Spirits: Mythology, Legends, & Folklore

Parental confirmations of ghosts, theories about a haunted sewing machine, and Schrodinger’s wedding guest? This episode has a lot, because it’s an urban legends episode, baby! Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of bodily functions, home invasions, divorce, and murder.  Housekeeping - Recommendation: This week, Amanda recommends Thank You For Listening by J...

Did you have an imaginary friend growing up? Was he a creepy shadow hanging out in the corner? Even if you didn’t, we’ve got plenty of scary stories submitted by our listeners for this urban legends episode! Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of murder, death, medical horror, military, dismemberment, dead animals, colonialism, bugs, and mutiliation.  Housek...

There’s something that’s just spooky about a hotel, haunted or not. But these hotels? They’re definitely haunted. But don’t worry, y’all, we’re not entering our haunting phase just yet.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of illness, death, child death, colonialism, misogyny, violence against women, murder, fire, lewd jokes, and dead bodies.  Housekeep...

We’ve got a lot of dragons in pop culture; funny dragons, scary dragons, wise dragons, vicious dragons. But who is the BEST dragon? Amanda and Julia are doing another bracket to figure it out! Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of death and immolation.  Housekeeping - Recommendation: This week, Julia recommends Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey. - Books: Check...

We’re joined by Mara Wilson, who regales us with her experiences growing up in a haunted house, living the “gothic valley” life, and what would be scarier to meet: a ghost or an alien? Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of misogyny, aircraft accident, earthquakes, parent death, illness, body horror, mental illness, murder, blood, animal death, and the Civil War....

Liminality. Transition. Limbo. Thin places. The betwixt and between! This episode is all about one of our favorite things in mythology and pop culture: liminal spaces!  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of child death, death, murder, and violence.   Housekeeping - Recommendation: This week, Julia recommends The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent . -...

It's Episode 300, which means we're giving Spirits some special updates and upgrades. You will notice freshened-up art and music on today's episode, but most importantly for you, we're giving you MORE and COOLER Patreon benefits.   New Benefits   That's right! We've added a bunch of fun new benefits and rejiggered what falls under which tier so that all of you get access to more stuff than you had...

It’s our 300th episode! And to celebrate, you’re getting an extra long urban legends episode! Ghost horses, ghost lights, office doppelgangers, ghost grandmas, and haunted houses? We’re hitting ALL the creepy and cool things this episode.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of animal death, drug use, death, illness, colonialism, displaced communities, suici...

The woods might be dark and full of wolves (which yes, they’re a metaphor), but together we can follow the path of the history of Little Red Riding Hood; from the oral traditions of the French peasantry, to the Brothers Grimm, and on to modern retellings.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of violence, death, lewd sexual and scatalogical humor, animal atta...

Welcome to Head Heart Gut, where the Multitude hosts argue about the best things using our head, our heart and our gut. This is a supercut of the first three Best Animal Heroes episodes, featuring Julia Schifini, Eric Schneider, and Jazza John! If you want to hear the judgment episode of this section, or get access to the years and years of arguments — go to multicrew.club to join the Multicrew! S...

From the Satanic Panic, to the urban legends of our youth, we talk to podcaster Sarah Marshall of You’re Wrong About to get her takes on creepiest and coolest ways urban legends have changed the world.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of QAnon, Satanic Panic, pedophilia, sexual abuse, child abuse, animal death, bugs, racism, gore, poisoning, anti-semitis...

Babies of unusual size, vegetable babies, animal babies, and more! This week we’re talking about the most interesting babies of mythology, folklore, and fairy tales, from the Minotaur to Thumbling and everything in between.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of pregnancy, birth, ableism, xenophobia, infertility, forced birth, abortion, misogyny, child aban...

A renovated haunted house, a transforming cat god, and of course, a creepy kid. We broke out the big spooky stuff for this episode where we’re all in the same room. Ooooooh spooky! Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of mental illness, suicidal thoughts, car accidents, genocide, racism, injury, and war. Housekeeping - Recommendation: This week, Amanda recommends...

It’s Eric’s birthday on the show, so we sit down to watch one of his childhood favorite films: Bedknobs and Broomsticks. And boy, it sure is a film! We talk WWII flavored magic adventures, con men, and an incredibly long dance number in this underloved Disney movie.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of war, Nazis, fascism, death, misogyny, displacement, a...

Big questions, little questions, these figures of folklore, mythology and world religion are here to answer them. We tackle camp quandaries, quitting jobs, and the world burning with their help.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of ableism, mental health, depression, homophobia, climate change, fascism, and hate crimes.  Guest Dr. Moiya McTier is a N...

Calling all sports fans! We’re joined by author KD Casey to talk about America’s pastime,  baseball, through the lens of modern legend, romance, and inclusivity.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of sexism, ableism, anti semitism, and homophobia.  Guest KD Casey is a romance writer and baseball enthusiast living in the Washington, DC, area, whos...

It’s a party, and Dionysus has invited you! As we wrap up “It’s All Greek to Me” with the party god, we look at his unique place on Olympus, the tragic origins of wine, and bucking societal expectations.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of mental illness, death, immolation, body image issues, cancer, gaslighting, premature birth, gore, animal attacks, su...

Come see the entire  Spirits Podcast  team LIVE, united in person for the first time since 2020, next FRIDAY at Caveat in NYC!Join us in-person (proof of vaccination required, mask strongly encouraged) or via LIVESTREAM or VOD!   So no matter where you are in the world, YOU CAN COME. Yes, you.   Buy a ticket NOW.Get your tickets  here : $15 in-person, $10 livestream.   See Privacy Policy at https:...

Amanda reveals she is the shower ghost, Julia demands answers and closure, and Eric comes out as anti-olive. It’s an urban legends episode and the last story is CONTENTIOUS.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of climate change, blood, murder, home invasion, genitalia, sleep paralysis, animal illness, death, and bugs.  Housekeeping - Live Show: Join us...

This week we’re joined by author Sascha Stronach to talk about his debut novel, The Dawnhounds . We chat about spreading Māori science fiction, mushroom cities, and being joyously weird. Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of pandemic, politics, colonization, colorism, racism, violence, mold/decay, sewage, and climate change.  Guest Sascha Stronach (Kāi Tahu...

Hestia is the living embodiment of the heart of the home. This oft-forgotten Olympian might not have gotten into the same shenanigans and antics that the other gods got into, but that doesn’t stop her from being an incredibly important goddess.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of death, birth, colonization, abandonment, execution, being buried alive, imp...

Julia’s house might be haunted, but we’re not gonna dwell on that. Instead, we’re revisiting how haunted pasta is, yelling at you about using homemade ouija boards, and picture ourselves as extremely haunted dolls.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of family member death, health conditions, bugs, and ouija boards. Housekeeping - Live Show: Join us on July...

It’s summertime and we’re revisiting our own hometown urban legends. Don’t go swimming in Lake Ronkonkoma, don’t visit the Hell House, and don’t look too deep into the military base that inspired Stranger Things. But DO grab a Long Island beer and listen to this episode.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of suicide, murder, death, execution, drowning, col...

We’re joined by author B.L. Blanchard to imagine a North America without colonization. We talk about map-making as world-building, returning home, and dancing the rice.  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of murder, imprisonment, colonization, climate change, death, heart attack, and estrangement.  Guest Brooke Blanchard, who writes under the name B. L...

As queen of the Olympians, Hera gets a bit of a bad reputation. But we’re here to tell you that not all of her stories focus on revenge and toxic relationships. She deserves some love too!  Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of misogyny, sexual assault, cheating/extramarital affairs, toxic relationships, childbirth, labor, premature birth, infertility, chil...