Ozark Folklore + Magic
find inspiration from the ancient + enchanted land we call home
Creatures + Cryptids
Snawfus
Large, pure white deer with dogwood or black apple branches in full bloom for antlers. It’s said to leap or fly among the trees & breathe blue smoke onto the mountains, which settles in the valleys as haze. Can be seen as a death omen
Ozark Howler
A dark colored, large creature with a deep shaggy coat + prominent horns. Its call is described as a mix between a wolf howl + an elk bugle. Sightings continue to this day, with a well-documented occurrence in Springdale in 2015
Gowrow
A large lizard or dragon-like creature that lives near the mouths of caves or waterways. Its young are said to hatch out of eggs large as beer kegs. It is “twenty feet in length with two tusks, large webbed feet ending in claws, a row of short horns along its back, & a long thin tail with a blade on the end”
Sacred or “Witch” Trees
Sassafras & Spice Bush
Host for swallowtail butterflies (see: butterflies) & moths, seen as link to spirit or other world. Sacred source of magic associated with water; taboo against burning any part
Pawpaw
Associated with spirits of the dead. Natural insect repellent with fruit that smells like spoiled meat when rotten
Sycamore
Known as “ghost trees” & meeting points for congregating spirits. Their bright white inner bark can look like bleached bone
Dogwood
Legend holds the dogwood was cursed to have short, twisted branches & flowers in the shape of a cross with stigmata because Jesus of Nazareth was said to have been crucified on a cross built from dogwood. It has been referred to as “wild quinine” & used as a folk cure for malaria. Dogwood bark is used as a preventative ward against rabies during the dog days of summer when the constellation Sirius is at its peak — folk belief was that dogs were more susceptible to going rabid at this time
It is rumored a dogwood potion is used by witches to transform into booger-dogs [see: booger animals]
Animals + Insects
Buzzards
An omen of storms, calamity, or death. Fear of buzzards has been known to be so strong that if one was sighted, some might refuse to leave their homes
Household Objects
Feather Duster
Those made from black chicken feathers are the most powerful for cleansing bad luck or evil spirits
Knife
Used to prevent nightmares or to symbolically cut away birth pain. They can represent purification use similar to axe
Spoon
Historically employed in several percussive folk instruments, can be considered lucky
Significant Places
Devil’s Den
Known for extensive cave systems & mysterious phenomena, including alien abductions, strange sounds + odors, & unexplained disappearances. It was originally given its name by indigenous communities who claimed dark & unnatural things would happen there
Tilly Willy Bridge
Former bridge near south Fayetteville said to be haunted by the ghost of a woman who drove off into the water with her children in the 1970s. Locals have reported seeing a woman in a white dress, ghost headlights, & even a green goblin
Eureka Springs
Small historic town with rich history & architecture surrounding healing springs in the area. No crossroads meet at a right angle. Multiple sites are considered haunted, including the Basin Hotel [said to be haunted by gangsters] & the Crescent Hotel. The Crescent was once a luxury resort, then a women’s college, & later a hospital run by a con artist who claimed he could cure cancer. During renovations in the 2010s, a groundskeeper discovered buried jars of suspected biological matter
