This page includes texts relating to uniquely American expressions of belief, as well as folklore and supersition, that don't fit into any other category.

General Folklore

African-American

Drums and Shadows Georgia Writer's Project; Work Projects Administration, Mary Granger supervisor [1940, copyright not renewed]
Coastal Georgia folklore from the 1930s and connections to African spiritual practices.

Pennsylvania Folklore

This part of the site has grown organically rather than by plan, and a small number of texts about Pennsylvania have coalesced here, for no particular reason.

Pow-wows; or Long Lost Friend by George Hohman. [1820]
This is a small book about folk-magic and healing by a early nineteenth Century Pennsylvania Dutch practicioner of 'Pow-wow'.

Folk-Lore of the Pennsylvania Germans by W. J. Hoffman [1888-9]
This is a two-part article from the Journal of American Folk-lore which covers a miscelleous range of folklore items from 19th Century rural Pennsylvania, including folk-magic, home remedies, superstitions and the supernatural.

The Realness of Witchcraft in America By A. Monroe Aurand, Jr. [1942, copyright not renewed]
This is a little pamphlet about Pennsylvania witchcraft donated by Eliza Yetter of sacredspiral.com.

Early Life of the Pennsylvania Germans By A. Monroe Aurand, Jr. [194?, copyright not renewed]
This gives some historical background on the early Pennsylvania Germans, including details of their religious composition. this was donated by Eliza Yetter of sacredspiral.com.

Little Known Facts about the Amish and the Mennonites By A. Monroe Aurand, Jr. [1938, copyright not renewed]
A short pamphlet by Aurand about the Amish. A sympathetic treatment of this deeply conservative group.

Texas

Elsewhere at this site

The Shakers
The Shakers, who fled persecution in England to flourish in America, are a unique branch of Christianity with a feminist twist. Known for their handicrafts, the Shakers declined in the twentieth century due to their vows of celibacy and the impact of modernism.

The Mormons
The Mormons are the largest world religion indigenous to America; their revealed scripture is set in an ancient New World setting.

Native America
Sacred-texts has extensive material on the religions of the Native Americans.