Copyright notice

This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. Copyright © 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

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Shape-Shifting

by William S. Powell, 2006

Shape-shifting was one of many superstitions widely accepted by early North Carolinians with little or no understanding of natural phenomena. It was believed that certain people or animals could change form, size, or shape in order to pass through small openings or to appear in a disguise. In the adopted new shape they often worked evil.

Image Credit:

"Frog Tsarevna" by Viktor Vasnetsov, ca 1918. Photo courtesy of Museum Syndicate. Available from http://www.museumsyndicate.com/item.php?item=51260 (accessed May 21, 2012).

Subjects:

Folklore and Legends

Authors:

Powell, William S.

From:

Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.

1 January 2006 | Powell, William S.