This week on MYTH, we're headed to the Far East for a pair of folktales from Japan.  Both stories heavily feature the peony, but they take very different paths.  The first is the tale of a lonely girl in feudal Japan.  She is to be married to a man she's never met and she's not sure how she feels about it.  The second story is about a rich, drunken frat boy of a samurai who falls in love with a beautiful woman in the woods.  Unfortunately, he's a drunken frat boy, so hijinks ensue.  Then, in Gods and Monsters, we meet a ghostly Japanese school girl because I couldn't do my first story from Japan and NOT tell a schoolgirl ghost story.

This week on MYTH, it's a story near and dear to my heart; it's the Norse account of the invention of beer. It's everything you'd expect a Viking story about alcohol to be! It has Odin being a sneaky dick (because sky gods are assholes), Thor doing a bad job of being sneaky, and fights with giant sea monsters. If you saw the Marvel movies and wondered if Thor could really be that much of a meathead, this episode will answer that with an unequivocal YES. Then, in Gods and Monsters, it's the story of the Draugr, a viking version of the revenant. It's a terrifying zombie capable of a ludicrous number of terrible things because the Norse never did things by half measures.

This week on MYTH, it's a story near and dear to my heart; it's the Norse account of the invention of beer.  It's everything you'd expect a Viking story about alcohol to be! It has Odin being a sneaky dick (because sky gods are assholes), Thor doing a bad job of being sneaky, and fights with giant sea monsters.  If you saw the Marvel movies and wondered if Thor could really be that much of a meathead, this episode will answer that with an unequivocal YES.  Then, in Gods and Monsters, it's the story of the Draugr, a viking version of the revenant.  It's a terrifying zombie capable of a ludicrous number of terrible things because the Norse never did things by half measures.

It's Halloween, so it's time for the creepy legend of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island. This is a weird story that pops up a lot in popular culture (everywhere from Spawn Comics to Supernatural to American Horror Story), so this week we'll be getting in to what happened leading up to the colony's disappearance and the stories about what happened. Then, in Gods and Monsters, it's the story of the skinwalker, a creature from Navajo folklore that proves that the werewolves in Twilight were definitely evil witches.

It's Halloween, so it's time for the creepy legend of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island.  This is a weird story that pops up a lot in popular culture (everywhere from Spawn Comics to Supernatural to American Horror Story), so this week we'll be getting in to what happened leading up to the colony's disappearance and the stories about what happened.  Then, in Gods and Monsters, it's the story of the skinwalker, a creature from Navajo folklore that proves that the werewolves in Twilight were definitely evil witches.

This week on MYTH, it's the story of Anansi, a trickster god from West African folklore. It's a tale about how we got stories in the first place, and it's one of my favorites. If you've never met Anansi before, you're in for a treat. His smartass wisecracks and his ability to be a pain in the ass to those in power make him spiritual cousins with Peter Parker, and he's appeared in at least a few Spiderman comics. Then, in Gods and Monsters, it's the Popobawa, a recent monster with an unfortunate way of waking you up at night.

This week on MYTH, it's the story of Anansi, a trickster god from West African folklore.  It's a tale about how we got stories in the first place, and it's one of my favorites.  If you've never met Anansi before, you're in for a treat.  His smartass wisecracks and his ability to be a pain in the ass to those in power make him spiritual cousins with Peter Parker, and he's appeared in at least a few Spiderman comics.  Then, in Gods and Monsters, it's the Popobawa, a recent monster with an unfortunate way of waking you up at night.

This is the second of the two-part episode on the ancient Greek creation myth. In this episode, I'll cover the story of Pandora and her famous box and the creation and destruction of multiple populations. The Gods and Monsters segment this week covers Empousa, the seductive, fire-haired forerunner of the vampire.

This is the second of the two-part episode on the ancient Greek creation myth.  In this episode, I'll cover the story of Pandora and her famous box and the creation and destruction of multiple populations.  The Gods and Monsters segment this week covers Empousa, the seductive, fire-haired forerunner of the vampire.