Historian Answers Folklore Questions | Tech Support | WIRED

Medieval historian Dr. Juliette Wood joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about folklore. How did unicorns become a symbol of little girl cuteness? Are mermaids and sirens the same? Has anyone ever actually found a razor blade in their Halloween candy? What are the origins of Slenderman? How did the legend of the Mothman come about? How are Sasquatch, Bigfoot, Yeti and the Abominable Snowman related? Why do so many famous fairytales have bleak endings if they’re meant for children? Answers to these questions and many more await on Folklore Support. 0:00 Folklore Support 0:17 Unicorns 2:30 Lil guys 3:15 Magic wands 4:16 Memes as “internet folklore” 4:33 Halloween candy horror stories 5:25 Mermaids and Sirens 6:43 Team Edward vs Team Jacob 7:59 Mothman 9:20 The Cottingley Fairies photographs 10:20 Wendigo 11:07 Vlad the Impaler and Dracula 12:09 Red Rover 12:51 Sasquatch, Bigfoot, Yeti and the Abominable Snowman 13:50 Fairy shrinkage 14:57 Zombies, man. 16:35 Nessy 18:08 The Tooth Fairy 18:53 Lucky rabbit’s foot 20:00 Slenderman: Origins 21:17 Full moons and werewolves 22:02 The B-tier creatures 23:08 Women and witchcraft 23:55 Twilight vampires 24:50 The Grim Reaper 25:19 The Brothers Grimm 26:39 Famous fairy tales with bleak endings 27:49 Banshees 28:47 Gremlins in the engines 29:17 Devil and pitchfork 29:46 The proper burial tree to avoid a fae snatching 30:25 The Little Mermaid 31:31 Just in case, ya know Director: Lauren Zeitoun Director of Photography: Simon Van Parijs Editor: Paul Tael; Alex Mechanik Expert: Juliette Wood Line Producer: Jamie Rasmussen Associate Producer: Paul Gulyas Production Manager: Peter Brunette Production Coordinator: Rhyan Lark Senior Casting Producer: Nicole Ford Camera Operator: Davide Bianco Gaffer: Jake Newell Sound Mixer: Sean Simpson Production Assistant: Grace OConnor Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo Additional Ed