some highly original concepts for his times, his work is not myth or folk tale, but already an adaption and mutation of these tales. And, though he had a huge impact on pop culture and horror lit and I read most of his work, to be honest it can be a pain, as Lovecraft wasn't that good at actually, you know, writing.
I mostly agree, except when you say that we shouldn't redirect the OP to newer works instead of the old tales and then mention that read Lovecraft is a pain. I mean if you just want some story and is not necessarily interested in language, reading the old texts, many of which are poems and song, can be excruciating.
And whether or not it is mythology, the two shows mentioned references Lovecraft a lot in coming up with monsters and deitys, so it's more a case of the OP mislabeling what he wants as mythology, I think. Hence why I earlier linked (or huh.. wanted to link, apparently) to a demonology collection that draws on a number of different sources.
- The Dream Hunters is really nicely illustrated one by Neil Gaiman that draws on Japanese folklore
- Dragon of the Lost Sea by Lawrence Yep is the start of another young adult series so it's also a fast read that pulls on Chinese folklore
If you want the greek myths or Grimm's fairy tales and the like, there are a million version of them out there that you can easily find so I don't think you really need recommendations on them getting a hold of them; however, personally I find the folklore types of things to be much less dry when they're either done for young adults, set into the context of a more modern writer (like the recommendations above), or both.
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