10 Strange Folklore Myths You Won't Believe

"So if I file my teeth down, it will make me invisible to evil spirits? Yeah, okay then."

Back in the day before Hollywood used its talents for evil and made horror movies that keep you up at night (for at least two weeks), people depended on oral tradition in order to learn the old tales and pass on vital pieces of information to future generations. Folklore consists of songs, tales, legends and fairy tales that concentrate on historic, religious and mythic elements as much as they do include moral, everyday life choices. Each tale has a sort of moral guideline and whilst there isn't always a happy ending, there is definitely a valuable lesson to be learned. For those who didn't pay attention to the boy who cried wolf, then they were treasured for their entertainment value. However, our previous generations were slightly more superstitious than we are these days so folklore and urban legends were taken seriously. Before the days of the Golden Age, superstition and tradition were accepted and it wasn't until society began questioning these tales that the rational mind took over. However, in a society where people were burned at the stake for having whiter sheets than their neighbour, you can understand the mindset of the people and why they would have believed in fairies, vampires and Satan appearing on Earth in the form of a cat. Whilst there are enough examples of folklore to keep you occupied for a lifetime, here are a selection of ones that are just a bit weird. Of course, the question is, can you prove that they definitely don't exist? If seeing is believing, then you definitely don't want to see the majority of these things.
 
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Lover of Tolkien's world, Harry Potter and baked goods. A camel once put his head on my shoulder and it was the best day ever. sara@whatculture.com