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Irrawaddy dolphins cruise the Mekong River near the Cambodian village of Kampi, which has become a hub for tourists eager to spot the critically endangered animals.
dolphins

Irrawaddy Dolphins Get Help from an Ancient Cambodian Folktale

In the Mekong River, protecting the revered but critically endangered mammals is also a way for locals to reclaim their culture.
Stefan Lovgren November 20, 2023
Stretching between the 16th and 18th centuries, the Scottish witch trials were among Europe’s longest and most deadly.
witchcraft

Isobel Gowdie and the Untold History of the Scottish Witch Trials

Some experts estimate as many as 3,000 people were accused and executed for witchcraft in Scotland.
Sarah Durn October 31, 2023
This 1962 cover of <em>Official Detective</em> features a Halloween candy poisoner at work.
poison

Why Halloween’s ‘Poison Candy’ Myth Endures

Even though we know better.
Jennifer Byrne October 19, 2023
In 2018, artist Marisela Barrera fielded calls as San Antonio's ghostly Donkey Lady.
haunted

Why Are There So Many Female Ghosts?

Female ghosts seem to dominate the afterlife. Whether the spirits are real or not, the reasons for the disparity could be revealing.
Nathaniel Scharping October 6, 2023
Namazu-San, the Lucky Catfish
Itakura, Japan

Namazu-San, the Lucky Catfish

Thanks to wordplay, the earthquake-causing catfish monster has become a god of confidence at this shrine.
Two stones just out of the ground.
Jökulsárgljúfur, Iceland

Karl og Kerling

Legend has it these two stones are petrified trolls.
Fukuoka, Japan

Tomb of the Wet Kimono

The birthplace of the Japanese idiom "wet clothes" meaning “false accusation."
Prčanj, Montenegro

Tre Sorelle Palace

Here lies a legend of three sisters, all in love with the same mariner.
A Hindu priest holds a lit coconut oil lamp in front of statues of Prince Vijaya (left) and Kuweni (right) at the Sri Subramaniam temple in the southern Sri Lankan town of Matara.
music

How This Demon Dance Banishes Illnesses in Sri Lanka's Remote Jungles

The kankariya dance all started with a legendary demon queen named Kuweni.
Zinara Rathnayake May 4, 2023
The fossegrim might just be the most diabolical violin teacher you’ll ever meet.
forests

This Norwegian Water Spirit Just Wants to Teach You How to Fiddle

But make sure you bring the fossegrim the proper offering—or else.
Diana Hubbell May 3, 2023
A long-necked, plesiosaur-like creature, known as Nahuelito, has been spotted from the banks of Nahuel Huapi Lake in Patagonia for millennia.
cryptozoology

Argentina’s Loch Ness Monster Lurks Beneath a Patagonia Lake

Nahuelito’s plesiosaur visage can be found all over the small town of Bariloche.
Juan Relmucao May 2, 2023
Tokyo, Japan

Kimi-Chan

This sculpture bears a tragic backstory that may have inspired a hauntingly beautiful children's song.
Built sometime around the sixth or seventh century, this ring fort is tucked between hills and farms in a remote corner of northwestern Ireland.
fairytales

What Is a Fairy Fort?

In Ireland, fears about disturbing the fair folk have saved thousands of these mysterious ancient structures.
Sarah Durn February 2, 2023
The rougarou, the Cajun cryptid said to haunt Louisiana's wetlands, is the mascot of a conservation effort for its traditional habitat.
monsters

The Rougarou, Beast of the Louisiana Bayou, Gets a Makeover

One man hopes to turn the wolfish cryptid into a mascot for saving the state's imperiled wetlands.
Joel Balsam October 19, 2022
Atlanta, Georgia

The Wren’s Nest

The home of a 19th-century author who brought African-American folktales to the mainstream is now Atlanta’s oldest house museum.
Closeup of the sculpture
Munich, Germany

Wolfsbrunnen

Oddly enough, a pair of Wolfs funded the construction of this Little Red Riding Hood sculpture.
The misty cloud forests of Costa Rica's Cerro de la Muerte are home to several endangered species—including, say locals, spirits charged with protecting the mountain.
mountains

In Search of Nímbulos, Guardians of Costa Rica's Mountain of Death

Believers say the otherworldly protectors of Cerro de la Muerte's cloud forests face an uncertain future.
Trevor Ritland and Priscilla Palavicini October 6, 2021
Deloraine, Australia

Jimmy Possum Chair

A faceless folk hero and his legacy of comfortable, expertly-crafted chairs lives on in a small Tasmanian town.