Profs and Pints Online presents: “Labyrinth Lore,” a mapping of tales of loss and finding, with Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, former instructors at Ohio State University and co-founders of The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.

[This talk will remain available in recorded form at the link given here for tickets and access.]

Labyrinths and mazes have inspired and haunted mankind since King Minos forced the inventor Dadaleus to build one to contain his wife’s monstrous child, the Minotaur. Since then, the labyrinth has only continued to capture imaginations, appearing in novels, films, anime, self-help books, and, of course, actual landscapes.

Come take a journey through the labyrinths and mazes that captivate us with Sara and Brittany of the Carterhaugh School, who have built a huge following among Profs and Pints fans with their past talks on folklore, myths, and legends.

They’ll discuss how Greek myth of the Minotaur made the labyrinth a place of terror but also adventure and triumph. Although the flesh-eating Minotaur devoured many Athenians, he was ultimately defeated by the hero Theseus, who used cunning (and a bit of help from Minos’ daughter Ariadne) to thwart the labyrinth’s design.

They’ll also explore Jim Hensen’s cult classic film Labyrinth, which takes place almost entirely within a maze that the film uses as both the physical location of a quest and a metaphor for growing up and into yourself.

Among other works they’ll venture into, Guillermo del Toro’s sinister film Pan’s Labyrinth features a labyrinth that stands between two worlds, fascist Spain and Faerie. In the dark magical girl anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica, labyrinths become the lairs of witches, spaces that are deadly but also profoundly personal and creative.

All of these labyrinths are deeply liminal. They are places of becoming, change, and possibility. What’s the difference between a labyrinth and a maze? Why are humans so obsessed with them in real life and in stories? Join Sara and Brittany to find out!

Profs & Pints Online: Labyrinth Lore