Flatlanders and Ridgerunners: Folktales from the Mountains of Northern Pennsylvania

Oral folklore provides important insights into Pennsylvania mountain culture because it opens a window for us on the inner personality of mountain people. Oral folklore is vital to people in this kind of culture: it entertains them, it informs them, and it serves them as a glue that keeps the society together. These tales are more than a defensive reaction to outside pressure; they are an attempt to maintain cultural balance within the community by taking something threatening and turning it into something harmless and silly.James York Glimm is the author of 'Flatlanders and Ridgerunners: Folktales from the Mountains of Northern Pennsylvania', published 1983 under ISBN 9780822953456 and ISBN 0822953455.