Spirits: Mythology, Legends, & Folklore

We are joined by Felicia Day (!!!!!!!!) to talk about her newest graphic novel, Lost Daughter of Sparta, as well as Greek mythology, mythological retellings, and how these stories help us look at how modern society treats women. Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of misogyny, ageism, grief, infidelity, human sacrifice, death, sexual assault, kidnapping, queerpho...

In preparation for the new Christopher Nolan epic, we’re visiting the ORIGINAL epic - The Odyssey. We walk you through the story, the plot beats to expect, what characters to look out for, and give our own thoughts and opinions on what an adaptation of The Odyssey should be. And yes, that runtime is correct - this is like our own epic of an episode. Content Warning: This episode contains conversat...

We can’t talk about Arthurian Legend without talking about the Most Knight of All Time: Lancelot. We love this complex character, at times a Gary Stu, at times complicated and yearning. But you’ll hopefully come away with a new appreciation of the most well-known knight. Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of adultery, kidnapping, sex, death, violence, mental ill...

We’re beating the heat by giving ourselves chills with your urban legends! From taking a gap year to summon demons to offering the fae the most exotic snacks you can find, we think you’re going to walk away from this episode with more than your fair share of goosebumps! Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of colonization, military, death, and suicide (21:20 - 29:...

We’re joined by singer and songwriter Sammy Rae (of Sammy Rae & the Friends) to chat about her favorite thing besides music: cryptids! We hear about her becoming an honorary member of the Cryptozoology Museum, her love of cryptid documentaries, and the story of the UFO sightings of Varginha Brazil. Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of collective trauma, dea...

Pull up a chair at the Round Table as we discuss the centerpiece of King Arthur’s court! How many knights sat there (more than you’d think!), what did it look like, and what did it represent to these knights that swore fealty and chivalry?  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of death, violence, and abduction.  Housekeeping - Books: Check out our previo...

We teamed up with the folks at the Wine Enthusiast Podcast to chat about all things fairy wine, fairy food, the trope of “don’t eat the fairy food”, as well as how the tropes are being utilized in modern fantasy and romantasy! Grab a glass of wine (that didn’t appear in the middle of a ring of mushrooms, please!) and dive in with us.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about...

We are offering our services as ghost mediators. It seems like something some of you need. Also featuring ghost unions, the most useless form of clairvoyance we’ve ever heard, and a creepy white-eyed grandma. Y’know, the usual.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of sexual content, family death, and pregnancy.  Housekeeping - Books: Check out our previ...

Gardeners, as you start to see your plants begin to sprout, be cautious that there might be nature spirits lurking in your (garden) beds! This roundup, we talk about the various yokai that might be haunting your trees, fruits, and vegetables this spring and summer - gangly pumpkin spirits, dueling melons, and the BEAN BOIS! Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of...

We’re joined by the fabulous Keala Kendall to deep dive into the history of Hawaii, the ghosts of imperialism that haunt the island, and what Hawaiian Gothic looks like as we discuss her new book, That Which Feeds Us ! Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of family death, colonization, racism, enslavement, gentrification, stillbirth, grief, sexual assault, genital...

Enjoy this preview of today's bonus urban legends episode over on Patreon! Join us for as little as $4/month (or start a free trial!) at patreon.com/spiritspodcast Amanda: Just f*ck in the woods. Julia: Girl please. Amanda: I said what I said. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Okay, sorry it took us this long to do a vampire episode. As an apology, here’s ALL of the vampire stories you could possibly want from across the world - except for that classic European vampire. Because there’s way cooler ones across the globe! Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of death, blood, pregnancy, stillbirth, child birth, miscarriage, colonization, se...

You know, we don’t have to scar children with stories of how they’re going to be eaten in the woods. But also, if we didn’t, would we have as many wonderful listener submitted stories to read in our Urban Legends episodes? Also, what is the most haunted appliance in your house and why is it your printer?  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of death, family...

We’re creating the normie to trickster pipeline with the help of scholar and game designer, Isaac Sanders! We talk about their work around the archetype of the trickster, not only in folklore and mythology, but in day to day life.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of queerphobia, racism, fascism, and spiders.  Guest Isaac Sanders (they/them) is an Af...

We’re getting into Rome’s festivals, and April is FULL of them! We’re celebrating the harvest, we’re celebrating sex, we’re celebrating wine, shepherds, flowers and more! Get excited for the month ahead!  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of animal death and sacrifice, sexual content, slut shaming, misogyny, pregnancy, immolation, death, and murder. ...

We love mess, and Queen Guinevere of Arthurian legend? There’s a lot of mess there! There’s scandal, there’s infidelity, AND AN EVIL TWIN!! We discuss a woman that a lot of Arthurian scholars and writers simply don’t know what to do with.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of infidelity, misogyny, abduction, death, immolation, sexual assault, sexual conten...

Check out this episode from our friends at Historical Homos all about the Queer History of Witchcraft! In this episode, they ask and answer questions like when did “wise women” in the woods become “evil hags”? How did colonialism export Europe’s hag-phobia worldwide? And how did queer people turn witchcraft into a symbol of defiance, glamour, and spiritual fulfilment? Content Warning: This episode...

The world is READY for this Urban Legends episode, featuring ghostly white pants on a muddy hike, creepy child phrasing, and of course, a call back to our favorite ghost, Crince.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of colonization, pregnancy, stillbirth, and miscarriage.  Housekeeping - Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, guests’ books,...

Have you ever heard a rooster crowing in the new day and wondered why they did that? Would it surprise you to learn that there’s a bunch of myths explaining why? From China to Ancient Greece and Portugal, legendary roosters and chickens have captured the imagination of storytellers! Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of animal death, animal fighting, colonizatio...

You might not think about love, sex, and gender when you think about the Middle Ages, but you might be surprised! We are joined by the co-curators of the Spectrum of Desire exhibition at The Met Cloisters to talk about topics like queering the past, gender identity, and what art can tell us about those things during the Medieval period.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations ab...

The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that Spirits Podcast has to of course do a Lady of the Lake episode as part of our Arthurian series! Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of war, violence, drowning, religious persecution, death, blood, murder, viole...

We are joined by podcaster extraordinaire, Eteng Ettah, as we dive into urban legends submitted by you, our Conspiriters! From after-school haunted shenanigans, to a make-up stealing ghost (Sephora is EXPENSIVE), this episode has a little bit of something for everyone.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of death, elder abuse and manipulation, hanging, suic...

Years ago, we had a cursed episode all about horses. Now, to celebrate our 10 year anniversary AND The Year of the Horse, we visit some new horses (and murder horses) from folklore and mythology around the world.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of murder, gore, drowning, sexual assault, animal death, abduction, violence against women, gun violence, and...

Happy 10 Year Anniversary from your friends at Spirits! To celebrate, we’re revisiting the subject of our first ever episode: Persephone and Hades. We look at the story through a decade of new experiences, life changes, and so much more. Thanks for joining us.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of racism, death, animal death, blood, pedophilia, abduction,...

A new year, a NEW MYTHOLOGY SERIES. Welcome to our Arthurian Legend series. We’re starting with its namesake: King Arthur - the man, the myth (???), the legend. We talk about historical origins, Rome demanding “money please!!!”, and the surprising retrieval of the sword in the stone! Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of sexual assault, infidelity, warfare, miso...