Bone and Sickle Podcast Por Al Ridenour arte de portada

Bone and Sickle

Bone and Sickle

De: Al Ridenour
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BONE AND SICKLE explores historical topics related to folklore and horror. With acerbic wit and a scholarly penchant for the grotesque, rogue folklorist Al Ridenour delves into a wide but carefully curated range of topics illustrated by stories from historical texts. Narratives are given dramatic readings by “Mrs. Karswell” (Sarah Chavez) backed by richly produced soundscapes blending original music, sound design and effects. The source books, though real enough, are said to be pulled from an imaginary library on Ridenour’s imaginary estate situated somewhere in the neighborhood of Charles Addams and Edward Gorey. Each episode begins with our hosts briefly discussing goings-on in this world before diving into the topic to be explored. Occasional alternate-format episodes are devoted to readings of classic horror stories or curious texts of antiquarian interest. Ridenour is the author of “The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas” (2016) and “A Season of Madness: Fools, Monsters, and Marv Arte Mundial
Episodios
  • Pumpkins, Turnips, and Spooklights

    Pumpkins, Turnips, and Spooklights
    Sep 30 2025
    The Halloween Jack-o'-lantern, made from pumpkins in the US and originally turnips in the UK, began its existence as a wisp of glowing marsh gas or "spooklight." We begin our episode with a montage of modern American spooklights including that of Oklahoma's "Spooklight Road," North Carolina’s Brown Mountain, and the flying saucers sighted in Michigan in 1966, famously identified by investigator Allen Hynek as "swamp gas." "Jack-o'-lantern" was just another name given to what's more widely known now as a Will-o'-the-wisp -- a wavering, bobbing light seen in marshy places, understood as mischievous spirit intent on leading travelers off course and into their doom in muck and mire. Flaming methane produced by rotting vegetation in such environments, is said to the the cause of the phenomenon, though the mode of ignition is still largely a matter of debate. The Latin name for such lights, ignis fatuus (fool's fire), was also applied to phenomena having nothing to do with swamps, as it's been used interchangeably with "St. Elmo's Fire" to describe electrical discharges seen on ships; masts and other rodlike protrusions when atmospheric conditions are right. We hear a dramatic first-person account from 1847, in which St. Elmo's Fire (identified by antiquarian Henry Duncan as ignis fatuus) appears on a coachman's whip during a storm. A mirage in a marsh. Coloured wood engraving by C Whymper. Gas. Contributors: Charles H Whymper (1853–1941). We then hear what scientists of the 16th and 17th century made of ignis fatuus, often relating it unexpectedly to meteors or luminous insects, while mocking "the superstitions" who imagined it as wandering spirits alight with the flames of Purgatory. Along with marsh spirits exlusively dedicated to misleading travelers, ignis fatuus could also be a temporary form taken by shapeshifting fairy folk like Puck or Robin Goodfellow. We hear an example of this from the 1628 pamphlet, Robin Goodfellow, his Mad Pranks and Merry Jests. We also see the term appearing in literature of the 16th and 17th century as a metaphor for treachery or deception, in works by John Milton and William Shakespeare. We run through the variety of colorful regional names by which Will-o-the-Wisps were known: Bob-a-longs, Pinkets, Spunkies, Merry Dancers, Nimble men, Hinkypunks, and Flibberdigibbets, as well as some female variants including Peg-a-lantern and Kitty with the Candlestick. In Wales, these mysterious lights could be omens of death, also known as "corpse candles," or "death lights." Appearing around the home of the dying or at the deathbed, they were also called "fetch lights," as they would arrive when required to fetch the soul to the other side. In Cornwall, fool's fire is associated with the piskies, in particular Joan the Wad and her partner Jack-o'-the-Lantern, the former having acquired a mostly positive reputation in the 20th century as a luck-bringer. Mrs. Karswell also reads some tales of ignis fatuus in the western counties, where the lights are called "hobby lanterns" (from hobgoblin) or "lantern men." We then shift gears to discuss the pumpkin form of Jack-o'-lantern, beginning with a well-circulated Irish origin story. A quick summary: the light carried in a hollowed vegetable (a pumpkin in the New World or turnip in the Old) represents the spirit of a notorious sinner, "Jack," or "Stingy Jack," who upon death finds he is too wicked for Heaven and too troublesome for Hell. Consquently, he is condemned to wander the earth till Judgement Day, given the peculiar lantern to light his way. This, at least, is the most recent version of the tale, but when it first appeared in print, in a 1936 edition of the Dublin Penny Journal, there's no mention of any hollowed vegetable, much less of Halloween -- meaning this "ancient legend" actually evolved as Halloween folklore in the second half of the 20th century. We then do a bit more myth-busting on the other side of the Atlanti...
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    52 m
  • St. George, the Dragon, and More

    St. George, the Dragon, and More
    Aug 29 2025
    There's so much more to the figure of St. George than his battle with a dragon. Legends also tell of his grisly martyrdom, capture of a demon, and postmortem abilities to cure madness through contact with his relics. In the Holy Land, there is even a tradition syncretizing St. George with a a supernatural figure of Muslim legend. We begin with a look at a modernized take on the St. George legend, the annual Drachenstich, or “dragon-stabbing," held in the Bavarian town of Furth im Wald. Beginning in 1590 with a performer representing the saint riding in a church procession, George was soon joined by a simple, canvas dragon, which over time evolved into the the world's largest 4-legged robot used in the event today. 19th-century Drachenstich in Furth im Walld Mrs. Karswell next reads for us the primary source for the dragon story, Jacobus de Voragine's collection of saint stories compiled around 1260, known as the Golden Legend. It popularized the tradition that George was a Christian soldier in in the Roman (Byzantine) army, born in Cappadocia, in central Turkey, and executed for refusing to bow to Imperial gods. There is also a princes to be rescued from the dragon but no king gives George her hand in marriage, as you might expect. Though Voragine set this episode in Libya, this setting was not really retained i the tradition. As one of early Christianity's "soldier saints," George held particular appeal for soldiers of the Crusades. We hear of two incidents of George leading Crusaders to victory as recounted in the Golden Legend and the Gesta Francorum (deeds of the Franks). When in 1483 William Caxton’s English translation of the Golden Legend appeared, anecdotes of British interest were added, including George's connection to English knightood and The Order of the Garter. Elizabethan writer Richard Johnson featured George in his 1596 volume, Seven Champions of Christendom, elements of which were borrowed into mummers plays in which George became a hero. We hear snippets of these. Returning to Germany, we learn how George was also said to have encouraged the armies of Friedrich Barbarossa at the Battle of Antioch during the Third Crusade. We then delve a bit more into the history of the Drachenstich performances. Some folksy details from 19th-century newspapers documenting the tradition are also provided. We then return to the Golden Legend for an account of George's martyrdom. The location of this episode is not specified, but George's pagan nemesis here can be identified with Dacianus, the Roman prelate who governed Spain and Gaul. The tortures endured run the gamut from rack to hot lead, all of which are supernaturally endured until the saint is ultimately beheaded. Divine retribution in the form of fire falling from heaven is also included. Next, we investigate earlier sources adapted into Voragine's dragon story, the first known being an 11th-century manuscript written by Georgian monks residing in Jerusalem. George's background as a soldier from Cappadocia is identical, as is the endangered princess, though the victory over the beast lacks elements of swordplay and is largely accomplished through prayer. In this version, George is also responsible for the founding of a church complete with healing well. From the same manuscript, we hear a few more miracle stories, the "Coffee Boy" legend, George's defeat of a loquacious demon, a cautionary tale of a murderous and greedy hermit ostensibly, and a charming story involving a unhappy boy, George, and a pancake. We then take a look at the oldest St. George text probably written in Syria around the year 600. It’s known as the “Syriac Passion of St. George," and details an extraordinary series of tortures so fantastical as to be declared heretical by the Church in the Decretum Gelasianum, probably within a century of the story's composition. 14th-cent Russian depiction of St. George's Martyrdom Digging a little deeper,
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    49 m
  • International Folk-Horror Film Round-Up

    International Folk-Horror Film Round-Up
    Aug 1 2025
    As a summer replacement for our regular episode: a round-up of non-English-language Folk-Horror films (here as audio but also available as video) The presentation was created by Mr. Ridenour’s for the Rural Gothic conference hosted by The Folklore Podcast on 9/26/2020. The focus is on European folk-horror films, including Russian productions, and a few especially interesting Turkish films are also highlighted. It's by no means comprehensive and naturally only includes films made in 2020 or earlier. You’ll hear the audio component if you continue listening here, but to watch the trailers, go to the Bone and Sickle YouTube channel (here: https://youtu.be/fJm6hgzaPV4). Or just Google “YouTube” and “Bone and Sickle” and you’ll find "International Folk-Horror Films" as a video. These are the films discussed (English titles). ANTHOLOGY FILMS: A Field Guide to Evil - Tale of Tales. SPANISH LANGUAGE: Tombs of the Blind Dead – Macario - Poison for the Fairies - The Witches of Zugarramurdi - Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil. GERMAN-LANGUAGE: Mark of the Devil – Laurin - Sennentuntschi. SCANDINAVIAN: The White Reindeer- The Juniper Tree – Trollhunter - Rare Exports- Thale- Border. POLISH-ESTONIAN: Witchhammer – November. CZECH-SLOVAKIAN: Valerie and Her Week of Wonders – Morgiana- Beauty and the Beast - The Cremator- Kytice - The Noonday Witch - Little Otik. RUSSIAN: Vasilisa the Beautiful - Kashchey the Immortal – Viy - Viy: The Forbidden Empire - The Night Before Christmas - Gogol: The Beginning - Gogol: Viy - Gogol: A Terrible Revenge - The Bride - Queen of Spades: The Dark Rite - The Mermaid: Lake of the Dead - Ghouls (Vamps). TURKISH: Dabbe films - Siccin films.
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    54 m
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Bone and Sickle is a delightful dark podcast that delves into the mysterious world of folklore and fairy tales. Wonderfully narrated with all aspects investigated. Please do yourself a great pleasure and listen.

To ease your morbid curiosity

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I really enjoyed this episode. It seems to me that you don't really hear that much about ghouls anymore. They seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to the paranormal.

Bring on the Ghouls

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