Scope and Contents note Stoltenburg explores the realms of children's folklore, specifically focusing on scary stories. She discusses the difficulty of obtaining folklore from children and the similarities in the children's folklore she collected. Stoltenburg then studied adults and their recollections of childhood memories. She did this through interviewing young men serving as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Created by Katherine...

Scope and Contents note Explores reasons why groups of people gather to tell scary stories. Explains that each scary story includes some kind of other-worldly being such as a ghost, and natural occurrences. Mentions that these stories must also contain some element of credibility. Identifies some reasons for telling scary stories as entertainment, to warn against certain behaviors, and emotional catharsis. Discusses how fear influences people to change their behavior or habits. Created by Jennie Anderson while she...

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Cathleen Ressler collected personal narratives about shivaree, a wedding tradition in which family members and friends interrupt the newly wed couple before, during, or after their wedding night. Included are stories of early 20th century shivaree and later 20th century shivaree. Project was written for an English 392 class taught at Brigham Young Universtiy during Winter semester 1993.

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The work is an analysis of folk beliefs and speech, and the role they play in the United States, Nicaragua, Philippines, and Argentina. Included are superstitions about earning more money, luck, and protecting a person from harm. Created for an English 391 course at Brigham Young University in 2000.

Scope and Contents note This project is a collection of family vacation stories. The analysis describes the cultural context of family vacations in America, and common motifs found in the items collected. Some of the findings were: differences in vacation routine are most memorable, journey is important the interests of children and adults can be different, child empowerment, exploring the country, and how repeating vacations are often the most valued. Twelve items collected. Collected by Kristina Rose, Dr....

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Horne collected folklore relating to the city of Arequipa, Peru. Included are stories, jokes, and articles relating to the people and culture of Arequipa. The project was written for Dr. Eliason's English 391 class taught at Brigham Young University in 1998.

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Submitted by BYU student Thew Curtis for Dr. Eric Eliason. About the practice of raising the arm to the square as sacred gesture for casting out evil spirits. Includes a few accounts gleaned from informant interviews. Contains a story about a woman casting out an evil spirit by raising her arm to the square.

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Frary discusses the origin and importance of cadences in both a historical and moral context. Also, a brief background of the purposes of cadences, including their emotional, artistic and traditional attributes are discussed. Created by Joel Frary when he enrolled in Eric Eliason's English 391 class at Brigham Young University in winter 2006.

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Submitted by BYU student Joel Richards for his Fall 1972 English 391 class. About the culture and folklore of the Army in the early 1970s, specifically that of Vietnam. Contains a cover essay, autobiographical sketch, list of informants, and informant items. Items include "newby", "short", "grunts", "sham job", "rash birds", SOL, helicopter pilots, Christmas songs in Vietnam, and more.

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Johnson explores the important role the kitchen table plays in the culture and folklore of family dinners and food in general. She examines how the types of foods, who's involved in the dinner, and the occasion all work together to unify family and other relationships. Created by Margaret Johnson while enrolled in Kristi Young's English 391 course during winter semester 2007 at Brigham Young University.