PSU Folklore and Folklife Studies/Center for Folklore

PSU Folklore and Folklife Studies/Center for Folklore Penn State offers a Graduate Certificate in Folklore and Ethnography, as well as a host of undergraduate and graduate courses in folklore.

Find out more about our educational offerings at: https://sites.psu.edu/pafolklore/ Penn State Harrisburg's American Studies program has a concentration in folk and popular culture and a Graduate Certificate in Folklore and Ethnography. Beyond the campus, faculty and students at Penn State are working on significant courses, projects, and programs involving folklore and folklife studies. This page

is intended to bring them together with the general folkloristic community to dialogue about their activities and ideas.

04/29/2026

I'm so excited to share the cover for my new book, The Internet is Real Life: Performing Folklore Online and Off, coming in November from the University of Wisconsin Press.

We often speak of a divide between online and offline cultures, even as we recognize how intertwined they've become. In this book, I observe the ways in which digital communications and behaviors are already deeply embedded in our everyday expressive lives, both online and offline, and therefore in how folklore gets performed and transmitted. By treating the digital interface as a site where embodied performance takes shape (rather than just a point of contact with "the online"), I argue for a critical renewal of core folkloristic concepts to meet the challenges of modern networked life.

Pre-orders are open: https://uwpress.wisc.edu/Books/T/The-Internet-Is-Real-Life

04/22/2026

Contemporary Legend, the annual journal of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, aims to promote and encourage research and to provide a forum for those working in this vibrant area of traditional narrative scholarship. Within this context the term “legend” is interpreted i...

A ghost—sometimes with the head of a pig—haunts the countryside near Darlington, PA. In some versions of the story she i...
04/22/2026

A ghost—sometimes with the head of a pig—haunts the countryside near Darlington, PA. In some versions of the story she is restless, a victim of murder. In others she warns children not to play in the abandoned mines nearby.

Either way, she is a unique part of Pennsylvania culture.
The Pig Lady of Cannelton is one example of local lore collected and commemorated by the Pennsylvania Center for Folklore (PACF), in partnership with the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. Each year the Foundation solicits nominations for roadside markers to celebrate local heritage. The PACF, affiliated with Penn State Harrisburg, researches and evaluates these “legends and lore” markers in Pennsylvania.

The Pig Lady seems to date to the unsolved murder of Barbara Davidson in the 18th century. Her story has appeared in various forms since then. Today it continues to be celebrated with an annual fall festival.

A map of marker locations can be found on the Pomeroy Foundation website. Some are supernatural, some are realistic. Some are thrilling, some are tragic.

Are there any local legends in your backyard? See what's already been marked here: https://www.wgpfoundation.org/history/map/?r=index&fwp_program=legends-lore-marker-grant-program&z=5&wlat=38.96565748239378&wlng=-94.4781795

Photo credit: Mike Wintermantel from the Historical Marker Database

02/13/2026

Mariah Kupfner, an assistant professor of American studies and public heritage at Penn State Harrisburg and 2024-2026 Teaching and Learning with Technology Faculty Fellow, is working to bring virtual reality and other digital tools into the humanities classroom.

With the arrival of harvest season, we thought it was the right time to look at examples of wheat weaving from our Yvonn...
11/14/2025

With the arrival of harvest season, we thought it was the right time to look at examples of wheat weaving from our Yvonne Milspaw Collection. Though these samples originate from various locations, the practice has been active in Pennsylvania. According to the National Association of Wheat Weavers, the intricate, decorative straw work serves to celebrate the harvest. It also reflects the skill needed to create functional objects like baskets and hats. Interest in wheat weaving re-emerged in the mid-20th century, when some of these objects
were created.

10/29/2025

Folk horror is having a moment right now, but the genre isn’t new. Why is it resonating so much with horror fans right now?

10/21/2025

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