Every tradition, its own room.

Ottoman-era Turkish solo dramatic storytelling performed on an elevated coffeehouse chair with a wooden staff and shoulder kerchief.

Improvised Turkish poet-minstrel storytelling and riddle-duelling accompanied on the long-necked bağlama saz lute.

Three-performer Telugu narrative balladry of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana pairing a tambura-playing kathakudu with twin dakki drummers.

Sixteenth-century Urdu oral storytelling art reciting the multi-volume Tilism-e-Hoshruba and Bostan-e-Khayal cycles through pure voice and gesture.

Gaelic- and Hiberno-English oral custodianship of Fenian cycle sagas, dindshenchas place-lore, and genealogies carried by village seanchaithe.

Edo-period solo Japanese storytelling performed kneeling on a zabuton cushion using only a paper fan (sensu) and cotton hand-towel (tenugui).

Rajasthani genealogical and epic recitation unfolded panel by hinged panel from a painted crimson bassi-wood folding shrine.

Multi-hour Korean dramatic vocal storytelling performed by one folding-fan-holding sorikkun singer and one buk barrel-drummer.

Unaccompanied half- million-line Kyrgyz verse epic of Manas, Semetey, and Seytek chanted from memory by manaschi bards.

Pastoral Kuruma and Golla oral epic performance of Telangana driven by the oggu hourglass damaru drum, brass bells, and acrobatic dialogue.

All-night Rajasthani epic balladry performed by Nayak Bhopa and Bhopi duo before a fifteen-foot hand-painted cloth phad scroll.

Vernacular Arabic domestic folktale tradition narrated by elder women during winter hearth gatherings in Palestinian villages.

Solo Chhattisgarhi sung-and-spoken Mahabharata recitation performed with a peacock-feathered tambura and kartal cymbals.

Tamil musical storytelling of southern Tamil Nadu and Travancore performed around a giant bell-hung wooden bow resting on an earthen pot.

The "18 Warriors of Sui-Tang Transition" (traditional Chinese: 隋唐十八好漢; simplified Chinese: 隋唐十八好汉) are fictional legendary heroes who lived during the Sui and early Tang dynasties.

The 1862 Fairytale Maskenfest was a German masquerade ball held on 15 February 1862 at the Royal Odeon in Munich Organized by the artist's association "Jung-München" ("Young Munich") and spearheaded by Wilhelm Busch, the ball presented as …

The Book of Wisdom and Lies (Georgian: წიგნი სიბრძნე სიცრუისა, romanized: ts'igni sibrdzne sitsruisa) is a collection of fables and tales written by Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani between 1686 and 1695, when he was 20–25 years old. The book reflec…

In ancient Roman religion, Abundantia (Latin pronunciation: [abʊnˈdantɪ.a]), also called Copia, was a divine personification of abundance and prosperity; abundantia means "abundance" in Latin.

Adam Bell was a legendary English outlaw. He and his companions William of Cloudsley and Clym of the Clough lived in Inglewood Forest near Carlisle and were figures similar to Robin Hood.

The Aeneid (, ih-NEE-id; Latin: Aeneis [ae̯ˈneːɪs]) is a Latin epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans.

Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE.

Ainu religion consists of the spiritual beliefs, ritual practices, and mythical stories of the Ainu people. It is broadly animist in nature, with special reverence for animal sacrifice traditionally.

The Alexander Romance is an account of the life and exploits of Alexander the Great. Of uncertain authorship, it has been described as "antiquity's most successful novel".

The story of Dhu al-Qarnayn (in Arabic ذو القرنين, literally "The Two-Horned One"; also transliterated as Zul-Qarnain or Zulqarnain), is mentioned in Surah al-Kahf of the Quran. It has long been recognised in modern scholarship that the sto…

The term Alha Khand is used to refer to poetic works in Bhojpuri and Bagheli and other regional languages which contains several ballads fictionally describing the exploits of two legendary generals of the twelfth century, Alha and Udal, …

The Alphabet of Sira (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אלפא־ביתא דבן סירא, romanized: Alpā-Bethā də-Ben Sirā) is an anonymous text of the Middle Ages inspired by the Book of Sirach and written in the Islamic world between 700 and 1000.

The Altercatio Hadriani Augusti et Epicteti philosophi is a Latin language question-and-answer dialogue composed by an anonymous author in the 2nd or 3rd century.

Amabie (アマビエ) is a legendary Japanese mermaid or merman with a bird beak-like mouth and three legs or tail-fins, who allegedly emerges from the sea, prophesies either an abundant harvest or an epidemic, and instructed people to make copies …

Developed by authors during Renaissance times, the story of an ass eating thistles was a late addition to collections of Aesop's Fables.

Anansi or Ananse ( ə-NAHN-see; literally translates to spider) is a character in Akan religion and folklore associated with stories, wisdom, knowledge, wit, mischievousness, cunning, and trickery, most commonly depicted as a spider.

Anglo-Saxon riddles are a significant genre of Anglo-Saxon literature. The riddle was a major, prestigious literary form in early medieval England, and riddles were written both in Latin and Old English verse.

King Anguish of Ireland (Welsh: Ing o Iwerddon) is a mythological character in the stories of King Arthur. His wife is Queen Lotta and he is the father of Iseult, and one of Arthur's early enemies in the chronicles.

Ankou (Breton: an Ankoù) is a servant of death in Breton, Cornish (an Ankow in Cornish), and Welsh (yr Angau in Welsh) mythology.

An anti-fairy tale, also called anti-tale, is a fairy tale which, unlike an ordinary one, has a tragic, rather than a happy ending, with the antagonists winning and the protagonists losing at the end of the story.

anti-proverb is transformation of a standard proverb for humorous effect. This page is a machine-generated stub awaiting review by someone who knows the tradition.

Aos sí or aos sídhe (pronounced [iːsˠ ˈʃiː]; English approximation: eess SHEE) is the Irish name for a supernatural race in Gaelic folklore, similar to elves.

Araṇya-Kāṇḍa, or The Forest Episode, is the third book of the epic poem of Ramayana. It is also found in the Rāmcharitmānas. It follows the legend of Rama through his fourteen-year exile in the forest, joined by his wife and his brother.

The Armenian Alexander Romance, known in Armenian as The History of Alexander of Macedon, is an Armenian recension (or version) of the Greek Alexander Romance (in its α recension) from the fifth-century.

"As I was going to St Ives" (Roud 19772) is a traditional English-language nursery rhyme in the form of a riddle. The most common modern version is:

An ashik (Azerbaijani: aşıq; Turkish: aşık) or ashugh (Armenian: աշուղ; Georgian: აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as hikaye) or a shorter original co…

An assassin's mace (Chinese: 杀手锏; pinyin: Shāshǒujiǎn) is a legendary ancient Chinese weapon. It is now used metaphorically to describe certain Chinese weapons systems.

Atmospheric ghost lights are lights (or fires) that appear in the atmosphere without an obvious cause. Examples include the onibi, hitodama and will-o'-wisp.

Atra-Hasis (Akkadian: 𒀜𒊏𒄩𒋀, romanized: Atra-ḫasīs) is an 18th-century BC Akkadian epic, recorded in various versions on clay tablets and named for one of its protagonists, the priest Atra-Hasis ('exceedingly wise').

Atter (Old English: āttor; cf. Old Norse: eitr) is an archaic, and poetic, term for poisonous bodily fluid, especially venom of a venomous animal, such as a snake, dragon or other reptile, but also other vile, corrupt or morbid substance f…

Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend.

Babay or Babai (Russian: Бабай) is a night spirit (Bogeyman) in Slavic folklore. According to beliefs, he abducts children who do not sleep at night or behave badly.

Bylichka (pl. bylichki; in Russian: быличка) is a type of story in Russian folklore about an allegedly true event involving a meeting with spirits.

Bakemono no e (化物之繪, "Illustrations of Supernatural Creatures"), also known by its alternate title Bakemonozukushie (化物尽繪, "Illustrated Index of Supernatural Creatures"), is a Japanese handscroll of the Edo period depicting 35 bakemono from…

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of England, Ireland and Scotland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century.

Balochi literature (Balochi: بلۏچی ادب or بلۏچی لبزانک) is literature written in the Balochi languages. The main Balochi literature is found in poetry, which is purely popular in origin and form. Poetry is by the Baloch regarded as the high…

Banchō Sarayashiki (番町皿屋敷, The Dish Mansion at Banchō) is a Japanese ghost story (kaidan) of broken trust and broken promises, leading to a dismal fate.

A banshee ( BAN-shee; Modern Irish bean sí [bʲanˠ ˈʃiː], from Old Irish: ben síde [bʲen ˈʃiːðʲe], "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screami…

Bappiriyan Theyyam (also spelled as Bappirian) is a theyyam performed in North Malabar region in Kerala, India.

Baralku, also written Burralku or Bralgu, is a place connected with creation ancestors in the mythology of the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Barnumbirr, also spelt Bunumbirr or Banumbirr and also known as the Morning Star, is a creator-spirit in the Yolngu culture of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, who is identified as the planet Venus.

Baron Munchausen () is a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in his 1785 book Baron Munchausen's Narrative of His Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia.

The Battle of Camlann (Welsh: Gwaith Camlan or Brwydr Camlan) is the legendary final battle of King Arthur, in which Arthur either died or was mortally wounded while fighting either alongside or against Mordred, who also perished.

The Battle of Grobnik field is a legendary battle that supposedly occurred in 1242 between the Croats and the Mongols (also called "Tatars") of the Golden Horde in the area below the Grobnik Castle in the present-day Čavle municipality in P…

Bayard (Modern French: [bajaʁ]; Dutch: Ros Beiaard or just Beiaard; Italian: Baiardo) is a magical bay horse in legends derived from the medieval chansons de geste.

Bdóte (English: bə-DOH-tay; lit. 'place where two rivers meet' or 'confluence'; deprecated spelling Mdote) is a significant Dakota sacred landscape where the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers meet, encompassing Pike Island, Fort Snelling, …