The Old Man with a Wart

Lovely title, no?
I love folktales because they never play nice. Animals are viscious. Adults are horrible. Kids are eaten. And they always seem to talk about things that just aren't discussed regularly. Like warts.
'The Old Man with a Wart' is a Japanese folktale of an old man with a huge wart ('natch) on his cheek. One evening he stumbles upon a passing procession of goblins (one version descibes them only as Storm Spirits. That's also one of the other things I like about folktales–they're infinitely adaptable). The goblins take the old man's wart from his face and he happily tells a neighbor who goes to find the goblins for himself.

Comments

[Lindsay Portland]

Did you make this poster? I heard a story similar to this when I was younger. I forgot the exact title of it though. XD

[Gerald Kelley]

Yes. I'm working on a series of images for a client's collection of folklore and fairy tales.