THE CONCORDANCE
The same fears, told everywhere
Choose a current and read it across the traditions that carry it — the drowned of the Volga beside the drowned of the billabong.
THE DREAD
The emotional cores the tellings return to.
THEMES
Recurring figures and motifs in the stories.
household 92death 86Threshold 75Village 67transformation 57temptation 49hunger 43Fire 35Graveyard 32grief 30night 18forest 9guardian 7blood 6drowning 6river 6seduction 6children 4illusion 4living tradition 4night road 4place 4shapeshift 4storm 4warning 4ancestor 3childbirth 3dance 3farm 3horse 3possession 3restless dead 3serpent 3taboo 3unclean dead 3water 3winter 3backward feet 2banana grove 2beauty 2black dog 2bridge 2cave 2cemetery 2childbed 2childbirth death 2cold 2courtship 2deception 2desert 2double 2fertility 2fox 2grave 2hollow back 2hunt 2jungle 2kidnap 2marriage 2marsh light 2mirror 2mischief 2misdirection 2mountain 2nightmare 2ogre 2omen 2one leg 2peepal tree 2procession 2revenge 2riddle 2ritual 2road 2sea 2trickster 2unfaithful men 2voice 2wailing 2water horse 2waterfall 2werewolf 2whistle 2white dress 2wild man 2witch 2witchcraft 2
WHERE THEY DWELL
The places the records keep to.
WHAT TURNS THEM
Wards, rites and refusals the tellings trust.