Fireside Folklore with Hades

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! Tonight, our very own Apollon has chosen an episode of old-time radio from the series Box 13 . Here, we learn that sometimes, the mind can manifest curses more horrifying than anything seen in horror movies. We'll take a trip to the Bayou and find out what happens when a man is cursed and believes that death is nigh. If you have any feed...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! I, Hades, removed an episode from this feed. Yes, though the Underworld doesn't generally let anything go, this time, I struck down something I said. It was the episode offering you the chance to sit by our fireside. It now has a permanent home which can be found at firesidefolklorewithhades.com on the right side, under The Olympian Game...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! Welcome back to another installment of our 13 Nights of Halloween event. What happens when an innocent grocery run turns into a harrowing game of cat and mouse? In tonight's urban legend, our star Artemis gets more than she bargains for when she goes out to buy a few bags of Halloween candy for those trick-or-treaters. And, as promised,...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! We're back with another short story, this time read by Hermes, entitled the Inn by Guy De Maupassant. This story explores isolation and the trick our mind can play when left to its own devices without someone to keep things in check. Hermes, being Hermes, took liberties with his pronunciations of certain words, but I'm sure you alre...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! Thank you for joining us for our third night in our 13 Nights of Halloween series. Tonight, we'll be listening to "Catch Kill", an episode from the old-time radio show, Darkness, chosen by our very own Athena. This tale explores the concept of taking justice into one's own hads, as well as not judging books (or in this cas...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! Thank you for joining us for our second night of Halloween horror. Tonight, we explore the importance of ensuring you know what you're getting into before tying the knot. In our tale, Mr. Fox, by Joseph Jacobs, we are taken on a harrowing journey as Lady Mary learns that her dashing suitor, Mr. Fox, is anything but loving and honorable. ...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! Thank you for joining us on this spooky journey to celebrate Halloween. We start this morbid tour beyond the veil by exploring a universal fear: death. Can opulence and power truly keep death at bay, or is it just an illusion that crumbles under the weight of inevitable fate? Join us on an eerie exploration of Edgar Allan Poe's haunting...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! While producing the 13 Nights of Halloween, my Underworld Undead Quartet composed some songs that were either too cutesy, too weird, or too out-of-genre to be used, and so, here, for your listening pleasure, are those tunes which I found too exquisite to be cast into oblivion, yet not up to the task of delivering the kind of spooktacular expe...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! I bring both good and bad news in this update. The bad news is that despite completing the writing of "The Golden Pail," my divine family has been dragging their feet when it comes to actually recording this tale. Though I aimed to finish last week, earthly accomplishments can't keep up with my divine magic. The good news, howe...

Send over your dead SMS messages. [Verse 1] In the land where shadows stretch beneath the olive tree, A people’s hope is shattered, like ruins washed to sea. The ruthless hand of Israel, relentless in its claim, Has torn apart the living—no victor in this game. I am Hades, lord of death, I’ve seen this all before, The endless cycle of cruelty, suffering at its core. But now I stand in silence, as...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! On September 9, Google celebrated the s'more with a doodle, leading Hades to go on a quest to find out why, especially since other, more interesting things happened on September 9, such as television's first successful demonstration in 1927! The s'more was first introduced to the wider world on September 9, 1925 in a newspaper....

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! Well, it isn't exactly a story. At least, not in the traditional sense of the word, but sometimes, other, more important things need to be aired, like Apollon's disdain for mortals, (even our mortal conduit), botching his name on this podcast. So, while I continue plugging away at the Golden Pail, I'll allow my nephew to throw...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! I know we've been pretty quiet lately, but my husband has actually been working on the Golden Pail, despite the lack of any trailers. It just got to a point where he thought you might know the story in full even before we finished producing it! So, he tried to get his Roman counterpart Pluto to help fill in the void, but ... well ... we...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! What happens when Pluto tries to retell an urban legend? He gets flustered, Jupiter gets fired, and everything falls apart. Hopefully, you all know the story well enough already that you can fill in the missing pieces, because, unfortunately for you, this episode doesn't come anywhere close to doing the story any justice. When Hades retu...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners. I tried my best. I wanted to leave this podcast. Nobody wanted to hear me complain. I couldn't get anyone to cooperate with me. Despite all of my setbacks, though, Hades wouldn't allow me to go. What kind of nonsense is this? Knowing what I know about him, I decided it was best not to argue.

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! What happens if you're in a catch-22 that could cost your life? In this teaser, Hassan finds himself in just such a predicament. After successfully fetching the princess's horse, she strikes it down and says that she won't come out of her chambers until the horse is brought back to life. Of course, doing such a thing would be a...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! Today, Hades tells you all how happy he is sitting by the Lethe working on his podcast. All is not as it seems, however, for within his message lies another more dramatic one. Can you work it out? If so, feel free to send your answer to Zeus@firesidefolklorewithhades.com and you'll win a $20 gift card to a shop of your choice. Just don&a...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! In this episode, Hades retells the story of Baucis and Philemon. Rather than reading from a book, he simply tells you the tale from his own memory of it. In this story, we explore the concept of Xenia, hospitality given to all guests and strangers--a concept that is sacred to Zeus. We hope you enjoy it. The other deities are indisposed, thoug...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners. In this trailer, we learn that paying it forward isn't just for humans! No, apparently it's a fashionable trend for the animal kingdom as well. Thankfully, they did because it saved Hassan's life! The tale is unfolding quite nicely, but it's been a much slower slog than I ever thought possible. So listeners, I've had...

Send over your dead SMS messages. 'nuff said!

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! Welcome to the new era of the Underworld podcast--a podcast which has been tarnished for way too long! As for those Greek gods, I've detained them for the time being, until they can bring back the glory of what the Underworld was meant to be.

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! Artemis here with a story from Japan. This one is about a bad-tempered woman and what happened after she overreacted to a sparrow's honest mistake. Thankfully, unlike in last week's tale, nobody faces their demise! Good always triumphs over evil, but sometimes evil actually gets the opportunity for redemption. If you'd like to...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Greetings, listeners! Revenge is not a dish best served cold! In fact, it seems that our princess thinks it is best served hot. Fiery hot. However, that's a discussion for another day. For now, just know that she is cooking up something and when she's finished, all I'll be able to say is, "Well done."  If you have any commentary, as ever,...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Hey there, listeners. This episode is a bit of revelry Uncle Hades displayed over the weekend. Just don't tell him I shared it. At least not for awhile. You see, with him, it's important to ask for forgiveness rather than for permission. He has always empathized with Rumpelstiltskin's plight, and while we were all just hanging out after the story on...

Send over your dead SMS messages. Hello there, listeners. It's Hestia and today I thought I'd read a story by the fireside. As the goddess of hearth and home, I thought it would be a cozy way to enjoy our tale. I also couldn't resist calling upon our grim brother to do the honors of playing the Great January. The others just couldn't manage to do it without laughing! In this ta...