Stories and Folk-lore of West Cornwall

This richly varied collection gathers West Cornish tales, legends, ghost stories, customs, and local lore into a vivid portrait of a region where superstition, humor, and communal memory shape everyday life. Reverent in tone, it treats folklore not as idle entertainment but as a serious record of ordinary people's beliefs, speech, and habits. Across haunted places, village feasts, old games, dialect, fairies, witches, and the changing world of Penzance and its parishes, the book offers a lively tour of Cornish tradition. At its center stands Parson Wood, a learned and charismatic rector who acts as churchman, peacemaker, and folk authority, presiding over a world where religion and legend mingle freely. One unforgettable tale follows wrestler John Trevail, who boasts he would challenge the Devil and is soon drawn into a midnight contest with a mysterious stranger, only to be aided by the parson's unseen protection. Elsewhere, smugglers encounter a hidden fairy gathering on the coast, while village banter, old songs, wartime anxieties, and sharp dialect bring the social life of Cornwall into spirited focus. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.