"Dark Parade," a phrase in a Emily Dickinson’s poem, captures the spirit of the Victorian cult of death, a social movement built on strict mourning rules and funerals, the fetishizing of ephemera of the dead, a movement that was meant to beautify and romanticize the horrific. In this first part of our look into Victorian mourning and death, we explore death ... Show More
May 31
10 Things in the Appalachian Woods That Shouldn’t Be There
There’s an old rule in the Appalachian Mountains, if you hear your name called from the woods, don’t answer. This week, we’re delving into the hills to find out why. We cover folklore from a 200-year-old Tennessee haunting that killed a man, to a 10-foot creature that emerged in ... Show More
1h 11m
Apr 21
Bloom and Rot - A Rural Village Spring Folk-Horror
Join Alyson for a work of folk horror fiction she wrote in honor of the new spring season. In this episode, we follow Fiona, who has gone to the village of Eldergrove after the death of her aunt, to claim her inheritance of Aunt Erin's cottage. However, this inheritance came with ... Show More
46m 20s
Feb 2026
Away with the Fairies: The Changeling Murder of Bridget Cleary
In 1895 Ireland, Bridget Cleary was killed by those who believed she had been replaced by a fairy changeling. In this episode we explore the eerie folklore of the Aos Sí, the fear that fueled her murder, and how superstition turned deadly in modern Ireland. Hosted by Simplecast, ... Show More
55m 55s
Mar 2020
Classic Tides: The Black Death Revisited
<p>In light of current events, we are re-posting one of my favorite episodes (from June, 2018) on the Black Death.</p><p>Between 1346 and 1351, the Black Death killed tens of millions of people - at least half the population - in Europe and the Middle East. This great mortality, ... Show More
52m 36s
Aug 2018
Fanny and Stella: The Cross-Dressing Scandal of Victorian England
In April of 1870, a shocking court case captivated Victorian England: Fanny and Stella, also known as Frederick Park and Ernest Boulton, were arrested after attending a play at The Strand (in what was then considered inappropriate dress) and held on suspicion of violating the mor ... Show More
34m 23s
Feb 2016
Ep 158 - Beloved, by Toni Morrison
<p>Widely regarded as one of the best, and most important books, of the last half-century, Toni Morrison's Beloved is an unflinching examination of how the past can enslave just as painfully as a yoke or a whip can - and how our inability to wrestle with the past begets wrongdoin ... Show More
56m 43s