January, 2026 | USFolktales.com

A hoodoo witch in the forest with herbs and roots, standing silently as if observing travelers

The Witch Who Lived in the Woods

January 9, 2026

African American Folktales·American Folktales

Deep within the dense forests of the American South, where sunlight barely reached the forest floor, there lived a woman known to locals simply as the Witch. Few had seen her face, and those who did spoke in hushed tones about her piercing eyes that seemed to look into the

A hoodoo root doctor preparing spiritual remedies with herbs, candles, and charms in a dimly lit room

The Root Doctor’s Promise

January 9, 2026

African American Folktales·American Folktales

In a quiet corner of the American South, there lived a healer known throughout the county as the Root Doctor. People came from miles around to seek remedies for illness, protection against misfortune, and guidance through the trials of daily life. Yet the Root Doctor’s reputation was not built solely

A close-up of a historic patchwork quilt showing symbolic patterns used by enslaved African Americans to guide escape routes

The Freedom Quilt Codes

January 9, 2026

African American Folktales·American Folktales

In the deep South of the United States, when the sun rose over fields of cotton and tobacco, enslaved men and women began another day under the watchful eyes of their overseers. Their bodies labored from dawn until dusk, but their minds remained alert to survival and freedom. Amid this

Southern Gothic haunted house at dusk with faint ghostly lights and shadowy mist around the porch

The Haint in the Old House

January 9, 2026

African American Folktales·American Folktales

In a quiet Southern town, along a street lined with live oaks and creaking fences, there stood a house that seemed to resist time. Its paint had long peeled away in curling strips, the porch sagged as if sighing under the weight of years, and the windows reflected more shadows

African figures rising above coastal fields, African American folklore scene.

The Flying Africans

January 9, 2026

African American Folktales·American Folktales

Long ago, along the coastal lowlands of South Carolina and Georgia, the people of Gullah Geechee communities whispered of a power that defied the chains of slavery. They said that some among them carried a memory of home across the ocean, a memory so strong that it could lift a

An African American man in a historical setting holding an open book with quiet curiosity and reflection

The Talking Book

January 9, 2026

African American Folktales·American Folktales

On a plantation near the edge of a wide river, there lived a man called Isaiah. No one knew the name his mother had whispered to him at birth, because names, like many things, were taken early and never returned. Isaiah worked in the fields from dawn until the stars

A lone blues musician stands at a rural crossroads at midnight, holding a guitar under a moonlit sky, with a shadowy figure emerging from the darkness

The Devil at the Crossroads

January 9, 2026

African American Folktales·American Folktales

In the low country of the Mississippi Delta, where the earth lay flat and dark and the cicadas sang like restless spirits, there lived a young man named Eli Carter. Eli was known around the plantations and juke joints as a quiet soul with restless hands. He worked the fields

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Parchment-style artwork of the Sun and Moon facing each other in the sky, Cherokee folktale scene.

The Sun and the Moon Are Man and Wife: Cherokee Folktale (United States)

In the ancient days, before the world found its rhythm of day and night, the Sun and the Moon lived together on

Parchment-style illustration of Rip Van Winkle waking on a Catskill Mountains slope, American folktale.

Rip Van Winkle, The Man Who Slept for Twenty Years: American Folktale of Time and Change

At the foot of the misty Catskill Mountains in colonial New York, there once lived a good-natured man named Rip Van Winkle.

Parchment-style illustration of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in snowy woods, American folktale.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Strength, Teamwork, and the Power of Legend

Long ago, in the rugged northern forests of America, where towering pines whispered to the wind and the snow stretched farther than

January 2026 - Page 13

The Witch Who Lived in the Woods

The Root Doctor’s Promise

The Freedom Quilt Codes

The Haint in the Old House

The Flying Africans

The Talking Book

The Devil at the Crossroads

Popular

The Sun and the Moon Are Man and Wife: Cherokee Folktale (United States)

Rip Van Winkle, The Man Who Slept for Twenty Years: American Folktale of Time and Change

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Strength, Teamwork, and the Power of Legend