Once upon a time…
A girl in red walked into the woods with a basket for her grandmother. There, she wandered from the path, talked to a strange wolf, was eaten, was saved.
Or, once upon a time…
The girl, who did not wear red, went into the woods. She met a werewolf, chose the Road of Needles instead of the Road of Pins. She performed a striptease for the wolf, tricked him, and ran back home, and slammed the door behind her.
Or, once upon a time…
A girl, once more in red, walked into the woods. She wandered, talked, was eaten. She was not saved, and she remained in the wolf’s belly.
In this self-guided online course, “Introduction to Fairy Tales,” we welcome you across the threshold of Carterhaugh to explore a collection of wonder tales from around the world- stories you may know, stories you may think you know, stories that are strange and unfamiliar. Through a combination of video lectures, supplemental readings, and extra resources, we will introduce you to the wide world of fairy-tale scholarship and provide the history, context, and tools to begin analyzing these stories and applying them to your own life.
Course Curriculum
What You’ll Get:
At least 3 videos per lesson featuring both Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman - Each lesson contains video lectures that discuss the history and the cultural forces that shaped these fairy tales, discussions of multiple versions of the tales from all over the globe, and personal insights into the stories from your instructors. Creating our video lectures in one of our favorite parts of Carterhaugh. For each video, we draw upon our combined twenty-six years in higher education and conduct additional research to make sure you’re getting the best, most up-to-date information about these beloved stories. In addition to being PACKED with our combined knowledge, our lectures are conversational, fun, and occasionally goofy. (If you’re studying something as delightful as fairy tales, you should be having a wonderful time, too!) So we’ll welcome you into our virtual living room, offer you a cup of tea, and welcome you to the conversation.
Reading Lists - We always try to include links to the stories that star in our lectures (and at the very least we provide summaries and tell you where you can find the full text!) Some will be familiar and some will likely be wholly new to you, but they are all worth examining. Prepare to be fascinated and delighted with tales from all over the world, from authors as famous as the Grimm brothers to Madame d’Aulnoy of French salon culture to collaborative folk tales from ancient China.
9 Further Reading Pages - Want to learn even more, from folklorists and scholars who really know their stuff? We’ll provide a further reading list for each module, so you know where to go next to deepen your knowledge.
10 Beautiful Grimoire Pages - Carterhaugh exists at the crossroads of knowledge and enchantment, and that’s what our grimoire pages are all about. Designed to emulate a weathered, well-loved spell book, these pages summarize each module for easy reference and provide a beautiful visual reminder of the magic to be found in these tales.
FAQ
What exactly IS Carterhaugh? - The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic is an award-winning online school dedicated to classes on fairy tales, folklore, and all things fantastic. It was created by Sara and Brittany in 2016 as a place for those who dreamed of elven battles while studying economics, those who have always sworn they could see ghosts, and those who longed for a school of magic to send them an unexpected acceptance letter. We aim to use our knowledge and passion for these subjects to share their wonder, solidify their importance in society, and spread a bit of magic into the world.
How do I do this class? - "Introduction to Fairy Tales" course is entirely self-guided. You are free to go at your own pace!
What is a “grimoire page” again? - Our grimoire pages are basically one page PDF lesson summaries. They’re short but beautifully presented, made to look like the pages of an ancient spell book. The more classes you take with us, the more pages you can add to your own personal Carterhaugh grimoire!
As always, if you have additional questions at any time, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at [email protected]!
Your Teachers
We, Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman, both earned our PhDs in English and Folklore at The Ohio State University. We specialize in folk tales, myths, legends, and, above all, fairy tales.
We write for venues like Enchanted Living (formerly Faerie Magazine) and #FolkloreThursday, and we blog weekly at carterhaughschool.com.
Our academic articles and reviews can be found in Marvels & Tales: The Journal of Fairy-Tale Studies, Supernatural Studies, Humanities, Gramarye: The Journal of the Sussex Center for Folklore, Fairy Tales, and Fantasy, the book Channeling Wonder: Fairy Tales on Television, the encyclopedia Folktales and Fairy Tales: Traditions and Texts from Around the World, and many more.
We love teaching – we get to geek out about the weirdest, most wonderful stories, and we get to watch our students create their own magic with what they learn. We want our classes to reflect the joy we get out of the strange and delightful world of folklore, so expect apropos gifs, ridiculous illustrations, and/or terrible puns in our lectures. We’re also best friends, so we will occasionally make horrible faces at each other, make fun of each other, and laugh like drunken pixies… and we want you to join us!
