Reading Options: Supernatural: A Teton Ghost Story

(Owl at Night from quora.com)

I chose this one because I love Native American mythology and I would like to know more about the subject. I really like that native tradition is often passed down through storytelling. While I was reading this story I noticed how much better it sounded when read aloud. This aligns with the storytelling tradition. It felt like a story meant to be told around a fire or to a gathering of children underneath a tree. I really enjoyed the style and would like to try it in my own writing. The personification of animals i.e. the owl saying "halloo." is a great tool stylistically and allows for some creative freedom. I also liked the repetition within the story of the young man "drawing near a wood;" some variation of this is repeated throughout the story. Repetition is also used to create suspense. The young man hearing some mysterious noise is repeated throughout the work. Another stylistic choice that stood out to me was the symbolism of the owl. In the small amount of Native American mythology that I have read the owl represents some aspect of death. The presence of the owl at the beginning foreshadows the appearance of the ghosts. The aspect of interacting with the supernatural as if it is a normal occurrence also caught my attention as something I could use in my own writing. I also noticed a theme that is present in mythology from all over the world, trial and reward. The young man has to wrestle the skeleton ghost - the trial. If he succeeds in overpowering the ghost he will kill his enemies and successfully steal horses - the reward.

"The Indian Who Wrestled with a Ghost"

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Mythology & Folklore

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