Folklore, Fairytales, and Things That Go Bump in the Night
Introducing my new show, Fireside Fables!
In 1955, William Roe was hiking on Mica Mountain in British Columbia when he encountered something he couldn’t comprehend.
An experienced hunter, Roe initially assumed that the large creature ahead on the trail was a grizzly bear. Then, it stood. At six feet tall, the strange, humanoid figure was covered in brown and silver fur, and upon closer inspection, Roe discerned that it was female. In his words:
Its arms were much thicker than a man’s arms, and longer, reaching almost to its knees. Its feet were broader proportionately than a man’s, about five inches wide at the front and tapering to much thinner heels. When it walked it placed the heel of its foot down first, and I could see the grey-brown skin or hide on the soles of its feet. The head was higher at the back than at the front. The nose was broad and flat. The lips and chin protruded farther than its nose. But the hair that covered it, leaving bare only the parts of its face around the mouth, nose and ears, made it resemble an animal as much as a human.
By this description, someone today would easily recognize this as Bigfoot or Sasquatch. Roe’s account is just one of many alleged sightings of the mysterious Bigfoot—a folkloric character as iconic to British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest as the Yeti is to the Himalayas, or the Loch Ness Monster is to the Scottish Highlands.
But Bigfoot is also the perfect case study to examine how folklore develops in communities, and how this process of storytelling and myth-making involves both published media and word-of-mouth. The origins of this legend are more complex than you might assume.
Bigfoot is the subject of Episode 1 of my new show, Fireside Fables. I’m thrilled to be launching this series on YouTube, in which we will explore folklore, fairytales, and things that go bump in the night. This show is co-produced with Brennan White, better known as house and techno producer Astara and fellow enthusiast of all-things-folklore.
If you too are fascinated by ghost stories, fairies, witches, cryptids, haunted places, and spooky tales, then I’d encourage you to watch the first episode below. It would mean the world to me if you subscribed.
And don’t worry, you will still find me here every week on Substack. Thank you for your ongoing support!
