Into the Woods: Frightening Forest Folklore

- In this class, students will learn about the frightening folklore of the forest. We will cover frightening aspects of forest folklore in mythology, fairy tales, literature, books, and movies. Students will learn about the history of various time periods that led to people's fear of the woods and the context in which these frightful stories were told. We will make connections between the folklore of the various time periods and study literary elements such as theme, motif, and archetypes in the stories. Each week we will study a different time period and genre of frightening forest folklore. The schedule is posted below:
1. Week One: Mythology; Joseph Campbell (The Hero's Journey)
2. Week Two: Fairy Tales; Gothic Literature
3. Week Three: Modern books, movies, and television
- I will open the class by asking students whether or not they enjoy going into the forest/woods and why/why not. I will ask students to share any frightening forest folklore that they have read about in books or seen in other types of media, such as movies and television. I will use slides to add a visual element to our class meetings. I encourage student interaction with me and with one another by asking engaging and open-ended questions. I enjoy discussions in my classes, and I provide many opportunities for dialogue to take place.
- No prior knowledge is necessary for this class.