Ozark Magic and Folklore [Paperback]

Vance Randolph (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1964

This basic study by a renowned folklorist includes eye-opening information on yarb doctors, charms, spells, witches, ghosts, weather magic, crops and livestock, courtship and marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, animals and plants, death and burial, household superstitions, and much more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 367 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 1, 1964)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486211819
• ISBN-13: 978-0486211817
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #513,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ozark Magic and Folklore/Vance Randolph, April 3, 2002

By 

Debra Boling (Kirksville, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ozark Magic and Folklore (Paperback)

Wonderful lifetime body of research collected as he lived among the Ozark people. I grew up in Ozark Co. in the 60's-70's and was fortunate to see and hear much of the rich folklore he records. For an outsider (even marrying into an Ozark clan didn't make him a local boy) Randolph obtained a staggering amount of information which is presented in a humerous yet respectful style. When so much of our culture preverted for the neon cash/trash of Branson it's refreshing to read Randolph and remember when stories were told around wood fired stoves and in the summer's evening on front porches. Anyone interested in the real Ozarks should read this...and before you dismiss it all as ignorant fantasy,I can attest that witching water works, and I've touched the otherworldly feather crowns found in death pillows among many other oddities he records.....can't explain it but here it is for what it's worth.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT READ AND WONDERFUL REFERENCE BOOK, August 13, 2006

By 

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ozark Magic and Folklore (Paperback)

This work was first published in 1948, ergo, the author was quite close to his subject. The book is very well researched and the author is very careful to mention and note is sources. Having lived in the Ozarks all of my life these stories are quite dear to me. I am quite familiar with all the areas mentioned in the book, and indeed know or knew many of the people mentioned. What the author presents here is quite factual and quite accurate. This work addresses just what the title states "Ozark magic and folklore." Over the past several years some horrible changes have taken place, i.e. Branson, et al. The customs, folkways and beliefs of this wonderful area are just about gone (just about, but still some thankfully linger) and works such as this go far in preserving the memory of a time we probably will not again see. Some of the interesting areas covered are crops and livestock, marrage, weddings, household superstitions, mountain medicine, pregnancy and childbirth, and much, much more. I cannot recommend this one highly enough.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Affectionate review of a great world-view, March 23, 2001

By 

Frank H. Straus (Springfield, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ozark Magic and Folklore (Paperback)

This is an affectionate and amazingly detailed journalistic look at the folklore of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri during the last generation before television, the 1930s and 40s. The lucky persons who read this book will be amazed at the depths of complexity and sophistication which Vance Randolph's neighbors brought to bear when living their daily lives. Now that the world of folklore-belief is as dead as a doornail (except in bits and pieces, such as Hollywood gossip), we can see how admirable their achievement was. Read this book.