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Mysterious Celtic Mythology in American Folklore
The darkest fears and wildest dreams of people throughout history survive in legends, fairy tales, and bedtime stories. A respected Celtic expert, Bob Curran explores nineteen regional tales from all over the United States and traces their origins to the ancient mythology of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Celtic Europeans brought their folktales with them to America. Once they reached American soil, they adapted their stories, replacing details popular in the old country with those more relevant to the new world. Divided into chapters, these regionally distinct stories trace the beginnings of vampires, headless horsemen, witches, banshees, and other mythical creatures.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Celtic Europeans brought their folktales with them to America. Once they reached American soil, they adapted their stories, replacing details popular in the old country with those more relevant to the new world. Divided into chapters, these regionally distinct stories trace the beginnings of vampires, headless horsemen, witches, banshees, and other mythical creatures.
298 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 21, 2010
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About the author
Bob Curran
55 books53 followersBOB CURRAN is an educational psychologist in Coleraine University. His interests are broad-ranging but are focused especially on history and story. He has written several books, including The Field Guide to Irish Fairies, The Wolfhound Guide to the Shamrock, Creatures of Celtic Myth, The Truth about the Leprechaun.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 3, 2017
A wide-ranging collection of ghost stories and legends from America (mostly eastern US), noting interesting parallels with older folklore from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, etc. Curran presents some theories about the possible influence these Celtic cultures had on how American folklore developed, in particular in rural Appalachia (with the influence being less obvious in stories coming from the mid-west and western US).
A lot of the negative reviews of this book seem to be based on the criticism that it was not the book the reader *wanted* or expected. This is not an academic book, and readers shouldn't expect the same narrow focus and exhaustive citations found in an academic text. This is a collection of local oral traditions and folklore, many of which are by their nature inherently retold "third or fourth hand" accounts.
However, the book is well researched and the author is clear about when he's recounting verified/documented facts vs oral tradition and speculation. There is value in collecting and recounting oral storytelling traditions, even if those collections don't claim to make a definitive academic argument about the meaning or historical importance of those stories.
Curran opens each chapter by recounting older legends from Celtic cultures in Europe (many of them already familiar to those who've read similar collections), then develops the themes and motifs found in these stories by presenting similar legends found across America. Some of these stories are more universal and show a mix of cultural influences, including native American Indian, while others have specific aspects unique to Celtic culture. Irish and Scottish culture has had such wide-spread influence on American culture (particularly in rural Appalachia) that many of these aspects might even *feel* universal/generic to American readers, which I suspect is one reason some have been critical of this book. In short, Curran's argument for cultural influence is straight-forward: American folklore did not arise in a vacuum, so it's fair to assume immigrants from Celtic countries knew of older Irish/Scottish/Welsh legends, which they then adapted, intermingled with other cultures and in some cases universalized as they spread across America. Curran's purpose is not really to *prove* this is the case, so much as to present a diverse (but not exhaustive) collection of examples where such influence can be seen.
For what it is -- an entertaining and well-told collection of legends that show Irish and Scottish influence on early American culture -- it's a fun book, worth the read! If you prefer your ghost stories dry as the dust on a university library shelf and exhaustively documented/debunked, this book is not for you.
A lot of the negative reviews of this book seem to be based on the criticism that it was not the book the reader *wanted* or expected. This is not an academic book, and readers shouldn't expect the same narrow focus and exhaustive citations found in an academic text. This is a collection of local oral traditions and folklore, many of which are by their nature inherently retold "third or fourth hand" accounts.
However, the book is well researched and the author is clear about when he's recounting verified/documented facts vs oral tradition and speculation. There is value in collecting and recounting oral storytelling traditions, even if those collections don't claim to make a definitive academic argument about the meaning or historical importance of those stories.
Curran opens each chapter by recounting older legends from Celtic cultures in Europe (many of them already familiar to those who've read similar collections), then develops the themes and motifs found in these stories by presenting similar legends found across America. Some of these stories are more universal and show a mix of cultural influences, including native American Indian, while others have specific aspects unique to Celtic culture. Irish and Scottish culture has had such wide-spread influence on American culture (particularly in rural Appalachia) that many of these aspects might even *feel* universal/generic to American readers, which I suspect is one reason some have been critical of this book. In short, Curran's argument for cultural influence is straight-forward: American folklore did not arise in a vacuum, so it's fair to assume immigrants from Celtic countries knew of older Irish/Scottish/Welsh legends, which they then adapted, intermingled with other cultures and in some cases universalized as they spread across America. Curran's purpose is not really to *prove* this is the case, so much as to present a diverse (but not exhaustive) collection of examples where such influence can be seen.
For what it is -- an entertaining and well-told collection of legends that show Irish and Scottish influence on early American culture -- it's a fun book, worth the read! If you prefer your ghost stories dry as the dust on a university library shelf and exhaustively documented/debunked, this book is not for you.
November 25, 2013
I was expecting a book on folklore and got a book on supernatural speculation. I wish to death I could use these stories, but the book severely lacks sources for further research.
April 20, 2011
Fun book, with a pinch of history! Did you ever wonder about certain legends or superstitions? Bob Curran has some answers (and even some questions).
I couldn't put this book down. Give it a read!
I couldn't put this book down. Give it a read!
March 29, 2021
Interesting book about how Celtic myths have found their way into American folklore. Some of the examples were quite chilling which to me shows how ingrained in the human psyche ancient mythology can be.
May 15, 2021
A great and well-compiled anthology of Gaelic and American stories served to you with context for the culture and attitudes of the people who told them. It reveals the bridge by which colonists transferred their hereditary folklore to their new homes.
March 8, 2023
Reads like a research document and not stories like I was hoping. If I'm ever doing a thesis on celtic mythology, I know who to cite.
Only made it through a few stories before returning it to the library.
Only made it through a few stories before returning it to the library.
October 17, 2025
Fascinating topic. But I didn't finish it because I'm incapable of reading non-fiction without falling asleep even if the topic is mythology, apparently. To be a little fairer to myself, the organization of this book was all over the place and I suspect that's why it didn't hold my attention.
September 9, 2018
Not exactly what I was expecting. Some of the stories were vague; most likely, the areas that they originated from no longer remember those stories either. They were good stories, though!
February 1, 2011
Melodramatic and poorly written, this book is repetitive and sensationalist.
Each chapter is supposed to correspond to a different state in the United States, and is supposed to expound upon a Celtic myth which was transported to that state by Irish, English, Welsh, or Scottish immigrants. After the first several chapters, a pattern of repeated and rehashed background material emerges. There is little context, or detail, surrounding any of the supposed myths, supernatural encounters, or mysterious happenings. Mostly the tales themselves are third or fourth hand accounts. Given that the book portends to connect Celtic myths with American folklore, one would expect to see clear links between the two and delineated evidence of a natural progression, however, most of the myths and lore are connected by what can only be called circumstantial or coincidental means. Mostly I saw no clear reason to believe that the 17th or 18th century American tales were in any real way connected to the Celtic myths of the 13th and 14th centuries, as the author seemed desperate to prove without doing any sort of actual work. Pointing to extremely common and widespread themes, motifs, and images is not evidence of connective influence.
This book feels very much like a collection of campfire stories with some random historical details and facts thrown in to make it seem like a more scholarly work. While presented as the writing of an “expert” on Celtic mythology, I strongly suspect that the author is actually just a re-teller of other’s stories, which would be fine if he did it in a more original and succinct way.
I would not waste your time on this book. If you are interested in mythology and folklore, I would find one written by a professor, preferably peer-reviewed, of literature or mythology.
Basically this book promises what it does not deliver.
Each chapter is supposed to correspond to a different state in the United States, and is supposed to expound upon a Celtic myth which was transported to that state by Irish, English, Welsh, or Scottish immigrants. After the first several chapters, a pattern of repeated and rehashed background material emerges. There is little context, or detail, surrounding any of the supposed myths, supernatural encounters, or mysterious happenings. Mostly the tales themselves are third or fourth hand accounts. Given that the book portends to connect Celtic myths with American folklore, one would expect to see clear links between the two and delineated evidence of a natural progression, however, most of the myths and lore are connected by what can only be called circumstantial or coincidental means. Mostly I saw no clear reason to believe that the 17th or 18th century American tales were in any real way connected to the Celtic myths of the 13th and 14th centuries, as the author seemed desperate to prove without doing any sort of actual work. Pointing to extremely common and widespread themes, motifs, and images is not evidence of connective influence.
This book feels very much like a collection of campfire stories with some random historical details and facts thrown in to make it seem like a more scholarly work. While presented as the writing of an “expert” on Celtic mythology, I strongly suspect that the author is actually just a re-teller of other’s stories, which would be fine if he did it in a more original and succinct way.
I would not waste your time on this book. If you are interested in mythology and folklore, I would find one written by a professor, preferably peer-reviewed, of literature or mythology.
Basically this book promises what it does not deliver.
May 24, 2016
rather poorly researched. it's more about various accounts of supernatural occurrences than the crossover between celtic and american folklore (which is what i expected based off of the synopsis). would probably be interesting enough if supernatural stories were what you were looking for. didn't finish.
August 12, 2016
Great collection of stories.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews