Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Mountain Monsters: Shadows of Otherness: Showing West Virginia Diversity Through Cryptozoology.
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
West Virginia, like much of appalachia, is home to a host of root cultures that have contributed to the body of lore that is now West Virginia Folklore. Mist covered rolling green hills and towering mountains lay the scene in many regions all over the world for magic to happen. From these opportunities comes tales, legends, and experience narratives rife with creatures that represent our darkest fears and the pentacle of our hopes. Some of these creatures have traveled thousands of miles with us from root cultures and some rise up from the new earth we have settled on. One thing is abundantly clear, West Virginians and our creatures, are a fascinating blend of old, new, foreign, and the familiar. It’s not surprising when looking from culture to culture that we share many of the same fears and very similar fiends. Industry in our state brought together workers from many different ethnic backgrounds. Not only did these men and their families work together they also lived close to one other. They shared hardships and resources but more they shared pieces of their identities, their cultures, with one another. Beliefs became intermingled with practices that led them to share more than recipe’s and folk cures. The nature of the industry even created it’s own occupational folklore which even further bound the seemingly dissimilar immigrants.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
J. Tyler Chadwell has a BA from Fairmont State University with an emphasis in folklore and a Masters from George Mason University in Folklore. He worked for several semesters at The Frank and Jane Gabore WV Folklife Center located on the campus of Fairmont State University. He now is working as an academic advisor at West Virginia University Tiffany D. Martin has an BA from Fairmont State University in History with a certificate in Museum Studies and a minor in Folklore. She is currently working on a Masters in Digital Media Education at Fairmont State University. Tiffany has worked for several years on the archives and exhibits at the Frank and Jane Gabore WV Folklife Center located on the campus of Fairmont State University.
Mountain Monsters: Shadows of Otherness: Showing West Virginia Diversity Through Cryptozoology.
West Virginia, like much of appalachia, is home to a host of root cultures that have contributed to the body of lore that is now West Virginia Folklore. Mist covered rolling green hills and towering mountains lay the scene in many regions all over the world for magic to happen. From these opportunities comes tales, legends, and experience narratives rife with creatures that represent our darkest fears and the pentacle of our hopes. Some of these creatures have traveled thousands of miles with us from root cultures and some rise up from the new earth we have settled on. One thing is abundantly clear, West Virginians and our creatures, are a fascinating blend of old, new, foreign, and the familiar. It’s not surprising when looking from culture to culture that we share many of the same fears and very similar fiends. Industry in our state brought together workers from many different ethnic backgrounds. Not only did these men and their families work together they also lived close to one other. They shared hardships and resources but more they shared pieces of their identities, their cultures, with one another. Beliefs became intermingled with practices that led them to share more than recipe’s and folk cures. The nature of the industry even created it’s own occupational folklore which even further bound the seemingly dissimilar immigrants.
