The Grateful Dead Tales From Around the World

The Grateful Dead folktale type can be traced back at least 2,000 years. The tales of earthly rewards received for providing decent burial to the dead are both didactical and entertaining, with some of the earliest examples appearing in scripture and mythology. In modern times where laws heavily regulate burial practices, the tales have lost much of their social impact, but they still provide entertaining insight into past times.

In 1908, Gordon Hall Gerould wrote a monograph-The Grateful D...