Ülo Valk is the Professor of Estonian and Comparative Folklore, University of Tartu. His publications include The Black Gentleman: Manifestations of the Devil in Estonian Folk Religion, and two edited volumes: Vernacular Religion in Everyday Life, and Storied and Supernatural Places. During 2003-2004 he was Fulbright Fellow at the Center for Folklore and Ethnography, University of Pennsylvania. During 2005-2009 he served as president of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR). His recent research has focused on belief narratives, place-lore, folklore in the social context, and vernacular Hinduism.