Flemish Folktales Retold: 36 Illustrated Folktales from Flanders

by Signe Maene, Kerria Seabrooke (foreword), Cate Zeederberg (illustrator)

Enter the long forgotten world of Flemish folktales and dance on a dark tune with spirits who live in the wind, monsters who lurk in rivers, ghosts, devils, witches, and other unearthly creatures as they take you to the woods, the towns, the fields, and the sea.

A witch prefers the company of her owls over her neighbors and has a night of eerie fun, a man’s corpse is stolen by devils and his coffin filled with stones, a skeleton is invited to a sumptuous dinner, a shapeshifter chases terrified souls over the meadows and a cursed buzzard hunts beasts and men. These are just a couple of the beings who haunt this collection of Flemish folktales.

This new retelling of thirty-six stories remains truthful to the original tales as they were once told around the fireside many moons ago. Breathing new life into age-old lore, these reimaginings give a voice to the shunned witches, explore the inner thoughts of creatures ostensibly described as grisly and ghastly, and immerse readers in the harrowing experiences of those unwantedly thrust into frightful narratives.

Prepare for a beautiful and dark journey, where each step may lead you into the sometimes chilling, often strange, and eternally enchanting realms of Flanders.

Genres: Short Stories

200 pages, Paperback

Published June 25, 2024

About the author

Signe Maene is a Belgian writer of stories mainly inspired by Flemish folklore, and she shares her passion for this wonderful world on her blog. She is the author of Flemish Folktales Retold and the soon to be published The Witches of Flemish Folklore. Signe has written several audio projects that are based on folklore. Her work has also been published in several literary zines.

When Signe is not writing, she dreams about haunted forests, mysterious creatures hidden in enchanted melancholic mist, or enjoys reading with her slightly evil, but always adorable cat.

Reviews

[Rowdy Geirsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A darkly charming look into the folklore of Flanders (as the title aptly implies). The book is organized in sections according to theme and each section includes some background information which I appreciated. The themes themselves may seem familiar to most readers (witches, devils, ghosts, etc.) with the exception of the final section’s theme which is dedicated wholly to unique beings from Flanders and was my personal favorite. The other sections nonetheless offer their own unique Flemish twist, and each tale is accompanied by a nice illustration. The book tends toward the dark side (not so many happy endings) which feels appropriate and truer to the original stories than a Disney-fied ”happily ever after” would have been. Overall, this is a really good overview of the folklore from a region generally overlooked in English and I’d highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.

[Willemijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought my copy while I was on holiday in Brugges, Belgium. As someone who's been getting into folklore and looking for a fitting souvenir, this was a perfect match! The book is easy to get into. If you don't know much about folklore, you won't be overwhelmed by an overload of information. The stories are creepy and uncanny, but most importantly of all, they are enjoyable as well as insightful. A great choice if you want to learn more about specific (and sometimes even lesser known) folklore! However, what I would've liked to see is more background information on the specific creatures in these tales. That would've made the stories a bit more... tangible? Sometimes, I ended up being slightly confused as to what the creature was, why they were the way they are and why people feared them. But other than that, a great read!

This book is dived into six parts, each with their own subject within the world of Flemish folklore. Each part contains six 3-4 page long stories with accompanying art. I wrote a little review for each part, because I really loved some of them, while others left me a bit disappointed.


Part 1: Witches ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The first part of the book has six folktales about famous Flemish witches.

What I really enjoyed, was that each story has its own vibe. Some stories are told by the witch herself, while other stories are told by the people who have an experience with a witch. Some stories focused on the "wickedness" of the witch, while other stories focused on how the witch was ostracized due to a variety of reasons.

All six tales showcase how misogyny played (and is still continuing to play) a huge role in fearing women / witches. They were too beautiful or too hideous. They were too powerful or too quiet. It was never good enough.

At the end of the part on witches, there was a chapter which talked about the reason behind the choosing of these 6 specific tales and zoomed in on more details about the respective folktales. Apparently, witches have been (and still are) a huge part of Flemish folklore. I think I'm going to dive into this subject a bit more, because I've read quite a bit on witches and witchcraft around the world, but never anything about Flemish witches.



Part 2: Creatures of the Woods ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Six chilling folktales about a variety of creatures one can find in the woods. Ranging from magpies to werewolves, this second part of the book is filled with the most scary and sometimes misunderstood creatures.

What I really enjoyed, is that the folkloric vibes are incredibly strong within these chapters. I can just imagine these stories being told generation upon generation, and that feels powerful. Stories like that carry power.

It was honestly scary at times, especially because we are so familiar with these animals. Magpies and their screeches do sound like they are casting evil spells. Hares are intimidating creatures. One could easily believe that they are shape shifting witches.

One story even focused on trees being the "evil creatures" that lurk inside a forest. That is a nice change!

The endnotes were interesting as well. Apparently, multiple folktales have been combined into one on several occasions. I find that to be very interesting, because it shows how much folktales there are and how well they work together. There's also a lot of focus in folklore on animals being shape shifting witches. Iconic if you ask me!



Part 3: Devils ⭐

I know, one star sounds/looks harsh, but I just really didn't like these 6 folk stories about devils. I simply didn't feel connected to them or was intrigued by the "evil". Some of the stories even seemed incredibly silly.

Now, I've thought about why I feel like this. And I think that the concept of devils is just not something that I believe in or strikes fear into me. I don't see these creatures as intimidating. So, when reading about them "wreaking havoc", making strange deals with humans etc, I just don't really experience that sense of wonder that I have with other folkloric creatures and beings.

There was one story that had a bunch of ravens in them (and if you know anything about me is that I LOVE ravens and are easily entertained when they show up), but even this particular story didn't do much for me.



Part 4: Lost Souls of Water and Air ⭐⭐

These 6 short stories weren't exactly like I expected. I felt like they were a bit surface-level? As a reader, you're thrown into the stories without sufficient backstory, and that takes away some of the thrill / magic if you are unfamiliar with these folkloric themes. Nonetheless, they were interesting to read.

My favourite story is the one about the girl who is murdered and goes into the woods to vibe with the spiders. Apparently, there's folklore that explains that one day a girl saw the beauty of the spiderwebs, got so inspired by them, went home to create what we know as lace, and that all the rich ladies knocked on her door to get their hands on such a beautiful piece of lace. I didn't know that! When I was on holiday in Brugges last week, we did see a lot of lace souvenirs and even a lace museum. But now, I understand why we saw so much of this!



Part 5: Ghosts: ⭐⭐⭐

The spooky vibes are much stronger in these 6 stories than in the previous two, and I'm glad! The different ghosts were given a bit more backstory. The setting felt very gothic to me. I enjoyed that!

These aren't your classic ghost stories either, so that was nice! The ghosts all had their own origin story and their own motives.

However, one of the stories had a really bad ending... It was very abrupt and it didn't really make sense to me? But I guess you can consider it to be terrifying in the day and age in which the folktale really "lived".

A pretty fun few chapters!



Part 6: Unique Beings of Flanders: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Perhaps the part of the book for which I was the most excited! I love local folklore, and since I bought this book on holiday in Brugges, it was absolutely perfect!

It's interesting to see how folklore works and looks like across the globe. These six folktales are unique, yet also recognizable. There are similar creatures in Dutch and other kinds of folklore. Makes you wonder how we allocate "drifted" apart from each other since the source seems to be the one and the same.

I really enjoyed these. I would've liked to have some extra background information on these creatures, but the information that was given was sufficient to not only understand, but really enjoy the mischief and horror that these creatures bring with them.

A great way to end the book!

[Taaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm afraid this book just wasn't for me. (WONDERFUL illustrations, though.)

I had a hard time with the ebook constantly changing font size. I don't know if it's uploaded as PDF on Amazon, but whatever it is, it doesn't work well with an e-reader.

But also the stories ... they were hard to read, not as fleshed out as most folktales from other cultures, oftentimes missing why people do what they do. They feel more like single scenes, but also lack the placement - usually in collections of folktales it's always one or the other, either polished to adhere to modern story structures, or more a anthroposophical or cultural-historical approach. This here was neither.

Which isn't wrong in any way, just not for me. My autistic brain needs more information, either more character work, worldbuilding and explanation of why people do what they do, or the scientific placement.

But again, just not for me, and not in any way a bad book. In fact, the illustrations alone are already a reason why I still would recommend the book.

[Candace Robb]

A wonderful assortment of tales!

[K Fabian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully colourful array of tales told with great warmth and a wry humour!

The author shows a sympathy towards those outsiders and outcasts who were so often treated with suspicion and contempt, and some stories strike a sombre note.

In the End Notes, closing each themed chapter, she explains the background behind each story.

The final chapter tells tales of beings who are unique to Flemish folklore (including several shape shifters, such as Lange Wapper the giant!)

It's also a beautifully designed book, with wonderful illustrations.

The opening chapter is on witches, who are apparently very prevalent in Flemish folklore. She has written a collection of essays on the topic, which I've just ordered! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

[Johan Molenberghs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Modern retelling and easily digestible insights in Flemmish folklore, as the title suggest.
The short form tales are ideal for a quick ingestion of a point of view normally not encountered in this tradition, which spins a refreshing and imo needed take.
.
The illustrations are hauntingly beautiful, and definitely add value to their accompanying stories.

[Teo Rusu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful illustrations and short little bits of folk tales. Each tale is only a few pages long (generally including an image) showing you a glimpse of Catholic Flemish superstitions.

[Lissa Sloan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you know that in Flanders, the Devil drives a black coach drawn by four fine black horses? Or that magpies, hares, or cats may be witches in disguise and trees may house ghosts? Have you heard of Kludde the shapeshifting trickster? My answer to any of these questions would have been no before I discovered Belgian author Signe Maene sharing the rich folklore of her home on social media. When she announced a Kickstarter for a collection of tales in a beautifully illustrated book, I backed it immediately.

Flemish Folktales Retold is a delightful and atmospheric introduction to the dark and oftentimes quite unsettling world of Flemish folklore. Happy ever after is not usually the rule here. Persecuted witches have their revenge—or seek it at least. Foolish actions are punished harshly (sometimes permanently). The dead are angry and unquiet. And magical creatures do not take kindly to being watched.

Here are tales of witches, hares, and cats; ghosts and devils and shapeshifters, as well as dutiful daughters, hateful sons, innocents who stumble on enchantment in the woods, and of course, those foolish enough to bargain with the Devil. I have a soft spot for Devil stories, so it’s no surprise that my favorite in this collection, “The Ship’s Log,” is a terrifying, claustrophobic tale of a completely unexpected visit by the evil one himself. The thirty-six stories are short, and each is beautifully illustrated by Cate Zeederberg. Whether you read a story or two before bed each night, or binge them during daylight hours so you finish before dark creeps in, Flemish Folktales Retold is a delicious, dark, and spooky taste of Flanders and its folklore.

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love learning about folklore and when I came across this book, I realised I didn't even know my own. It is important to note these stories are retellings. It was obvious in hindsight, but in reality, I had expected more. I don't think they are told well. Signe Maene chooses a writing style that aligns more with 15-year-olds writing a fairy tale for school. Most of the folkloric elements and fairy tale staples are lost. I also found a few mistakes which should have been edited out. Most egregiously, using the wrong name for the character we were following. I do appreciate a lot of work goes into something like this but unfortunately for me, I did not think it worth the read.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have been to excellent lectures given by this author. Brilliant folklorist. Fascinating tales, wonderfully told in this book. Fab illustrations too. She’s also great to follow online…Blue Sky, Instagram, Threads. She often gives little snippets of Flemish folklore with great art.

[Alex Van De Wiele · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting romp through a few dozen Flemish folk tales, many of which have been generalized to include as many versions as possible. The author seems to have done their research well and the stories themselves are atmospheric, well written and include a neat bit of authors analysis.