The Buried Moon or The Dead Moon is a
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
included by
Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore.
Jacob ...
in ''More English Fairy Tales''. It has few variants, appearing more mythological than is common for fairy tales. It was collected by
Marie Clothilde Balfour from the
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Barton ...
Carrs in the
Ancholme Valley
The River Ancholme is a river in Lincolnshire, England, and a tributary of the Humber.
It rises at Ancholme Head, a spring just north of the village of Ingham and immediately west of the Roman Road, Ermine Street. It flows east and then north ...
; its unusual characteristics made many people doubt its origins as a fairy tale. However, when Mrs. Balfour published her notes, they were generally found reliable. The story may evidence a form of
moon worship
A lunar deity or moon deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be found ...
.
Synopsis
Once upon a time, the
Carland was filled with bogs. When the moon shone, it was as safe to walk in as by day, but when she did not, evil things, such as
bogies
A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...
, came out.
One day the moon, hearing of this, pulled on a black cloak over her yellow hair and went to see for herself. She fell into a pool, and a
snag bound her there. She saw a man coming toward the pool and fought to be free until the hood fell off; the light helped the man make his way to safety and scared off the evil creatures. She struggled to follow until the hood fell back over her hair, and all the evil things came out of the darkness, trapping her under a big stone with a
will-o'-the-wyke to sit on the cross-shaped snag and keep watch.
The moon stopped rising, and the people have been wondering what had happened, until the man saved by the moon told what he had seen. A wise woman sent them into the bog until they found a coffin (the stone), a candle (the will-o'-the-wyke), and a cross (the snag); the moon would be nearby. They did as the wise woman said, and freed the moon. From this time on the moon has shone brighter over the boglands than anywhere else, and the evil things were chased from the Carland.
Modern adaptions
*
Charles de Lint
Charles de Lint (born December 22, 1951) is a Canadian writer of Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese ancestry. He is married to, and plays music with, MaryAnn Harris.
Primarily a writer of fantasy fiction, he has composed works of urban fantasy, cont ...
retold this as "The Moon Is Drowning While I Sleep".
* The webcomic ''
No Rest for the Wicked'' uses several elements of the tale as initiating events of the story; the main character is an
insomnia
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...
c princess on a quest to find the missing moon.
* French power metal band Wildpath did a musical adaptation of the tale on their album Underneath. A music video for the song, Buried Moon, was released in 2012.
[wildpathprod. (2012, December 26). WILDPATH - Buried Moon - Official Video. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utYuj-irgUI]
See also
*
Drawing down the Moon (ritual) Drawing down the Moon (also known as drawing down the Goddess) is a central ritual in many contemporary Wiccan traditions. During the ritual, a coven's High Priestess enters a trance and requests that the Goddess or Triple Goddess, symbolized by t ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buried Moon
English folklore
Buried Moon
Buried Moon
Moon myths