Profs and Pints Onlinepresents:“Folktales of Summer Forests,”with Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, former instructors at The Ohio State University and co-founders of the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.

Unique folklore emerges from the summer months, when the sun burns hot and nature has bursts with full, lush beauty. Some of this lore is strange, some of it tragic, and some as beautiful as sunlight through branches.

The forest stands as the perfect setting for enchantment and mystery. It’s by turns a place of shade and rest and a place of uncertainty and fear. It can be dangerous, bountiful, tame, or wild. It shelters witches, fairies, monsters, and more under its branches.

From the forest come the legends of the illusive Green Man, the king of the woods. Also told are stories of sacred trees, hidden dances, and fairies who engage in midsummer abductions. Fairy tales like “The Witch in the Woods” and “The White Deer” tell of hidden doorways, magic rings, and cursed princesses.

Let Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, who have captivated Profs and Pints audiences with their previous talks on cats in folklore and the women of the King Arthur legends, guide you through magical forests and see the wonder in every leaf, stream, and wildflower.

Profs & Pints Online: Folktales of Summer Forests