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Bluenose Magic
A collection of traditional Nova Scotian folktales, superstitions and home remedies compiled by the Canadian folklorist and author of Bluenose Ghosts. Beginning in 1928, Dr. Helen Creighton traveled across her native Nova Scotia seeking out and recording its rich heritage in the form of ghost stories, folktales, and folksongs. She first shared her findings in 1957 with the collection Bluenose Ghosts, and followed its success eleven years later with Bluenose Magic, both of which are considered classics of Maritime literature. This fascinating volume welcomes readers into a supernatural world of witchcraft, enchantment, and buried treasure. It shares stories of the region’s indigenous Mi’kmaq people as well as variations of tales brought over from Europe. Here too are folk remedies, dream interpretation, divination, superstitions, and more that has been passed on from generation to generation of Nova Scotia’s families
408 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1968
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About the author
Helen Creighton
17 books6 followersDr. Helen Creighton was a prominent Canadian folklorist. She collected 4,000 traditional songs, stories, and myths in a career that spanned several decades and published many books and articles on Nova Scotia folk songs and folklore. She received numerous honorary degrees and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1976
She and her family lived in Dartmouth, through the nearby Halifax explostion. Being a young lady through the two wars, boarding military officers and couples, she was inspired to serve but with medical ineligibility, became an ambulance driver helping doctors and dentists bring medical care to remote regions. She travelled extensively out of Canada, with the Author's Association as well as to visit her medical doctor brother; including English instruction in Mexico.
Loyal to the rustic and remote providers of her wealth of songs and stories, Dr. Creighton got several of them on television and radio, proudly delivering royalties to them. She kept her parents' home, shared with borders who were like family.
She and her family lived in Dartmouth, through the nearby Halifax explostion. Being a young lady through the two wars, boarding military officers and couples, she was inspired to serve but with medical ineligibility, became an ambulance driver helping doctors and dentists bring medical care to remote regions. She travelled extensively out of Canada, with the Author's Association as well as to visit her medical doctor brother; including English instruction in Mexico.
Loyal to the rustic and remote providers of her wealth of songs and stories, Dr. Creighton got several of them on television and radio, proudly delivering royalties to them. She kept her parents' home, shared with borders who were like family.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 27, 2024
Helen Creighton's Bluenose Magic (1968) is considered a companion piece to her 1957 Bluenose Ghosts, with her printed words, with her collected "first person" accounts welcoming potential readers to a world of foresight and hindsight, enchantment, dreams, divination, buried treasure, ghosts, superstitions, home remedies and the like. But just to say and very much appreciatively so, although Creighton does not bother with sources and references in Bluenose Ghosts, I am indeed very much academically pleased and also pleasantly surprised that in Bluenose Magic, both endnotes after each chapter and a bibliographical section at the end are provided (and yes, with this automatically making me like and also appreciate Bluenose Magic hugely more that Bluenose Ghosts and indeed even before starting my perusal of Bluenose Magic).
However, although I consider Bluenose Magic a lot better organised, more academically soundly set-up than Bluenose Ghosts and also (to be entirely honest) considerably more interestingly and engagingly, more readably penned than what textually appears and is offered up with Bluenose Ghosts (and for me this becomes particularly apparent in the sections of Bluenose Magic where Helen Creighton features collected Nova Scotia superstitions and home remedies), albeit unfortunately, I do tend to find Creighton's narrational voice in the section about Mi'kmaq lore and culture more than somewhat patronisingly condescending (so potential readers beware, in my opinion, especially if considering sharing Bluenose Magic with younger readers or for educational, in-class usage) and that I also would like to have non English language Nova Scotia folklore, superstitions etc. (German, Mi'kmaq, Welsh, Acadian French and the like) be presented in a dual language format, I do have to rather vehemently and with frustration point out that textually speaking, Creighton's stylistics for Bluenose Magic, they have pretty much the same annoying issues with regard to textual oversharing and information dumping I have previously found with Bluenose Ghosts.
So yes indeed, and to and for me, both Bluenose Ghosts and equally so Bluenose Magic tend to show a distinct and hugely frustrating tendency towards tedium and repetition, and which certainly does take a very significant chunk away from potential reading pleasure for me (so that albeit I have marginally but definitely enjoyed Bluenose Magic more than Bluenose Ghosts, the only reason why I have not rated both books with two stars is because Bluenose Magic has Helen Creighton provide bibliographical sources, and that yes, the sections in Bluenose Magic on superstitions and home remedies, I did and do find these rather delightful and kind of making my perusal of Bluenose Magic worth it, but not enough so to consider a higher than three star rating and for Bluenose Magic to be recommended only with necessary caveats and some rather considerable reservations).
However, although I consider Bluenose Magic a lot better organised, more academically soundly set-up than Bluenose Ghosts and also (to be entirely honest) considerably more interestingly and engagingly, more readably penned than what textually appears and is offered up with Bluenose Ghosts (and for me this becomes particularly apparent in the sections of Bluenose Magic where Helen Creighton features collected Nova Scotia superstitions and home remedies), albeit unfortunately, I do tend to find Creighton's narrational voice in the section about Mi'kmaq lore and culture more than somewhat patronisingly condescending (so potential readers beware, in my opinion, especially if considering sharing Bluenose Magic with younger readers or for educational, in-class usage) and that I also would like to have non English language Nova Scotia folklore, superstitions etc. (German, Mi'kmaq, Welsh, Acadian French and the like) be presented in a dual language format, I do have to rather vehemently and with frustration point out that textually speaking, Creighton's stylistics for Bluenose Magic, they have pretty much the same annoying issues with regard to textual oversharing and information dumping I have previously found with Bluenose Ghosts.
So yes indeed, and to and for me, both Bluenose Ghosts and equally so Bluenose Magic tend to show a distinct and hugely frustrating tendency towards tedium and repetition, and which certainly does take a very significant chunk away from potential reading pleasure for me (so that albeit I have marginally but definitely enjoyed Bluenose Magic more than Bluenose Ghosts, the only reason why I have not rated both books with two stars is because Bluenose Magic has Helen Creighton provide bibliographical sources, and that yes, the sections in Bluenose Magic on superstitions and home remedies, I did and do find these rather delightful and kind of making my perusal of Bluenose Magic worth it, but not enough so to consider a higher than three star rating and for Bluenose Magic to be recommended only with necessary caveats and some rather considerable reservations).
December 6, 2009
Bluenose Magic by Dr. Helen Creighton
This book is non-fiction, the result of many Maritime interviews featuring folklore. Though legend, the book contains hundreds of stories as remembered by the people involved. The kind of book that can be picked up any time; many stories are less than a paragraph. However, I found the many short references to be of such similar events, that I began to find it repetitive. Of interest to me, I had grown up hearing many of these sayings myself! There is also a section of old traditional cures, many of which are still used today.
This book is non-fiction, the result of many Maritime interviews featuring folklore. Though legend, the book contains hundreds of stories as remembered by the people involved. The kind of book that can be picked up any time; many stories are less than a paragraph. However, I found the many short references to be of such similar events, that I began to find it repetitive. Of interest to me, I had grown up hearing many of these sayings myself! There is also a section of old traditional cures, many of which are still used today.
June 28, 2023
Ariela-
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m going to start by saying that Bluenose Magic wasn’t what I expected. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, I was pleasantly surprised 😛 onto the review!
Bluenose Magic is a collection of folktales from all over the province of Nova Scotia. Some of the chapters tell of magic, witchcraft, the supernatural, dreams, and divination. I was expecting a story, complete with a climax, plot, beginning, and ending. And yet I still loved it! It was really great to read about all the different stories from different time periods, and there is a home remedies section that could come in pretty handy. One question I’ve been asked about this book is if it was scary. Yes. It is. A little. But no too much. But be warned that the witchcraft chapter is pretty… gory. But I did enjoy the book! And I recommend it to you if you are into this sort of thing. It’s… an interesting read! I hope you check it out!
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m going to start by saying that Bluenose Magic wasn’t what I expected. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, I was pleasantly surprised 😛 onto the review!
Bluenose Magic is a collection of folktales from all over the province of Nova Scotia. Some of the chapters tell of magic, witchcraft, the supernatural, dreams, and divination. I was expecting a story, complete with a climax, plot, beginning, and ending. And yet I still loved it! It was really great to read about all the different stories from different time periods, and there is a home remedies section that could come in pretty handy. One question I’ve been asked about this book is if it was scary. Yes. It is. A little. But no too much. But be warned that the witchcraft chapter is pretty… gory. But I did enjoy the book! And I recommend it to you if you are into this sort of thing. It’s… an interesting read! I hope you check it out!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews