The Moonlit Road

By Jim Regan

The art of Storytelling has undergone a revival in the last few years - although it might more accurately be described as having found itself a new niche. Unlikely to ever be as integral a part of family and community life as it was before various electronic entertainments, the art now thrives, not only at countless Storytelling Festivals but at myriad other cultural celebrations as well. Naturally, this new awareness is reflected on the Web, and The Moonlit Road, a collection of stories from the American South, serves as an excellent example of how the Web can frequently provide 'the next best thing to being there'.

One of the features that sets The Moonlit Road apart from other storytelling sites is the use of design to set a mood. The best way to hear a story is at night, in almost complete darkness, and the designer obliges with a Welcome Page showing a dimly lit road leading to large iron gates (which open on mouseover). Clicking them leads to the Index Page, which continues a basic-black theme. Even the storytelling 'stages' -- images of old cabins -- are lit only by the moon and lanterns.

New stories are added on a monthly basis, and include themes that cross time and culture, such as tricking the Devil (Marie Jolie) as well as tales which, although their origins may be as old as the others, are set in more recent history (Black Dog). Each listed title is accompanied by a few lines from the story to serve as an introduction, and the state of origin.

Another feature absent from any similar sites that I've come across is a "Cultural Background" page for each narrative. Black Dog, about a coal mining disaster, links to a history of coal mining in Kentucky, while the Boo-Hag links to information about the Gullah, the tale's point of origin, and a pocket of West-African culture on the North American continent. This kind of context adds a great deal to each story.

Of course, short of being in the presence of a master storyteller, the best way to appreciate these tales is to hear them being told. Current stories are available as text, RealAudio or Shockwave Audio. And while text can teach you that a colloquialism for the Devil is M'su Diable, you need audio to appreciate the accent, the inflections, the 'music' of the dialect. (A tale about banshees or leprechauns needs an Irish 'voice' to be best told. By the same token, these stories deserve to be told in their own original voices, be that Cajun, Creole or 'Carolina Cotillion'.) Unfortunately, all but one of the archived stories -- Marie Jolie -- are available as text only, presumably because of limited server space.

Of course, there can be additional merit in reading along with the text copy - to see how some storytellers depart from the 'script' from time to time. (Using RealAudio, which opens as its own small window, allows you to surf the text version in the main window while you listen.) And if you get through all the stories and still want more, the Moonlit Road Bookshop (linked to Amazon.com) offers books and audio-tapes by featured artists.

One of the favourite debates about the Web is whether design or content 'is king'. Well, here's a new candidate - context. Through the virtues of a proper setting, information about cultural background, and being able to hear a tale told in it's native tongue, context is the factor that sets this site apart from its peers. I only wish there was a similar site covering some of my favourite Irish legends.

The Moonlit Road can be found at http://www.themoonlitroad.com/.

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Jim Regan provides 'Today's Links' to the e-Monitor. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.