The Victorian tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas has been celebrated by Bone and Sickle since 2018. This year is no exception as we share two stories in this episode, one comic, and one frightening. We begin with the Introduction to the 1891 anthology, Told After Supper, by the British writer, Jerome K. Jerome, … Continue reading A Christmas Ghost Story VII →

The post A Christmas Ghost Story VII appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

A short extra episode on Befana, the gift-bringing Italian witch associated with Twelfth Night, the end of the Christmas season. Included in the show is material from the book, “The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas,” traditional music of the season, audio from actual celebrations, and a few pop songs associated with la Befana.

The post La Befana, the Witch of Twelfth Night appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

A figure of mythic proportions during his lifetime, Vlad the Impaler’s notoriety receded over the centuries only to be resurrected in the 1970s, when a pair of Boston University scholars went public with theories connecting him to Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula. We begin with snippet of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the … Continue reading Vlad the Impaler →

The post Vlad the Impaler appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

The devilish reputation Ouija boards enjoy in horror films is a relatively new phenomenon. In the Victorian era, they were regarded by “psychical researchers” as something to be embraced in a spirit of calm scientific inquiry, while Spiritualists saw in them a means of reaching out to those who’d passed into the “Summerland,” an anodyne … Continue reading Devil Boards →

The post Devil Boards appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

Apparently, I clipped off the beginning of the show during the initial upload. It’s been fixed, so this would only effect those downloading yesterday, but for those who missed it, here it is..

The post Missing Intro for Episode 133 appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

Ouija boards, or more generally, “spirit boards” have antecedents going back to the very first days of the Spiritualist movement. We begin our show with a seasonally spooky visit to the cottage of the Fox sisters in Hydesville, New York, where the ghost of a murdered pedlar supposedly began communicating with the family through a … Continue reading Spirit Boards →

The post Spirit Boards appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

A special short announcement regarding the October 20 deadline for Trick-or-Treat-by-Mail for listeners joining our Patreon. Find out how you can receive a hand-packed candy bag from the home of Bone and Sickle Podcast. Each bag this year contains a special MYSTERY ITEM from Egypt! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/boneandsickle

The post Announcement Trick-or-Treat By Mail appeared first on Bone and Sickle.

We’re getting into the spirit of the season with a classic tale of witchcraft set in 17th-century Salem Village, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Young Goodman Brown.” Written in 1835 for New England Magazine, it later appeared in the 1846 collection, Mosses from an Old Manse, which also includes the excellent supernatural story, “Rappaccini’s Daughter.” Hawthorne … Continue reading “Young Goodman Brown” →

The post “Young Goodman Brown” appeared first on Bone and Sickle.