Between Myth and Belief

They live in the sea as seals. On land, they pass as human. And if someone steals the skin they shed on shore, they can never go home. Selkies are one of the oldest and most quietly heartbreaking figures in Celtic and Norse folklore. Creatures who ask almost nothing of the people around them, and are betrayed anyway. In this episode, Beth and Michelle explore the selkie legends of Scotland, the Sh...

In the highlands of southern France, something was hunting people. For three years, from 1764 to 1767, La Bête du Gévaudan killed over a hundred men, women, and children across 700 square miles of rugged countryside, embarrassed the royal court of King Louis XV, and launched one of the largest coordinated hunts in French history. Soldiers failed. Professional wolf hunters failed. The king's own gu...

Before ghost hunting was a TV staple, Dr. Nandor Fodor was already doing it weirder and smarter than anyone else. In this episode we dig into the strange career of the paranormal investigator almost nobody talks about. From the Thornton Heath poltergeist to his most infamous case: a talking mongoose on the Isle of Man named Jeff who claimed to be born in New Delhi in 1852. Fodor's wild theory that...

This week, Michelle and Beth dig into one of the strangest, saddest, and most compelling folk traditions ever pulled from a forgotten archive box: the Benandanti of Friuli, Italy. Born into a calling, dispatched four times a year in spirit form to wage plant-based warfare in the fields, fiercely proud of who they were — until the Inquisition spent a century grinding that pride into confession. We...

What are dreams, really? Science says your brain is filing memories and simulating threats. Psychology points to the subconscious doing its messy work. Metaphysics suggests something far stranger, that it’s a doorway to other realms, other versions of yourself you can only half-remember come morning. This week, Michelle and Beth float through the dreamscape: shared dreams that two people experienc...

What happens when a community’s justice system fails, and the line between vigilante law and supernatural lore begins to blur? In this episode of Between Myth and Belief (formerly Folkloric), Michelle and Beth travel to the dark hollows of Booger Hole, West Virginia. Known for a string of mysterious disappearances and a history of post-Civil War violence, Booger Hole became the stage for one of Ap...

In the spring of 1973, in a small Southern Illinois town of about 800 people, something scratched at Henry McDaniel's door. He opened it. What he described was four feet tall, three-legged, pinkish-grey skin, eyes catching the porch light. It sent him rushing for his gun and sent the rest of Enfield into chaos. Michelle and Beth dig into the 1973 Illinois cryptid sightings from the ground up, the...

They were here before us. They will be here after we're gone. And in the meantime, they are definitely watching. For as long as people have been brave enough to go into the woods, trees have given us shelter, oxygen, fruit, and stories. People from all over the world and throughout history have looked up into those branches and felt something old looking back at them. So the question isn't if tree...

Let's breathe in the strange and suffocating tale of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, the phantom prowler who paralyzed an entire Illinois town in the summer of 1944 with nothing but a sweet smell and a whole lot of wartime dread. We dig into the moments that lit the fuse, the armed vigilantes who followed, and why the army chemical experts found absolutely nothing. Plus, we trace the long, weird histor...

Let’s take a walk through a blood soaked history of Greyfriars Kirkyard and the apparitions who do or maybe do not haunt there. We discuss the plague victims, mass graves, the Covenanters, and the monster who may be lurking in the dark. Plus, a bonus illness-induced, emotional rant about humanity and how we treat one another.          R4_00597_EXP01_Horror_atmosphere by kevp888 -- https://freesoun...

Follow along with us as we enter a different realm, beyond the known and into... Toronto, Canada. Where we watch the 1970s every day citizens embark upon a journey of mysticism and science. Philip never existed but he has gained a life in the minds of those who created him and for those of us who uncover this, for all intents and purposes, successful attempt to create a ghost.    View the document...

Most of us love to dance. School dances, dance clubs, weddings, etc., are all opportunities for those of us with the passion but not the professional skill to shake our groove thing. We dance until we need a drink or they switch to a song we dislike. But what if you couldn’t stop? What if your friends and neighbors were all dancing with you? What if none of you could stop? Join us as we explore th...

Time is like a river, or perhaps a babbling brook. Michelle and Beth jump into the time stream and visit fantastical places like across the street or down the road. Every place has a time slip story, those moments that capture you like a leaf in a dust devil and keep you twirling until you find yourself no longer in Kansas but out of time.

The mystery, the history, and the…science? This week Beth and Michelle discuss an area of the U.S. they both love as they set the scene for many myths and lore to come. This area can make a person ask a lot of questions and give few answers in return but will definitely leave a ton of room for speculation. So, close the curtains, don’t whistle, and ignore the voice in the woods calling your name....

Some beings endure over the centuries, not just surviving the encroachment of the modern world but thriving within new mediums. Whether it is in a Marvel movie, video games or a podcast about folklore, some beings still retain their relevance. Michelle and Beth discuss the nature and duality of Baba Yaga and her walking hut.    Beyond the Mother Metaphor: Baba Yaga's Ecofeminist Manifesto   Music...

Michelle's favorite cryptid finally swoops into an episode! Beth takes a skeptical, if empathetic, eye to the cryptids origins. Everything you ever wanted to know -or hypothesize- about the Mothman is in this episode. Is the Mothman real or a mass hallucination? A harbinger or a watcher? Or maybe a lonely soul looking for a companion. The Mothman may be the only one who knows.   " The Mothman Song...

The Cailleach, ancient hag, goddess of winter, she is the shaper of mountains. She is the keeper of storms and the weaver of endings. In this episode we discuss her steps through Celtic myth from Ireland to Scotland and beyond. We will uncover tales of icy reign, the power to sculpt land and her dual nature which is in the end so very human.   Music track: Heritage by Pufino Source: https://freeto...

What started as a morbid fascination with how some saints met their deaths, this episode turned an emotional corner as we discuss different martyrs and how they came to be. Michelle focuses on the ancient past and the more ‘creative’ endings these saints met. Beth touches on more recent history and we find ourselves angered and appalled. Why does someone need to die just to further their message?...

Fog hangs heavy, the road ahead is barely visible by the light of your lantern. You hear the thudding beat of hooves in the distance, perhaps a messenger on his task. An angry orange light ahead pierces the fog, and the heavy lantern drops away from your numb fingers as you stare in shock at the headless figure wrapped in a dark cloak astride a black steed. It's upheld hand gripping a jack-o'-lant...

Every state and every town has that one road where we are all a bit more cautious. Some of them are dangerous and have taken many lives, others have stores of phantom hitchhikers or ghostly headlights. Throw in a castle and a cryptid and you have one of the scariest stretches of asphalt: Clinton Road.

What are your teeth worth? It might be bartered for protection, traded for good health, or you may find a shiny half dollar as payment. We discuss the mythical creature known as the Tooth Fairy and it's many international incarnations.

Welcome to our first episode of Between Myth and Belief! Join us as we have conversations about all things preternatural and odd. This week we explore the mysterious unicorn and discover that Michelle is a Unicorn Girlie!

Between Myth and Belief is a bi-weekly podcast that will take a look at all the things in this world that make humans feel insignificant and scared or uncomfortable and confused. We will talk about the lore, the magic, the history, and the cryptids, as we discuss their significance in culture and society, both past and present. So tune in every other Sunday with Beth and Michelle.