Art, obsession, and identity
Folk tales are an important part of our cultural identity. They can tell us a lot about once-held values and connect us to a (sometimes fantastical) past. American folk heroes and their stories are a rich source of entertainment. Tales of bravery and defiance rooted in real-life events intermingle with completely fictional characters in the form of nursery rhymes, children's stories, mascots, and cautionary tales. Many of them have something in common: a focus on traits such as strength and perseverance, as well as a celebration of individualism.
Intrigued? Click on to discover the fascinating heroes and stories of US folk tales.
Br'er Rabbit is a central figure in the oral tradition of African-American storytelling in the Southern United States, as well as among African descendants in the Caribbean.
A trickster who relies on his wits, he uses reverse psychology to get what he wants and bends social conventions when he decides it's right.
An eccentric bohemian, Johnny Appleseed was said to wander the countryside, introducing apple trees to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and present-day West Virginia.
At the time, you could stake a claim for a piece of land if you planted 50 apple trees on it. Appleseed was also a missionary and handed out pamphlets as he traveled and planted his trees.
It's said that Molly was a Revolutionary War soldier, who brought pitchers of water to men at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. She supposedly used the water to cool the cannon, and eventually joined the crew when her husband could no longer fight.
Her story is one of loyalty to her country. As the character emerged 100 years after the Revolutionary War, it's unclear if she was a real person, or a symbol of the collective effort of women who performed duties during battles.
John Henry was a legendary Black railroad worker who, it's claimed, could drill into mountains faster than machines. Ballads about his grit and determination became popular in the 1870s, and it's likely that the story of John Henry is true.
The mythological hero of lumber camps, Paul Bunyan is one of the most recognizable figures of US folklore. Legend tells us he was born a giant.
The lumberjack is credited with carving out the Colorado River by dragging his axe behind him as he walked. The hero and his large blue ox named Babe became the stars of Bunyan books and comics in the 19th and 20th centuries.
An entirely true folk story, the tale of Harriet Tubman's heroic escape from slavery in 1849 and her subsequent rescue activities have inspired listeners for decades.
Escaping Maryland for Philadelphia, she traveled back and forth over the years rescuing 70 friends and family members. Navigating by the stars and rivers, she sometimes used bribery to go undetected and sang songs to alert those hiding.
A fur trapper and frontiersman, Hugh Glass's story is one of survival. Glass was left for dead by his companions after sustaining severe injuries in an attack by a grizzly bear, but managed to survive and travel 200 miles to find an American settlement. Feature-length movies 'Man in the Wilderness' (1971) and 'The Revenant' (2015) depict the life of this folk hero.
The Kiviuq is a heroic shaman in the Inuit mythology of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. A compassionate hero, he uses his cunning to outwit attacks from witches and bears.
Hailing from rural Ohio, Annie Oakley preferred hunting to playing with dolls as a child. She became legendary due to her skill with firearms.
Legend has it she made her first shot at eight years old, and began selling her kills to local grocery stores. She performed in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show for 17 years, and later a fictionalized version of her life formed the basis of the Broadway show 'Annie Get Your Gun.'
This Wild West vigilante was credited as the best shot in the region. He was friends with Buffalo Bill Cody and Calamity Jane.
Folk stories claim he killed around 100 "bad guys" over the years, but in real life, it's said he was a respected and soft-spoken Civil War spy. A famed storyteller, tales of Hickock's exploits may have come (embellished) from his own lips.)
The larger-than-life folk hero Calamity Jane was actually a real-life person: a frontierswoman named Martha Jane Canary.
Her stubbornness, alcohol consumption, and accuracy with firearms were typically associated with the men of the time, which is probably why her character endured. In 1953, her story became a feature-length Western musical, although it's almost completely fictional.
Pecos Bill got separated from his family crossing the Pecos river, and was raised by a band of coyotes. Bill became a symbol of the spirit of the American West.
He becomes inspired by a cowboy he meets and ends up becoming a rancher. The lore of Pecos Bill includes that he was the first person to lasso cattle, and there have been several screen adaptations of his story.
John Brown was a real person—an abolitionist who unapologetically hunted and murdered pro-slavery crusaders in his time.
His work against slavery coincides with the years leading up to the Civil War. He was captured, tried, and executed for a raid and inciting a slave rebellion at Harper's Ferry in 1859.
Rip Van Winkle is a famous character from a short story by Washington Irving who falls asleep in the Catskill mountains, waking only 20 years later. In the meantime, he has missed the American Revolution.
The story goes that Rip takes a walk one day to escape his wife's nagging, and en route he encounters a Dutch man who needs help carrying a keg. Afterwards the pair become intoxicated and Rip falls asleep, only to wake up to a changed world.
Buffalo Bill is another folklore character who was a real-life person in the Wild West. William F. Cody, whose stage name was Buffalo Bill, toured in a traveling Western show in 1883.
By the 1890s, he was one of the most famous characters in the world. His colorful life included exploring the Western frontier, fighting in the Civil War, and riding the Pony Express.
'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' explores the themes of race and identity, in a novel that at first glance appears to be a simple story of a boy traveling along the Mississippi River.
However, in the present day, the story raises debate for its use of offensive language and stereotypes. Huck Finn's status as a folk "hero" is controversial.
Lozen was a real-life warrior and prophet of the Chihenne Chiricahua Apache. According to legends, Lozen was able to use her powers in battle to learn the movements of the enemy.
Legend has it, Railroad Bill was tossed from a moving train for not having a ticket, which led him to seek revenge. He became a kind of Robin Hood figure to Black people, stealing from stores and selling to poor people at a reduced price.
The Maid of the Mist is a Haudenosaunee myth about the famed Horseshoe Falls at Niagara. One night Lelawala takes her canoe into the water above the Falls so the current will take her, but Heno, the God of Thunder, catches her and takes her back to where he lives below the falls.
One day, Lelawala asks Heno if she can return to warn people about the impending danger of a serpent coming to destroy them. She is granted her request and Heno kills the serpent, forming the horseshoe shape that Niagara Falls is known for. Lelawala and her family seek refuge in the sky, but it's said you can hear her voice in the cascades if you listen carefully.
Jonathan Luther “Casey” Jones was an actual Tennessean engineer. He was driving the Cannonball Express train near Vaughan, Mississippi, when it collided with a freight train. He was the only casualty.
His efforts to stop the train and save the lives of the passengers saw him hailed his actions as heroic, while his friend Wallace Saunders wrote a song about him that gained huge popularity, establishing him as a folk hero.
Daniel Boone's exploits as a frontiersman made him one of the first American folk heroes. He became famous for his settlement of Kentucky, beyond the borders of the Thirteen Colonies. An account of his adventures was published in his lifetime, gaining widespread attention in Europe and America.
It's alleged Davy Crockett killed his first bear at age three. He earned the moniker "King of the Wild Frontier" for his reputation as a hunter and a storyteller.
His wild, outdoorsman life is well-suited to the legends of folklore. He died in the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution.
In 1908 the artist Florence Pretz created a charm doll, known as the Billiken. The pointy-eared doll had a tuft of hair between its ears that was said to protect children and bring good luck.
In Chicago, the Bud Billiken became a newspaper mascot and served as the guardian angel of Black children. Since 1929, the Bud Billiken Parade brings together Chicago’s South Side Black community.
Sources: (Stacker) (Vox)
See also: Is the Loch Ness Monster real?
Fascinating US folk heroes and their stories
Tall tales and questionable motives abound
LIFESTYLE History
Folk tales are an important part of our cultural identity. They can tell us a lot about once-held values and connect us to a (sometimes fantastical) past. American folk heroes and their stories are a rich source of entertainment. Tales of bravery and defiance rooted in real-life events intermingle with completely fictional characters in the form of nursery rhymes, children's stories, mascots, and cautionary tales. Many of them have something in common: a focus on traits such as strength and perseverance, as well as a celebration of individualism.
Intrigued? Click on to discover the fascinating heroes and stories of US folk tales.