The Strange and Unusual Podcast

From the monstrous Yule Cat of Iceland to the cannibal Wendigo of North America, in this episode I explore seven eerie winter legends from around the world. You’ll meet Japan’s ghostly Yuki-Onna, China’s New Year beast Nian, Greece’s chaotic Kallikantzaroi, the rhyming ghost-horse Mari Lwyd of Wales, and the shape-shifting Ijiraq of the Arctic. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Between garlands of garlic on doorways, wolves finding their voice in the dark, and the undead rising from their graves,  Romania’s celebration of St. Andrew’s Eve (November 29th-30th) blurs the line between the living and the dead. Join Alyson in exploring this magical and uncanny Romanian holiday. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On All Hallows’ Eve, the veil thins and the folklore gets...fun. In this episode, I  count down 10 strange superstitions, from turnip jack-o’-lanterns and mirror magic to dumb suppers, bat omens, and haunted crossroads. Light a candle and let's begin! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From whispered charms and buried witch bottles to torture chambers and Salem’s gallows, this episode of The Strange and Unusual Podcast traces the haunting story of the witch as  healer, heretic, and scapegoat. I explore the folklore, the fear, and the witch hunts of Pendle, Würzburg, Bamberg, and Salem. Through historical accounts and chilling firsthand testimonies, in this episode I  go into  how ordinary people became legends, monsters, and martyrs,  including my own ancestor, Elizabeth Howe.    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode we trace the vampire’s long, shadowy journey, from 18th-century graveyard panics and Slavic strigoi to the seductive aristocrats of Gothic fiction and the conflicted immortals of modern pop culture. We also will go into how the  myth evolves on screen, from Nosferatu and Bela Lugosi to Anne Rice, Buffy, and beyond. We explore why the vampire keeps returning to embody everything we fear (and secretly crave): mortality, contagion, seduction, power, and immortality.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.