Your holiday fun is here: for the first time on the main feed, we present The Yule Cat (premium episode 68). The holiday season has its fair share of critters, cryptids, and lore. Some of it is meant to frighten children into good behavior. In Iceland, the Yule Cat falls into the latter camp — but is a giant, child-eating cat monster actually as old, or as frightening, as it sounds?

Hosted by Laurah Norton

Research by Melissa Gold and Maura Currie

Written, Engineered & Produced by Maura Currie

Works Cited:

Christopher Mother, "Forget Santa and..." The Boston Globe, 2022.

NA, "Its Satan's..." Daily Star, 2021.

NA, "We wish you a..." Daily Star, 2019.

Danny Lewis, "Each Christmas, Iceland's..." Smithsonian Magazine, 2016.

Sue Weaver, "The Yule Goat," Hachette Book Group, ND.

Lauren Oster, "Meet the Yule..." Travel Channel, 2019.

Regína Hrönn Ragnarsdóttir, "Grýla and Leppalúði..." Guide To Iceland, ND. 

NA, "All welcome when..." Reykjavik.is, 2024 (TRANSLATED)

Haukur S. Magnússon, "The Christmas Cat," The Reykjavik Grapevine, 2008.

Dustin Jones, "You've heard of Santa..." NPR, 2023.

Áki Guðni Karlsson, "The Yule Cat," University of Iceland/Icelandic Folklore, 2020.

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