Voices for Voices®

How Mythical Creatures Shaped Our World | (Ep 273)

• Founder of Voices for Voices®, Justin Alan Hayes • Season 4 • Episode 273

Share episode

How Mythical Creatures Shaped Our World | (Ep 273)

MERCHANDISE SHOP: voices-for-voices.org/3QnokLU
SUPPORT VOICES FOR VOICES®:
https://www.voicesforvoices.org/shop/p/supporter

The power of listening unlocks worlds beyond our imagination—a lesson David Solomon learned from his remarkable mother, Sapphira. In this heartfelt conversation, David reveals how "Mythical Creatures Around the World" began as his mother's passion project and grew into a global documentation of folklore spanning 70+ countries and 700+ cities.

Their journey began during a snowbound night on Trout Dell Lake when young David and his mother found themselves stranded for 24 hours. To ease their predicament, Sapphira wove tales about the lake's legendary monster—which David swears actually began kicking their boat! This transformative experience planted the seeds for their shared mission to collect and preserve folklore from around the world.

The project formally launched after Sapphira's triumphant recovery from stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2012. During her battle with cancer, storytelling became her refuge. Once healed, she channeled this creative energy into documenting myths with her son. Their first creation featured the Blue Men of the Minch—Scottish mermen who could summon storms—presented as fallen angels cast into the ocean depths. This approach became their signature: showing divine connections through cultural stories.

What sets their work apart is their investigative approach and commitment to authenticity. Safira would travel to locations, speak directly with locals, and gather firsthand accounts from people of all walks of life. From the Oregon coastline alone, she collected 20,000 stories about mermaids and other mythical sightings. David continues this tradition today, preserving these tales as they were originally shared without imposing his own interpretations.

David offers a fascinating perspective on how ancient folklore transforms over time while maintaining its cultural significance. He draws compelling parallels between modern alien abduction reports and traditional fairy abduction stories, demonstrating how myths evolve while addressing universal human experiences.

Discover why David believes that not one place in the world exists without its own myths, and how listening—truly listening—reveals the extraordinary stories hiding in plain sight around us. Subscribe to Voices for VoicesⓇ for more conversations that unlock human potential and connect us across cultural divides.

Chapter Markers

0:00 Introduction to Voices for VoicesⓇ

2:24 David's Mother and Mythical Creatures

5:47 Creating Mythical Creatures as a Ministry

9:30 The Art of Collecting Folklore

16:35 The Universal Nature of Myths

19:33 Reflections on Listening and Legacy

#MythicalCreatures #StorytellingTraditions #CulturalLegends #FolkloreStories #WorldOfMyths #MomAndTales #MagicalBeings #GlobalFolklore #FantasyCreatures #HeritageStories #LegendsAndLore #MotherlyWisdom #EnchantingMyths #TalesFromAroundTheWorld #FamilyLegacy #TikTok #Instagram #VoicesforVoices #VoicesforVoicesPodcast #JustinAlanHayes #JustinHayes #help3billion

Support the show

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Hey everyone, thanks again for joining us on another episode. I'm going to think this is the time. Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Voices for Voices TV show and podcast. I'm your host. Founder of Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes. Thank you for joining us. We are grateful to have you here, whether you're here in the United States or whether you are at any other point in another country. Across the world. We have surpassed over 70 countries, 700 cities. It's really remarkable, and we are gaining momentum as far as having interest outside of the United States, so we thank you for doing that.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

If you haven't checked out our other episodes again, again, we're at least at the time of this filming, we've had at least 272 episodes that have dropped and you can find us everywhere Rumble, youtube, all audio platforms near and far, and then, if you're here in Northeast Ohio, you know how to find us on the television each week.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

This particular episode, we have invited one of our guests back because we have really only scratched the surface on him as a person, him as a family man, him just as a human being, as we just navigate this thing called life, and with that come, you know, ups and downs, uh, all shapes and sizes, obstacles here, obstacles there, we zig and zag, and uh, and I I think all of us do that, regardless of, uh, you know, if we we think we made it or not.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

So tonight or this afternoon, depending on where you're at when you watch and view this particular episode we are being joined by David Solomon, and what we're going to look at focusing on for this particular show is his mother, kera, and how mythical creatures around the world I said mythical the first time, but I believe it's mythical creatures around the world as a whole, and David can definitely correct me, and so my understanding is that we're going to be talking about that how mythical creatures around the world got its start, how it really manifested in his mother's mind, because we know that we first think of ideas and thoughts in our mind before they turn into action.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

At least, that's been my experience. Maybe you've had a different experience and so it's just important to kind of think of we're talking to audiences, viewers, listeners, a wide range of ages and ethnicities, and, I think, just being able to talk about, ok, well, how did this get its start, like, where did it even come from? Even come from. So, david, thank you again for joining us and you can hit the ground running as we talk about many little creatures around the world, your mom, safira, and maybe bringing us up to present day if we have enough time.

David Solomon:

Well, thank you for having me. Yeah, I really just wanted to talk about my mom's legacy, because tomorrow is the 4th of July and my mom was really big on folklore surrounding the 4th of July July. My mom actually is who taught me how to love folklore and mythology and to do stories. I grew up with my mom telling me stories that happened long ago, whether that be a werewolf sighting or in Southern Oregon we had vampire stories, and my mom's the one that kind of introduced me to folklore and I think I was about, let's see five at the time no, four when we went back to Virginia for hyperbaric oxygen, my mom and I were on a boat after treatment. It was, uh, the trout dell lake and uh, she wanted to take me just on a boat ride to have a break from treatment and, uh, we got stranded in the middle of the lake and we were stranded for about 24 hours. It was snowing, so my mom would tell the story of the lake and, true enough, it actually had a monster in it. It actually started kicking the boat. But I think that's where my mom's love for storytelling really grew To tell mythology and folklore that matters, and she had a love for telling stories that made people better people once they heard them. So about 2008, my mom had just come from a surgery I was really sick that year and I actually missed about six months of school and my mom would take walks with me once I got well and every walk she would tell me a different folklore and you know I would just process it and go. You know this could fit, this couldn't fit, and she would just come up with these wild ideas for stories and mythology and folklore and then she started creating stories and TV shows and things from it. About 2009, about 2009, I contacted a Christian publisher with her because she wanted to tell her stories and we wanted to co-write and just really do all these really cool stories that had never been seen, so we did. And stories that had never been seen, so we did. And it was quite something. But those stories never got to be published due to the fact that we had to move in 2010.

David Solomon:

In 2011, my mom was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, stage 4 blood cancer. She had a tumor the size of a baseball and in order to pass time because people at church would make fun of her she would sit in back. She would write. She would sit in back, she would write. She would write these immaculate stories, dragosaurus and just all these Christian fantasy stories based on Native folklore and about Christmas. She wrote one in particular Christmas. She wrote one in particular and shared it with me and told me the story behind it, and so I drew it for her and it turned out to be a Christmas card. We didn't create mythical yet and it turned out to be a Christmas card. We didn't create mythical yet, but we both saw the power of drawing a myth and passing it to people for hope in their own backyard. That was kind of cool in their own backyard. That was kind of cool.

David Solomon:

So, finally, my mom in 2012, march, she was healed of the blood cancer. It went into total, permanent remission and that was the moment where my mom said let's do something. And I got tired of learning about the Greek gods and the nurse Norse gods and all the gods and mythology and I just wanted to know about Oregon. Honestly, I wanted to know what was there. I wanted to know what was out there, if there was something out there, and what the mythology was out there of Oregon. How did we get there and what the mythology was out there of Oregon. How did we get there?

David Solomon:

And so my mom investigated and found some things and so she created the first post on mythical creatures and I drew it and it was based on Irish mythology technically Celtic, and it tied to the Bible, because mom always tied mythology back to the Bible. The Blue Men of the Mitch they were mermen in Scotland who were blue skin and could cause storms, but the mythology was they were fallen angels and their wings were burned and they were cast to the abyss, the bottom of the ocean. That's the folklore. So Mythical Creatures was born that day as a bit of a ministry and to show the world who God was through culture. And then it grew and mom and I started creating TV pilots and books for it and books for it.

David Solomon:

And there would be times where my mom would come up with a plot over the years and would go I think this would be better and your idea sucks. There would be those moments, but my mom would always be trying to come up with plots. There was one plot in particular that actually made it to publishing and you know that as Melonheads. Melonheads was based on Connecticut and Ohio folklore and she edited it, did her own twist in it and it was really fun and mom really investigated ocean folklore. So we went to Virginia Beach and she would go to the beach and she would go to the beach and she would ask around all the people there if they've ever heard stories on the beach and then she would gather that information and that would be mythical creatures.

David Solomon:

For that week I learned from her and then I said, okay, this could work. So we created Mythical Creatures as an empire to touch culture and countries and to be a voice and unite against division. So my mom made these stories that were stories that were told in those areas. Like every city on the Oregon coast, for example, she would have a story, and how she would have that story is she would go to the locals. She would just pull over and go to the shop and ask if there were any stories around here. Someone may go oh no, you know, I don't believe in that and then another might go. I've heard a few things and it was a hit or miss. But man, she gathered over what 20,000 Oregon Coast stories alone.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Wow.

David Solomon:

And those are all like mermaid sightings and things like that. But they're all from different walks of life, some from tourists, hotels, police, fire, hospitals, local businesses I mean, she didn't discriminate Right a wide variety. I mean, she didn't discriminate Right a wide variety, and one day in San Antonio I was at a 24-hour fitness. Mom was doing a workout and she said you know, we should ask if there's any folklore here and I said, yeah, right.

David Solomon:

So I asked the manager and he goes. Well, you know what? I went to the beach the other day and I heard something and it spooked me and my wife and that opened my eyes that no matter where you are, ask and you shall receive. If you're looking for it, you're going to find it, and if you're not looking for it, you're not going to find it. And so how mythical was ran is.

David Solomon:

I learned to collect folklore from people. In fact, I learned what the term folklore is. I'll give you an example. If I tell you that there is a blue monkey in my house, is a blue monkey in my house, and we post it and it's shared, then the next blog is going to take that and say there was a blue ape Still a monkey, but it's an ape. And then the next person is going to hear that tell their friend, there was a blue cat. Now it's still a myth, it's still folklore, but it's alive, it's breathing. Folklore always changes. I'll give you another example.

David Solomon:

People say the United States doesn't have folklore, but it could be far from the truth. We have too much folklore. Here's how my mom broke it down into three parts Aliens in Roswell, new Mexico, and UFOs. We don't consider that folklore. But what is folklore?

David Solomon:

Folklore is a myth that cannot be explained. A creature or an entity of, a sighting of something extraordinary beyond the human eye. Whether fairy, mermaid, centaur, satyr, harpy, elf, gnome, it doesn't matter. Folklore doesn't discriminate what is an alien? Discriminate what is an alien? An alien is something unknown that apparently comes from another galaxy, but there is no evidence to support that. Well, what do aliens do? Well, according to modern day, they abduct people. But what do fairies do? Well, according to before aliens, right before aliens, for thousands of years, they abduct people. But wait a second. But the aliens weren't there before Roswell? Well, according to folklore, they were. We just didn't call them aliens, we called them fairies.

David Solomon:

And so when I travel to a new town or a city, like Mom did, I always look at the folklore and I always look at three things Is there alien sightings? Are there mermaid sightings? Hmm, are there mermaid sightings? Hmm, are there werewolf, fairy or vampire sightings? Those are the three I'll look at first. Usually you're going to get three out of three. Sometimes you get lucky and get seven. Oh, in big towns like Portland, oregon, los Angeles, san Francisco, cities on the ocean, miami. You will always find stories, because people like to talk and I like to listen, and so I love to listen, and so I love to gather these stories and share them.

David Solomon:

Not only that, but I've actually gotten on quite a few authors, including Holly Beck and Cassandra Clare Holly Beck and Cassandra Clare to represent the original folklore, the way that person saw it or perceived, because, remember, folklore changes but you also have to respect what that person saw or went through. Now in the United States, there is a fourth dimension to folklore and that is the spiritual. Now I don't judge, but there is some truth to it that I've seen where there are the demonic that are considered in folklore. It's very rare that you will catch that, but you do catch that, particularly in Oregon. I'm referring to Beaverton, oregon, halloween 2008. I contacted the couple who posted on it on Reddit. Out of all places, there was a demon that they found in their home, and their home address is 666, and I won't reveal the street, but that was interesting. And so in a big metropolis like Portland that area you're going to find demonic. If you're in Cleveland or kind of in a run-down town like Baltimore, you're going to find demonic.

David Solomon:

I was talking to someone earlier, a great person. She's really on fire with her folklore and really knows what she's talking about, and there is a belief about what's called the marine kingdom. Marine kingdom are water spirits that some christians believe can possess humans and or have influence. Now Christianity spreads belief that fairies are demonic, mermaids are demonic. All these things are demonic. It depends on who you ask. It depends on what state you're in or city. Then those things are true to that culture. So it doesn't matter about my personal belief. I portray it according to that culture.

David Solomon:

Personally, I have tied my own Native American mythology of my tribe to the Bible and I actually found that mermaids are in the Bible in more places than one. I also discovered that no matter where you are in the world, everything reverts back to the Bible. So that's why mythical creatures around the world was created by my mom. So then my mom had a vision. My mom wanted to change the way things were done, so she wanted a spinoff for this country and a spinoff for that city, so that each spinoff would touch each place in a unique way. Give me an example If Baltimore is poverty, then our character would be poor and they would be bullied by the rich. If we're in Maryland on the coast and our family is rich, then the person would be bullied because there are poor people around them and you would show a story of diversity, but you would also show being humble with your money and greed. And so mommy had.

David Solomon:

All these stories is planned out for every city, every town, every beach, and we still do. And no matter where we would go, there would always be folklore. And it's true. No matter where you go, there's always a myth. Not one place in the world is there not a myth. Even if you're on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, they're going to be a myth. If you're on an airplane, they're going to be a myth. If you're in your home, trust me, people were there before you and we call them ghosts again.

David Solomon:

I I view ghosts as a culture, belief, because I found the meaning behind the word ghost, and people will disagree all day long and that that's not what I'm about. But I go out of my way to try and stay away from that, and so did my mom, because of a biblical reasons. That isn't to say I have a ghost here and there. There are ghosts in the Bible, but it's not very clear why they're there. So anything that I do or my mom, we try to back it up in the Bible, and that's why Mythical Creatures was created to be a platform for people to learn about these cool myths and not having to pick up a Percy Jackson book or Harry Potter the same thing with Greek mythology but have a myth right in the middle of your backyard. That's why mythical creatures around the world is created.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

My mom had a love for collecting these stories and sharing them as a storyteller and pass it on to me, and so that's what I do to this day yeah, it's an amazing story how mythical creatures around the world got its start, how investigative journaling or just talking to people asking questions, and it is a little bit of a parallel.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

But uh, yeah, I think about the TV show, uh, murder she wrote, you know, you have Jessica Fletcher, or any of these shows where you know these people are in these towns and and they get involved for one reason or another, and and and then they're looked at as, uh, you know, an expert.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Uh, because they, they, they talk, but then they also listen and I think in our, our day and age, listening is, uh, it's just one of those skills that a lot of us, you know, we, we, then I mean I'm guilty of this, uh, as I'm, you know, with all the shows we have and everything you know wanting to, you know, share information and and topics and topics and that.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

But you know, sometimes we get, you know, kind of media crazed, for I don't know I'm not using the right words, but any event, that we can learn a lot from those who are listeners and we can, yeah, I mean, not just learn, but be able to feel enriched after we talk or listen to somebody instead of, you know, sharing our information and there are times where, yeah, we want to share, we want to talk through, but then there's also times to listen and I think it's an acquired sense, if we can call it that, of being okay to sit or stand and listen to somebody talk, whether how interesting or whether how uninteresting what they're talking about, and so to bring that listening ear that your mom had and pass that down to you still to this day of you're very much an investigative, of, like you said, talking to this group or that group and wanting to represent the folklore as it was seen or heard and not put your fin on it, because that'd be something that's easy, to easy to do. But you, you keep it authentic back to that person or back to that organization, or back to that country or city or state or beach or what, what have you, and I think it just holds us and and it teaches us this you know,

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

lessons of you know? The answer is always no. If we don't ask and we're not gonna learn anything other than what we, we, we know or what we think, if we're not gonna take uh time to listen to, to others and and that's what I draw from just the process of how mythical creatures around the world started with your mom and then having you, uh, you know, continue on that torch uh forward and continuing those, uh, those important traits that your, your mom, had while she was living on on earth and uh, I, I, I know that she's proud of you and uh, just sitting here talking to us today, that uh, she would probably most likely say like wow, like that's, you know, that's that's what I intended mythical creatures around the world to be, um, and then to kind of see and say, you know, yeah, that's, that's my son, and kind of just have that smile, that nod, give a hug and kiss, and that's very, very important. And I think it's a big part of why you do what you do and have done what you have done is because there's passion there. It's not just a, it's not just a task or a project. You want to bring that project, that folklore, as close as humanly possible, to the people, the organizations, the individuals that saw it, that heard it, and I think that we all can learn a lot.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Whether we write folklore, whether we read folklore, whether we've seen something, whether we've heard something I think we can all apply. You know that listening ear of you know we're going to learn something when we take the time to listen. You know the world's not all about us as individuals. It's about humanity, about God and all of those elements really put together, and so I gather that's another big reason of why mythical creatures around the world have been, and continues to be so popular, not just with people and organizations in the United States, but all across the world. So thank you for sharing that, david. We're less than a minute away from cutting out, so we want to also thank our viewers, our listeners, for tuning in this time and every time and check out other episodes that we have. We have over 270 other episodes, and we thank you for tuning in wherever you're at watching, listening, and until next time, please be a voice for you or somebody in need. We'll see you next time.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Justin Alan Hayes

Host