The Feral Folklorist

This time, I’m sharing “The Boy Who Drew Cats,” a Japanese folktale about a small temple boy who won’t stop sketching cats—on scraps of paper, in margins, anywhere he can get a bit of ink. The priests think it’s a pointless habit until the temple starts to feel unsettled: food goes missing, something moves through the hall at night, and the cats in the story aren’t always the kind that breathe. It’s a quiet tale about protection, attention, and the way small things can end up standing between you and what comes creeping in after dark.<...

Hot Foot is the most well known term. In this episode, we dig into the old Southern conjure practice known as foot track magic—the belief that a person’s footprint can be used as a direct line to their body, luck, and movement. From West African spiritual traditions to hoodoo and rootwork in the American South, we trace how the simple act of walking became a point of magical contact. We’ll look at historical folklore collections, the logic behind swept yards and readable ground, and why the space around gates, paths, and doorways has always matter...

This time, I’m sharing “The Woman Who Married a Bear,” an old northern folktale about a girl who goes missing into the woods and returns with a husband no one quite understands. In some versions he is gentle, in others he is feared, but he is never entirely one thing. It’s a story about promises made in winter, the thin line between human and animal, and what it means to live with something powerful that the village does not trust.

Feral Folktales is where I step aside from the main show and tell a straight folktale...

Medusa is more than a monster in a hero story. In this episode of The Feral Folklorist, we look at Medusa as a protective figure tied to the Evil Eye and the old idea that envy and bad intent can reach a person through attention. We cover the history of the gorgoneion (Medusa’s head) as an apotropaic charm—meaning a harm-turning image—used on shields, temples, coins, armor, and doorways to hold a boundary at the edge of the home and the body. We also break down how Medusa’s image changes over time, from the early feral mask mea...

This time, I’m sharing “The Man Who Sold His Shadow,” a European-style folktale about a bargain that looks harmless at first and the quiet trouble that follows it home. When a man trades away his shadow for comfort and ease, the world slowly stops responding to him the way it should. People look past him. Doors hesitate. Even daylight feels uncertain. It’s a story about belonging, recognition, and the parts of yourself that can’t be exchanged without consequence.

Feral Folktales is where I step aside from the main show and tell a straight folktale—simple, spok...

Some moments aren’t for action—they’re for waiting. In this episode, we step into the folklore of time itself: the hours we were warned not to touch, the nights we were told to leave well enough alone, and the ways folk magic used clocks, moons, and calendars not for beauty, but for boundaries.

We trace the old timing rules—why certain work was only done by daylight, why the dark moon was considered too still for movement, and how even the ticking hands on a kitchen clock became signs in folk logic. We’ll look at the str...

This time, I’m sharing “The Monkey King Tricks the Demon,” a Chinese folktale-style story about a mountain road gone quiet and the kind of creature that thinks a sealed jar is the same thing as control. The Monkey King walks in looking harmless, lets the demon believe he has him caught, and then turns that belief against him—escaping without being seen and returning to the jar just in time to be “found” again. It’s a story about patience, pride, and what happens when a bully keeps checking the lock and still can’t feel safe.

Feral Folktale...

This time, I’m sharing “The Men of the Turning Year,” a Czech and Slavic-style folktale about a girl sent into a winter forest to fetch what winter doesn’t give. In a clearing, she finds twelve men around a small fire—each one tied to a piece of the year, each one taking his turn. When she asks plainly and takes only what’s offered, the year bends for her just long enough. But when someone else shows up with demands, the cold comes back fast, and the story reminds you why people said time can be asked, but it can’t...

Needle and thread don’t just mend. In this episode, we step into the older folklore of sewing—where stitches could bind a person’s luck, knots could lock a fate in place, and finishing the wrong piece at the wrong time was believed to invite trouble into a house. We trace the warnings that followed the needle: why sewing after dark was avoided, why certain garments were never completed during illness or mourning, and how cloth became a quiet place to hold fear, hope, and restraint.

Then we get into the mechanics beneath the superstition. Why unfini...

Feral Folktales is where I step aside from the main show and tell a straight folktale—simple, spoken, and exactly as it’s meant to be heard. These bonus episodes are just a little something extra between the full installments of The Feral Folklorist, which is where you’ll find the deeper dives into history, folklore, magic, hauntings, and the stranger corners of human belief.

This time, I’m sharing “The Cat That Swallowed the Stars,” a folktale about a village that wakes up one morning to find the night sky noticeably emptier—and a cat that’s looking a litt...

Season 2 opens with spirit communication. In this episode, we’re stripping the velvet off the Victorian séance to look at the grit underneath. We trace the path from the first mechanical "raps" in a drafty New York house to the high-stakes, locked-door sessions that governed the lives of the living. You’ll learn how the Fox sisters turned grief into a telegraph system, why an invitation to a sitting was a social summons you didn't dare turn down, and how a room full of powerful men ended up taking orders from a sound in the dark.

Then...

Holiday folk magic, protective charms, and old-world winter witchery you can still use today. While the world decks the halls, we’re lacing cookies with fixed sugar, slipping sachet powders into gift wrap, and turning ornaments into spell jars.

This bonus episode of The Feral Folklorist unwraps the older, darker magic baked into the season—from Yule fires and Saturnalian chaos to the Wild Hunt and the real reason we hang wreaths on doors. You’ll learn how to fix cookies, cards, and wrapping paper for magical effect, and how the protective roots of evergreens, ornaments, and even t...

Feral Folktales is where I step aside from the main show and tell a straight folktale—simple, spoken, and exactly as it’s meant to be heard. These bonus episodes are just a little something extra between the full installments of The Feral Folklorist, which is where you’ll find the deeper dives into history, folklore, magic, hauntings, and the stranger corners of human belief.

This time, I’m sharing “Duppy and the Silk-Cotton Tree,” a Jamaican tale about a mother, her boy, and the uneasy nights that follow when a duppy (a spirit) keeps close to the roots of...

Feral Folktales is where I step aside from the main show and tell a straight folktale—simple, spoken, and exactly as it’s meant to be heard. These bonus episodes are just a little something extra between the full installments of The Feral Folklorist, which is where you’ll find the deeper dives into history, folklore, magic, hauntings, and the stranger corners of human belief.

This time, I’m sharing “Grýla and the Yule Lads,” an Icelandic winter tale about a mountain giantess, her thirteen troublesome sons, and the uneasy nights when families believed these visitor...

Feral Folktales is where I step aside from the main show and tell a straight folktale—simple, spoken, and exactly as it’s meant to be heard. These bonus episodes are just a little something extra between the full installments of The Feral Folklorist, which is where you’ll find the deeper dives into history, folklore, magic, hauntings, and the stranger corners of human belief.

This time, I’m sharing “The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle,” an old English tale about restlessness, wish-making, and the trouble that follows when nothing ever feels like enough.

A n...

The Dybbuk Box - wood, metal, a couple of drawers. But the moment people touch it, things start to unravel—sickness, nightmares, strange smells, broken lives.

In this episode, we dig into the origin story of one of the internet’s most infamous “haunted objects”—and what it gets right (and wrong) about Jewish folklore, spirit possession, and the figure of the dybbuk itself. We’ll look at where the story came from, who kept it alive, and why cursed objects hit so hard in a world already cracking at the edges.

Then we shift into the mag...

She stands by the road. In a white dress. Silent. Watching. And no matter what country you’re in, someone has a story that starts just like that.

In this episode, we trace the recurring shape of the Lady in White—across highways, rivers, cultures, and centuries. From La Llorona to Resurrection Mary to the Irish Banshee, we’ll break down the folklore behind these mourning spirits, and why their stories all carry the same weight: grief that never got a place to rest.

Then we’ll talk about what that means magically—unrested spirits, threshold...

High in the Carpathian hills, the ruins of Cachtice Castle still whisper her name. In this episode, we descend into the history and legend of Elizabeth Bathory—the Hungarian countess accused of bathing in blood and condemned without a trial. You’ll hear what really happened inside those castle walls, what the records say, and what the folklore invented to fill the gaps.

We’ll trace how a powerful noblewoman became Europe’s most enduring monster, how her story turned from scandal to symbol, and why the image of the “blood countess” still bleeds through pop culture and magical...

White-washed and sun-cracked, the tomb of Marie Laveau stands in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 like it’s still waiting for someone to knock. In this episode, we dig into the magic and myth surrounding the most famous Voodoo Queen of New Orleans—and the strange rituals that still cling to her grave. You’ll hear how this Creole healer became a living legend, why her tomb draws thousands each year, and what it means when people mark those triple Xs on the stone. We’ll talk about the real history of Marie Laveau—midwife, rootworker, Catholic, conjure queen—and how folklore...

In 1928, a Pennsylvania folk healer named Nelson Rehmeyer was beaten and killed by three men who believed he’d hexed them. They weren’t strangers—they knew him, had sat at his kitchen table, and came armed with folk instructions: steal his spellbook, take a lock of hair, and destroy them to break the curse. When the fire they set didn’t catch, the legend began.

This episode unpacks the true story behind what became known as the Hex Murder of York County—a case where powwow, the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition of Bible-based folk healing, was twisted into justi...

Blue bottle trees aren’t just porch decorations—they’re spirit traps. In this episode, we dig into the Southern and African origins of this folk magic tradition, where glass bottles are used to confuse, trap, or drive off wandering spirits. You’ll learn how this practice came over from the Congo, how it changed in the American South, and why blue is the color most often used to keep bad energy away. We’ll talk about how bottle trees work, what kinds of spirits they’re meant to catch, and the signs that one might be doing its job a little...

Mirrors are supposed to show us the truth—but in folk magic, they do a whole lot more. In this episode, we’re heading to Louisiana’s most famously haunted home to unravel the legends behind the Myrtles Plantation and the mirror said to trap spirits inside its frame. We’ll walk the line between history and haunting, breaking down the folklore of Chloe, the footsteps that stop on the seventeenth stair, and the strange echoes of grief that linger in reflective glass. Then we’ll dive into the magical logic behind mirror rituals, spirit containment, and why some mirrors sh...

For as long as there have been hearths, the kitchen has been more than a place to cook—it’s been the heart of household magic and the first line of defense against what doesn’t belong. In this episode, we delve into the world of culinary omens, protective recipes, and everyday tools imbued with meaning. From bread that rises—or refuses to—to iron pots hung for protection, from salt lines to spoon falls that predict a visitor, we’ll trace how food and fire have carried warnings and blessings across cultures. 

You’ll hear the history behind...

For generations, sharp tools have done more than carve wood or cut rope—they’ve drawn boundaries, ended spiritual ties, and held protection in place. In this episode, we’re digging into the world of ritual knives, iron nails, and other edged tools used in folk magic across cultures. From black-handled conjure blades to coffin nails pulled from grave dirt, we’ll break down how these objects are used to bind, banish, protect, and sever. You’ll hear the history, the magical logic, and the real risks of working with sharp magic—plus how to use these tools with purpose and...

For centuries, people have whispered about the signs that death is coming—a knock at the window, a bird tapping on glass, a shadow in the shape of someone still breathing. From eerie sounds to black dogs and flying birds, this episode pulls back the veil on the chilling world of death omens: where they come from, how they’ve shaped family customs, and why they still creep into our dreams. We’ll trace the folklore, unpack the magical logic, and explore how these warnings can be worked with—or warded off. You’ll also get practical tools for navigating...

For centuries, people buried glass bottles under thresholds and hearths, stuffed with hair, nails, pins, and other nasty bits—desperate measures to trap evil or send it crawling back where it came from. In this episode, we dig into the history and folklore of witch bottles: where they come from, why they work, and how they show up in both archaeology and modern magic. You’ll also learn how to make (or safely dismantle) one yourself. It’s bottle magic with bite.

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In 1897, a young woman died under mysterious circumstances in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Her death might’ve gone unnoticed—until her mother claimed she returned from the grave with a shocking truth. This isn’t just a ghost story—it’s a legal case where spectral testimony helped convict a killer. We walk through the legend, the court records, and the folk beliefs that gave voice to the dead. This episode explores justice, grief, and what happens when the living aren’t the only ones speaking.

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Robert Johnson didn’t invent the story of making a deal with the Devil at the crossroads—but he sure made it sing. In this debut episode, we dig into the Southern folklore that shaped the myth, the deeper meaning behind crossroads in folk magic, and how these stories get tangled up with race, power, and fear. From Hoodoo conjure work to Delta blues to long-forgotten tales of midnight bargains, this episode pulls back the curtain on one of the most enduring legends in American folklore. Plus: a real-world spell for standing at your own crossroads.

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