Wherein Otis Bulfinch discusses liminality on the open road.
Ozarks Folktales & Legends
This week’s special feature
You might also enjoy…
This week’s special feature
You might also enjoy…
Surviving the Pseudocene
We crawled from the Pleistocene Epoch, trudged through the Holocene, ripped through the Anthropocene, and fell facedown into the Pseudocene, the age in which we are currently mired.
The Pseudocene Epoch is characterized by the dismaying effect of proliferating, realistic illusions on the pursuit of truth. Sophists have come a long way from projecting shadows on a cave wall, and that’s precisely the problem. Nowadays, we can’t even write the word “truth” without putting it in quotation marks, a clear sign of the advent of the Pseudocene.
Thus, I hereby reassure you that none of the creative writing on this website, traditional or contemporary, was authored by artificial intelligence. True, Claude and Claude Code were instrumental in building the site, and many of the illustrations are AI generated. Claude also performed much of the historical research that supports the Purple Knight Chronicles, which are themselves a narrative about illusions, propaganda, and desire.
The Purple Knight is a handwritten Pseudocene hero…or anti-hero, depending on your point of view.
There’s even a Purple Knight game you can play to explore the spiritual topography of the Pseudocene.
In the end, however, you need to remember that everyone could be lying to you. Your spouse might be cheating on you. The preacher might be stealing from the collection plate. Your boss might be about to fire you. Your best friend might really think you’re a jerk-face idiot. When the looming tsunami of bullshit knocks you off the pier, what does it matter if it’s humans who created the wave or a vast network of interconnected servers? Either way, you’re bobbing about in bullshit.
And that’s why I created OtisBulfinch.com, so that folktales, the neglected children of whimsy, can have a place to gather for one last stand. Or to mix my metaphors, folktales are little buoys in the swelling Pseudocene sea of bullshit.
So, hang on, friends, better times are ahead, or my name isn’t Otis Bulfinch.
"Come here," she said to William, almost as if she were calling a dog. "Closer." He stepped so close to her he could feel her breath on his lips. "Touch the back of my neck," she said. William slipped his fingers under her hair. "Now touch my cheek." He stroked her cheek as gently as he killed her husband.
Read More About the Book"A rollicking novel that fuses the Ozarks folk tradition with meditations on beauty, suffering, and the meaning of it all."
Get Your Copy of Pursuing Daisy Garfield:
Published by Publerati, an independent publisher that donates books to developing countries.
With accompanying links, photos, and articles
Enter the Purple Knight Chronicles
A serialized novel blending fact and fiction, with historical documentation
In 1897, a young Ozark newspaperman claimed a Little Rock plantation owner promised him $5,000 and his daughter's hand if he circumnavigated the globe dressed as the Purple Knight of the Ozarks. The quest was a lie. The girl never existed. But T. Allen McQuary's journey—traceable through newspaper archives from Missouri to Charleston to Oregon—was bizarrely real.
Follow the trail through actual newspaper clippings, court records, and a surviving promotional pamphlet. Watch as McQuary transforms from con artist to postmaster to embezzler, spinning increasingly grandiose tales in churches, schools, and Masonic halls across America until his tragic end in 1948.
Illustrated portrait of T. Allen McQuary
St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Sun., June 13, 1897, p. 40.
Click the Purple Knight to Begin Your Own Journey
Wherein Otis Bulfinch discusses liminality on the open road.
Explore Authentic Ozark & American Folktales
Discover genuine folktales and folklore research from the Library of Congress, early academic journals, and other public domain sources. These archives preserve the authentic voices and stories that have shaped American folk tradition for generations.
Over 4,000 songs and stories collected by folklorist Mary Celestia Parler throughout the Arkansas Ozarks, including ballads, tales, and oral histories.
Browse CollectionEarly scholarly collection of American folk narratives, customs, and beliefs. These foundational volumes document oral traditions from across the United States before modernization changed rural communities.
Read OnlineThe Max Hunter Collection featuring over 1,600 Ozark folk songs and stories from Missouri and Arkansas. Hear authentic voices telling the tales that inspired generations of storytellers.
Listen NowMultiple volumes of authentic Ozark folktales collected by the master folklorist, including 'Who Blowed Up the Church House?' and other classics.
Including: 'Who Blowed Up the Church House?', 'We Always Lie to Strangers', 'Ozark Magic and Folklore', and more
Read Full TextFirst-person accounts from formerly enslaved people in the Ozarks region, including folk stories, traditions, and cultural memories collected by the Federal Writers' Project.
Explore ArchiveMary Celestia Parler's extensive collection of Ozark folk songs, ballads, and oral histories. One of the most comprehensive collections of Southern mountain folklore ever assembled.
Access ArchiveThese are sites run by folks who are doing the Lord’s work when it comes to preserving what is remarkable about the Ozarks. I recommend them without reservation. See all recommended links →
Josh Heston’s indispensable documentary resource on Ozarks history and culture.
Visit SiteKaitlyn McConnell’s beautifully curated exploration of Ozarks people, places, and traditions.
Visit SiteYour place for all things Ozarkian: the profane, the profound, the preposterous, and the impressive.
Visit Site
The Possum Apocalypse: Saving the World, One Heresy at a Time.