Stephen Olbrys Gencarella

My research lies at the intersection of folklore studies, rhetorical studies, and performance studies, and their shared focus on the constitutive nature of expressive culture. In academic and public work, I advocate for a critical folklore studies to examine and to redress social injustice. In doing so, I draw upon traditions of rhetorical criticism and social theory, especially to critique anti-democratic behavior and to advance democratic modes of living with others.

• Joint Ph.D., Indiana University (Communication and Culture, and Folklore)
• M.A., Tufts University (Classical Studies)
• B.A., Providence College (Humanities)

Undergraduate: The Folklore of New England (General Education SB); Humor and Comedy in Society (General Education SB); The Folklore of Alcohol (General Education SB); Contemporary Folklore Studies; Critical Folklore Studies; Democracy and Rhetoric; Horror and Public Culture; Myth, Ritual, and Performance; Rhetoric and Social Theory; Rhetoric, Ethics, and the Good Life

Graduate: Contemporary Rhetorical Theory; Rhetoric and Social Change; Performance and Public Culture; Language as Action and Performance

Much of my current academic research and public activities concern the historical and contemporary folklore of New England, including its relation to cultural heritage tourism.

For example, I am finishing a book manuscript tentatively entitled The Moodus Noises: A Critical Genealogy of a Connecticut Legend. This research was featured in an episode of Off The Path on WSHU Public Radio and Amazing Tales CT.

I have two books with Falcon Guides, a premier publisher for outdoor recreation. The first book (2019) introduces readers to the folklore of Connecticut and associated hikes; 25% of the royalties benefit the Friends of Connecticut State Parks. The second (2021) does the same for Massachusetts; 25% of the royalties benefit the Essex National Heritage Area and the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area.

I have also written a book (2018) for the general reader concerning historical and folkloric eccentrics of New England. It is published by Globe Pequot Press and was positively reviewed in Connecticut Magazine. All royalties benefit youth and education programs at the Connecticut River Museum.

I am always willing to assist non-profits and other organizations dedicated to the public good research their folklore and cultural history and to offer guided hikes. I have recently had the privilege of working with The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor, the Friends of Machimoodus and Sunrise State Parks, the Eightmile River Wild and Scenic Watershed, and the Thompson Historical Society. Please feel welcome to reach out to me with your requests.

Similarly, I am available for consultation with organizations and individuals for creative projects concerning folklore, especially supernatural folklore of New England.

From 2014-2025, I was a member of the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Eastern Regional Tourism District, an organization established by the legislature to promote tourism in 41 municipalities in the state. I represented the cultural heritage industry and served as secretary of ERTD.

For several years, I appeared weekly on iCRV Radio's flagship program Shelter Island to narrate and to discuss the folklore of the region. I co-hosted a series, Nature Folk: Wildlife or Wild Myth? with Russ Miller, naturalist at the Meigs Point Nature Center. In each episode we explored the intersection between folklore and the natural sciences. And I had the good fortune to co-host another series, Fermented, with biochemist Mark Griswold. In each episode, we examined alcoholic beverages from a scientific and folkloristic perspective.

In 2021 I was honored to speak at The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center on the topic of Hepburn's contributions from a folkloristic perspective.

From 2019-2022, I worked with the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat to develop several programs drawing from the folklore of New England.

From 2014-2019, I served as the resident folklorist for the Connecticut River Museum. I produced two exhibit scripts during that time. The first was The Thirsty River: 400 Years of Drink, Life, and Reform in the Connecticut River Valley. The second was Myths and Legends of the Connecticut River Valley.

I have been interviewed in Connecticut Magazine several times concerning New England folklore and was a guest on The Full Story on WFSH Public Radio and Where We Live on WNPR Public Radio. In November 2022, I published an essay in Connecticut Magazine on the complicated history of place names of Indigenous peoples in the state. I also published an article on legends of the river for Connecticut Explored.

In addition to these regional projects, I have a longstanding interest in the ways that comedic performances address, uphold, and criticize social and political anxieties.

I am similarly interested in the intersection of the uncanny and humor, the relationship between theories of the uncanny and catharsis, and the neglected concept of “the spooky.” I intermittently pursue projects related to these issues.

Finally, I am interested in the complicated role alcohol and intoxication play in human culture and history, especially as it is reflected in and shapes global folklore. I often present public lectures on this topic in the context of New England history.

• "From ‘Playing Indian’ to ‘Playing Ally’: White Fantasies of the Sleeping Giant." Contemporary Legend, 4(4), 170-219. 2026.
• "‘The Way It Is’: Land Preservation and the Culture of White Wealth in Lyme, Connecticut." Journal of Folklore Research, 61 (1), 39-84. 2024.
• "Folk Research: A Query and a Critique." Cultural Analysis, 22 (1), 1-34. 2024.
• "The Field of Spookiness: An Historical Survey." Supernatural Studies, 8(2), 9-42. 2023.
• "The Devil is in the Cellar: The Genealogy of an American Thanksgiving Narrative." Narrative Culture 10(1), 61-87. 2023.
• "The Reverend Samuel Peters's Natural History: A Reassessment." Folklore, 133(3), 267-288. 2022.
• "Lovecraft and the Folklore of Glocester's Dark Swamp." Lovecraft Annual, 16, 90-127. 2022.
• "Soft Racism in the Contemporary Legend of Anawan Rock: A Critique." Journal of Folklore Research, 59(1), 59-100. 2022.
• "The Thin Blue Line in a Thick Blue State: A Critical Folklore Study." Co-authored with hari stephen kumar. Accepted, Western Folklore.
• "Thunder without Rain: Fascist Masculinity in AMC's The Walking Dead." Horror Studies, 7(1), 125-146. 2016.
• "Returning the Favor: Ludic Space, Comedians, and the Rhetorical Constitution of Society." In Standing Up, Speaking Out: Stand-Up Comedy and the Rhetoric of Social Change, edited by Matthew Meier and Casey Schmitt, 237-247. 2016.
• "Critical Folklore Studies and the Revaluation of Tradition." In Tradition in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Trevor Blank and Robert Glenn Howard, 49-71. 2013.
• "Folk Criticism and the Art of Critical Folklore Studies." Journal of American Folklore, 124(494), 251-271. 2011.
• "Purifying Rhetoric: Empedocles and the Myth of Rhetorical Theory." Quarterly Journal of Speech, 96(3), 231-256. 2010.
• "Gramsci, Good Sense, and Critical Folklore Studies." Journal of Folklore Research, 47(3), 221-252. 2010.
• "Constituting Folklore: A Case for Critical Folklore Studies." Journal of American Folklore, 122(484), 172-196. 2009.
• "The Myth of Rhetoric: Korax and the Art of Pollution." Rhetoric Society Quarterly, 37(3), 251-273. 2007.
• "Touring History: Guidebooks and the Commodification of the Salem Witch Trials." Journal of American Culture, 30(3), 271-284. 2007.
• "Disciplining the Carnivalesque: Chris Farley's Exotic Dance." Communication and Critical Cultural Studies, 3(3), 239-258. 2006.
• "Seinfeld's Democratic Vistas." Critical Studies in Media Communication, 22(5), 390-408. 2005.