Practical Advice for Discerning “Cunning Folk”

Ed Simon reviews Tabitha Stanmore’s new book, “Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic.” “Stanmore enumerates the sorts of practical rituals that cunning folk offered in the plying of their trade. A thief might be discovered, for example, by making suspects eat chunks of cheese in which various charms had been carved, whereupon the guilty party would choke on their morsel. (This must be hard cheese, Stanmore emphasizes.)”

Knowing Jack

There are reasons that stories travel from culture to culture, but Jack has always been something of an anomaly in how widespread and yet contiguous his stories are. He may be from Cornwall, Germany, or  North Carolina in a given story, but his character is recognizable and the story is more than likely the same.

Sympathy for “The Devil”

It’s no secret at this point that everyone wants to have sex with the devil. This is such a non-statement that it is, at this point, much harder to find a depiction where the devil is anything less than a caricature of the most erotically charged image available to the imagination of the creator. There’s just one problem: nobody can tell me who the devil is. 

Review: The Little Red Wolf

The Little Red Wolf is a story that reminds me of this: that stories change, that people change, and while we need to respect and keep our traditions and culture alive, it doesn’t mean they can be an excuse for harm or put others in danger.