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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Steampunkette" data-source="post: 9671438" data-attributes="member: 6796468">Not really? Folk Culture has long been a part of American cultures and subcultures. It just tends to be more regional than national 'cause America is freaking big, geographically, as far as nations go. And people in Appalachia don't really identify with the folk cultures in the Midwest or Southeast. There's a lot of dangers out in the forests of Appalachia at night, but there's no Skunk Apes wandering, there. Nor Jersey Devils kicking up a fuss.Tall Tales was just a fancy way of saying "Lying" in America for a long time. "Tellin' Tales", especially in the southern states, was a good way to get your britches tore up by a switch. So Tall Tales were just an exercise in lying about big crazy events to get people interested in fictional characters.But around campfires and in fanciful books purchased by city folk, American folk cultures got spread and shared.Pecos Bill is actually a really interesting example of it, because unlike Paul Bunyan or John Henry or Johnny Appleseed, Pecos Bill was made up, whole cloth, by one guy to sell books about the legends and "Tall Tales" of Pecos Bill.But just like the rest, he became a part of the folk culture quilt that makes up the US.</blockquote>