Bone And Sickle

Our episode continues from our last with more terrors of the night, the incubi, sucubi, and the most notorious succubus, Lilith — and the breeding of demons We begin with a quick nod to the shoddy treatment the topic of the incubus has received in films, as represented by the 1981 misfire, Incubus.  From there, … Read More Read More The post #27 Lilith and the Breeding of Demons appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

This episode examines the terrors that come by night, not-so-soothing lullabies, prayers and charms against the nightmare. We open with the grim Icelandic lulluby “Móðir mín í kví kví,” which tells the story of a newborn’s ghost haunting the mother who abandoned it. Another lovely, yet menacing Icelandic lullaby follows. “Bíum, bíum, Bambaló” alludes to … Read More Read More The post #26 Lullabies and Nightmares appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

For Mother’s Day this year we examine murderous mothers and maternal instincts gone very, very wrong in folklore, legends, and ballads. We begin with a look at the Latin American legend of La Llorona (“the weeping woman”). We begin with a snippet of the trailer from the recently released film The Curse of La Llorona … Read More Read More The post #25 Death by Mother appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

This episode finds the Devil where you’d least expect him: stories of possessed nuns and demonic attacks on the rigorously devout.. It’s a bit of a follow-up to our last episode on Ghastly Saint Stories. We open with a clip from the 1999 film Stigmata, in which we hear it asserted that those marked by … Read More Read More The post #24 Possessed Nuns and Holy Demoniacs appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

Our collection of ghastly stories of saints highlights notions of extreme self-mortification as a spiritual practice along with a preoccupation with the saintly body  after death. While these aspects of Catholicism are anathema to secular outsiders and jarring to many contemporary adherents, they’ve been embraced by the Gothic.  We begin with an illustrative clip from John … Read More Read More The post #23 Ghastly Saint Stories appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

In this episode we look at legends of musicians and marksmen said to have made Faustian deals with the Devil. We begin with The Phantom of the Opera, a story which does not exactly share our theme, but was set against the backdrop of a staging of the opera Faust by Charles Gounod.  The story, written … Read More Read More The post #22 The Devil’s Due: Musicians and Marksmen appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

The legend of Faust is the archetypal deal with the Devil. This episode looks at the figure as represented in folklore, local legends, plays, puppet shows, literature, films, and opera. A precedent for the tale seems to be the story of St. Theophilus, a cleric in 6th-century Adana (in modern Turkey) who, as legends have it, … Read More Read More The post #21 A Deal with the Devil appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

Vampire mythology first appears in the West in works as early Romantic authors meld themes from folk ballads of resurrected lovers with Balkan folklore of the undead. Valentine’s Day seemed a fitting occasion for this show’s look at the vampire’s tragically romantic tendency to prey upon those they love. We begin with  a (very seasonal) snippet … Read More Read More The post #20 The Undead Come Courting appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

This episode examines the Lambton Worm, a dragon legend that inspired works by Bram Stoker and Ken Russel as well as well as the curious role of milk plays that story and in superstitions surrounding witchcraft. The show begins with Wilkinson and Ridenour reviewing a phone message from Blake Smith of the Monster Talk podcast, … Read More Read More The post #19 Worm Songs and Beastly Sucklers appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

This time round we look at the medieval myth of the Wild Man, its connection to seasonal folk traditions, peculiar influence on Church teachings, and a macabre historical incident featuring dancers costumed as Wild Men. We begin with a bit of Edgar Allen Poe filtered through Roger Corman, namely a clip from the director’s 1964 … Read More Read More The post #18 Wild Men, Furry Saints, and Burning Dancers appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

Traditionally Christmas was a time for ghost stories, and tonight we’re doing our part to bring back the custom.  A bit of history on supernatural stories of the season and then something a bit different for the holiday — a bit of storytelling for your fireside enjoyment — a ghost story from the Victorian master … Read More Read More The post #17 Christmas Ghosts appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

Historically, Christmastime in Central Europe was a season haunted by otherworldly spirits, werewolves, ghostly huntsmen, and wandering hordes of lost souls.  This is particularly the case in the Krampus’ homeland of German-speaking Central Europe. We open with a survey of the various frightful spirits said to be afoot this time of year.  Bavaria, particularly the … Read More Read More The post #16 The Haunted Season appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

The Krampus and St. Nicholas represent a folkloric duality embodying a mode of childrearing the Germans call “sugar-bread and whip” — in English, “carrot and stick.”  In this episode, the first of three exploring the darker folklore of the season, we look at the Krampus’ origins in the old custom of Krampus and Nicholas house-visits … Read More Read More The post #15 Saint, Devil, Sugar-Bread, & Whip: KRAMPUS AND NICHOLAS appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

This episode looks at some particularly gruesome fairy tales and folk ballads telling of murderers convicted of their crime through magical intervention of the bones or blood of their victims. We begin with a look at the story of Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street as it shares a common theme of accidental … Read More Read More The post #14 Singing Bones & Scrumptious Children appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

Finishing up with our October theme of “talking to the dead,” we examine necromancy in the ancient world in this episode.  While the word has been generalized in its present use to mean cover any form of magic of a sinister bent, in its original meaning, it was simply what the Latinized-Greek etymology suggests: “necro-” for … Read More Read More The post #13: Ancient Necromancy appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

Hope you enjoy part two of our exploration of Spiritualism and seances. This one is particularly full of shocking, sad, and amusing tales you won’t hear anywhere else. First we wrap up last week’s story of the Fox sisters, who in many ways started the whole ball rolling.  Two surprising revelations regarding their ghostly communications are revealed … Read More Read More The post #12: Seances & Scandals appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

The 19th-century Spiritualist movement was rife with fraud and misplaced hopes, but what made people so eager to believe in the possibility of talking to the dead?  This episode looks at some early mediumistic pioneers, attractions beyond the metaphysical that drew sitters to take part in seances, and the growing pressure within the movement to … Read More Read More The post Episode 11: The Dead Speak appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

This time round we explore the way in which the death-obsessed Victorians fetishized the equally death-obsessed Egyptians, creating a number of gothic mummy tales, which often veer into storylines that are almost necrophilic. To begin we have a look at how the Victorians interacted with mummies as artifacts.  We hear an 1899 story from Philadelphia’s … Read More Read More The post Episode 10: Victorian Mummies appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

In this episode of Bone and Sickle, we’re looking at the folklore and history of witches associated with caves.  We begin with the Bell Witch, of Adams Tennessee and a quick audio montage saluting the creature, one based around the eccentric country-western song “The Bell Witch” by Merle Kilgore.  Also included are snippets of The … Read More Read More The post Episode 9: Cave Witches appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

On this episode of Bone and Sickle, we look at the folklore of ghost ships, undead sailors, some nautical elements in gothic literature, a song about a ship piloted by the Devil, and other horror stories of the sea. We begin with a little reminiscing about our last show on the Pied Piper and a … Read More Read More The post Episode 8: Dreadful Ships appeared first on Bone and Sickle.