Wise Crone Cottage Podcast

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In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will explore the Grimm tale, "The Girl Who Lost Her Hands."  It's a story that packs a punch and leaves listeners quaking in the dust.  Well, maybe that's a bit extreme.   You can judge for yourself!  We'll look at several versions of the story, its derivation and multiple interpretations.  And finally, and perhaps most importantly, there will be an interview with the Handless Maiden herself.  Who will give the interview?  Why the wise crone, that's who!

 Story: from   Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, "Das Mädchen ohne Hände," Kinder- und Hausmärchen, gesammelt durch die Brüder Grimm [Children's and Household Tales -- Grimms' Fairy Tales], 7th edition, vol. 1 (Göttingen: Verlag der Dieterichschen Buchhandlung, 1857), no. 31, pp. 162-68.  Found at: (https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm031.html).
"Vasilisa the Beautiful" found in Wheeler, Post. Russian Wonder Tales. New York: The Century Company, 1912.  (https://www.surlalunefairytales.com/books/russian/russianwondertales/vasilissa.html)
Cover photo:  Fairy Tales from Grimm. Illustrations by Gordon Browne (1858-1932).  
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.
Copyright 2023 Kathy Shimpock.     

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For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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 In this episode, we’ll be exploring the folklore around the "nisse," a Norwegian house spirit, found throughout Scandinavia (by different names).  I’ll read the story  “Round the Yule Log,” by P. Chr. Asbjornsen which includes several folktales.  Further, we’ll reflect on the negative stereotype of the old maid.  What should we do with the stories from the past that no longer fit with our modern sensibilities?

Story: from  P. Chr. Asbjornsen, “Round the Yule-Log"  In Christmas in Norway. Boston, MA: Colonial Press, 1895. (Found at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/31993/31993-h/31993-h.htm). 
Cover photo: From one of the many unidentified illustrators in the book, perhaps  Hans Gude or  Vincent Stoltenberg Lerche  (artists, please sign your work!).
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.
Copyright 2023 Kathy Shimpock.    

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For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In this episode, we’ll be exploring the Cailleach, the Celtic goddess of winter. She’s found in both mythology and folktales in Ireland and Scotland. She sometimes appears as the sovereignty goddess.  I’ll read the Irish myth, “The Adventures of the Sons of Eochaid Mugmedon,” which addresses issues of gender, power, land, and kingship.  Further, we’ll reflect on our cultural taboos around aging women and how they continue to impact us today.

Story: Adapted from “The Adventures of the Sons of Eochaid Mugmedon" found at the Celtic Literature Collective.
Cover photo: Pixabay.
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.
Copyright 2023 Kathy Shimpock.   

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For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will tell you the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.  Her version is one you may not have heard before, for it tells this story from the eyes of Ariadne.  In doing so, we’ll discover how a single shift in perspective can make all the difference.

Story: Derived from  "Ariadne's Lament" by Catullus.
Cover illustration:   Statue of Sleeping Ariadne in the  Vatican Museums.
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.
Copyright 2022 Kathy Shimpock.    

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For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In this episode we'll reflect on two stories that demand retelling. In each tale (from "Star Wars" to King Arthur), we'll see how the story is poised to continue through the intervention of a single storyteller.  In the sharing of the story, its meaning, values, and Truth continue to inspire and motivate those who stop to listen and tell again.

Story:  White, T.H., The Once and Future King.  New York: G. P. Putnam's, 1939.  "Star Wars, the Rise of Skywalker," J.J. Abrams, director. San Francisco, CA: Lucas Films, 2020.
Cover illustration:  Photographs by Pixabay.
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.
Copyright 2022 Kathy Shimpock.   

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For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In this episode we’ll explore the Irish folktale “The Witches Excursion.” It was recorded by Patrick Kennedy in the book Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts published in 1866. Like the Grimm tale, “Frau Holle,” here is another story that began as a myth and became a folktale.  We’ll discuss how the character of Queen Medb is reflected in this tale and how the wise crone once again saves the day!

 Story:  "The Witches' Excursion" collected and narrated by Patrick Kennedy in Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts (London: Macmillan), 1866.
Cover illustration:  Woodcut by  Mathers' Wonders of the Invisible World (1689) and used in an 18th-century pamphlet about the Lancashire witches. 
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.
Copyright 2022 Kathy Shimpock.  

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For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In these very dark days, when the world has gone awry, a story comes out of the darkness.  In this episode, we're entering a haunting tale with storyteller, Kathy Shimpock.  It is a dire tale rarely told to children.  Over time, the story grew even darker, more dire and its message corrupted.  It is the corruption of that message, that we'll explore. And so, before we can get to the hope, and before we can get to the light, we must first enter the secret chamber of Bluebeard! Sadly, it’s a place we are all too familiar with.

Stories:  "Bluebeard" ("La Barbe Bleue") by Charles Perrault included in Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passe (Stories of Tales of Past Times), 1697. "Mr. Fox"  by Joseph Jacobs included in English Fairy Tales. London: David Nutt, 1890. 
Cover illustration:  "Mr Fox" collage image from portrait of  Sir Walter Raleigh.
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.
Copyright 2022 Kathy Shimpock.     

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, we’ll meet Medusa with the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock.  Some call Medusa a Gorgon, others a cursed beauty.  Maligned in popular media, controversy has followed Medusa wherever she goes. In her first recorded interview, Medusa will sit down with the Wise Crone for a tell-all exchange.  Her visit is courtesy of the Jungian technique “active imagination.”  Hold on to your seats, there is much more to come!

Stories:  "Interview with Medusa" by Kathy Shimpock.
Cover illustration:  Pixabay (http://www.pixabay.com).
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.
Copyright 2022 Kathy Shimpock.   

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For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock explores the stories that must be told and what happens when we try to forget them.  We'll look at three tales from India. Each one addresses stories that are untold, the need to find a willing audience, and the consequence when they are hidden.  Finally, we'll discuss how traditional stories from the oral tradition, hold the truth and history that needs to be remembered.  As the keepers of stories, we must learn from the tellers of long ago - why these stories were used in the past and how they might be essential to the future.

Stories:  Folktales from India,  A.K. Ramanujan, ed.  (New York: Pantheon Books, 1991).
Cover illustration:  Pixabay (http://www.pixabay.com)
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ 
Copyright 2022 Kathy Shimpock.   

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).