Scarytales

Dating back some 4,000 years, the story of Rumpelstiltskin is one of the earliest surviving tales in Western literature. The legend is savage in parts and reminds readers that spinning a web of lies may cost you everything. Much like the maiden in our fairy tale, Megan Fieramusca became so caught up in her own deceit, that she was willing to kill in order to get what she wanted-a child that wasn't hers.

Sources:

-https://www.pookpress.co.uk/project/rumpelstiltskin-history/

-https://original.newsbreak.com/@true-crime-mysteries-megan-1588233/2706727311654-bestie-killer-magen-fieramusca-arrested-for-murder

-https://www.sjaakvandergeest.socsci.uva.nl/pdf/anthropology_and_literature/rumpelskin.pdf

Merry Christmas from the girls at Scarytales! To celebrate, we are bringing you several dark theories to help explain WHY the Grinch stole Christmas. Lacie then brings you the story of a father who makes the Grinch seem like Mother Theresa. Some might say that Charlie Lawson's soul was an appalling heap overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable, mangled up in tangled up knots!

Resources:

-https://www.cracked.com/blog/the-genocide-plot-you-never-noticed-in-grinch

-https://www.looper.com/99290/things-grinch-stole-christmas-notice-adult/

-https://www.looper.com/88038/critically-hated-movies-actually-awesome/

-https://southerncalls.com/article/the-lawson-family-tragedy/

-https://www.thestokesnews.com/news/23397/90-years-gone

We're coming home for the holidays! This week we sit down to bring you a few spooky stories from around Alabama. 

In honor of Hannah's birthday month, we are discussing her favorite this week, The Jungle Book! While most of us are familiar with the happy-go-lucky Disney version of this story, its origins are much darker. Feral children have fascinated and frightened people for centuries, raising questions about what it truly means to be human. 

Sources:

-https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/living-culture/the-jungle-book-the-untold-story

-https://www.biography.com/writer/rudyard-kipling

-dina-sanichar

-https://historydaily.org/oxana-malaya-story-girl-raised-dogs

-https://allthatsinteresting.com/marina-chapman

-https://strangelife.in/sujit-kumar-a-human-raised-as-a-chicken/

-https://allthatsinteresting.com/feral-children/7

-https://cvltnation.com/genie-wiley-the-feral-girl/

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is an American classic that often resurfaces around Halloween. While it is considered one of America’s first ghost stories, Washington Irving didn’t invent the idea of a headless rider. Unsurprisingly, this character has sinister origins that can be traced all the way back to The Middle Ages. Speaking of headless beings, we also discuss the gruesome murder of Pearl Bryan and how eerily similar her story is to the legend. 

Sources:

-Dullahan

-legend-sleepy-hollow-headless-horseman

-https://allthatsinteresting.com/the-legend-of-sleepy-hollow

-https://westchestermagazine.com/life-style/history/irving-legend-sleepy-hollow/

-https://heathermonroe.medium.com/the-gruesome-murder-of-pearl-bryan-492eb83a859e

Who is spooky and a little gritty around the edges? That's the Sandman. Join the Scarytales gals this week as they dive into the crusty, salty terror of the sleep-inducing, dream-haunting boogeyman. (Big thanks to Chase for writing this lovely episode description). 

Sources:

-https://www.freud.org.uk/2020/02/01/the-sandman/

-https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/who-is-sandman.htm

-https://literature.fandom.com/wiki/Ole_Luk-Oie

-https://www.gq.com/story/the-sandman-a-beginners-guide

-https://allthatsinteresting.com/grim-sleeper

-https://murderpedia.org/male.F/f/franklin-lonnie.htm

Chase is back to guest host this week as he and Lacie bring you the history of taphophobia-the fear of being buried alive. Before advances in medical science, our ancestors developed interesting methods to test for life's end. The inaccuracy of such tests resulted in a rise of premature burials that sent a wave of panic through society. As Edgar Allen Poe put it "To be buried alive is, beyond question, the most terrific of extremes which has ever fallen to the lot of mere mortality."

Sources:

-https://www.maxim.com/maxim-man/brief-history-being-buried-alive/

-https://historycollection.com/buried-alive-common-victorian-era-doctors-used-10-methods-prevent/10/

-https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/safety-coffin-0012316

-https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/54818/4-people-who-were-buried-alive-and-how-they-got-out

When it comes to Norse gods, few are more famous than Thor and Loki. Of course, this is in large part due to The Marvel Universe, but they were just as popular with the ancient Norse as they are today. This week we discuss the true relationship between these two frenemies as well as some super interesting details that Marvel chose to leave out. Then, Lacie recounts the story of a brutal string of murders that plagued Colorado in 1984. Who was the killer? A blood thirsty maniac with a hammer.

Sources:

-https://www.history.co.uk/articles/the-legendary-adventures-of-thor-in-norse-mythology

-https://www.lifeinnorway.net/loki-norse-mythology/

-https://gamerant.com/god-of-war-loki-ragnarok/

-https://mythopedia.com/topics/loki

-the-colorado-hammer-killer-from-1984-murder-spree-identified-8a48513fc4b5

-5

-https://mythopedia.com/topics/thor

This week we are bringing you the bloody and mysterious history of folklore's most notorious outlaw, Robin Hood. Besides the Disney movie, Robin Hood has been the subject of countless ballads, books, and films. But was he a real historical figure? Join us as we try to decipher legend from fact. Lacie then brings you the story of the brutal murders of three young boys in 1993. Within a month, investigators were convinced they had found the killers, three misfit teenagers who would become known as "The West Memphis Three."

Sources:

-who-was-the-real-robin-hood

-robin-hood.html

-https://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/robin_hood.html

- https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/robin_01.shtml

-https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-asia/evidence-robin-hood-008105

-https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/people-politics/chernobyl-fire-fighter-we-were-risking-our-lives-but-we-were-just-doing-a-job/

-https://www.vox.com/culture/22358153/satanic-panic-ritual-abuse-history-conspiracy-theories-explained

-http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/memphis3/arksct2appellate.html

-https://www.jivepuppi.com/Terry_Hobbs.html