Tellable Cracker Tales

Drawn from Florida history, folklore, and fiction, this collection of stories tailor-made for telling will entertain, inspire, and astound readers and listeners of all ages. Cracker Jack is up to his old tricks: putting one over on his Yankee schoolteacher; confounding a census taker; and convincing a befuddled farmer that its not Saturday but Sunday (and if the preacher finds him working on a Sunday, well, there'll be you-know-what to pay!). Sheriff "Pogy" Bill Collins used to be the worst lawbreaker in Okeechobee City. Then he promised Judge Hancock that hed walk the straight and narrow in return for his release from jail. Pogy Bill kept his promise to the judge ... and then some. In a place called Dogbone, its really not that unusual to see a glow-in-the-dark man running naked after a driverless truck with two barking dogs in pursuit. It even made Ed Grady an honest-to-goodness churchgoer. See all of the books in this series

Drawn from Florida history, folklore, and fiction, this collection of stories tailor-made for telling will entertain, inspire, and astound readers and listeners of all ages. Cracker Jack is up to his old tricks: putting one over on his Yankee schoolteacher; confounding a census taker; and convincing a befuddled farmer that its not Saturday but Sunday (and if the preacher finds him working on a Sunday, well, there'll be you-know-what to pay!). Sheriff "Pogy" Bill Collins used to be the worst lawbreaker in Okeechobee City. Then he promised Judge Hancock that hed walk the straight and narrow in return for his release from jail. Pogy Bill kept his promise to the judge ... and then some. In a place called Dogbone, its really not that unusual to see a glow-in-the-dark man running naked after a driverless truck with two barking dogs in pursuit. It even made Ed Grady an honest-to-goodness churchgoer. Previous in series/pp

Folktales teach, inform, and heal. Most of all, they entertain. Here's a collection of tales rich with homespun humor, charm, and wisdom--all told with flair by some of Florida's best and most sought-after storytellers. Their stories will make you feel part of the great "family" that is Florida. If it's spooky ghost stories you crave, let "The Silent Customer," "Kissimmee Bound," and "The Ghost Dog of the Biltmore" chill your spine. Heed the Cracker wisdom handed down in "Seek the Higher Ground," cow-hunter poetry with a message. Chuckle over the misadventures of Flossie, Bubba, and Flo in "Three Little Cracker Pigs," a tongue-in-cheek version of the classic children's tale. Test your wits against the little troll in "Angelina and Cigam." Will he have you running in circles, growing smaller with each snap of his fingers? Take "Cousin Cassie's Cookin" with a grain of salt. It's not true, of course. Then again, if Cassie asks you to dinner, say you have other plans. Many Indian legends attempt to explain why the world exists as it is. In this tradition, several tales target specific flukes of nature--the rabbit's short tail, the flamingo's long neck, the woodpecker's lack of song--and offer entertaining reasons for their existence. Discover these legends too: "The Devil's Millhopper," "The Legend of Lake Okeechobee," "Monkey, the Trickster," "Why Florida Key Deer Are So Small." A few history lessons never hurt anyone, and these are entertaining as well. Jonathan Dickinson, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Jake Summerlin have a thing or two to teach you about overcoming adversity and being resourceful. Settle back into your easy chair and let these tales entertain you.

Spectral visions, footsteps in the attic, thumps in the night. Who hasn't witnessed or heard such things and not thought of ghosts? Join your guide, author Jack Powell, on a wild ride from Pensacola to Jacksonville and down to Key West, touring Florida's places and history through some of its best ghost stories. Powell has woven together a creepy collection of tales. Explore the darker side of the Sunshine State. What horrible fate awalted the pirates lover in Pensacola? Care to check out the last crop Edgar Watson planted on his farm in the Everglades? When will the ghost leave baby Carlys room?

Welcome to South Carolina's Lowcountry, the so-called “Netherlands of the South," where good tales grow like sweet-grass and the truth is as tricky as the Devil himself. Author Brian McCreight recounts thirteen tall tales told to him by his friend Jim Aisle, the Lowcountry Liar, whose homespun Southern yarns weave fact and fiction like the Gullah women make sweet-grass baskets. These tales are for telling aloud; the funny and the fantastic betide true Southern characters in a style as smooth as morning on the Stono River. Hear from Jim the stories of Brave Bob and his encounter with the ne'er-do-wells at the old mansion; of Lazy Lowcountry Jack and his troubles earning his keep and following his mama's orders; and learn about the Native American boy way back when whose hungry fishing trip wound up supplying food for all the coastal peoples. Jim even tells his own story: a firsthand account of a foggy morning on Buzzard's Roost Point, an area strictly off-limits to all but the conjure men and root doctors who work their magic there.

An easy-to-use guide to American regional folklore with advice on conducting research, regional essays, and a selective annotated bibliography. American Regional Folklore begins with a chapter on library research, including how to locate a library suitable for folklore research, how to understand a library's resources, and how to construct a research strategy. Mood also gives excellent advice on researching beyond the library: locating and using community resources like historical societies, museums, fairs and festivals, storytelling groups, local colleges, newspapers and magazines, and individuals with knowledge of the field. The rest of the book is divided into eight sections, each one highlighting a separate region (the Northeast, the South and Southern Highlands, the Midwest, the Southwest, the West, the Northwest, Alaska, and Hawaii). Each regional section contains a useful overview essay, written by an expert on the folklore of that particular region, followed by a selective, annotated bibliography of books and a directory of related resources.

Tall tales and historical stories of Florida's alligators

Tales of hauntings, strange happenings and other local lore throughout the Sunshine state!