The Buried Moon was collected by a folklorist in the North Lincolnshire Carrs, in the Ancholme Valley of the late nineteenth century. It is considered unusual because of its mythological character, uncommon in English popular folk tales. This has led some to doubt about its authenticity, though other scholars have defended its credentials.

At one time in the past, the Carrs were a region of wetlands surrounding the Ancholme River which were subject to regular flooding, until artificial drainage allowed them to be claimed for pastureland and agriculture. A possible location for the town or village mentioned in this tale is the medieval market town of Glanford Brigg, or the neighbouring hamlet of Scawby Brook, which sit on the River Ancholme. Glanford Brigg was a crossing point on the river as far back as 1138, and prehistoric boats and buildings have been discovered in the area. The town's formal charter for a weekly market and yearly fair date from a royal grant in 1205. The town was a source for several early recordings of English folk songs, and is itself the subject of the traditional ballad Brigg Fair.

The Buried Moon includes a wealth of folklore references. We encounter a wise woman who fills the role of the helpful wizard, explaining supernatural events and providing detailed magical instructions the protagonists must follow to the letter.  There is the injunction against speaking whilst moving through fairy-touched lands; the hazel twigs they are instructed to carry were a common instrument for dowsing - employing a magical wand to discover underground springs or buried treasure - and the magical ghost lights or will-o-the-wisps, which mark the place where the moon is buried in this story, were also reputed to mark the locations of buried treasure.

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