Since before the days when ancient Irish kings lit a bonfire on the Hill of Tlachtga, Scots, Picts, Irish, and English tribes such as Druids celebrated the feast of Samhain (SOW-an). Falling on the midpoint between the autumn equinox and winter solstice, Samhain is a celebration of the abundance of the harvest, and the thinning of the veil into the world of the dead. 

This special bonus episode of Powerful Trouble discusses the lore surrounding this Celtic witch's holiday, and the ways it's influenced modern celebrations of Halloween and All Saints Day. 

Music via imslp.org
Sound Effects via zapsplat.com 
Visit powerfultroublepodcast.com for sources and more episodes

Season 2 of Powerful Trouble premieres Wednesday, August 31, 2022 wherever you listen to your podcasts.

To get episodes ad-free and a day early, join the Patreon at any level, starting at $1 per month. https://www.patreon.com/powerfultroublepodcast 

Background music in the trailer is from Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, mvmt II (Adagio). Music sourced via imslp.org

Across the world, cultures have developed surprisingly similar ways to celebrate the longest night of the year.

In Scandinavia and India, people spent the darkness celebrating abundance around a huge bonfire. Both Germans and Iranians spend the whole holiday inside, battling the long dark night with light and warmth. And for thousands of years, the Hopi and the Celts used the longest night as an opportunity to coax the sun back towards the earth.

In this bonus episode of Powerful Trouble,  Blair takes a shallow dive into winter solstice celebrations from around the world. May your longest night be made shorter by good friends and good food.

Sound effects and music via zapsplat.com
Episode sources at powerfultroublepodcast.com/sources

The Salem Witch Trials loom large in American lore, inspiring of dozens of spinoff works and thousands of pages of research and reflection. But what ideas do we know to be true, and what parts of the story have been passed down as fiction?

Sound effects and music via zapsplat.com
Additional music via imslp.org
Episode sources at powerfultroublepodcast.com/sources

Crowds of people packed into the small, dingy, sweltering meeting house in Salem village the summer of 1692 to observe the trials of the accused Salem witches. Arrests were still rolling in, new stories of torments arrived each day, and the villagers were out for blood.

Sound effects and music via zapsplat.com
Additional music via imslp.org
Episode sources at powerfultroublepodcast.com/sources

After Tituba testified to seeing 9 names written in Satan's book, the village of Salem went into a full-blown panic trying to identify the other 6 witches. In true hysterical fashion, they completely overreacted, and by the end of May almost 20 people total had been arrested for being a witch. From a five-year-old girl to a beloved septuagenarian, no one was safe.

Music courtesy of imslp.org
Sound effects courtesy of zapsplat.com
Read all episode sources here.

She's one of the central figures of the trials. Her testimony led to the imprisonment and execution of others. And yet, we know so little about Tituba's life. Historians have tried to excavate the truth over the past 300 years, but there are still so many unanswered questions about her. This episode digs into the theories about who she really was, and what her life was really like.

Music courtesy of imslp.org
Sound effects courtesy of zapsplat.com
Read all episode sources here.

Now is the moment you've been waiting for...

It's January of 1692, halfway through a barren, cold, and brutal winter. Attacks from the French loom. Your woodpile is dwindling dangerously. And two young girls begin acting very strangely.

This episode covers the symptoms, investigation, and first hearing of the Salem Witch Trials, roughly January 25th to March 10th 1692. 

CW:  This episode contains mild descriptions of violence and death, including infant death. Listener discretion is advised.

Music via FreePD and IMSLP
Sound effects via zapsplat.com

For a full list of materials used in this episode, please visit powerfultroublepodcast.com/sources

In the US, we all know the story of the Pilgrims landing the "Mayflower" on Plymouth rock in 1621. But did you know that Salem is the second oldest colonial settlement in New England? Or the names of the tribes and their leaders that lived in Massachusetts when the English arrived?

This episode covers all of that, plus what life was like in Puritan villages, and where the Salem Witch Trials would start in the cold, cold January of 1692.

Music via musopen.org
Sound effects via zapsplat.com

For a full list of materials used in this episode, please visit powerfultroublepodcast.com/sources

The early modern period in Europe saw a massive amount of change. From wars and famines to plagues and religious upheaval, by the mid-1500s, people were convinced the apocalypse was nigh. Out of this chaos, a religious group known as the Puritans came about and decided they were the ones to guide the transition into God's time on earth. The first episode of season 1 discusses who the puritans were, how they came about, and how society viewed magic and witchcraft.

Music via musopen.org
Sound effects via zapsplat.com

For a list of materials used in the episode, please visit powerfultroublepodcast.com/sources