The Macabrecast

From the murky waters of Loch Ness emerges one of the most well known cryptids. This week, Holly will introduce us to the Loch Ness Monster, better known as Nessie! There have been thousands of Nessie sightings over the years, but we'll talk about the most prominent ones and what the Loch Ness monster may have to do with Kelpies.

Join us this week to learn about an interesting Celtic mythological creature: the Kelpie. Holly shares information about these terrifying horse spirits and their many ways of luring their victims into the water. We'll also be discussing their possible connection to one of the most famous cryptids, the Loch Ness monster!

We're going back to the basics this week with a macabre material! Brooke will tell us all about the history of uranium glass and explain why uranium glass is toxic. It's a very common glass and you may even have some around your home! Not to worry, it's nothing like radium or the green dyes filled with arsenic.

This week we have one of Holly's favorite survival stories to talk about! In 1921, Ada Blackjack joined an expedition to Wrangel Island as a seamstress. When supply ships failed to arrive, things took a dark turn for Ada and the four men who were there with her. Ada started the expedition as the only woman and the only Inupiat person, and she would end it as the only survivor. 

Think you saw something swinging from branch to branch? Did you catch a little movement on the trunk of a tree? It might just be the Pacific Northwest’s very own Tree Octopus! Brooke is here this week to educate us all about this fantastical creature and cryptid. We will learn all about the habits, predators, and creation of the PNW Tree Octopus.

Do you have a phrogger? We hope not, because a phrogger is someone who is living in your house without you knowing! In 2019, Brittany and James Campbell found out that someone had been living in their house in the most terrifying way. Holly will tell us all about their experiences and the aftermath of this phrogging incident.

Last week, Brooke gave us an overview of murder ballads and their interesting history. This week, Brooke will continue the discussion of murder ballads with the tale of the Twa Sisters/Two Bonny Swans! She'll be taking an in depth look at this murder ballad full of revenge, courtship rituals, and making people into violins.

We may think of slow love songs when we hear the word "ballad," but ballads have a dark history! We'll be talking about murder ballads which started as a way to share information and warn people of danger. Brooke will be telling us all about the history of these ballads and the way they have transformed over the years, particularly under the influence of capitalism.

A flood is already bad enough, but in 1919 Boston saw a flood of molasses devastate the area! This week Holly will walk us through this tragedy that ended with 21 people dead and around 150 injured. Get ready to hear about company incompetence, molasses science, and an unnatural disaster.

A heads up to all our listeners, this episode and photos related to it will include a lot of dolls! Brooke will be talking with us all about pediophobia, which is the fear of dolls. We'll get to dive into some psychological studies and learn about why so many people find dolls unsettling, even if they don't have pediophobia!

As we get closer to the end of Pride month, let's take some time to learn about why the LGBTQIA+ community celebrates pride at this time of year! Holly will walk us through the historical contexts around the Stonewall Uprising, what happened at Stonewall, and the legacy that came from it. We owe a lot of our ability to celebrate Pride the way we do today to Drag Queens and Kings like Storme DeLave...

Happy Pride month again from the Macabrecast! We are getting into a great pride month topic which, of course, involves monster theory, Godzilla, and gender. Holly will walk us through the historical contexts around the original Godzilla movies and then we will get to why we are really here. We will be talking about the many theories about what Godzilla's gender is and talking about what the signif...

Happy Pride month from your Macabrecast crew! As we celebrate the history of queer activists, we also want to get into another kind of history. Brooke will be telling us all about the origins and history behind the word queer, including a discussion around why some folks within the LGBTQIA+ community choose to use it and why others choose not to.

We're rounding out our ghostly knowledge this week with legend of Okiku. This harrowing tale is a traditional classic in Japan, but you may also recognize her from a (very famous) movie. In this episode we learn a bit about the original tale, and what has come of Okiku's legend since.

This time we are introducing a very little known local cryptid. Join us in this episode as Holly tells us all about the giant shrimp of Bremerton. The Giant Shrimp in the Laundry room may need a shorter title but is very mysterious and very strange! We are so excited to get into this unique story

We have another spooky creature to talk about this week! Holly brings us back to chat about the Ol' Higue, a creature we referenced in our episode with Yelena about the White Witch of Rose Hall. We will also be chatting about the similarities of this creature to others like the Sucouyant, the Asema, and the Lagaroo. Get ready to learn all about these Latin American and Caribbean vampires!

Is it a bird? A cryptid? No, it's Mothman! Brooke will be telling us all about Point Pleasant's most famous resident. Mothman has always been a mysterious figure and we will dive into all the theories about where this creature comes from and why he's depicted with such a great figure.

Welcome to part two of the Phoenix Goddess Temple! Be sure to check out part one for the origin and reception of the Phoenix Goddess Temple from Arizona. This week we will be wrapping it up with information about the arrests and the trial related to the Phoenix Goddess Temple. 

And here we are again with another two part episode! This time, Holly will be walking us through the origin and downfall of the Phoenix Goddess Temple from Arizona. Let's learn together what it means to be a goddess and what exactly was going on at the Temple! These episodes will also have us talking about important topics like the decriminalization of sex work. 

We have another haunted episode! This week Holly is bringing us back to Norway after a listener request and will be covering the Dalen Hotel. This hotel has it all from the famous English Woman haunting to historic architecture. 

Welcome back to the second part of Brooke's buried alive series! Check out Episode 52 on premature burial if you haven't already listened. This week, Brooke will be telling us all about the different safety coffins created to make sure the "dead" really can talk. 

We’ve decided to be more forgiving to ourselves (and our listeners) in 2024. This episode will be the first of a two part series with Brooke on Premature Burial and Safety Coffins. In this episode we focus in on all the horrifying ways people have been buried alive throughout history! Let’s get hivey!

We are so excited to close out Black History Month with an episode dedicated to Dr. Pauli Murray! Dr. Pauli Murray was born in the US in 1910 and would become an integral part of the civil rights movement. As a Black fem-presenting person, they championed ideas like intersectionality, worked alongside people like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thurgood Marshall, and even became ordained. Take a listen to...

Welcome to our 50th episode celebration! What better way to celebrate 50 episodes of the Macabrecast than with the most chilling topic of all: taxes. This week, Holly will tell us all about a specific tax happening all over the globe called the Bachelor Tax. We'll learn about Professional Lady Rejectors, tax evasion, eugenics, and so much more.

After a much needed holiday season break, we're FINALLY back for another episode! This week, we talk extreme dehydration, asceticism, and dive into the history of the Shingon Monks from Yamagata, Japan who used take self sacrifice to a whole new level.