#allhallowsread – New World Witchery – The Search for American Traditional Witchcraft

Episode 154 – Halloween

Summary:

As the spooky season is upon us, Laine and Cory decide it’s time to put on our masks, grab our pillow cases, and head out to do some trick-or-treating. It’s Halloween on New World Witchery, where we discuss the origins of the holiday both historical and folklorical, the value of spookiness for kids, favorite Halloween movies and traditions, and why Laine gives out full bars on her doorstep.

Please check out our Patreon page! You can help support the show for as little as a dollar a month, and get some awesome rewards at the same time. Even if you can’t give, spread the word and let others know, and maybe we can make New World Witchery even better than it is now.

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Fergus from Queer as Folk Magic, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Patrick, Carole, Payton, Staci, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, WickedScense, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Clarissa, Leslie, Hazel, Amy, Victoria, Sherry, Tarsha, Jennifer, Clever Kim’s Curios, Donald, Bo, Drew, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

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Download: Episode 154 – Halloween

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-Sources-

Some excellent sources on the origins of our contemporary Halloween practices include Halloween, All Around the Year and New Old-Fashioned Ways, by Jack Santino, and Consumer Rites, by Leigh Eric Schmidt. Cory also turned to his Holidays, Festivals, & Celebrations of the World Dictionary, edited by Helene Henderson for some of the information he shared.

We also mention Jake Richards’s book Backwoods Witchcraft, which has information on apple-head dolls.

In the realm of video, Cory mentions the documentary Halloween in a Box about the making and marketing of plastic masks. He also espouses his love for the Garfield Halloween Adventure and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! They both discuss the Halloween-themed episodes of Bob’s Burgers and Gravity Falls as well.

Check out Cory’s town and the light kerfuffle over an IT-related prank, and learn more about the Teal Pumpkin Project.

Promotional image modified from image via Pixabay, public domain.

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Promos & Music

Title and closing music is “Homebound,” by Bluesboy Jag, and is used under license from Magnatune. Incidental Music is (Magnatune).

If you like us AND you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you will love our new show: Myth Taken: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast, now available through all the podcatchers!

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Special Episode – Mr Fox

Summary:

We finish our Doorways into Darkness All Hallows Read with a retelling of one of the most infamous doors of all: the door to the bloody chamber in the English tale, “Mr Fox”

Please check out our Patreon page! You can help support the show for as little as a dollar a month, and get some awesome rewards at the same time. Even if you can’t give, spread the word and let others know, and maybe we can make New World Witchery even better than it is now.

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Fergus from Queer as Folk Magic, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Patrick, Carole, Payton, Staci, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, WickedScense, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Clarissa, Leslie, Hazel, Victoria, Sherry, Tarsha, Jessica, Jennifer, Clever Kim’s Curios, Donald, Bo, Drew, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

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Download: Special Episode – Mr Fox

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-Sources-

This version of the story is adapted from the version in English Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs

The rhyme at the beginning of the episode is “Some One,” by Walter de la Mare (public domain).

Promotional image modified from image via Pixabay, public domain.

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Promos & Music

Music for the All Hallows Read specials is by Robert Rich, DAC Crowell, Rhonda Lorence, and Kourosh Dini, and is used under license from Magnatune

If you like us AND you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you will love our new show: Myth Taken: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast, now available through all the podcatchers!

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Special Episode – The Seven Gates of Hell

Summary:

As we continue in our Doorways into Darkness All Hallows Read series, we visit York, Pennsylvania to explore the Seven Gates of Hell.

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Fergus from Queer as Folk Magic, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Patrick, Carole, Payton, Staci, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, WickedScense, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Clarissa, Leslie, Hazel, Victoria, Sherry, Tarsha, Jessica, Jennifer, Clever Kim’s Curios, Donald, Bo, Drew, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

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Download: Special Episode – The Seven Gates of Hell

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-Sources-

You can read more about the “Seven Gates of Hell” in York, PA at the Atlas Obscura site.

The rhyme at the beginning of the episode is “Some One,” by Walter de la Mare (public domain).

Promotional image modified from image via Pixabay, public domain.

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Promos & Music

Music for the All Hallows Read specials is by Robert Rich, DAC Crowell, Rhonda Lorence, and Kourosh Dini, and is used under license from Magnatune

If you like us AND you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you will love our new show: Myth Taken: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast, now available through all the podcatchers!

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Special Episode – The Third Floor

Summary:

We begin our All Hallows Read stories for 2019 with a story of an eerie office space, and a doorway that may be a gateway to something terrifying.

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Fergus from Queer as Folk Magic, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Patrick, Carole, Payton, Staci, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, WickedScense, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Clarissa, Leslie, Hazel, Victoria, Sherry, Tarsha, Jessica, Jennifer, Clever Kim’s Curios, Donald, Bo, Drew, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

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Download: Special Episode – The Third Floor

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-Sources-

Thanks to listener Bo for sending this in! We have adapted his submission slightly for use on the show, but much of what you hear, he wrote. A great story!

The rhyme at the beginning of the episode is “Some One,” by Walter de la Mare (public domain).

Promotional image modified from image via Pixabay, public domain.

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Promos & Music

Music for the All Hallows Read specials is by Robert Rich, DAC Crowell, Rhonda Lorence, and Kourosh Dini, and is used under license from Magnatune

If you like us AND you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you will love our new show: Myth Taken: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast, now available through all the podcatchers!

If you have feedback you’d like to share, email us or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Special Episode – All Hallows Read 2018 – Drinking Companions

Summary:

Our final story comes from Chinese folklore, and tells the tale of a fisherman who generously shared his wine with a ghost and found out just what a good friend the dead can be.

Please check out our Patreon page! You can help support the show for as little as a dollar a month, and get some awesome rewards at the same time. Even if you can’t give, spread the word and let others know, and maybe we can make New World Witchery even better than it is now.

Producers for this show: Heather, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Carole, Debra, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea, Jody, Josette, Amy, Victoria, Sherry, Donald, Jenni Love of Broom Book & Candle, & AthenaBeth. (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

Play:

Download: Special Episode – All Hallows Read 2018 – Drinking Companions

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-Sources-

We sourced this version of the story from Favorite Folktales from Around the World, edited by Jane Yolen, and it can also be found in collections like Chinese Fairy Tales and Fantasies, edited by Moss Roberts.

Promos & Music

Intro music is “Grifos Muertos” by Jeffery Luck Lucas, from his album What We Whisper, used under license from Magnatune.com and “Dry Bones,” by The Merry Macs, from Archive.org.

Incidental music is by Anthony Salvo, Intersonic Subformation, Viviana Guzman, Dr Sounds, and Julian Blackmore, all licensed from Magnatune.com.

Special Episode – All Hallows Read 2018 – Aaron Kelly’s Bones

Summary:

We roam down South for a story of a dancing corpse in the latest spooky October tale, “Aaron Kelly’s Bones.”

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Download: Special Episode – All Hallows Read 2018 – Aaron Kelly’s Bones

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-Sources-

This story is sourced from the quintessential children’s horror folklore collection, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, collected and edited by Alvin Schwartz. Schwartz himself took the story from John Bennett’s South Carolina collection The Doctor to the Dead.

Promos & Music

Intro music is “Grifos Muertos” by Jeffery Luck Lucas, from his album What We Whisper, used under license from Magnatune.com and “Dry Bones,” by The Merry Macs, from Archive.org.

Incidental music is by Anthony Salvo, Intersonic Subformation, Viviana Guzman, Dr Sounds, and Julian Blackmore, all licensed from Magnatune.com.

Special Episode – All Hallows Read 2018 – A Pretty Girl in the Road

Summary:

Our Halloween storytelling continues with a popular legend that people have been telling for over a century, “A Pretty Girl in the Road.”

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Download: Special Episode – All Hallows Read 2018 – A Pretty Girl in the Road

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This story is found in numerous forms throughout American folklore. The version in the episode is adapted from Favorite Folktales from Around the World, edited by Jane Yolen. You can also read all about the legend and its variants in the excellent book, The Vanishing Hitchhiker, by Jan Harold Brunvand.

Promos & Music

Intro music is “Grifos Muertos” by Jeffery Luck Lucas, from his album What We Whisper, used under license from Magnatune.com and “Dry Bones,” by The Merry Macs, from Archive.org.

Incidental music is by Anthony Salvo, Intersonic Subformation, Viviana Guzman, Dr Sounds, and Julian Blackmore, all licensed from Magnatune.com.

Special Episode – All Hallows Read 2018 – The Adventure of the German Student

Summary:

We begin our annual tradition of spooky stories by hearing Washington Irving’s “The Adventure of the German Student.” Our theme this year is the dead returning from the grave, so prepare for a month of ghoulish delights!

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Download: Special Episode – All Hallows Read 2018 – The Adventure of the German Student

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-Sources-

Our story for this episode is Washington Irving’s “The Adventure of the German Student.” You can find it in American Fantastic Tales, from Library of America. You may also want to check out our episode with the reading of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by Irving as well.

Promos & Music

Intro music is “Grifos Muertos” by Jeffery Luck Lucas, from his album What We Whisper, used under license from Magnatune.com and “Dry Bones,” by The Merry Macs, from Archive.org.

Incidental music is by Anthony Salvo, Intersonic Subformation, Viviana Guzman, Dr Sounds, and Julian Blackmore, all licensed from Magnatune.com.

Special Episode – The Talking Board

Summary:

In our third October 2017 #AllHallowsRead tale, we’re turning to a familiar trope: the slumber party séance with a Ouija board. Of course, this being October and the month of spooky stories, things do not turn out all that well for those using the Talking Board.

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Download: Special Episode – The Talking Board

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There are no shortage of accounts of sleepover Ouija board sessions. Places I’d recommend looking for more information generally about Ouija rites are in Simon Bronner’s American Children’s Folklore, and in Bill Ellis’ excellent Raising the Devil, which talks extensively about why and how Ouija boards and slumber parties are so tightly linked. You can also find a good history of Ouija boards in Occult America, by Mitch Horowitz.

For more discussion (and scary stories) about the specific entity mentioned in this story, I highly recommend listening to the Encounters Podcast episodes on the topic, or checking out the book The Zozo Phenomenon, by Darren Evans and Rosemary Ellen Guiley.

Promos & Music

Intro music is “Grifos Muertos” by Jeffery Luck Lucas, from his album What We Whisper, used under license from Magnatune.com

Incidental music by Stormfloij (“Quiet Storm Surge”) and Byzons (“L’Horrible Passion”) both of which are used through Creative Commons license on SoundCloud.

Sound effects are sourced from Creative Commons licensed recordings at Sound Bible.

Special Episode – Can Peter Play?

Summary:

Our second #AllHallowsRead episode is about a game almost everyone has played: tag. Only this time, we’re playing in the dark, and a new player arrives just in time to cause a few chills.

Play:

Download: Special Episode – Can Peter Play

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I’ve adapted this version based on several similar tag games found in Simon Bronner’s American Children’s Folklore, as well as an internet-based version I found through the Reddit No Sleep forum.

Promos & Music

Intro music is “Grifos Muertos” by Jeffery Luck Lucas, from his album What We Whisper, used under license from Magnatune.com

Incidental music by Olssons (“Ambient One”); DR (“Sedativa V”); Byzons (“Apatheia (Or, The Story of a Girl Trapped in a World of Madness)),” all of which are used through Creative Commons license on SoundCloud.

Sound effects are sourced from Creative Commons licensed recordings at Sound Bible. Special thanks to guest voices Jack and Poppy. Now go to bed, kids.