Exploring Halloween’s Secret Christian History, Our Old Costumes, and Spooky Reads

It’s spooky season yet again! This year, we’re diving into the diverse European roots of Halloween, doing a fashion review of Cullen’s previous Halloween costumes, and deconstructing Hannah’s trauma with Christian haunted houses known as Hell Houses. Grab your cape, cat, and cauldron and join us for a lot of lore and even more reminiscing about Boston.

Research for this episode:

• Trick or Treat | A History of Souling, Guising and Trick or Treating – Lady of the Library

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Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

HOLY CANNOLI GUACAMOLE! We’re getting extra spoozy–spooky and cozy–with the 2018 indie web series A.S.S.: A Scary Sleepover. Cullen and Hannah chat with the series’ writer and director, Casey, about the Filipino lore of the dreaded aswang featured in the story, her inspiration behind giving a shout to Rob Schneider while on the toilet, and whether there will be a part two . So, erect your blanket forts, turn out your lights, and join us for this spoozy chat.

You can find A.S.S.: A Scary Sleepover and the MYX News channel on YouTube.

Check out Casey’s other content at cassandrapimentel.com, and follow her on social media @cassandra.pimentel! 

Research for this episode:

• Aswang – Cryptid Wiki

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Watch Us on YouTube! 

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

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Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

We took the highway to hell to explore the world of Sanctuary and the lore of the Diablo video game series. Come get your sprinkling of the deep, rich lore of the Sumerian, Judeo-Christian, and Islamic demons, too! Cullen apologizes to his mom for not having his holy water with him, Hannah kicks herself for never asking Cullen about his experience with exorcists, Josh recounts his harrowing trials in Diablo IV hardcore mode, and we all spend most of the episode stanning Lilith. 

Big thanks to Josh for sharing his Diablo knowledge and suggesting we cover this hellishly cool story! Check out Josh on social media: @whatsgoodjosh 

Research for this episode:

• The Sumerian creation myth: Britannica

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Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

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Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan & Josh Adkins. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Monster Prom

We’re gamers now! In light of the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strike in Hollywood, we’re going to cover some of our favorite (and least favorite) fantasy video games! We talk about the indie video game franchise Monster Prom, Cullen quizzes Hannah on a smattering of lore about practically every creature from horror-fantasy lore, and Hannah laments about not being able to date the hottest gorgon at school.

Interested in Monster Prom? Check it out on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/743450/Monster_Prom/ 

Research for this episode:

• Monster Prom Wiki: https://monster-prom.fandom.com/wiki/Monster_Prom_Wiki

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Watch Us on YouTube! 

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan & Hannah Sylvester. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Hi lovely listeners. Due to current guidelines from SAG-AFTRA we will be putting Not My Fantasy on pause. 

In the meantime watch Cullen's Mythology Twitch show. Camp Oracle at Outside in Theater.

Watch Us on YouTube! 

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan.

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Hercules (1997) (feat. Jon Reilly of Life’s But a Song)

We’re going from zero to hero to start off mythology month. That’s right, we’re talking about Disney’s dreamy demigod, Hercules! We won’t say we’re in love because we have mixed feelings about this movie that millennials really, REALLY love. Titan-sized thanks to our special guest, Jon, for teaming up for this legendary podcast crossover event. 

Be sure to head over to Life’s But a Song, available anywhere you listen to NMF, to hear our thoughts on the music in this Disney animated musical. And follow Jon’s podcast on social media, @butasongpod!

Research for this episode:

• Thomas Bulfinch’s Mythology

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Watch Us on YouTube! 

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

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Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Check out Camp Oracle at Outside in Theater

MINISODE: Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023)

PLOT TWIST! Benevolent sea creature season isn’t over just yet. Cullen and Hannah talk about Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, a movie they both thought would be very shallow and not good. Turns out, it’s got deep layers of pro-xenophia propaganda, complex multi-generational mother-daughter relationships, and enough surface-level anti-mermaid discourse and Disney deconstruction to turn this minisode into, well, an episode.

Check out Camp Oracle, a four-episode, live D&D campaign series Cullen is hosting with Outside In Theatre. It premieres Tuesday, July 18, at 7PM PST/10EST on Twitch at twitch.tv/outsideinthtr. Make sure to follow Outside In Theatre on Instagram (@outsideinthtr), too.

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Watch Us on YouTube! 

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Hannah Sylvester. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

The Little Mermaid (2023) (feat. Debbie Danielpour)

It’s our final dive under the sea this year, and we watched the Little Mermaid 2023 live-action remake. We’re joined by one of our professors from grad school, screenwriter Debbie Danielpour, to dissect this adaptation and bemoan the Disney live-action remake as a genre. We’re light on lore but heavy on the hot takes, like loving the “Scuttlebutt” song, hating that the fish in “Under the Sea” don’t play their bodies like instruments, and being very bored by Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula.

Thank you so much to Debbie for reminiscing about our grad school days and making us feel special anytime she said we made a good point.

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Watch Us on YouTube! 

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Luca (2021) (feat. Derek Shea)

Ciao! Piacere, amici! We’re spending part of our Mer-May/Mer-Summer in the beautiful Italian Riviera with the 2021 Pixar animated film, Luca! First, we get a brief tasting of multiple sea creature mythologies from all over the world. Then, we dive into the queer-coded plot and character dynamics, cringe at the bottom-feeder villain, and celebrate the powerful friendships between Luca, Alberto and Guilia. Oh, and Hannah finally admits she was wrong in hate-turning off this movie when she first tried to watch it in 2021 because she thought the movie was going to be something else. Spoiler alert: It’s her fantasy!

Big thanks to our special guest and friend-of-the-pod Derek for joining us in celebrating Pride Month. Give him a follow on Instagram @derek_shea. 

P.S. - Please forgive our technical difficulties with Derek’s video and audio freezing and getting robotic sometimes. Elsa, Queen Emeritus of Arendelle, cursed his internet modem. 

Research for this episode:

• Mermaids and the African Diaspora - The Fairy Tellers

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Watch Us on YouTube! 

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Episode 17: The Little Mermaid (1989) (feat. Fairy Tale Fix)

We’re under da sea with Abbie and Kelsey of the Fairy Tale Fix podcast, diving into the world of The Little Mermaid (1989). We talk about mythology and literary tales that inspired this Disney Renaissance classic, including the story of Undine and the Hans Christian Andersen tale “The Little Mermaid.” And we cover the metaphor of queerness that mermaids have always possessed, gush over how amazing Ursula is as a girlboss sea witch, and praise Eric for rolling with the punches to help out his hot-mess girlfriend Ariel.

Check out Fairy Tale Fix on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter @fairytalefixpod. And be sure to listen to all of their mermaid content for even more deep, gay lore about these sea creatures and the bi disaster Hans Christian Andersen. You can find them wherever you listen to Not My Fantasy!

Research for this episode:

• The Little Mermaid - Hans Christian Andersen

Our recommendations for other content:

• Mermaids of the African Diaspora - The Fairy Tellers Podcast

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Watch Us on YouTube! 

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.