English folklore English folklore consists of the myths and legends of England, including the English region's mythical creatures, traditional recipes, urban legends, proverbs, superstitions, and folktales. Its cultural history is rooted in Celtic, Christian, ...

, the Apple Tree Man is the name given to the spirit of the oldest

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

tree in an orchard,Bane, Theresa (2013). ''Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology''. McFarland & Co. p. 33. . and in whom the fertility of the orchard is thought to reside. Briggs, Katharine (1976). ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. Pantheon Books. pp. 9–10. . Tales about the Apple Tree Man were collected by the

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

Ruth Tongue Ruth Lyndall Tongue (7 February 1898 – 19 September 1981) was a British storyteller and writer who published several collections of folklore and various articles. Biography Ruth Tongue was born in Handsworth. She was the third and youngest chi ...

in the

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...

-producing county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. In one story a man offers his last mug of mulled cider to the trees in his orchard on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

(a reflection of the custom and ritual of apple wassailing). He is rewarded by the Apple Tree Man who reveals to him the location of buried gold, more than enough to pay his rent. Thomas, Taffy (2014). ''Midwinter Folk Tales''. The History Press. pp. 114–116. . In another tale a

farm cat The farm cat, also known as a barn cat, is a domestic cat, usually of mixed breed, that lives primarily outdoors, in a feral or semi-feral condition on agricultural properties, usually sheltering in outbuildings. They eat assorted vermin such as ...

was curious to explore some fields that people avoided working because they were haunted by

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

s and

witches Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have use ...

. She set out one day and got as far as the orchard when the Apple Tree Man cautioned her to go back home, because folks were coming to pour cider for his roots and shoot guns to drive away the witches. He persuaded her not to go wandering around at night until St. Tibb's Eve, and she never did because she did not know when St. Tibb's Eve was, nor did anyone else.Briggs, Katharine and Tongue, Ruth (1965). ''Folktales of England''. University of Chicago Press. pp. 44–47. .

References

English folklore Trees in mythology Apples Christmas characters {{Lit-char-stub

See also

References