The Wayfarer's Compendium
Welcome to a world where folklore is just a bit more real than it is in our own.
The Wayfarer's Compendium is your guide through this new realm where myth meets history.
A happy Halloween and a festive Crossing's Eve to you all! Enjoy a journey into the lore behind an ancient festival as well as a classic ghost story tonight (complete with a haunted mansion) in the latest chapter of the Compendium.
Chapter 5 of The Wayfarer's Compendium is now available.
https://www.thewayfarerscompendium.com/podcast/episode/ad035348/halloween-special-crossings-eve
The concept of the dead rising again has been a part of folklore in one form or another for a very long time, but the mindless, shambling hordes of zombies that often feature in pop culture is a relatively new twist on the story.
The tale of The Lonely Hall, for instance, is heavily influenced by the conflict between the undead shepherd Glamr and the outlaw Grettir in an Icelandic saga that was recorded in the 1300s. In the saga, Grettir manages to slay the revenant, but is cursed by his foe to only ever grow weaker - a curse that leads to his eventual death.
Unlike modern stories, where zombies are typically the result of a plague outbreak or biological experiment gone wrong, the cause of Glamr's undeath is left ambiguous, but hinted to be linked to his disregard for holy ceremonies (the story takes place around the time of Iceland's Christianization, and the transition from Norse paganism to Christianity is symbolically represented by the successes and failures of Grettir, his father, and his half-brother).
Not to go too far afield with commentaries on human nature, but it seems very probable that the differences between the ancient and modern views of the undead is tied to the threats we faced then and now: as our understanding of the world increased, we became less afraid of isolated threats and unknown phenomena and more afraid of disease, overpopulation, and our growing capability to accidentally create our own monsters through science. It's an interesting case study in how horror as a genre has evolved over the centuries.
In just four short episodes, we've already touched on fairies, werewolves, the undead, trees, storms, omens, and prophecies. What myths, creatures, or phenomena would you like to see make an appearance in the future?
As Halloween approaches, we have a story fitting for the season: the tale of the lonely hall of Vestrlain, beset upon by a terrifying abomination that stalks the forests of the far north. Prepare for the holiday (whether you celebrate Halloween, Samhain, or Crossing's Eve) with this story of the living and the dead.
Chapter 4 of The Wayfarer's Compendium is now available.
https://www.thewayfarerscompendium.com/podcast/episode/27cb46c5/the-lonely-hall
14/10/2021
While folklore certainly embellishes some of the details, most of the statements about yew trees in Rowan, Elder, and Yew are actually true. Not only are the trees poisonous to just about every species (other than a few, such as wild deer), they're also frequently found at symbolically important locations throughout the British Isles (churches and graveyards in particular) and were an excellent material for longbows - as Rudyard Kipling wrote in his poem "A Tree Song":
"Yew that is old in churchyard-mould, he breedeth a mighty bow."
Those three are far from the only important species of trees in folklore. For a brief musical overview of trees in medieval England, I would recommend giving "Oak & Ash & Thorn" by The Longest Johns a listen. Not only is it an excellent adaptation of the aforementioned poem, it also provided the inspiration for the first episode of the podcast!
Every village across the moors has a story of the Black Dog, a wolf-like creature that preys upon lone travelers. They come by many names - the barghest, the shuck, fairy hounds - but there's one name that you're almost certainly familiar with: werewolf.
Chapter 3 of The Wayfarer's Compendium is now available.
https://www.thewayfarerscompendium.com/podcast/episode/1b4eedc7/the-road-less-travelled