The best way to celebrate National Storytelling Week is to weave your own oral tale. So, what are the six best types of stories to tell out loud?
Fairy tales
Fairy tales are the earliest form of oral storytelling we hear as children. They will inevitably conjure up nostalgic memories of our parents reading tales of glass slippers, sleeping princesses, and gingerbread houses. Fairy tales have these characteristics to make them perfect for oral tradition:
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- Short in length
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- Use simple language
- Have memorable stock characters
Folkloric tales
Although similar to fairy tales, folkloric tales reflect the traditions of a certain culture and tend to derive from real-life phenomena. Famous examples are:
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- The Children of Lir – children turned into swans by their even stepmother
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- Dagda’s Harp – a high priest who played a beautiful harp during a war and put everyone in a deep sleep
- Finn MacCool and the Salmon of Knowledge – about a salmon that gives people wisdom when they eat it.
Myths
Although there are myths across all different cultures, the ones you probably know originate from Ancient Greece and Rome. Greco-Roman myths have inspired people’s imaginations for generations. They have been used in big screen productions. From Disney’s Hercules to DC’s recent Wonder Woman. Perhaps the reason we continue to tell these myths is because of their exotic use of temples, oceans, and mystical islands. They are populated by larger-than-life characters; vengeful gods and goddesses and brave or reckless mortals.
Legends
Epic characters also populate these oral tales, but the locations tend to be closer to home. British legends are an inherent part of our history and traditions and tell of the bravery and adventurous spirit of many of our famous heroes.
King Arthur, Merlin, and their knights belong to the mythical world of Camelot, yet this legend’s location is similar to Tintagel Castle in Cornwall. A dramatic ruin on the coastline where King Arthur was meant to live.
Whilst we love our kings, we also love our outlaws. Robin Hood, with his roguish attitude, bow and arrow, and band of merry men, has an enduring and memorable mantra to weave into any oral story: steal from the rich and give to the poor.
Fables
Many oral stories have morals, which was the reason for their original conception and subsequent retelling. Known for their moral endings, the Aesop Fables are an oral example of storytelling. Many of these stories revolve around animals to use simple, accessible imagery to convey more serious messages. The story of the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, for example, warns us that bad people can hide behind kindness and respectability.
Ghost stories
Ghost stories are so thrilling to tell out loud because of the extreme reaction of fear, horror, or delight that you can provoke in the listener. Told in the right setting, in a whispering voice, in the dark, by torchlight, the ghouls and ghosts can become real and truly frightening.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, is one of the most famous examples of a ghost story. A volcanic eruption in Indonesia had caused ash to darken the skies in a Genevan Villa where Shelley was staying with her husband, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron. Byron suggested they write ghost stories to tell to one another by candlelight. Here, one of the most famous Gothic fictions, Frankenstein, was born.
Get involved in National Storytelling Week and your story could be capturing imaginations for years to come.
Written By Florianne H.