Tales From The Enchanted Forest

It's our 100th episode and we've gone right back to our roots in the swamp! Who didn't fall in love with fairy tales with a good parody of them through Shrek! The cultural phenomenon was the original multiverse of fairy tales so join Fox and Sparrow as we deep dive into the fairytale references within Shrek, the petty references to Disney and the legacy of a pop culture powerhouse. Get out of the Swamp and into the Enchanted Forest!  Show notes can be found on our website at: www.talesfromtheenchantedforest.com You can also find us on: Bluesky Instagram   Mastodon TikTok

“Grandma, what big ears you have!” “All the better to listen to this episode with my dear!” Join Fox & Sparrow as they do a deep dive into the timeless tale of Little Red Riding Hood! Little Red Riding Hood is often attributed to Charles Perrault in 1697 and then the Brothers Grimm in 1812, but French folklorist Paul Delarue claims to have found an older folk narrative called “The Story of the Grandmother” which was recorded in Brittany in 1885. We examine the cultural, social and feminist lens that the story has been viewed through over the years using Jack Zipes’ work from his book “The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood” as well as Athena Bellas’ “Fairy Tales on the Teen Screen” and of course Catherine Orenstein and Sandra L. Beckett.  Show notes can be found on our website at: www.talesfromtheenchantedforest.com You can also find us on: Bluesky Instagram   Mastodon TikTok

Something is always up when your sibling- willingly and without duress- compliments you. Osma is a gold digger by proxy, but his sister, Ilona, is less willing to fall in love with the first King that pops by. So join us as we follow their misadventures in matrimony from the 1922 book on Finnish tales called “Mighty Miko” by Parker Fillmore. Show notes can be found on our website at: www.talesfromtheenchantedforest.com You can also find us on: Bluesky Instagram   Mastodon TikTok

We searched the warm tropical islands of the Caribbean for a fun tale to end this summer season. Thankfully, the region offers no shortage of rich tales, bringing us to today's story from St Maarten.   Join Sparrow as she recounts the story of Toewi and Kroemoe from the book “Stories from the Caribbean” by Dr Petronella Breinburg. This tale of love will leave you smiling, laughing, and picturing crows on your wedding day!   Show notes can be found on our website at: www.talesfromtheenchantedforest.com You can also find us on: Bluesky Instagram   Mastodon TikTok

Welcome back to another Fox Short and my ramblings into what I am interested in- this time we talk about all things indigenous folktales as a source for the monster-of-the-week-trope in shows like Supernatural, Scooby-Doo and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. and Shane Hawk's introduction to the new anthology, "Never Whistle at Night: Back for Blood" helped vocalize something that was playing on my mind with the misuse of Native folklore and folk horror as a thing of the past. Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC of the book, it was a treat!  Also rounding out we have the story of "The Flying Head" from “Tales of the Iroquois” by Ray Fadden also known as Tehanetorens.  Show notes can be found on our website at: www.talesfromtheenchantedforest.com You can also find us on: Bluesky Instagram   Mastodon TikTok

Had enough of the Odyssey? Well, join Fox on a solo trip with the seafaring goddess, Mazu as we dive into Hong Kong folktales, Chinese legends and historical retellings of both! Born human, Lin Moniang has a gift for forecasting upcoming storms, but can she save her father and brothers from a hurricane that threatens to tear her family apart? How does a girl become a goddess?  Also mentioned in this episode are Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim and Harbour of Hungry Ghosts by Eliza Chan. Come find safe harbour in this episode on transmission, identity, and migration. Huge shoutout to  Klaas Ruitenbeek for the article "Mazu, the Patroness of Sailors, in Chinese Pictorial Art.” Show notes can be found on our website at: www.talesfromtheenchantedforest.com You can also find us on: Bluesky Instagram   Mastodon TikTok

We have a special interview today with author and illustrator Denise Gallagher on her upcoming folklore collection, "How to Calm a Rain Bull" releasing September 2026 through Moon+Bird! Join us as we pick her brain on folklore, everyday magic, Kidlit, rabbit holes and seasonal tales! Stay tuned for the end where she reads us "The Candle Dragon" from her collection. A condensed/edited version of the interview can be found on our website at: www.talesfromtheenchantedforest.com. You can also find us on: Bluesky Instagram   Mastodon TikTok

There is no place we'd rather be than in Latin America to explore some more animal tales! Latin American folktales and animal tales are a truly remarkable fingerprint of history (as Nadine McFadden puts it) of their native cultures and the transmitted cultures from Europe. Join us for "Señor Coyote and Señor Fox" from Mexico and "The King of Leaves" from Nicaragua both adapted from The World of Folklore's "Tales from Hispanic Lands" collection.  Show notes can be found on our website at: www.talesfromtheenchantedforest.com You can also find us on: Bluesky Instagram   Mastodon TikTok

Today it's Canada versus Switzerland in the Fifa World Cup and we thought we would cheer on our team with a story from Canadian First Nations! Of course, being on the cusp of summer vacation, we also had to pull out a seasonal tale just for you, travellers.  This story is called “How Summer Came to Canada” collected by Cyrus Macmillian in his “Canadian Wonder Tales.” This story is a Glooskap story and these stories were first collected by Silas Tertius Rand and then by Charles Godfrey Leland in the 19th century. Show notes can be found on our website at: www.talesfromtheenchantedforest.com You can also find us on: Bluesky Instagram   Mastodon TikTok

We all know that monkeys love bananas. But did you know that they also believe all bananas belong to them? Join Sparrow as she flies to Brazil to learn more about this in this week's story, "Why the Bananas Belong to the Monkey". Show notes can be found on our website at: www.talesfromtheenchantedforest.com You can also find us on: Bluesky Instagram   Mastodon TikTok