Urbane Legends

Today we polish off our look at the Christmas Nativity. A finer piece of critical thinking and through historical research there has never been. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Its the annual xmas mini-series! This year we look at some topics around Christmas and see if the well worn stories match up with our highly scientific evidence based podcast. And it includes a very special guest star. Today, what else but the Nativity Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whats it all about? Christmas I mean? Seems to Mr Hot Take (tm) over here that its about consumerism theses days. But what if an advert, rather than making you want to buy something, haunted your dreams, caused nausea and mass hysteria? Well thats what we look at in the first half of the episode. And what else is Christmas about? Well to me, maybe because im working class, its about a sexy ghost t...

Here we are, washed up on the misty shores between series. Whats that in the distance? Could it be a lighthouse? You strain your eyes to see but the mists only allow the outline to penetrate. Getting up, and coughing the salty water from your mouth you start to walk towards the shape. Slowly at first but then as the promise of civilisation dawns on you faster, and faster until you are sprinting, y...

Well we did it kids, another series completed. We would like to thank our agents, respective entourages, the Arts council and the History 2 channel. For our final episode we take a look at one of Britain's top 10 Alien encounters. Could it be any bigger?! We see phots of a weird little lad 'mongst the heather, do some probe bants, wonder what was on the mystery second movie that the Aliens showed...

It here, the penultimate episode of series 5! So gather your chosen family around the pizza oven, stick on the wireless and melt your brains as we talk about the Metal Man of Falkville, the town that birthed Colombo. Its shinny, its fast, it has an antenna but is it flirty? We think maybe it is. A chief of police's life fell apart after this encounter or perhaps his life really began, it depends o...

What happens when the dead smash into modern technology? DEAD CALLS. This week we have a look at the surprisingly regular occurrence of people receiving phone calls from the recently dead. Thankfully they dont leave voice mails because that is the worst but nor do they just drop a text, so they are a bit of a pest. And dont get me started on voicenotes! Your time is more important that mine is it?...

In this weeks episode we travel metaphorically to the west African country of the Gamba to have a look at the Ninki Nanka, a hard to pin down dragon like lizard, originally called 'the Gambian Loch Ness Monster'. It can be many sizes, has many powers and has been looked for by cryptozoologists quite seriously. There is also some talk about the surprising behaviour of some European tourists from Ch...

If you go down to the shore today, beware of a sexy surprise? This week we look at internet sensation the Montauk Monster, whose picture caused an internet sensation in the not too distant past. But what was this alluring cryptid? Could it be a mutant created in the near-by secretive animal testing facility? Some kind of new unknown super animal that mother nature is thrusting upont us to blow our...

After all the excitement of Halloween this Thursday here is a nice relaxing pod about a Witch (woman) who wasn't burned at the steak and her witching was pretty tame by anyone's standards, though she could certainly make your bakery slightly less well regarded. Hear the pure terror in the hosts voices as they also discuss the desperate preparations they are making in the final hours before Storm C...

Merry spooky season! Yes its the annual Halloween Special, so be you dressed as a sexy serial killer, a sexy cat or a sexy politician take a break, sip on some pumpkin leen and let your mind drift back to 1700's London and the murky story of The Sweeney the Todd. Popular in drama, stage and screen for 100 years whats the story? Is it real? Well we can definitively say maybe. Whether or not it is,...

Booty, Avast Behind, Hot Cannon. These are all pirate terms which are used in an infantile manner in this weeks pirate based episode. This week we sort of look at the legend of Captain Kidd's lost treasure, maybe under the flowing robes of Americas greatest pin-up, the Statue of Liberty. In a fever dream of a pod episode there is also love making in a swamp, meat theft, Ol Dirty Bastard and other...

This week we have an actually unsolved mystery, the vanishing village of Anjikuni. Well the people disappeared the village is fine. What could have happened? Tell you who doesn't know or doesn't want us to know. The fucking Mounties. When will someone finally strip them of their power? We all know they are really the black silken gloved hand on the marionettes control paddles. Also this week, Chri...

Whats popular on the internet? Cats! Whats not popular on the internet? This podcast! What happens when you combine the two? This episode. Yes this week we look at a Celtic myth the 'Cait Sith'. There are several different stories from big cats to king of the cats...and one other. They are all good fun. Listen with a haunted look on your face as Chris defends all cat behaviour and stare into the m...

This week we look at a Japanese mystery from 1804 (i think) about a strange craft that washed ashore with a lady (or alien) inside, the Utsuro Bune. Similar craft appear all through the centuries but this one was well documented. Kick it back in the sea? Maybe. Over confident theories by the towns mouthy old man? For sure. Also Chris retracts a statement under threat of something and tries some fr...

Part 1 of the Ojai Mysteries. This week, while preparing for a storm we talk about classic Californian resident 'Char Man', part of the OCU. He's been possibly scaring locals since the late 40's, 50's or possibly 60's, a horribly burned chap with the delicious flavour of Chicken Tikka cooked in a clay oven. We also discuss a vampire, Neils last meal and worries about 'Freeport' Portslades many sky...

Whats that coming over the hill is it a monster, the Enfield monsteeeeerrrr. Maybe. This week we look at the reports of a monster in the town of Enfield, Illinois NOT to be mistaken with the Enfield Poltergeist in the town of Enfield, London. Its a mixed up monster with a penchant for the wacky backy and train lines. There are several sightings and it was in all kinds of newspapers. Also in this e...

We've all been there, someone who is very attractive and knows it uses it to manipulate us into committing crimes we wouldn't think of doing normally, fraud, patricide, racketeering and treason are just a few to come to mind when I look back at my own life. But this legend is a twist on this universal truth, what if the beautiful person had more sinister motives than this and you had a lot more th...

Hello, how are you? No, really, how are you? Alright, alright i didn't want your life story. This week we look a an actual true historical mystery, hundreds of people were actually killed in rural France by an unknown beast! It was in the papers and everything. History is truly stranger than fiction, unless like me you read 'Weird Fiction' in which case it clearly isn't. Also discussed, gigs (both...

This week we travel in our minds and hearts to Thailand to look at the Preta, a hungry ghost. More scatological than the hungry caterpillar the myth of this ghost proves that Buddhism isn't all warrior monks and emptying your mind. So if you are a jealous guy (listen to the song 'Jealous Guy' by Mase and P Diddy on the excellent album 'Harlem World' c.1997 to check) you might want to change your w...

What is a podcast? Is this a podcast? Are you a podcast? Who's to say. This week we look at the entertaining legend of the Platte River Ghost Ship. In Wyoming and in a worryingly small river this ship give a portents of doom in increasingly theatrical ways. We also look at some of the nice places to stay in the area. And talk about Chinese food, get confused, Highlander and a legal letter from an...

This week we look at the strange creature called 'Indrid Cold', possibly an Alien with a Willem Defoe smile. There have been multiple sightings of Smiling Man (three) but the main action takes place in the back roads of the West Virgina countryside, where all the hottest action takes place, wink wink, if you know you know. Lonely nights in the hills. Also Chris has some digestion issues with some...

*WARNING - BOARDERLINE RACISIT AUSTRALIAN ACCENTS EMPLOYED* (its retaliation for the terrible British accents Australian podcasters do) This week we go south of the boarder to Australia, Britain's Mexico, to check out the Hawkesbury River Monster, Australia's Loch Ness Monster, yes thats right Australia's Nessie has been sighted hundreds of times in the Hawkesbury river, which is very deep as its...

This week we look at a new-ish one the 'Black Stick Men Phenomenon' people all over the world (but mainly the UK and US as always, what is it with us?) seeing living stick men, that are a bit electrical. They seem to be interdimensional, so its a mind bender. Right, try this, imagine what it would be like for you if you were able to perceive and travel through the 5th dimension. Hard isn't it. I c...

The witching hour, when you wake up in the middle of the night. Is it because the industrial revolution forced us to sleep in patterns that are conflict of millions of years of evolution? Or is it because of a Mexican witch demon? We simply dont know either way so pick your poison. Sometimes a beautiful lady in white who kills you in an ok-ish way, some times a hag in black who kills you in a not...