Episode 175: Folklore Monsters and Their Origins, ft. AMÉLIE WEN ZHAO

From creatures to avoid in the woods to superstitions about numbers, folklore not only gives us inspiration for stories, but also stories for the characters in your world to tell. So where do folktales come from, and how can we use them in our worldbuilding? Amélie Wen Zhao joins us to investigate the roots of folkloric monsters and their narrative potential!

We talk about the sometimes blurry lines between folklore, mythology, fables, and legends. Sometimes, that distinction is about the scale of the story: are we talking about the creation of the world, or are we talking about the little creature that lives in your oven to keep your bread warm? Folklore is often more personal as well as more localized, and thus the stories are often very culturally-specific -- and that means they can communicate a lot about your characters' beliefs and values, representative of the world they've grown up in! You also get to decide... are these creatures only stories within your world, or are they really real there?

[Transcript for Episode 175]

Our Guest: Amélie Wen Zhao was born in Paris and grew up in Beijing, where she spent her days reenacting tales of legendary heroes, ancient kingdoms, and lost magic at her grandmother’s courtyard house.

She attended college in the United States and now resides in New York City, working as a finance professional by day and fantasy author by night.

In her spare time, she loves to travel with her family in China, where she’s determined to walk the rivers and lakes of old just like the practitioners in her novels do.