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!

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.

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.

In this episode, we head back to school, but not the way you remember it. From abandoned high schools and haunted classrooms to urban legends whispered in bathrooms and tragedies that linger in lecture halls, autumn brings with it eerie campus lore.

For this episode we're exploring harvest folklore throughout the world, and how it connects to the genre of folk horror. From the sunlit dread of Lady Midday stalking the fields of Eastern Europe to the vengeful rice paddy ghosts of Japan, nearly every farming culture told tales of spirits among the grain. We’ll wander those stubbled fields and deserted farms, listening for the whispers of harvest-time spirits: the Harvest Watchers and Field Spirits that people once believed lurked within the furrows.

In this episode, we'll explore the folklore of the night, from the Sandman to Sleep Paralysis demons, and more. We'll get into the history of the lore, the scientific studies, and how these creatures manifest around the world.

In this episode, we dig into the topic of urban legends come to life, These are legends that either others have actually brought to life and urban legends that are surprisingly based on fact. These legends include: The Bunny Man, Cropsey, Hook man, Slender Man, Polybius, The Babysitter Murder, Body in the Bed, Charlie No Face, and Laced Halloween Candy.

Join me on this summer road trip to some of the world's creepiest abandoned amusement parks. Our stops include: Lake Shawnee Amusement Park, Pripyat, Ukraine, Land of Oz, Gulliver’s Kingdom. And Honorable Mentions: Berlin’s Spreepark, Diversiones Grano de Oro, Western Village.

In this episode in the Haunted Waters series, we explore ghost ships from around the world, which include The Carroll A. Deering, The Mary Celeste, The Flying Dutchman, El Caleuche, S.S. Valencia, The Baychimo, Eliza Battle, and MV Joyita

In this episode of the Haunted Waters series, we explore sea monsters of myth from around the world. These frightening creatures include the Lusca, Umibōzu, Akhlu, Morgawr, and Ningen, as well as the 1734 account of a sea monster off the coast of Greenland by Hans Egede.

On this episode in the Haunted Waters series, I cover lighthouses with haunted reputations, as well as the history of lighthouses. We explore Smalls lighthouse in Wales, Pharos of Alexandria, Tower of Hercules, Big Bay Point in Michigan, South Manitou lighthouse in Michigan, South Solitary lighthouse in Australia, and St. Augustine in Florida. Stirring: https://www.youtube.com/@StirringsStories

Join me for a new 'Haunted Waters' series. In this first episode I explore lakes, marshes, and ponds and their legendary ghosts. Our stops in this episode include Bell Island in Canada, Haunted Lake in New Hampshire, White Rock Lake in Texas, Deadman's Pond in Canada, Big Moose Lake in New York, and Lake Lanier in Georgia.

In this episode, I explore the Nahanni Valley of the Northwest Territories in Canada, which has been given the nickname Valley of the Headless Men. This due to a series of deaths of goldhunters and fur trappers after they entered the valley.

In the conclusion to this series on Russian Hill, I delve into the events which affected Pat Montandon and her friends and family at 1000 Lombard Street, as well as the occult resurgence in the 1960s, including the role of Anton LeVay.

In the second episode of this series, I tell the story of a young, widowed migrant during California's Gold Rush, and the horror of what she found in her new home on Russian Hill.

In this episode we explore some of the strange goings-on in the earlier days of Russian Hill in San Francisco, including the ill-fated union of a Russian count and Spainish maiden, the first legal execution in California history, seances, the arrival of Fanny Stevenson to the hill, the earthquake of 1906 and more. In this episode we explore some of the strange goings-on in the earlier days of Russian Hill in San Francisco, including the ill-fated union of a Russian count and Spainish maiden, the first legal execution in California history, seances, the arrival of Fanny Stevenson to the hill, the earthquake of 1906 and more In part 2, we get into the experimental '60s, Anton LeVay, mysterious deaths, and many more strange goings-on during that time.

A short series coming to the strange and unusual podcast

In 1991, the New York State Supreme Court decided on a case that would set a legal precedent for house haunting in the state for years.

We reach finally the conclusion of Frankenstein, where we discover the fates of Frankenstein and the Creature

In this episode, we follow Victor Frankenstein to his wedding day, which ends in tragedy, and the dominos really begin to fall. Though I thought I could cover the remaining chapters of Frankenstein in this episode, that was before I realized the final chapter was like two chapters in one. So, I will be releasing the final episode in week, instead of the usual two weeks, to finish up this epic tale, before we begin Halloween season spookiness!