storytelling | New World Witchery - the Search for American Traditional Witchcraft

Posted tagged ‘storytelling’

Episode 128 – Borderlands Lore with David Bowles

July 13, 2018

Summary:

We look at the supernatural folklore and mythology of the Borderlands area along the Mexican-U.S. boundary in this episode. We talk to author, professor, and story collector David Bowles about his experiences growing up there, the legends that permeate the culture in that region, and we share one of the stories from his collections.

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, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Jody, Amy (the First), Amy (the Second), Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Montine, Josette, Carole, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, Moma Sarah at ConjuredCardea,The Trinket Witch, Victoria 1, Victoria 2, Sherry, & 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: Episode 128 – Borderlands Lore with David Bowles

Play:

-Sources-

Please check out David Bowles’ website, where you can find out more about him and the (many, many) projects he’s working on. We’d also recommend picking up a few of his books, such as:

Clockwork Curandera (forthcoming graphic novel)
The Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico
The Smoking Mirror (Garza Twins, part I – a Pura Belpre Prize winning book)
Border Lore: Folktales and Legends of South Texas (where the story in this episode, “The Witch Owl” comes from)
Ghosts of the Rio Grande Valley

If you’re interested in knowing more about the history of migration and the borderlands in the United States, check out BackStory’s episode on the topic.

You may also be interested in some of our previous articles and episodes on the magic and lore of the Borderlands region:

Finally, we highly recommend reading Gloria Anzaldua’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” which can be found in her book, Borderlands/La Frontera.

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

Don’t forget to follow us at Twitter! And check out our Facebook page! For those who are interested, we also now have a page on Pinterest you might like, called “The Olde Broom.” You can follow us on Instagram or check out our new YouTube channel with back episodes of the podcast and new “Everyday Magic” videos, too! Have something you want to say? Leave us a voice mail on our official NWW hotline: (442) 999-4824 (that’s 442-99-WITCH, if it helps).

Promos & Music

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

Incidental music is “Were-Owl,” by S.J. Tucker, used with permission. Additional incidental music includes “Sedativa V,” by DR (FreeMusicArchive); “La Gitane,” by Eric Kamen (Magnatune); and “Soul’s Journey,” by Viviana Guzman (Magnatune).

Episode 126 – Magic and the Great Lakes

April 26, 2018

Summary:

In our continuing quest to explore the North American magical landscape, we turn to a massive section of the continent chock-full of magic: the Great Lakes Region. Special guests Scarlet from Lakefront Pagan Voice and Witchdoctor Utu from Dragon Ritual Drummers help us get a toe in some very big, mythically deep waters!

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, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Raven Dark Moon, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Jody, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Montine, Amy, Josette, Carole, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, Sarah at ConjuredCardea,The Trinket Witch, Victoria, Jody, Sherry, & 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: Episode 126 – Magic and the Great Lakes

Play:

-Sources-

Immense thanks to both of my guests this time! We highly recommend checking out Scarlet’s podcast, Lakefront Pagan Voice, and Witchdoctor Utu’s excellent musical group, the Dragon Ritual Drummers.

Want to know more about the mound-builder cultures and Native landscapes in North America? Cory recommends a good primer on pre-European Native cultures called 1491, by Charles Mann, as a way to get some good background. Several listeners have also recommended the book Star Songs & Water Spirits, by Victoria Brehm, as well.

The tale of the Bannockburn can be found here and here, as well as in Dwight Boyer’s Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes.

Cory reads from and discusses some of the “Yooper” bloodstopper and bearwalker lore found in Richard M. Dorson’s aptly titled Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers.

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

Don’t forget to follow us at Twitter! And check out our Facebook page! For those who are interested, we also now have a page on Pinterest you might like, called “The Olde Broom.” Have something you want to say? Leave us a voice mail on our official NWW hotline: (442) 999-4824 (that’s 442-99-WITCH, if it helps).

Promos & Music

Title and closing music is “Homebound,” by Bluesboy Jag, and is used under license from Magnatune. Incidental music includes:

“Blessings to You,” by Victoria Guzman, licensed from Magnatune
“Masters of Chaos,” by the Dragon Ritual Drummers (used with gracious permission)
“We’re Going to Pump Out Lake Erie,” by Pearl R. Nye, and “Koivun Oksat…,” by Amanda Harkonen, both from the Lomax Collection at the Library of Congress (public domain)
“Quiet Storm Surge,” by Stella Stormfloj; “Sedativa I & V,” by DR; and “Energy and Nothing,” by Genomic Sequence, from the Free Music Archive (CC License)

Categories: Episode, Podcast, Shownotes
Tags: bloodstopping, folk magic, folklore, ghost stories, Great Lakes Region, hedgewitchery, land spirits, magic, Michigan, Native American, new world witchery, new york, Ontario, Podcast, shapeshifting, stories, storytelling, water spirits, Wisconsin, witch, witchcraft, witchery

Comments: 2 Comments

Episode 124 – Tatterdemalion and the Magic of Northern California

March 16, 2018

Summary:

We invite the lovely, myth-making Sylvia Lindsteadt onto our show to discuss her folktale-novel Tatterdemalion. We discuss the role the landscape has played in shaping her work, how the mythic word intrudes into the everyday in Northern California, and share a couple of tales that come from that region as well.

Producers for this show: Heather, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Raven Dark Moon, WisdomQueen, Regina, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Khristopher, Tanner, Jody, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Catherine, Montine, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, Sarah at ConjuredCardea,The Trinket Witch, Victoria, Sherry, & 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: Episode 124 – Tatterdemalion and the Magic of Northern California

Play:

-Sources-

Of course, we highly recommend you check out Sylvia’s book, Tatterdemalion, which was the inspiration for this episode. You can also find her book Our Lady of the Dark Country by visiting her website for more information about her other writing projects. We also highly recommend checking out the artwork of Rima Staines, who was a major influence on Sylvia’s work (and one of Cory’s favorite artists).

The two California folktales were “The Six Peoplings of the World” and “Falcon’s Search for Yayil,” from S. A. Barrett’s collection, Myths of the Southern Sierra Miwok.

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

Promos & Music

Title and closing music is “Homebound,” by Bluesboy Jag, and is used under license from Magnatune. Incidental music is “Wonders,” by S.J. Tucker (used with permission) and selections from Viviana Guzman’s “Meditations for Flute,” licensed from Magnatune.

Categories: Episode, Podcast, Shownotes
Tags: California, folk magic, folk tales, folklore, magic, new world witchery, Podcast, regional folk magic, Rima Staines, stories, storytelling, Sylvia Linsteadt, tales, Tatterdemalion, witch, witchcraft, witchery

Comments: Be the first to comment

Episode 121 – Yuletide Fear! 2017 (The Statue)

December 21, 2017

Summary:

We return to a place you should already have forgotten (and we know if you haven’t) in our eerie, time-twisting tale for the 2017 holiday season.

Producers for this show: Heather, Jenna, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Corvus, Khristopher, Ye Olde Magic Shoppe, Raven Dark Moon, Little Wren, J.C., Mandy, Josette, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Catherine, AthenaBeth, Cynara at The Auburn Skye, Victoria, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Montine, Regina, Hazel, Michael, Patrick, & Sherry (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

Play:

Download: Episode 121 – Yuletide Fear! 2017 (The Statue)

Play:

-Sources-

Firstly, if you haven’t ever heard of a little place called NIGHT VALE, then you should definitely pay that peculiar little town a visit (especially since our episode is done as a loving homage and parody of that town’s radio broadcasts).

Also, if you’ve not been here before, you may want to listen to the episodes about “The Visitor” and “Ice Cream” before hearing this one. We can’t promise it will help anything make sense (what does in this crazy, mixed-up, soul-eviscerating world?), but at least you get to hear more of Laine’s tourism director voice that way.

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

Promos & Music

Our Sports segment is “Feast of Krampus,” by S.J. Tucker, used with artist permission.

Incidenta Music: “O Come O Come Emmanuel” and “Silent Night” (Mystery Mammal – Magnatune); “Stille Nacht” (Ralph Rousseau Meulenbroeks – Magnatune); “Winter’s Ritual” and “Treachery is Afoot” (S.J. Tucker)

Categories: Episode, Podcast, Shownotes
Tags: blackbird falls, new world witchery, night vale, Podcast, podcasting, stories, storytelling, tales, witch, witchcraft, witchery

Comments: 1 Comment

Episode 120 – Yuletide Cheer! 2017

December 21, 2017

Summary:

In our Yuletide episode, we listen to carols (and of course some wassails), hear a story about an ember-eating ancient creature, and share listener greetings for the season.

Play:

Download: Episode 120 – Yuletide Cheer! 2017

Play:

-Sources-

See “Promos & Music” for a complete track listing.

Special thanks this episode to listeners Achija, AthenaBeth, the young ladies who called in to ask about Krampus, and everyone else who wished us a happy season.

Special thanks as well to the luminous Sylvia V. Linsteadt for sharing a selection from her book, Tatterdemalion, with us during this episode. You can find out more about that book and the artwork of the equally luminous Rima Staines at Hedgespoken.

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

Promos & Music

Playlist:

Christmas Rhyme – Ewan MacCarroll (LOC/Lomax Collection)
Apple Tree Wassail – Shira Kammen (Magnatune)
Old Chistmas – Boyd Asher ((LOC/Lomax Collection)
The Night Before Christmas – Harry E. Humphrey (Free Music Archive)
What Cheer to a Ground – Quire Cleveland (Magnatune)
Pan Hospordaryu – Ukranian Village Voice (Free Music Archive)
Good King Wenceslas – Maya Solovy (Free Music Archive)
Shchedrik – Kitka (Magnatune)
The Holly & the Ivy – Quire Cleveland (Magnatune)
Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella – Aaron DeVries (Free Music Archive)
Bring Us in Good Ale – Shira Kammen (Magnatune)
Pat-a-Pan – Steve Eulberg (Magnatune)
Un Enfant Vien De Nuit – Modestus Eugene and the Trinidad and Tobago Singers (LOC/Lomax Collection)
White Christmas – Marigolds Scratch Band (LOC/Lomax Collection)
O Day – Georgia Sea Island Singers (LOC/Lomax Collection)
Song for a Winter’s Night – The Nancies (Free Music Archive)
Solstice Night – J. Tucker (with Artist Permission)
In the Bleak Midwinter – Maya Solovy (Free Music Archive)
“Da Day Dawn,” Samantha Gillogly (With Artist Permission)

Incidental Music: “The Glory of the Kitchen” (Passamezzo – Magnatune); Seth Partridge – Sing We Now of Christmas (Free Music Archive); “Stille Nacht” (Ralph Rousseau Meulenbroeks – Magnatune); “Winter’s Ritual” and “Treachery is Afoot” (S.J. Tucker); “Constellations,” “Aurora Borealis,” and “Celestial Sphere” (Robert Otto – Magnatune); “Ceremonies for a Christmas Eve – Passamezzo (Magnatune)”

Categories: Episode, Podcast, Shownotes
Tags: carols, folklore, holiday music, holidays, magical holidays, new world witchery, Podcast, Rima Staines, stories, storytelling, Sylvia Linsteadt, tales, Tatterdemalion, wassail, Yule

Comments: 2 Comments

Episode 116 – Spooky Stories Live! 2017

October 31, 2017

Summary:

For our recent live broadcast/group chat, we brought on two of our supporters—AthenaBeth and Heather—to share their spookiest encounters. Then we all discussed other spooky stories sent in by listeners, and the eerie #DearDavid phenomenon.

Producers for this show: Corvus, Khristopher, J.C., Josette, Renee Odders, Ye Olde Magic Shoppe, Raven Dark Moon, Sarah, Catherine, AthenaBeth, Jen Rue of Rue & Hyssop, Little Wren, Jessica, Victoria, Johnathan at the ModernSouthernPolytheist, Montine, Achija of Spellbound Bookbinding, Mandy, Regina, and Hazel (if we missed you this episode, we’ll make sure you’re in the next one!). Big thanks to everyone supporting us!

Play:

Download: Episode 116 – Spooky Stories Live! 2017

Play:

-Sources-

Most of our stories this time came from you, our listeners! Thank you so much to everyone who sent in stories to us this year, including Thistle at Parting the Mists, Elliot, Heather, and AthenaBeth

We mention both the “Auntie Bells” story from Reddit, sent in by listener Trey, and the really spooky and terrifying true(?) story of #DearDavid as well.

If you want to keep up on our live broadcasts, chat with us, and otherwise participate in future live shows, you should definitely go check out our Mixlr page.

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

Promos & Music

Title and closing music is “Homebound,” by Bluesboy Jag, and is used under license from Magnatune

Categories: Episode, Podcast, Shownotes
Tags: #deardavid, folklore, ghost stories, ghosts, new world witchery, Podcast, stories, storytelling, witch, witchcraft, witchery

Comments: Comments Off on Episode 116 – Spooky Stories Live! 2017

Special Episode – The Talking Board

October 27, 2017

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.

Play:

Download: Special Episode – The Talking Board

Play:

-Sources-

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.