As someone who reads fairly regularly, it is definitely difficult to decide try to narrow down what topics I want to conduct. I think one area would be Scottish folklore and myth, especially after spending a month there. There's also Greek/Roman mythology and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I think it would be interesting to do something a little more modern, like Alice in Wonderland or the Land of Oz.
So, in order of mention:
Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland. It's assumed that it was named after King Arthur, although there's no clear source for it. (Source: Wikipedia)
I will say, right off the bat I don't know a ton about Scottish mythology, although like everyone else I know about some of the creatures of legend (ex: the Kelpies and the Loch Ness monster). Scotland also plays a large part in Arthurian legend (I got to climb Arthur's Seat while I was there, which is supposedly named after the king). I want to keep my topic broad and not narrow myself too much, but for now I'll probably stick with mythological creatures, structures, and Arthurian legend, although I may expand later on.
Disney's portrayal of the story of Hercules and the rest of the gods is in no way accurate. We watched it in my Latin class in high school to ridicule it. (Source: Disney Wikipedia)
Greek/Roman mythology is just interesting in general. A lot of words used in the English language come derived from sources in Greek/Roman mythology (such as narcissism from Narcissus). I took Latin in high school and also went through a pretty big Greek mythology phase as a kid, so I think it would be fun to revisit. I think I'll focus more on stories about the gods themselves, rather than on demigods or mortals. The gods are more fun to rewrite, especially since, when you consider that like 90% of the problems in Greek mythology were caused by Zeus being unable to NOT cheat on his wife.
(Source: Reddit)
So the idea of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is really interesting. It has its roots in the New Testament of the Bible, but in a way it's expanded into its own idea/mythology. The general consensus is that the four riders are Famine, Pestilence (Disease), War, and Death. They've been explored in some book series (which I read and thoroughly enjoyed) and TV shows (any Supernatural fans out there?), but they don't always get as much attention as other mythology and folklore. I think it'd be fun to expand upon that, and write/rewrite some stories from the view of the Four Horsemen.
The original poster for the musical Wicked (Source: Bananaroad.com)
After pondering between Alice in Wonderland and the Land of Oz, I think I'll be going with the latter. Something about Oz in its original format is a little more appealing, and while there are great versions/retellings of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, I think I like the idea of going through Oz a little more. There's also a lot more original source for it, since Baum wrote a total of 14 books originally, although it's been expanded upon a lot both during his life and after he passed. There's also the spinoffs, mainly Wicked, both the book and musical. I think this gives plenty of source.
*The original Oz series are now public domain, so it's free to read online versions of them from anywhere; I just linked to one site.
*The original Oz series are now public domain, so it's free to read online versions of them from anywhere; I just linked to one site.
