American Folklore: A Collection of Legends, Lore & Strange American Tales

Every back road in America has a story attached to it. This book collects them. American Folklore is a 200-page hardcover collection of the legends, lore, and strange tales that have been passed down across this country for more than two centuries — the giants who reshaped rivers and mountains, the ghosts who linger over unfinished business, and the creatures glimpsed just long enough to leave a witness certain of what they saw. From Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed to Bigfoot, Mothman, the Bell Witch, and the Headless Horseman — plus hundreds of regional legends born in forests, small towns, and lonely stretches of road that most Americans have never heard of. Told Honestly, Not Watered Down: Each entry traces where a legend actually came from, tells the story itself, and follows its legacy into the present day. Where a legend belongs to a specific cultural or tribal tradition, that origin is named directly. Where a story's history is genuinely uncertain, the uncertainty is part of the account rather than smoothed over. What's Inside — 13 Sections, 200 Pages: Folk Heroes & Legendary People — Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, Davy Crockett, Calamity Jane, John Henry Colonial & Revolutionary Legends — the Headless Horseman, Rip Van Winkle, Peter Rugg Southern Legends — Br'er Rabbit, Stagger Lee, Robert Johnson at the Crossroads Lumberjack & Logging Folklore — the Hodag, the Hidebehind, the Splintercat Cryptids & Legendary Creatures — Bigfoot, Mothman, the Jersey Devil, the Fouke Monster Ghosts & Haunted Legends — the Bell Witch, Resurrection Mary, Bloody Mary Appalachian Folklore — the Wampus Cat, the Moon-Eyed People, the Snallygaster Native American & Inuit Legends — Coyote, Raven, Thunderbirds, White Buffalo Woman, Sedna Maritime Folklore — the Flying Dutchman, the Bermuda Triangle, the Mary Celeste Frontier & Western Legends — the Jackalope, Tommyknockers, the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine Peculiar Regional Legends — the Melon Heads, the Enfield Horror, the Loveland Frogman Hispanic & Southwestern Legends — La Llorona, the Chupacabra, El Cucuy Symbols & Personifications — Uncle Sam, Columbia, Lady Liberty, Smokey Bear Built to Last, Built to Display: 200 pages of full-color illustration printed on premium 170gsm coated silk paper Matte-laminated hardcover with 3mm thick cardboard backing FSC/PEFC-certified sustainably sourced paper Oversized landscape format, designed to lay flat and display on any coffee table, bookshelf, or desk Printed and fulfilled in the USA by Proud Patriots The Book People Actually Pick Up: This is the one that gets opened at every visit — by the history buff, the campfire storyteller, the grandkid who wants to know if Bigfoot is real, and the guest who only meant to flip through it for a minute. It makes an exceptional Father's Day, birthday, or holiday gift, and a permanent one. These are the legends America never stopped telling.