Top Five Enchanting Folklore Books

Taking a Look at My Current Top Five Favorite Folklore Books

My love of folklore started with my great-grandfather. He was Romanian, and our family lore was something that captivated me at a very young age. Highlights of my summers were spent at the kitchen table with a stack of warm pancakes, listening to him talk about his childhood, his family, and especially his mother.

My family comes from Transylvania, and for a while, it was even a running joke between us that our family had vampire blood. Because what child doesn’t want to be part magic?! I always greatly looked forward to the beginning of summer when my bags were packed, and I was sent off to spend my time running around ten acres of land playing dragons, listening to stories, and drawing. My grandfather was a large influence on me - gifting me my first Grimm's Fairy Tale book and introducing me to The Last Unicorn. Not only was folklore in my blood because of him, but he also helped fuel my imagination and fascination with the mythical. I feel fortunate to have had him in my life for 18 years. Continuing my studies and exploring folklore, in a way, feels like I’m helping to carry along his legacy and honoring him and his influence, which is why I picked out my current favorite folklore books to share with you.

These books below are in no particular order.

The United States of Cryptids - A Tour of American Myths and Monsters

by: J.W. Ocker

There are several reasons why I enjoyed this work, the first being that Ocker obviously took his time on this book. Not only spending time highlighting each creature and its lore, but also its location, significance, and even goes as far as traveling to many of these places and writing from his own experience. That's dedication I can get behind, and it only shows Ocker's respect for lore. You can genuinely feel the love he has for these myths and monsters. You can see this in the work itself and his own comments on the importance of cryptozoology and folklore, encouraging his readers to get out into the world and visit these cities, locations, and places for themselves. He even gives a detailed list of cryptid festivals in the back.

The cherry on top being the gorgeous cover design and simple but lovely illustrations interwoven throughout the pages.

Frightful Folklore of North America

By: Mike Bass

I know they say don't judge a book by its cover, but in this case, the cover is just as stunning as its contents. It helps that the author is also the illustrator, so there is a deeper connection between the stories he is weaving and the art.

While The United States of Cryptids took a microscope to the creatures lying within the U.S.A, Bass zooms out of the trees to get a better look at the forest, or rather, a diversified North America as a whole. Looking at a wide breadth of lore from Greenland, to Canada, to Mexico, to the Panama Canal. I loved that Bass chose to present each creature to us as a delicately woven story instead of it just being information on the page. It makes each creature and tale feel real, and each of their stories vibrates with life between the pages. Many times, I was so wrapped up in a story that I was left wanting more by the end of each section.

Scary Book of Christmas Lore

By: Tim Rayborn

This is such a fun little book to have in my collection, especially as something to bring out as the air grows cooler. Christmas nowadays is so commercialized, dripping in vibrant colors and dazzling lights, that we forget there is an underlying darkness to the season. Monsters, creatures, and fearsome gods hide - lurking between the tinsel and mistletoe.

Similarly, to the first two books in this list, the illustrations are lovely - designed by Neil Evans in a painterly style that supports the dark tones of the lore. My only complaint is that the information is simply provided to us and not presented in a storytelling fashion.

Forgotten Witches

By: Balazs Tatrai

I'll be honest with you. If there was a fire and I could only grab one of my folklore books - it would be this one. I never want to have to replace it, I adore it that much. I discovered this book because I was already following Lilla Bolecz (the illustrator) on Instagram. As soon as I saw the cover and the illustrations, I literally marked the date of the release in my notes, planning to snag it asap.

I had to wait in the end (bills, ew), but it was so worth it. The book is thick! I knew I was getting myself into a lovely treat, but was not expecting it to be so chock-full of knowledge, stories, lore, and diverse witches from all over the world. Tatrai did not hold back, even organizing the witches into categories, interweaving a gorgeous story in between - all linking back to the ancient art of Tarot. This book is stunning in more ways than one.

Book of Superstition

by: Shelby El Otmani

This book is the latest in my growing collection. I actually bought this book to specifically help me with accurately weaving lore into my horror stories. I love the idea of leaving little droplets of symbolizism through out the stories for my readers to find. And while the internet is a great resource, lately, especially with the rise of AI, it's been making me second-guess where information is coming from. At least with books, I can use dates of publication to help determine some authenticity.

This book has turned out to be a lovely little well of information - from looking at beliefs around numbers, to household habits, to even the food we eat. It's a great little book for not only knowledge but also for reference; my only complaint is wishing there was better art in its pages.

Let me know if you might be snagging any of these books for yourself, or if you might have suggestions of books I need to add to my collection.

Lys