User:Katelynjenks/West Virginia Folklore/Bibliography

Author unknown. 1916. Asks Women's Club for Ghost Stories The West Virginian.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86072054/1916-10-21/ed-1/seq-8/#date1=1770&ndex=7&date2=1963&words=Folklore+Virginia+West&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&rows=20&proxtext=west+virginia%2C+folklore&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1.

This newspaper excerpt from a 1916 edition of The West Virginian has provided interesting insight into West Virginia’s self awareness of its own folklore. Part of this excerpt details a meeting of the West Virginia University Woman’s Club where they asked Folklore of West Virginia (an organization present in the same town) to create a collection of ghost stories to be shared during one of their meetings. This will be useful to include in our article because it shows how, as early as 1916, important folklore and ghost stories were important in West Virginia culture.

Author unknown. 1963. Folklore Will be Feature, Springs Festival, Oct. 4-5. Oakland, MD:

The Republican. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88065202/

1963-10-03/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1770&index=11&date2=1963&words=Folklore+Virgi

nia+West&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&rows=20&proxtext=west+virgini

a%2C+folklore&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

This source is a newspaper article published in The Republican in 1963. It features a promotion for a local festival that will largely be based on the region’s folklore. The source labels this as an effort to preserve the rapidly vanishing folk culture of the area. This article will be important for our project because it shows how by 1963, storytelling and folk traditions were declining in influence in Appalachia.

Bayard, S. P. “Witchcraft Magic and Spirits on the Border of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.” The Journal of American Folklore 51, no. 199 (1938): 47–59. https://doi.org/10.2307/535943.

This peer reviewed article by Bayard is about specific examples of Folklore in West Virginia about a family who lives on the border of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Bayard gives us insights about how folklore was specifically passed down between generations, and how it was kept record. Bayar’s article is a great article to pull stories and examples of folklore from. It is also great for starting discussions about where the folklore migrates and originates from.

Brown, Mary Elizabeth. 2015. “The Theory and Practice of Language in Scalabrinian Parishes for Italian Immigrants in the United States, 1887-1933.” U.S. Catholic Historian 33 (3): 51–68. https://doi:10.1353/cht.2015.0021.

Mary Brown’s article is about how missionaries of Saint Charles helped Italian immigrants plant their specific practice and faith in the United States. Brown gives us insights about how Italian immigrants were settling in with their religion. Brown’s article is a great source to discuss the impact of immigrants also bringing in their religion into the country and state. This is also a great place to see the impact that religion has with immigrants.

Corbin, David A. 2015. “John F. Kennedy Plays the ‘Religious Card’: Another Look at the I960 West Virginia Primary.” West Virginia History 9 (2): 1–35. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=31h&AN=111811572&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

This peer reviewed article is about the presidential primary campaign in West Virginia for John F. Kennedy. Corbin gives us insights in this article about how religion is tied to politics, and specifically how it was done in this time period. This article will be helpful in talking about the politics of West Virginia and how this created history could have played a role in its economy and folklore. We will use this article to use the point of politics and its effect on West Virginia’s economy.

Dayton, Judge and D. Thomas. 2015. The United States of America Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/9780198727255.003.0030. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85059533/1916-02-19/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1770&index=2&date2=1963&words=folklore+Folklore+Virginia+West&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&rows=20&proxtext=west+virginia%2C+folklore&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1.

This source is an article published in The Statesman-Democrat newspaper in 1916. It has two notable excerpts in it, the first being an announcement of the establishment of a folklore society headquartered in Morgantown, WV. The WV Folklore Society still exists today. The second detail is located at a different point on the page that mentions a grave robbery in Preston County with a headline mentioning ghouls. This article will be helpful for our project as it highlights the influence supernatural beliefs had on West Virginians at the time.

Gorby, W. Hal. 2010. “Subcultures in Conflict in Polonia: Class, Religion, and Ethnic Tensions in the Formation of Wheeling’s Polish Community 1895-1917.” West Virginia History 4 (2): 1–34. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=31h&AN

=55074212&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

This article is written by Hal W. Gorby, a professor of Appalachian Ethnic and Immigration History at West Virginia University. In this article, Gorby discusses Polish immigration to Wheeling, WV from 1895 to 1917. He touches on their economic status, religious culture, and social conditions in their new home. This source will be helpful in our article as we explore how the context of immigration contributed to the development of modern folklore in WV.

Milspaw, Yvonne J. 1978. “Witchcraft in Appalachia: Protection for the Poor.” Indiana Folklore 11 (1): 71–86. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=31h&AN=45793245&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

This peer reviewed article was written in 1978 by Yvonne Milspaw and published in the 11th volume of Indiana Folklore. In this article, Milspaw analyzes West Virginia folktales about witches and witchcraft. She then claims that people claiming to be “witches” were actually just strange women who used their unique appearance and skillset to trick people into funding their lifestyles. This source will be helpful in our article because it presents an explanation for this important facet of folklore in West Virginia.

Musick, Ruth Ann. 1974. “Witchcraft and the Devil in West Virginia.” Appalachian Journal 1(4): 271–76. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=31h&AN=45985509&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

This peer reviewed article published by the Appalachian Journal, is about stories of the evil eye and the devil in West Virginia. Musick gives us insights from his article because there are reports of stories told to him, so they are pretty close to the original story. We will be using this article to pull specific examples of folklore. This article also talks about where the different folklore stories come from, whether they be from Italy, Germany, or pioneers.

Tanner, Lori. 1995. “Clay County Folklore and Folk Medicine: Empty Rockers & Sassafras Tea.” Goldenseal 21 (3): 67–69. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=31h&AN=46053710&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

This article written by Lori Tanner explores folklore in West Virginia between 1850 and 1995. This includes well known superstitions and notes on traditional folk medicine in Clay County, WV. While not peer reviewed, this source will be helpful for our article as it provides specific examples of folklore and superstition that West Virginians have historically believed in.

Milnes, Gerald. Play of a fiddle: Traditional music, dance, and folklore in West Virginia. University Press of Kentucky, 2014.

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uZ8eBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=West+Virginia+and+folklore&ots=S4tooRuJXS&sig=CxBHLzL_bY2oQc0NtHVqpMesCFA#v=onepage&q=West%20Virginia%20and%20folklore&f=false

This peer reviewed book is about the origin of oral traditions and dancing in West Virginia. Published by the University Press of Kentucky, Milnes’ book gives us insights about how traditions originated. Traditions that we will specifically be pulling from will be oral traditions and dancing traditions. Milnes also describes how traditions started.

Ward, Barry J. 1982. “Italian-American Folk Poetry.” West Virginia History 43 (4): 285–302. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=31h&AN=46027456&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Ward’s peer reviewed article, published by West Virginia History is about the record of Italian folk songs of immigrants from Italy to West Virginia. Ward gives us insights about the culture and impact that Italian immigrants made on the state and the folklore they brought with them. This is a great source for discussion of the history of the state of West Virginia and where folklore, especially oral, stems from.