As Valentine's day bears down upon us, we turn to the monsters whose origins lie in passion, betrayal, and tragedy. If love is the strongest human emotion, surely rage at betrayal is its nightmarish mirror - and such emotions are embodied in a variety of creatures around the world and throughout history.
Content Warning - this episode contains stories of child death, suicide, murder, and other unplesantness. And also some discussion of candy. So there's that.
Cemeteries Cleaning and Grave Rubbing - Karen and Blake are joined by Matt Baxter to discuss the ethics and best practices around maintaining and preserving graveyards.
This week we're welcoming back historian Dr Joseph Gagne to tell us about a ghost story that straddles North America and Scotland. He was last with us to tell us about the legend of La Corriveau in episode 181.
Appearances of the Dead: A Cultural History of Ghosts by Ronald C. Finucane - mentioned by Joseph as his introduction to this story. This is an affiliate link and the book is out of print, so be advised it's PRICEY.
In the mountains of North Georgia on a spooky civil war battlefield there is a legend of a green eyed monster. This is not that story. This is the story of the new festival set up to commemorate the monster, but also bring people and revenue to this rural southern town. We'll be talking with Nate Tucker and Dillan Whisenant about their experience kicking off the first Green Eyes Festival of Chicamauga, Georgia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chickamauga
This is the audio from our 2024 livestream (http://youtube.com/monstertalk). If you saw that live, this is the same audio without the moving picture bits. If you didn't see it but want to see our mugs waggin' synchronously to our voices, you can find this particular episode here.
Otherwise - happy new year! We'll be back next week talking about how to make a successful monster festival with some guys who just did it for the Green Eyes Festival.
We're joined by fellow podcaster and friend of the show, Andy Driscoll, to introduce a peculiar region in Massachusetts said to be home to concentrated high strangeness. We'll definitely be coming back to deep dive in these swamps for more details on particular claims but Andy gives us a great "hometown" introduction to this fascinating area.
One of the most "Christmas Ghost Story" ghost stories for Christmas that I've ever come across. Smee tells of a night of holiday revelry turned chilling and mysterious by the appearance of an unexpected attendee at the festivities.
You can read along with the ebook by purchasing it here. (affiliate Link) Read more about A. M. Burrage if you like. (Wikipedia) Art for this episode is by one of my progeny. -B
We're excited to have Laura Krantz back to talk about her latest book - a youth-focused look at how to distinguish between magical and scientific thinking: Do You Believe in Magic?
Laura's very entertaining and informative podcasts: LINK
If you like the 1970s In Search Of... why not check out our sister show In reSearch Of...
Blake (and his wife Kathleen) will be participating in the 2025 "Skeptoid Bermuda Triangle Adventure" - details here if you want to come along and explore Robert the Doll, the Bimini Wall, or to look for the missing planes of Flight 19...
We welcome back Chris Woodyard to discuss the very odd story of the Wollaton Gnomes - a 1979 reported sighting of little men in little cars by a group of children in a British park.