Snoozecast

Tonight, for our second annual October classic horror series, we’ll read a Swedish fairytale called The Werewolf. 

Until the 20th century, wolf attacks on humans were an occasional, but still widespread feature of life in Europe. Some scholars have suggested that it was inevitable that wolves, being the most feared predators in Europe, were projected into the folklore of evil shapeshifters. Areas devoid of wolves typically use different kinds of predator to fill the niche; werehyenas in Africa, weretigers in India, as well as werepumas, and werejaguars in southern South America. 

Werewolvery was a common accusation in witch trials throughout their history. A peak of attention to lycanthropy, or the clinical diagnosis of werewolvery, came in the late 16th to early 17th century, as part of the European witch-hunts.

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Tonight, we’ll read the second part to the ninth chapter of “Little Women” by American author Louisa May Alcott, published in 1868, titled “Meg Goes to Vanity Fair”. Following the lives of the four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy—the novel details their passage from childhood to womanhood and is loosely based on the author and her sisters.

In the previous chapter, Meg stays with the wealthy Moffat family to celebrate Belle Moffat’s coming-out party as she was turning sixteen. The March family, however, is too poor for this sort of party. Meg and her family collect all of their nicest clothing for her, but when Meg gets to the Moffat’s, it soon becomes clear that her nicest clothing is nowhere near nice enough. 

The Moffat’s are kind to Meg but are clearly dismayed by the difference. Meg also is shocked and dismayed to learn that the Moffat’s think Meg’s mother is scheming to marry Meg to her younger neighbor Laurie, in order to marry her into Laurie’s wealth.

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read an Armenian folktale titled “The Betrothed of Destiny”. It comes from A.G. Sekelmann’s 1898 “The Golden Maiden and other Armenian folktales. This particular story features a fearless, strong heroine. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

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Tonight, during our second annual October classic horror series, we'll read "The Ghost Ship", written by Richard Middleton published posthumously in 1912. 

Middleton was a tragic figure - a young man impatient for success, who managed to live the archetypal life of the Romantic Bohemian poet, complete with poverty and unrequited love for an impossible woman. None of his novels were published while he was alive. Soon after his death, he was quote unquote discovered and critically acclaimed for the brilliance of his work and the brevity of his life. 

If you enjoy this story, be sure to check out Snoozecast's other Middleton episode to date, titled "The Magic Carpet."

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we'll read excerpts from "The Feasts of Autolycus" , including "An Autumn Dinner" and "The Magnificent Mushroom", published in 1900 and edited by Elizabeth Robins Pennell.  To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

Pennell was an American travel writer, columnist, biographer and memoirist. Her biographies included the first in almost a century of the proto-feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, and also one of her uncle the folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland. 

Coincidentally, Charles Godfrey Leland compiled the book "Algonquin Legends" that the recent Snoozecast episode "Badger the Mischief Maker" was based on.

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read the next part to our Magic Cloak series, from the book "Queen Zixi of Ix, or The Story of the Magic Cloak", a children's book written by L. Frank Baum and published in 1905. "The Magic Cloak" part 1 aired on Nov 11, 2019. To unlock full episodes and ad-free listening of this series and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

The events of the book alternate between Noland and Ix, two neighboring regions to the Land of Oz. Baum, who also wrote the Wizard of Oz, commented this was the best book he had written. This episode will start at the opening of Chapter Seven. 

In the last episode, King Bud and Princess Fluff preside over the royal court and have their first try at official decision-making. At the end of session, their miserable Aunt Rivette bursts in and demands to be given better accommodations and money to spend since she is family.

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Tonight, during our second annual October classic horror series, we’ll read "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", a gothic story by American author Washington Irving. Written while Irving was living abroad in Birmingham, England, it is among the earliest examples of American fiction with enduring popularity, especially during Halloween. 

The Headless Horseman was believed to be a Hessian soldier who was decapitated by a cannonball in battle. Hessians was what the American’s called German soldiers who fought for the British during the Revolutionary War. 

If you enjoy this story, be sure to check out Snoozecast’s earlier episodes of Rip Van Winkle part one and part two, also written by Irving.

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we shall read the next chapter to "Peter Pan", the 1911 novel by J.M. Barrie. If you’d like to start this story from the beginning, you can find the first part aired on March 20th, 2019. To unlock full episodes and ad-free listening of this series and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

In the last episode, Peter Pan flies in right after Tootles has shot Wendy. Peter is about to kill Tootles for the act but finds out that Wendy has in fact not died. The acorn button that was the “kiss” that Peter had given her saves the arrow from hitting Wendy. Peter declares that Tinkerbell is banished for a week from the dastardly deed. The boys build a small house around Wendy. Wendy plays the motherly role of telling the boys a bedtime story before they all fall asleep.

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read the next part to the classic children’s story "Heidi", published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri. If you’d like to start from the beginning, you’ll find that the very first episode aired on March 8th, 2019. If you’d like to listen to the last episode before this one, it aired on August 24th, 2020. To unlock full episodes and ad-free listening of this series and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

"Heidi" is a novel about the life of a young girl in her grandfather's care in the Swiss Alps. "Heidi" is one of the best-selling books ever written and is among the best-known works of Swiss literature. We will pick up at the start of chapter 10. 

In the previous episode, Heidi causes lots of cute chaos since she isn’t familiar with the formal life in the city. Miss Rottenmeier the head housekeeper is at odds with Heidi but Heidi always ends up overcoming the adversity due to her sweet nature. Mr. Sesseman, Clara’s father, comes home and Miss Rottenmeier tries her best to turn him against Heidi. Luckily, Mr. Sesseman uses his own perspective on Heidi along with Clara’s enthusiastic embrace of her to let her stay.

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read an excerpt from the 1912 book "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town", from a chapter called “The Speculations of Jefferson Thorpe”. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

However, if you would like to find the first episode in this series, it aired on August 23, 2019. This humorous and affectionate account of small-town life in the fictional town of Mariposa is inspired by the author’s experience living in Ontario, Canada. 

The book illustrates the inner workings of life in Mariposa—from business to politics to steamboat disasters. In this vignette, we learn about the town’s barbershop, and the leisurely art of the afternoon shave.

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