The Margins - Our scribbles on the edges of the story

The story goes that in 1898, Olof Öhman was walking through his farm near Alexandria, Minnesota, when he came upon something entangled in aspen tree roots. Turns out, he had found an ancient artifact, circa 1362, now called the Kensington Runestone.…

You’ve probably heard the saying. You may have even tested the theory. 
“Step on a crack, you’ll break your mother’s back.” 
Perhaps you jumped on the cracks when mad at your mother. Or maybe, you treaded carefully, avoiding the cracks whenever po…

Walking into a beautiful hand-blown glass shop, you might see a glass ball hanging in the window, especially if that window faces east. One glass shop sign explains that this “witch ball” is the first item created in a new glass studio to ward off e…

Growing up in a small North Texas town in the early ’80s you had to make your own fun, and local urban legends were favorite source materials. One long ago October, our youth group gathered for the annual Halloween party, but this particular year ca…

When we think of costumes, we often picture a performance of some kind or a Halloween party, but in folklore, costume is rarely just surface decoration. Following a #WyrdWednesday prompt on BlueSky, we step into the world of witches and masquerade, …

Suyash Dwivedi (CC License via Wikimedia)
     It’s the end of another long day, and you’re scrolling (doomscrolling?) through social media when you come across another viral post, a life hack, or a story making the rounds. Is the story true, or ha…

There’s nothing quite like a warm and hearty soup or stew on a chilly day. Soup and stew feel, as Van Dyk (2023) says, “primordial” because they are. In fact, there is evidence of even Neanderthals boiling bones creating soup. From broccoli cheddar …

Folklore has a way of slipping into everyday life in unexpected places. At a Texas high school, the Wampus Cat—once told of as a mysterious half-woman, half-cat figure—has made the leap from shadowy forest stories to the bright stadium lights.
What…

On September 7th, 2025, the night sky gave us a striking sight: a Blood Moon falling on this month's Corn Moon.
In folklore, a red moon has long been read as an omen, change, upheaval, or hidden truths revealed. The Corn Moon, meanwhile, marks the …

When you hear the words folk dance, you might imagine a circle of villagers or a square dance called out in a community hall. But folk traditions live in unexpected places—like sports stadiums.
The Savannah Bananas baseball team has become famous n…

Take a drive through Minnesota and you might stumble upon a statue of a giant lumberjack and his inexplicably blue ox. While not exclusive to Minnesota, Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are celebrated as residents of the north woods. 
Despite tales…

Ozark folklorist Vance Randolph once recorded a curious belief: mountain folk swore that mixing buttermilk and honey could cure skin disease and restore a youthful glow.
Long before the modern beauty industry began selling “miracle serums” for hund…

The Ozark Howler: a terrifying black beast with glowing eyes said to stalk the ridges and hollers of the Ozark Mountains.
Tales of the Howler describe a shaggy, horned creature, part mountain lion, part bear, with a chilling cry that echoes like a …

Ozark Mountain planting lore says: Cut sprouts in the dark of the moon, when the sign is in the heart (Leo).
Farmers in the Ozarks once mapped the zodiac onto the human body to guide their work in the fields: Leo = the heart, Gemini = the arms, Pis…

Hi there—and welcome!
This short audio episode is your invitation into the world of Lexicons Unbound, a podcast where folklore meets your algorithm.
We’re your hosts, Melanie and Molly—two educators and longtime storytelling nerds who believe that…

What’s WorldCat, and Why We Use It on Lexicons Unbound
Because knowledge shouldn’t hide behind a paywall—that’s why!
If you’ve ever heard us mention a book or article in an episode and thought, “I’d love to read that, but I’m not about to spend mo…