This week we are diving in the wonderful world of Harry Potter. We learn all about the Hand of Glory, a grisly artifact with a rich history in folklore. Turns out J.K. Rowling didn't make it up and it actually goes back to the 17th century!
Learn more and listen now!


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Links!

https://whitbymuseum.org.uk/whats-here/collections/special-collections/hand-of-glory/

https://folklorethursday.com/folklife/dark-folklore-hand-glory-dead-mens-hands-folk-magic/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/morbid-monday-severed-hands

https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-unlikely-escapades-of-oliver-cromwells-head

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2018/11/07/brief-history-displaying-opponents-severed-heads/

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This week we are tackling the mother of all cryptozoological legends- Bigfoot! Erin will present Sarah all the evidence like the the footprint casts, supposed frozen carcasses, fur, even a tooth. Once Erin's laid it all out, she and Sarah will decide if there really is something out there in the California woods. 
Join us! 

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Sources

https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/bigfoot_sasquatch_legend/#.YcI_9y9lDmo

https://statemuseum.arizona.edu/online-exhibit/curators-choice/tracking-legend-bigfoot

Buzzfeed unsolved 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sasquatch

http://www.physics.smu.edu/~pseudo/bigfootreview.pdf

https://blog.newspapers.com/find-bigfoot-sightings-in-history/

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On this episode, we are covering the Mothman Prophecies, starring Richard Gere. We will be traveling to Point Pleasant, West Virginia to investigate the monster featured in the movie. Erin will present the case for and against sightings of the monster and the various creatures that the Mothman could be. Could the area's abandoned government industrial plant be responsible for such a strange creature? Or was it really a harbinger of death, responsible for the infamous collapse of the Silver Bridge?
Find out now! 

Sources

https://www.npr.org/local/309/2019/10/28/773566283/the-case-of-the-chicago-mothman

Monstrum 

Mysteries at the Muesum 

https://www.amazon.com/Mothman-Point-Pleasant-Lyle-Blackburn/dp/B0718X896G

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This week we are covering the legend of gargoyles. Are they little grotesques built for the amusement of stone masons? Or were they created to blend ancient folklore into the new religion of Christianity. We’ll answer that question, plus tell you the tale of the monster that inspired the legend of the gargoyles. 


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Sources

Monstrum
Wikipedia 

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This week we are covering the Grim Reaper. Sure, we are all familiar with the scary dude who skulks around in a robe and scythe. But just like your friendly neighborhood shrink, we want to dig a littler deeper. We focus on his origin story, where he merged from the middle of the black plague like a beacon of...well, death. But he helped people to accept the inevitability of death when Europe's population was basically wiped out.

Learn more about why the Reaper is a misunderstood hero, on episode 15!

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This week we are talking about the movie Disney movie, Brave. We won’t be covering Merida’s red hair, as glorious as it is, but instead focusing on the wisps that lead Merida to change her date. 
The beautiful little wisps have a rich history in Europe and Latin America. For instance, in Ireland, there’s a story about Jack who tricks the devil into giving him an eternal light. There’s another great one in Mexico, where the wisps are witches who transform to lure people to their death. Or if you’re in Scandinavia, the wisps will lead you to fairytale gold. 
As always, we learn what and who to avoid, just in case fairies appear. Basically, swamps, bogs and marshes are off limits. 
 Once we figure out just what wisps are and where they appear, we find out if science has an explanation. Bioluminescence, natural gases, or perhaps good old fashioned car headlights? We’ll find out, listen now! 

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Sources! 

https://historydaily.org/will-o-the-wisp-deadly-fairy-lights

https://www.surfandsunshine.com/will-o-the-wisp-brave/

Lady Gregory, Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland, with two essays and notes by W. B. Yeats, series 1 (New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1920), p. 9.

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This week's episode is all about the legendary sea monster, the kraken. 

You've probably heard the phrase, "Release the Kraken!" Well, we discuss the origins of the phrase, the monster they were referring to, and then we do our favorite bit- explain the origins of the monster! We go all the way back to 12th century Norway when King Severre warned his sailors to take heed and look out for monsters! What was he referring to? What was eating sailors out on the high seas? Find out on this week's episode!

And then for some added mythology fun, we look at the sea monsters featured in Greek legend. We talk about sea monsters with tentacles, dogs heads coming out of funny places, monsters with multiple heads, and more! It's enough to scare Odysseus back to Penelope, post haste!

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Sources!

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/67371/15-kraken-facts-and-myths-unleash-conversation

Monstrum 

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Kraken-depicted-with-a-more-octopus-like-appearance-attacking-a-ship-Author_fig1_267732069

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In the immortal words of the 2001 movie, Get Over It,
“Did you ever read a Shakespeare play? And not understand a word they say? Well tonight we’re going to make things clear. 
Because Shakespeare’s dead and we’re all here.”

This week’s episode is about Midsummer’s Night Dream. We're making sense of Shakespeare's flowery words and complicated plot, discussing the different interpretations of it, and then ending with the riot that took down a beloved Opera House right in the middle of a Shakespearean performance.  

Our movie this week is the modern modern reinterpretation of the play, called, Get Over It, starring Kirsten Dunst.  It's a great teen romantic comedy that attempts to put on Midsummer Night’s Dream as the school play.  Dunst shines as always as the heroine and we cheer when she finally gets together with her hero, Ben Foster. Martin Short is a stand out as a slightly unstable music teacher who dreams of Broadway. 

Once we’ve covered the movie, we move on to the play itself. Shakespeare was inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses and makes some allusions to it in the play. We’ll talk about Hermia and Puck and the great scene when Puck sprinkles fiery dust so the fairy queen falls in love with an ass. Who among us cannot relate? 

Last up is a discussion of the Astor Opera House Riot. Two Shakespearean actors fight in the public arena as a mere squabble quickly becomes about class as well as America’s own identity as a culture. And of course, the riot turns deadly.

It’s a rollicking good time as always so be sure to tune in. 

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Sources!

Staton, W. F. (1963). Ovidian Elements in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Huntington Library Quarterly, 26(2), 165–178. https://doi.org/10.2307/3816813

Dent, R. W. (1964). Imagination in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Shakespeare Quarterly, 15(2), 115–129. https://doi.org/10.2307/2867882

Marshall, D. (1982). Exchanging Visions: Reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream. ELH, 49(3), 543–575. https://doi.org/10.2307/2872755

Mysteries at the Muesum

https://shakespeareandbeyond.folger.edu/2017/05/09/astor-place-riot-macbeth-new-york/

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This week's episode is all about shapeshifting. We go all the way back to ancient Mesopotamia to learn where shapeshifting originated. We talk about the epic of Gilgamesh and the first angry shapeshifting goddess, Ishtar.  
After we cover ancient shapeshifters, we focus more on the modern versions.  There's werewolves and the lesser known, werehyenas. Werehyenas are a staple of Africa and have some surprising connections to the Jewish population in Ethiopia. But no podcast could be complete without a Harry Potter reference. We talk about the animagus featured within it and whether Rita Skeeter would thrive at the National Enquirer. 
Our last story is one of a real life shapeshifter. His name was Korla Pandit and he was a piano prodigy. He took Hollywood by storm, had his own show and even counted Errol Flynn as a friend. But he had a secret that could cost him everything. 

Join us!

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Sources:

https://www.austinfilm.org/2020/10/watch-this-the-narcotic-exotica-of-tvs-mysterious-korla-pandit/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-a-black-man-from-missouri-passed-as-an-indian-pop-star

https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/evolving-forms-intriguing-look-shapeshifting-003491

Monstrum 

Kaplan, S., & Rosen, C. (1994). Ethiopian Jews in Israel. The American Jewish Year Book, 94, 59–109. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23605644

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On this week's episode, we are talking about the modern interpretation of Taming of the Shrew. How does it differ from the source material, does it hold up and is it better than the original play? We discuss the 1967 movie, Taming of the Shrew, starring legendary couple, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton. There's also some discussion about whether or not Shakespeare is a feminist or not, or whether we can even label him with our own modern terms.
If you like 10 Things I Hate about You, this is the show for you. Full of fun facts and we dive into Shakespeare. Erin and Sarah are not Shakespeare scholars but the man wrote for the masses, and what are we, if not the masses?
Check it out now!

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