shadow stories: west indian folktales

West Indian folklore characters are being slowly strangled. Some have already succumbed to the steady onslaught of technology and globalisation. This collection creatively revives folk knowledge through comical, captivating characters and their tales. Shadow Stories attempts to preserve West Indian folklore. The tales are an accumulation of dreams, childhood stories, superstitions, eavesdropped accounts and jumbie provocation. The concept of Shadow Stories is based on a dying jumbie’s effort to prevent his demise by passing on his knowledge. The desperate jumbie has finally found someone who can see and understand him, to a certain extent. The author tries to assist, but encounters personal issues which prohibits her from executing all the jumbie’s instructions. Traditional customs are depicted throughout these flavourful tales. Some are written in local Trinidadian dialect, intended to be read aloud. These original short stories portray forgotten folk elements. A folk character or aspect of folk life is highlighted in each account to retain those respective attributes. Shadow Stories was created not only to entertain, but also as a way to remember and perpetuate our folklore.