While I’m mainly asking about folklore things specifically from America, if you can make a case as to why American versions of a pre-existing thing are unique then I would love to hear it (regional variants of folklore have been a thing since basically forever, and I see no reason as to why America is any different).
I’m also going to be kind of vague about what *is* folklore since we could be here all day debating what does or does not count, but “public domain” is probably a good rule of thumb as well as a character/thing that no one associates with being an IP even if it’s public domain now (like Wizard of Oz).
To me the quintessential American folklore will always be Roswell Aliens because I’m a sucker for sci-fi.
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Does the jersey devil count?
[Axehandle hound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axehandle_hound)
There are a small handful of medieval princes who, according to legend, sailed to America and made it. One was Welsh (Prince Madoc) and one was Irish (don’t know the name). I thoroughly enjoy the thought that that happened and the legendary stories surrounding the event. I would love to believe it, even though I don’t.
Florida Man.
In rural communities we have a lot of different folklore
But everyone understands one thing, regardless of location
Don’t fucking whistle at night
Also theres a lot of folklore surrounding a people I’m descended from, the “Melungeons”. It’s honestly all racist bullshit, as Melungeons are just mestees and not an ethnic group with a culture, language, religion, etc. They’re racially ambiguous in many cases and whites felt they were a third race, despite them being culturally entirely European.
Alabama leprechaun
Johnny Appleseed
I like the legend of him walking around planting random apple seeds.
“Of Jonathan Chapman Two things are known, That he loved apples, That he walked alone”
https://waapple.org/johnny-appleseed/
The Mothman
Paul Bunyan. MFer carved the Grand Canyon with his axe.
I know it isn’t just associated with America but I never hear of anyone else except Americans talk about it. The Chupacabra
I have always had a thing for the folklore of the Vikings or Norse explorers being the first Europeans to make their way to North America. Also the legends of blue eyed Native American tribes I found fascinating.
Growing up in New Mexico we had a local version of La Llorona. Similar concept that she was mourning her kids but she didn’t drown them. Instead she drove them over a cliff in her car. People would say she would walk along the side of the road and if you stopped to offer her a ride she would get in. Some people claimed to have very minimal conversations with her, she would ask if you had seen her children. Then all the sudden she would disappear from the vehicle. The scary part was if you didn’t stop and ask if she needed help she would appear in front of your car later down the road in an attempt to run you off the road and crash. Other times she would appear in the back seat and scare you when you looked in the rear view mirror or would appear in your passenger seat and grab the wheel to make you crash.
I always liked Tailypo. Not a common one for sure.
Skinwalkers are pretty cool
Paul Bunyan, babe the Big Blue Ox. John Henry. Jonny Appleeseed
I remember reading the stories as a kid and then watching the folk stories, a lot of them created by Disney some by other cartoon makers, I think.
I love my hometown hero Paul Bunyan
But Skinwalkers are a genre of horror I LOVE
Wooowee do you have all day to hear me talk about American mythology? 😂
I would say Skin Walkers and Wendigos but we also share that with Canadians.
The Van Meter Monster is creepy and strange.
The Mysterious Brown Mountain Lights are pretty cool in a mystical way.
Altamaha-ha for a type of Sea Monster (things that might be lurking in the water scare the shit out of me especially)
I could go on and on and on 😂 I really love it though!
It makes you think..
The Jackalope. Should be our national symbol.
Sidehill Gouger it’s just funny.
Sasquatch. His image is all over the PNW.
On a national level, the Roswell aliens/Area 51. But a more personal close to home level, The Jersey Devil. Pretty sure I saw it in the 80s around Warren Grove.
would the great old ones and outer gods count? if so that is my absolute favorite, and I think America should name a aircraft carrier after Nyralthotep or another.
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Edit: Honorable mentions “Pumpkin heads”, “mothman”, “sinkhole sam”
Bigfoot is the most fun
Feather death crown. My mom has one from her grandmother who found it after a new born had passed on a feather bed.
I actually know how they are created which kind of ruined it, but nevertheless it’s a fun story.
Conservationist here 🙂
In a general sense probably the most famous that every American will know is Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. Both very ” work ethic and honest living will get you far” type fables.
Depending on your interpretation of folklore, there is also a lot of real events that take on a folklore-eque presence in American mindsets just due to their retellings and fictionalizations through time. Some famous notables would be : The Salem Witch Trials ( fictionalized by Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” which is where most Americans know names and events), The Alamo ( The Story of Davy Crockett specifically), George Washington and the cherry tree, Pocahontas ( to be frank, if it’s a famous story about a Native American, chances are it is romanticized to the point of exhaustion), and Lewis and Clark to name a few. Again, these were REAL people/events but through the various retellings they get a little wonky along the way, leading to some very folklorish stories.
As for ( in my opinion) cooler folklore: there’s tons of it and it is very regional. I lived in NC for 10 years and the Appalachian mountains are rife with folklore from the Brown Mountain Lights to the Devils Tramping Ground to the belief of Energy Vortexes.
Probably the most famous “creepy” figure would be the headless horseman, made famous by the novella ” The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. Sleepy Hollow is a real city in NY where you can visit the bridge the horseman allegedly rides on. There is a Disney short of this story as well which is more popular than the short story at this point.
Other big notables are Bigfoot, the Mothman ( who has a statue in WV– it’s awesome look it up), The Jersey Devil, the Banshee…this is not counting the billion ghost stories out there as well.
I highly recommend just choosing a region of the US ( or hell, just one state) and do a quick google search. Americans are a very superstitious and imaginative breed stemming from our pilgrim roots– we have millions of folktales to tell!