Crow and Fern's Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore, Mythology, and Everything in Between

Have you ever watched the Witcher and wondered if it was actually ever a real job? What if the answer was yes, but in addition to casting out demons and other foul creatures, you could also control the weather, summon dragons and all manners of spirits, speak every language, and cure disease? The job description you just read is for the position of solomonar-- and there are still people alive toda...

Welcome back, children! Yes, it’s been 3 weeks, and yes it was Crow’s fault, but we’re back, and this week we bring you: Philosophy, neuroscience, and androids! No, not the phones. The humanoid robots that would have been the best human companions if they’d just stop gaining consciousness. HAL 9000, David8, Ava, to name a few. If there’s one thing Sci Fi loves to do, it’s to freak us out. And it o...

I (Fern) am really excited to share an absolute favorite of mine, the tale of Kiviuq from Inuit mythology. This fascinating story shares the tale of a man lost at sea, trying to find his way home in the unforgivingly harsh Arctic climate. He faces strange and magical dangers as he passes through a dreamlike world, all the while doing his best not to starve or freeze to death. Michael Kusugak's...

Skip to 6:10 to jump right into the episode. Have you ever wondered what lay behind the chipper eyes of everyone’s favorite deep sea pineapple inhabitant? Why children make an appearance as harbingers of terror in so many horror movies? What makes someone take a look at a cat obsessed with lasagna and think ‘This cat is an eldritch god intent on the destruction of humanity’? Why are we so turned o...

Today I fulfill my promise to Crow to "put her through hell" as we discuss one of her favorite phobias-- rabbits and hares. We'll talk about the folklore throughout the ages and across the world. Are rabbits kind and helpful, devious tricksters, or downright dangerous beings who will use their innocent appearance to put us at ease right before they destroy us? Topics today include th...

Welcome BACK, children. In today's episode, we're finally going to be taking a look into a genre that more or less introduced Weird Fiction to a wider audience: Cosmic Horror. Crow takes us abroad the S.S What's It, so we can sail to the island of Greater Marrow. In Dredge we play a fisherman who explores the oceans around the island to catch a wide variety of fish. This is no fishing...

The world has always been fascinated with noxious nightshades. Visions, shape-shifting, contact with the dead-- these are just a few of the things associated with these toxic plants. This week we talk about both the science and the folklore surrounding belladonna and henbane, two of the old world's most important hexing herbs. Social Media Accounts: Instagram: crowandfernsguide TikTok: crow_an...

After the birth of her daughter in 1885, Charlotte Perkins Gilman suffered from severe postpartum depression. This led her to Doctor Silas Weir Mitchell, one of the most prominent neurologists of his time and a pioneer of the once popular rest cure. Two years after her divorce and three years after the treatment, in 1892, Charlotte wrote one of her most well known works: The Yellow Wallpaper. A st...

Datura is somehow the nightshade that no one knows about. And yet, despite that it's been used throughout the world to connect with the divine and peer into the future. This deadly plant has a rich lore, both in modern horror stories and the mythology of the past surrounding the vivid hallucinations it produces and the deftness with which it takes the lives of its users. I guarantee, this is t...

Welcome back, children, to another episode of 'are you guys ever going to stick to a proper release schedule?'. In today's episode, Crow and Fern wear a sardine suit and make their way through a pulsating fish processing planet. That's right, we're taking a look at How Fish is Made and what it truly means to choose . Are any of us really responsible for our choices? Are we sign...

Today we dispel the myth that transgender people are a recent phenomenon by reaching deep into ancient mythology and discussing the stories of Caeneus and Iphis from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Ovid is one of the great Roman poets, and in this poem he made the bold attempt to record the entire history of the world up to his time, bringing together a wide variety of stories under the collective theme...

In today's episode, Crow is late (once again) to bring us the story of Niki Junpei. Or, rather, Niki is here to bring us the story of Niki Junpei, because he's going to be our guide through Kobo Abe's desert of horrors in The Woman in The Dunes! Abe has long been described as 'The Kafka of Japan'. Although, honestly, that's taking away from the brand of surrealism he brings...

Love doesn't come as easily to some people as it does to others. For some of us, it just takes more time. In this fairytale we highlight a love that is hard won, but all the more beautiful for it. Join us as we follow Mannakin in his quest to win the heart of a princess who cannot love. This epic French tale includes a kingdom of adorable dogs, a fairy named after stinky cheese, and of course,...

Hello again, children! Boy, have we got a special episode for you. Today, Crow is going to be taking us on a tour of The Backrooms--a creative writing community that takes us through the backstage of our known universe. Where pools extended into infinity and stepping into the wrong elevator can take you to a whole of vast, endless, empty horror. Ask your moms for permission, pack your bags, and co...

Hi, it's me, Fern. I'm finally back. This episode is a little different from my normal ones. Over the course of this last month I've been dealing with the death of my brother, who took his own life. I've been compiling my thoughts on loss and grief and how to heal and the stories that have helped me feel a little peace. I wanted to put it all together into an episode to commemorate...

We're playing with the big boys this week, children. Arguably, with one of the fathers of weird fiction, none other than: Edgar Allan Poe! Like in the Kafka episode, there's an endless sea of suitcases to unpack here so we're going to be focusing on one tiny shoebox in the pile. Guilt. Many of Poe's characters fit the profile of the tortured villain, and many of these stories are o...

Make room, make room! The world's overpopulated and authors, artists, screenwriters alike are trying to think of solutions to save us from the consequences of our hubris. Crow's talking environmental dystopias this week as she dissects a weird favorite: Soylent Green! Grab a cup of hot cocoa and huddle up as the world burns around us, children, as we look into a genre that's become mor...

Clutch your pearls, children, it's another Crow Episode. Yes, it's true, ten million years later Crow has crawled out of her pile of decomposing leaves and blueberries to bring us the harrowing tale of a bunch of frenemies who join forces to teach us everything about killing your darlings. Today we're talking Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw, a book with an eye catching pr...

Today's story comes from India, where a series of very real attacks on sleeping people led to terrifying tales of a truly bizarre and horrifying cryptid. Join us as we try to discover what really happened in New Delhi on those dark nights where the Monkey-Man attacked.  Social Media Accounts: Instagram: crowandfernsguide TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide Twitter: @Crow_and_fern Email: crowandferns...

Crow is BACK and ready to unleash all the post-exam frustration in this in-between episode. We're talking possessed hands from outer space and Stanley Kubrick references as she and Fern discuss Alien Hand Syndrome. When hands develop a mind of their own, and when parts of the brain fail to communicate properly, we end up with body parts that start fighting with each other, grabbing things off the...

Fat-Frumos's adventures continue in this week's episode as he tries to perfect the art of abduction, fights an old lady over a horse, and tries to reverse his fiancee's self-induced blindness. The antics only get more bizarre as this time Fat-Frumos tries to help his pal the emperor find a true lady love of his own. Will there be wedding bells or death knells in our hero's near future?  Socia...

What's a hero to do when his father sends him off to end a 50-year-old feud, his feral mother-in-law chews through all the chains he uses to restrain her, and all the food at his bestie's party is actually made of stone? Fat-Frumos attempts to tackle all these issues in Mihai Eminescu's classic tale of adventure, tradition, and... textiles? Social Media Accounts: Instagram: crowandfernsguide TikTo...

History and folklore intersect in today's story about an African magic mirror and what happens when colonialist invaders decide that it should be theirs. Fern shares a dark tale that combines the mystic and impossible with very real, very tragic events in Mozambique. We'll discuss the disturbing past this tale preserves and the messages those who told it hoped to pass down.  Social Media Acco...

For this week's slice of folklore we venture into the rich world of cryptids, albeit in a place you might not expect to find one-- Ohio. Along the muddy banks of the Little Miami River (yes, that's still Ohio) lurks a strange yet fascinating creature known as the Loveland Frogman. Over the course of nearly seventy years the frogman has been sighted four times. This story captures everything from t...

We've all know that scene in Harry Potter where poor Neville faints as the mandrake screams. But what is the real story behind the fabled mandrake plant? Is it as dangerous as we've all been told? Why is it said to scream when uprooted? And what is the history that led to the rich sense of lore that clings to this strange, oddly human root? Mandrake is a very real plant with potent properties that...