S05E30 – From Loup Garou to Rougarou (pt 1) with Louisiana Dread’s Kyle Crosby

🎙️ Episode Introduction This is part one of a two-part conversation. Blake and Karen are joined by Kyle Crosby, filmmaker, historian, and founder of Louisiana Dread, a multimedia project dedicated to documenting the dark history, folklore, and culture of the Pelican State. Kyle is a native of Larose, Louisiana, who grew up in Lafourche Parish and on Grand Isle. He […]

S05E18 – America Bewitched with Owen Davies (part 2)

In part two of our two-part interview with Owen Davies, we continue the discussion of witches and witch prosecutions with thoughtful considerations of the meaning of witch and how it can be an identity or an accusation.  Be sure and catch both parts of this fascinating chat.  Some related viewing/reading: A curious case of Black Magic in Norfolk Blake’s article […]

S05E15 Ghosted with Alice Vernon

In this episode we talk with Dr. Alice Vernon about her fascinating look at the history of ghost hunting and psychical research, from the late 19th century to today.  Ghosted: A History of Ghost Hunting, and Why We Keep Looking (Affiliate Link) Night Terrors: Troubled Sleep and the Stories we Tell About It Ghostwatch (wikipedia) – (our previous coverage) The […]

S05E09 – Flashback: Bad Wolf

FLASHBACKWe’re looking back at October 5, 2011 this week and an interview with Valerius Geist (February 2, 1938 – July 6, 2021) about the myths and reality of wolves.  How dangerous are they? There’s complexity and nuance here.  Some people fiercely believe wolves are just peaceful misunderstood beautiful animals that would not hurt a person.  Others believe they’re fierce and […]

S05E04 – Haunting America Revisited

This week on MonsterTalk, Blake and Karen are joined by Matthew Baxter to revisit Karen’s classic investigation book Haunting America — newly re-released in paperback just in time for Halloween 🎃. Together they discuss how the book began as a project for the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), the fieldwork behind its famous cases, and the updated edition’s new conclusion and color photos.👻 Topics discussed: […]

S04E42 – You Don’t Know Jackalopes!

Blake is joined by regular contributor Matt Baxter, and special guest Kara Van Hoose from the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife to discuss the (not that mysterious) outbreak of “tentacle bunnies” in Colorado this summer. News reports of “rabbits with tentacles” Deer wasting disease (zombie deer) “Colorado Cannibal” Alfred Packer Colorado Parks & Wildlife  Karl Shuker’s blog about Jackalope […]

S04E39 – Are Magpies Monsters?

A fascinating chat about Australian Magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) with Dr. Grainne Cleary in which we talk about the role of stories in creating monsters, the role of citizen science, and lots of cool biology facts about these birds. Not everything about Magpies is black and white, it turns out. Why do birds do that?(affiliate link) Your Backyard Birds(booktopia – Australian […]