Video Teaser for New Bone & Sickle Episode —
TROLLS IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE. Not your Grandpa's lovable woodland lummox, these beasts from the old Sagas are truly ghastly creatures with some brutally off-putting ways. "She was both tall and stout, with strong features and a colour both black and blue, in every way like a troll. She lay in a silken shirt, which looked as if it had been washed in human blood..."
Stories told from historical texts with sound effects and music.
LISTEN HERE
/2026/04/27/trolls-in-medieval-literature/
(Or wherever you get your podcasts)
#boneandsickle #podcasts #podcastlife #folkhorror #folklore
How did you spend your HOLY SATURDAY?? Christ wasn't just lying around in the tomb. He was busy with the “HARROWING OF HELL" or “DESCENT INTO LIMBO."
"Descent into Limbo" etching by Pieter van der Heyden, after Pieter Bruegel (1551).
The idea that Christ descended into Limbo after His death is largely based on 1 Peter 3:18–20: "...being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient."
You never know what's going on right under your feet!
#boneandsickle #folklore #podcastersofinstagram #history #legends easter holyweek triduum middleages catholicism pieterbruegel
LISTEN HERE
/2026/03/07/trolls-pt-1/
(Or wherever you get your podcasts)
Historical stories told with sound effects and music...
First of a two-parter on those cruel, stupid, charming, and ugly TROLLS.
All stories told 19th-century Norwegian sorces.
ILLUSTRATION: Theodor Kittlesen, “Mountain Troll” (1887)
#boneandsickle #podcasts #podcastlife #folkhorror #folklore horrorpodcast horror history podcastersofinstagram trolls nordic monsters norway pagan heathen history
From Justin Mullis at AIPT... "A Season of Madness is a beautifully designed book, divided into fourteen chapters and boasting over 250 full-color photographs. It contains a bibliography and index, making it a worthwhile edition to any folklorist’s library. Researching it changed Ridenour’s view of Carnival and it might change yours, too."
Read the entire review at the link below!
Some of you might be thinking about heading to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras, but Carnival Season in Europe started weeks ago!
Folklore expert Al Ridenour explains it all in his raucous upcoming presentation on this Season of Madness at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles on February 15th.
You should go!
You should also check out Al's book: A Season of Madness: Fools, Monsters & Marvels of the Old World Carnival. It's a gorgeous, full-color history of winter shenanigans, celebrations, and low-level violence.
You know what to do!
In the Los Angeles area?
Bone & Sickle host, Al Ridenour, discusses his book on Carnival customs, A SEASON OF MADNESS. Come say hi, see some crazy visuals, and meet some Carnivalesque characters at PRS. Feb. 15
TICKETS/INFO; /e/fools-monsters-marvels-of-the-old-world-carnival-book-talk-with-author-tickets-1980296168147?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
#seasonofmadness, #carnival, #folkcarnival, #carnivalseason, #history
Carnival season in the southern hemisphere is often noted for it's skimpy outfits (male and female!), but try that in the northern hemisphere and you'll get frostbite on your sticky-out bits.
Learn about the history and traditions of European carnival season--which is NOW--in Al Ridenour's incredible new book, A Season of Madness: Fools, Monsters, and Marvels of the Old-World Carnival.
Fantastic images throughout! Available at libraries and fine retailers worldwide.
LISTEN HERE:
/2025/12/18/christmas-is-carnival-carols-and-calendars/
(or wherever you stream your podcasts)
OUR NEW BONE & SICKLE EPISODE...
looks at the historical cross-pollination of Christmas and Carnival customs, how a shifting calendrical system aided this transference, and how the little-known origin of a well-known Christmas carol highlights this process. We end up in Slavic lands, where the process is still ongoing.
#krampus #folklore #folkhorror #christmas #holidays #history #boneandsckle #darkchristmas #medievaltimes #medieval
LISTEN HERE
/2025/11/25/a-werewolf-in-court/
(Or wherever you stream your podcasts)
NEW EPISODE
In 1692, in what was the Baltic state of Livonia, there was a trial examining the case of man claiming to be a werewolf, one who serves God in Hell. We read for you the entire court transcript, and it's every bit as strange as you might imagine.
#boneandsickle #podcasts #podcastsofinstagram #historypodcast #werewolves #lycanthropy
LISTEN HERE
/2025/11/22/horror-fact-fiction-and-a-revelation/
(Or wherever you stream your podcasts)
NEW EPISODE
A special short episode looking at fictional evidence used to bolster horror narratives in literature, film, and broadcast media. We compare the found-footage phenomenon with earlier literary techniques and discuss some famous hoaxes and Halloween pranks, some historical and others closer to home.
#halloween #boneandsickle #podcasts #podcastsofinstagram #historypodcast #history #hoaxes #horrormovies
LISTEN HERE
/2025/10/30/halloween-fortune-telling-party/
(Or wherever you stream your podcasts)
NEW EPISODE
This year, in the tradition of Halloween fortune-telling, we have an INTERACTIVE DIVINATION GAME YOU CAN PLAY ALONG WITH AT HOME. It comes from aa 19th-century book on cartomancy called, The oracle of human destiny: or, the unerring foreteller of future events, and accurate interpreter of mystical signs and influences; through the medium of common cards.
TO PLAY ALONG, you will need an ordinary DECK OF CARS or you could can draw your cards from a VIRTUAL DECK like the one on deck.of.cards. (https://deck.of.cards).
You will also need to know the ELEMENTAL GROUP of your ASTROLOGICAL SIGN.
They are:
FIRE SIGNS: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
EARTH SIGNS: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
AIR SIGNS: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius.
WATER SIGNS: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
#halloween #boneandsickle #podcasts #halloweeneveryday #halloweenspirit #halloweenseason #halloweenlife #halloweenforever #halloween2025 #halloweenfun #halloweentime #halloweenhistory #halloweeniscoming #ilovehalloween #thisishalloween
LISTEN HERE
/2025/10/18/urban-legend/
(Or wherever you stream your podcasts)
NEW EPISODE
A Halloween-themed show for your nocturnal listening. What happened at an Illinois "Spook Show" back in 1968? Why are people still talking about and what were those voices? Headphones in and lights out for best results.
#halloween #jackolanterns #halloweenpumpkins #boneandsickle #podcasts #podcastsofinstagram #historypodcast #history #halloweeneveryday #halloweenspirit #halloweenseason #halloweenlife #halloweenforever #halloween2025 #halloweenfun #halloweentime #halloweenhistory #halloweeniscoming #ilovehalloween #thisishalloween
