Our Numinous Nature

Megan Rowland of Wayfaring Hind is a deer stalker, land manager, & crofter in the legendary Scottish Highlands. On this long-distance correspondence, we get a taste of Highland tradition, history, flora & fauna, such as: crofting, salt panning, the Picts, black pudding & haggis, peat bogs, working for an estate, red & roe deer, the last wolves & foraging. For her story, Megan describes how a Highland hunt would play out, a first-timer blood ritual, & her own experience from life-long vegetarian to deer stalker. We end on hunting as meditation, tweed, ferreting, & preserving culture. 

Check out Megan's Wayfaring Hind & follow along on Instagram. 

Music provided by Małgorzata Priebe

"My Heart's in the Highlands"
Written by Arvo Pärt
Performed by Małgorzata Priebe and Błażej Musiałczyk
Courtesy of Małgorzata Priebe

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Contact: [email protected]

Dr. Jamie Day is a physics professor & the curator of the Monroe Moosnick Medical & Science Museum [a collection of 19th-century medical oddities & science equipment] at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. This morbid tour through the old cabinets leads us into trepanning, electrified corpses, syphilis, phrenology, grave robbing students, a mummified child, country doctors, folk medicine hairballs & much, much more. For his personal story, Jamie describes an unnerving find in the university's storage, that of a charred, 200-year-old wax model known as an Anatomical Venus. In closing, we hear of some of the collection's wildest oddities we nearly forgot about: a figurine of a parasitic twin & a comically grotesque tobacco pipe!

Learn more about the Moosnick Museum & follow along on Facebook.

Music provided by New Trinity Baroque

"Oboe Concerto in D minor, Op. 9, No. 2. I. Allegro e non presto"
Written by Tomaso Albinoni
Performed by New Trinity Baroque & Nevena Majdevac
Courtesy of Predrag Gosta of New Trinity Baroque

"Oboe Concerto in D minor, Op. 9, No. 2. II. Adagio"
Written by Tomaso Albinoni
Performed by New Trinity Baroque & Nevena Majdevac
Courtesy of Predrag Gosta of New Trinity Baroque

"Oboe Concerto in D minor, Op. 9, No. 2. III. Allegro"
Written by Tomaso Albinoni
Performed by New Trinity Baroque & Nevena Majdevac
Courtesy of Predrag Gosta of New Trinity Baroque

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Mike Ousley is an Appalachian folk artist & a natural storyteller from the deep, dark hills of Eastern Kentucky. We begin on country music, murder ballads, southern gothic literature & folk art. From there Ousley rattles off wild local lore: an exorcism, a resurrected witch, sitting up with the dead, the haint under Ol' Man Chester's house, "Burn 'em out" [a neighborly-feud phrase], coal towns, & black walnut necromancy. For story time Ousley recounts his own experiences with devil dogs & a mysterious high-beamed light, way back in the mountains. We end this folklore bonanza on regional folkways, folk magic, and mountain eccentrics. 

Check out Ousley's artwork at Mike Ousley Fine Art & follow along on his Instagram. To buy a painting visit or reach out to Haley Fine Art gallery.

Music provided by Earl Suitor

"Down in the Willow Garden"
Performed by Earl Suitor
Courtesy of Earl Suitor


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Contact: [email protected]

Earl Suitor, formerly a firefighter & EMT, is an avid caver & the current Eastern Region National Cave Rescue Commission Deputy Resource Section Chief in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. We begin with why Appalachia's geology makes for good caving, then ruminate on the inherent mystery of caves, hear about the historical mining of bat guano, learn about fossils & ancient cat scratches, & the reasons behind secrecy in the caving community. In story form, Earl describes how a cave rescue plays out with examples from finding a lost couple in West Virginia to a shocking tragedy in Utah & the famous cave flood in Thailand. Earl then shares harrowing lessons learned from his firefighting & EMT days, opening profound conversations about "burn out," dying, & his interest in world religions.

If you'd like to go caving & learn more, reach out to your regional caving club [grotto] through Caves.org.

Music provided by Jan Laurenz

"First Song on Lyre Harp"
Written by Jan Laurenz
Courtesy of Jan Laurenz

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Rita Mae Brown is a prolific New York Times bestselling author, and a master of foxhounds & huntsman with the Oak Ridge Fox Hunt Club in Afton, Virginia. We open on St. Hubert [patron saint of hunters & hounds], the old world occupation of royal huntsman, & get into modern - no kill - equestrian fox hunting. We hear examples of the fox's witty participation, learn some hound history, get insight into the formal wardrobe etiquette, and paint a picture of a day in the field. In the last section, Rita Mae explains her deep animal friendships starting from her orphaned childhood. She shares two short stories, one about a mounted specter & another about animal sentience & love. We end on a couple of Rita Mae's heroins, the huntress queens of old Europe.

Browse Rita Mae's many books.

***A ST. HUBERT'S DAY RECIPE***
Boulets Liégeois: From the city of Liège, these Belgian meatballs in a sweet & savory fruit sauce served with fries are absolutely mouthwatering. You'll need to order a vital ingredient, Sirop de Liège, a thick, dark apple & pear sauce dating back to the 1600's or you can substitute for a milder flavor with apple butter. Recipe should work just fine with pork, beef, venison, beaver, wild boar.

Music provided by Dr. Clare Longendyke & Dr. Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek

"Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat Major, D. 929, Op. 100 II. Andante con moto "
Written by Franz Peter Schubert
Performed by Trio Fiore
Courtesy of Dr. Clare Longendyke

"Meditation"
Written by Dr. Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek
Performed by Modern Medieval
Courtesy of Dr. Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek

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Contact: [email protected]

On this Halloween bonus episode, we are trying something new! Instead of a guest, I read eerie stories submitted by podcast listeners. Your all's folklore! We've got a dozen tales from the likes of outdoorsmen, hunters, herbalists, and homesteaders on three dark & mysterious themes: supernatural events, ghosts & spirits, and haunted houses. You'll hear about unexplainable roars in the George Washington National Forest, whispers in Hell's Hollow, & an accidental suicide that not only haunts a family's home, but their dreams...

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Check out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my art

Contact: [email protected]

Mike Seibel is a Shenandoah Valley ghost-tour guide, history buff & founder of Black Raven Paranormal in Staunton, Virginia. This Halloween special begins on abandoned lunatic asylums from the 1800-1900's: what they were like in their time,  dark ideas of American eugenics, the local DeJarnette Sanitarium, and a story about Marty's paranormal investigation of the notoriously haunted Pennhurst Asylum. Then we get into more of his traveling investigations: a grisly axe-murder house, the apparition of a Gettysburg midwife, a cursed doll named Robert, and a demonic country bar. We end on paranormal etiquette, his overall grounded approach, & insight from working with mediums.

Join one of Marty's Staunton ghost tours & check out his Black Raven Paranormal YouTube channel.

Support Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.

Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on Instagram

Check out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my art

Contact: [email protected]

Les O'Dell of Marion County, West Virginia is a paranormal investigator, cryptid enthusiast, & collector of strange stories from across his home state. For his second appearance on the podcast, we start lightheartedly on the the annual Mothman Festival then get into the famous regional cryptids & mysterious happenings we missed last time: The Flatwoods Monster, the awful Vegetable Man, Missing 411, calling to Big Foot in Pocahontas County, Dolly Sods UFO sightings, & even feral people.  For his stories, Les shares one about a ghost girl & another about his paranormal research of a witch's grave in a back holler. No doubt, this one will get you in touch with the Halloween spirits...

Follow WV Cryptids & Strange Encounters on Facebook & check out Les' booklet West Virginia Cryptids: A Visual Guide to Traversing the Mountain State.


Support Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.

Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on Instagram

Check out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my art

Contact: [email protected]

Ed Daniels of Shady Grove Botanicals is a ginseng forest farmer, root buyer, and herbal medicine maker in Randolph County, West Virginia. Ed gives us a glimpse into the intriguing international ginseng industry: the WV digging license, old timer ethics, meth-addict poachers, what the Asian market is looking for, farmed ginseng vs wild simulated. We hear of its cultural & medicinal value through anecdotes about a Korean preacher & locals who struggle with pharmaceutical opioid addiction, followed by Ed treating his own cancer diagnosis with wild mushrooms. From there we touch on the Appalachian Outlaws TV show, how to find ginseng in the mountains & tips for farming it. In the last few minutes, Ed shares a heartbreaking story about a local boy from a broken home & speaks to his Plant A Seed project, giving Appalachian kids hope through growing food.

Check out Shady Grove Botanicals and follow them on Instagram.


Support Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.

Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on Instagram

Check out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my art

Contact: [email protected]

Mike Hull is a retired game warden, outdoorsman, special deputy, & the founder of Hull's Tracking School where he teaches man-tracking to law enforcement, search & rescue, & military organizations from his home in Nelson County, Virginia. Mike illustrates how to man-track by describing a handful of cases: the armed robbery of a rural post office; a questionable camper in The Shenandoah National Park; a serial burglar; followed by an encounter from his game warden days with backwoods moonshiners. For his story, we hear about a profound period of soul searching while Mike worked at a maximum security prison, culminating in a full-body religious experience. We wrap it up on the bear gallbladder black market, survivalist herbalism, water witching, & his famous remote-viewing neighbor. 

Check out his tracking school, Hull's Tracking School.

Music provided by Earl Suitor

"Wildwood Flower"
Written by Joseph Philbrick Webster
Performed by Earl Suitor
Courtesy of Earl Suitor


Support Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.

Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on Instagram

Check out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my art

Contact: [email protected]