Do you have an experience with a Spirit Board/Ouija? While most have heard of a wild Ouija story from either a friend or seen it being used in horror movies - what some may not know that the Ouija has very unassuming origins. This week, Allison discusses the unexpected history of the spirit boards - why and when they were created - as well as how spirit boards are said to work (psst, it's not as spiritual as you may think!)

Recorded Remotely and Edited by Allison Varca and Meghan Pavlovsky. Music credits to Michael Vontas. 

Sources:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-strange-and-mysterious-history-of-the-ouija-board-5860627/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouida

https://www.vox.com/2016/10/29/13301590/how-ouija-boards-work-debunked-ideomotor-effect

Ahooooooooo Happy Halloween everybody! This week on O.O.T.A. Meg dives into the dark history behind European werewolf folklore. We uncover the heinously real criminal acts that were portrayed as supernatural atrocities committed by werewolves. Maybe sexy wolf is more of your speed? We touch on a little of both in this episode so take a listen and let us know what you think!

CW: mentions of murder, violence, assault, torture

Recorded and edited by Meghan Pavlovsky and Allison Varca. Music by Mike Vontas. 

Sources:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/topics/folklore/history-of-the-werewolf-legend

https://www.history.com/.amp/news/werewolf-trials-europe-witches

https://www.britannica.com/science/lycanthropy

https://www.historicmysteries.com/werewolf-legends/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%B6lsunga_saga

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycaon_(king_of_Arcadia)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Stumpp

We are finally back after a longer than planned hiatus, friends, and just in time for spooky season! Meg and Allison catch up on some spooky travels and spooky events they went on separately during the podcast break and then chat about some "out of the average" media! 

**Trigger Warning - though most of the mention is brief: War, Child Loss, Gore, Murder** 

Mentioned in Episode!: 

-Farnsworth Inn (Gettysburg, PA): http://www.farnsworthhouseinn.com/ 

-House of Spirits (NYC): https://houseofspiritssoiree.com/new-york/

Malignant - 39:20

Midnight Mass - 49:20

We present to you our short and sweet Media Review Episode for July 2021! Note: We plan on taking a midsummer hiatus for the month of August. See you all in September.

Recorded and Edited by Allison Varca and Meghan Pavlovsky. Music Credits to Michael Vontas.

Time Stamps:

Books:

A Song of Achilles 3:40

The Silence of the Girls 8:10

Movies:

Old 16:40

This week Meg dives into the roots of the Spiritualism Movement in the United States- the Fox Sisters. We start by talking about the incident in 1848 New York which kicked off a career of celebrity mediumship for Maggie, Kate, and Leah Fox. Keep your ears and mind open, and let us know what you think!

Recorded and Edited by Meghan Pavlovsky and Allison Varca. Music by Mike Vontas. 

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burned-over_district

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualism#Origins

The Complete Book of Ghosts by Paul Roland Pages 46-51

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-fox-sisters-and-the-rap-on-spiritualism-99663697/

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/11/04/in-the-joints-of-their-toes/

This week's topic for the pod is not quite "out of the average" but definitely interesting all the same. Allison goes over basic game theory to introduce Meghan to three well-known and puzzling game theory dilemmas: The Prisoner's Dilemma, the Volunteer's Dilemma, and the Traveler's Dilemma. Stuck in between these theories and some other moral dilemmas, what would you do? Happy listening.

Recorded Remotely and Edited by Allison Varca and Meghan Pavlovsky. Music Credits to Michael Vontas.

Sources:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gametheory.asp

https://healthcare-in-europe.com/en/news/this-is-where-your-brain-makes-up-its-mind-about-moral-dilemmas.html

https://www.buzzfeed.com/tracyclayton/moral-dilemmas-that-will-break-your-brain

*Explicit Content Mentioned* You guys know the drill. The fourth Friday of the month is our media episode! Check time stamps below to see what we are chatting about. Happy listening! 

Time Stamps

Meg and Allison's Origin Story 3:11

Movies:

Midsommar 7:27

Luca 17:00

Shows:

Blood of Zeus 23:40

Koishite Akuma ~ Vampire Boy ~ 35:50

Happy summer y'all! The summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is just a few days away from the release of this episode so we figured we'd go into a little bit of the history and practices of Midsummer! Stick around for the end of the episode as Allison treats us to a collective Oracle reading for some solstice guidance. Enjoy!

Recorded and Edited by Meghan Pavlovsky and Allison Varca. Music by Mike Vontas.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_solstice

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer

https://druidry.org/druid-way/teaching-and-practice/druid-festivals/summer-solstice-alban-hefin

https://www.learnreligions.com/holly-king-and-the-oak-king-2562991

https://stairnaheireann.net/2016/04/13/the-holly-and-oak-king/amp/

https://www.goddessandgreenman.co.uk/litha/