Digital Folklore

A little catch-up after episode 2! THIS is the first thing Perry & Mason ever made together - an immersive heist in which Perry plays a helicopter pilot as Mason and the PodCube™ crew attempt to steal Mark Zuckerberg's baby teeth. And THIS is the episode of 8th Layer Insights that sketch was created for! Check out Perry's other podcast 8th Layer Insights! It's an immersive and fun exploration of the human element of security. Check out Mason's other podcast, PodCube™! It's a series of hilarious sketches, a bit like an absurdist audio cartoon. Brooke Jennett (the voice of Digby), is one of the creators of THIRTEEN. It's a monthly horror podcast featuring great original spooky stories and musical scoring. Check out Luke Mordue's podcast (that Perry mentioned), Urban Legends! And last but not least, check out Freaky Folklore (the other show that Perry mentioned)! 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Links Between Us (Algorithmic Identity, Goncharov, and Tumblr) With MEMExpo looming tomorrow, the Digital Folklore gang pulls an all-nighter trying to piece together a presentation. They speak with Dr. Cassandra Pfeifer about identity and online communities, as well as the effect of algorithmic content curation on our sense of identity. Then, they call up Lauren Shippen and Cherokee McAnelly from the Dashboard Diaries podcast to talk about Tumblr's uniqueness as a platform, and Goncharov - the greatest mob movie never made. Plus, loads of easter eggs from the internet era of the early aughts! In this episode: The mystery of the 'p' in 'pH' None Pizza with Left Beef How the current college-age generation views their online folk groups vs their offline folk groups. The way algorithms effect our worldview, and vice versa. Goncharov - Martin Scorsese's most important film (that he never made). Tumblr's unique userbase & culture. Guests: Dr Cassandra Pfeifer, author, educator, and folklorist. Lauren Shippen & Cherokee McAnelly, hosts of the Dashboard Diaries podcast. Featuring voice acting from: Brooke Jennett of THIRTEEN as Digby. 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Perry & Mason talk shop about the process of making Digital Folklore Season 2 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark My Wizard (Research, Inclusivity, & Collaboration) The Folkswagen sails off a cliff. Perry can explain, but it's going to take a while. Perhaps... a whole season. It all starts when the crew decides to visit other creators who specialize in making media about folklore studies. First, they visit Mark Norman - who lives behind a grocery store, inside a bizarre apartment complex shaped like a wizard's tower. After chatting about how Mark has managed to run his podcast for over eight years, the crew heads a few floors down in the tower. They encounter Daisy Ahlstone, one of the creators of Folkwise - a folklore-centric livestream show on Twitch. Daisy teaches Perry and Mason about inclusive research practices, and loads more In this episode: Participatory action research. The folklore of Scooby-Doo. Perry says "butts". Folklorists as 'Enthusiasm Enthusiasts'. How to continue learning about folklore, and how to reach more people. Guests: Mark Norman, host of The Folklore Podcast. Daisy Ahlstone, creator of Folkwise. Voice Actors: DIGBY performed by Brooke Jennett of THIRTEEN; an immersive, slow-burn, spooky podcast with great original stories released every month on the 13th. 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season Two is On The Way! In the meantime, please take our listener survey! It's only 10 questions, and takes about 5 minutes tops. Get ready for more adventures, escapades, and experts in season two of Digital Folklore! Topics in the upcoming season include (but are not limited to): Meme warfare Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracies How specific online platforms shape folklore creation The Mandela Effect Artificial intelligence The folklore of absurdity and the subtext of meaninglessness Folklorists' favorite legends And more! 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to another installment of Digital Folklore Unplugged. Unplugged episodes are all about stripping away the fancy production elements so that we can give you access to raw (or slightly edited) interviews with folklore experts. Today's guest is Dr. Lynne McNeill. Lynne McNeill’s name is nearly synonymous with the study of Digital Folklore. Her work and her voice has been instrumental in helping people understand that our online world is just an extension of our lives… and it’s not only a place where folklore can arise… but thrive at a speed and scale previously unimaginable. This interview ran for over 2 hours in length, so we’re breaking it up into two parts. This is part one. In it, Lynne shares her thoughts on the intersection of AI and Folklore, conspiracy theories, the interesting paradox of studying folklore academically, and more… Ok, let’s get unplugged… Guest: Dr. Lynne McNeill (Twitter) (Website) Videos: Lynne's TEDx Talk: Folklore doesn't meme what you think it memes And a great lecture by Lynne: CWG Brown Bag: Lynne McNeill Paranormal Caught on Camera's Lynne S. McNeill + Sociologist Margee Kerr Talk FEAR & Modern FOLKLORE Relevant Books (Amazon Associate Links): Folklore Rules: A Fun, Quick, and Useful Introduction to the Field of Academic Folklore Studies, by Dr. Lynne S. McNeill Slender Man Is Coming: Creepypasta and Contemporary Legends on the Internet, edited by Dr. Trevor Blank & Dr. Lynne S. McNeill Legend Tripping: A Contemporary Legend Casebook (Contemporary Legend Casebook Series), edited by Lynne S. McNeill & Elizabeth Tucker The Choking Doberman: And Other Urban Legends, by Jan Harold Brunvand  Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, by Jan Harold Brunvand  🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technical Difficulties (Dr. Lynne McNeill) We're joined by veritable digital folklore superstar Lynne McNeill! We are also joined by innumerable technical gremlins, as well as some obvious problems as Perry discovers that Mason has bulldozed the inside of his studio in order to look good on the video chat. Dr. McNeill offers up an immense amount of knowledge and insight, while Perry and Mason barely hold things together. In this episode: Lynne's brilliant definition of folklore. Misinformation, disinformation, media literacy, and the dark side of folkloric transmission. How studying folklore might be more important now than ever. The 'Folklorist's Forensic Toolkit' (how to think like a folklorist). Too much great information to fit in this list! Guest: Dr. Lynne McNeill, author of Folklore Rules, and head of the folklore program at Utah State University. She's also on Twitter! Featuring voice acting from: Brooke Jennett of THIRTEEN as Digby. Tucker Bettez of PodCube as Dr. Sphynkyll. 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore REMEMBER THE ARTIFACTS - KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tell Me What You Remember (Defining Folklore) We relive unseen events from earlier this season through the eyes of a mysterious patient and a rather insufferable doctor. It's a recap of what we've learned this season, without actually 're-capping' anything! In this episode: Defining folklore and related concepts with Jeana Jorgenson. We finally find out where Digby is! The Gutenberg Parenthesis, explained by GennaRose Nethercott. Doctor Sphynkyll is in this episode. Perry & Mason talk behind-the-scenes at Digital Folklore! Guests: Jeana Jorgenson, author of Folklore 101. GennaRose Nethercott, author of Thistlefoot and researcher for the Lore podcast. Featuring voice acting from: Brooke Jennett of THIRTEEN as Digby. Tucker Bettez of PodCube as Dr. Sphynkyll. 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Perry is all alone in a massive Airbnb... and he's beginning to suspect that something supernaturally disturbing has been following himself and Mason. After all of the strange events this season, perhaps there is a reason for them to be nervous... Perry makes a call to Dr Francis Young, an expert in the history of religion and belief. Francis shares his knowledge of religious history, exorcism practices, the 'chicken and egg' debate around ritual and religion, fandoms, the ways in which the internet affects the generation and archival of folklore, and so much more. Francis is a wellspring of rich insight - but will it help Perry and Mason stay safe from whatever is stalking them? Guests: Dr Francis Young, historian and folklorist specializing in the history of religion and belief. He is the author, editor or co-author of 18 books. 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is Old Tech Creepy? (Analog Horror, The Gothic & Hauntology) Mason finds a mysterious VHS copy of Candle Cove. Not having a VCR, he heads to Perry's Airbnb mansion only to discover that Perry is also VCR-less. After a short debate, they hop into the FolksWagen and head to Todd's pawn shop. And that's where things get a bit strange... In this episode: A dramatization of the Candle Cove creepypasta. A discussion about Analog Horror and how it intersects with folklore. The Carterhaugh School breaks down Gothic. The term "hauntology" as explained by Diane Rodgers. Imaginary Worlds host Eric Molinsky makes an appearance. Guests: Diane A. Rodgers PhD, Senior Lecturer in Media at Sheffield Hallam University Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman from the Carterhaugh School of Folklore & the Fantastic Eric Molinsky, creator and host of the Imaginary Worlds podcast. Alex Hera, filmmaker. Creator of the documentary, "The History of Analog Horror", and a 100 Episode webseries called "Walker Creek", which was later re-edited into a feature-length video, and was the basis of a feature-length documentary titled "Making an ARG: Walker Creek". Featuring voice acting from: Brooke Jennett of THIRTEEN as Voice #1 in the opening story. Daniel Spencer of Frankenstein's Jukebox as Voice #2 in the opening story Erin King of The Amelia Project as Voice #3 in the opening story Rich Daigle (aka Mouth Almighty) voices Todd the pawn shop owner. 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Digby is at the 'vet', while Perry & Mason review a fascinating interview on LARP... After the tumultuous and ambiguous events at the end of the previous episode, Perry swings over to Mason's place again. The pair talk through that strange thing that happened with their RSS feed, some potential production decisions for the future of Digital Folklore, and also plan out their interview episode about Live Action Roleplay featuring Tara M. Clapper. There is so much more to LARP than fighting with foam weapons (although that in itself is extremely fun). It provides a safe space to engage in empathetic roleplay, a venue for self-improvement, and a community around the creation and sharing of lore and stories. Tara dishes her wisdom on the subject, and shares just how transformative and important LARP can be! And now Mason wants to find a group to play with. Guests: Tara Marie Clapper, game designer, writer, editor, digital content manager, and creator of Geek Initiative. 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See for Yourself Perry picks up Mason from his house at 4:00am (yes... four in the freaking morning) for a road trip out to the gravesite of Elijah Bond - inventor of the Ouija Board. On the way, they encounter quite a few remarkable folks with stories to tell... Content Warnings: Because of dynamically inserted ads, timestamps would be inaccurate. Here's how to avoid potentially triggering content: Suffocation: in the Hoosac Tunnel story, when you hear us talk about the "Central Shaft", skip ahead ~4 minutes. Racially motivated violence: When you hear the phrase "Mini Lights", skip ahead ~3 minutes. In this episode: An opening retelling of the classic "Hook Hand Man" urban legend. A short retelling of the history of the Hoosac Tunnel, and how Mason paid it a visit. What it means to get to the origin of local legends, and exploration of how they change over time and the purposes they serve. A discussion with a professional ghost tour guide. Discussion around the importance of studying urban legends, and a retelling of the Bunny Man legend. Guests: Mark Muncy, author of the bestselling book Eerie Florida and other compilations of local legends. Paul Prater, multifaceted entertainer and ghost tour guide. Betty Aquino, a graduate student in the folklore program at George Mason University. Featuring voice acting from: GennaRose Nethercott told our opening story of the Hook Hand Man. GennaRose is a an author, poet, folklorist, and an associate producer and researcher for the highly acclaimed Lore podcast. Eric Gray was the voice of AM radio host Bart Chime. Eric creates the podcast "Dumb People with Terrible Ideas" which is a hilarious, pun-filled teardown of hubris - all delivered in his iconic voice. Mason's personal favorite episode is this one about FM radio. Ruben Basalto was the "Moon Man Dad Caller" at the beginning of the AM radio show. Ruben is a voice actor who you can hire for your next project! 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Disturbing the remains of the Egyptian Pharaohs is known to incur a deadly curse, so why did a team of archeologists still risk inciting the wrath of King Tutankhamun by entering his burial chamber? And how many of them met a premature end for their impudence? This episode comes to us from our friends at Pushkin Industries. It's a podcast we love called Cautionary Tales by Tim Harford. We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable life lessons, but these cautionary tales are for the education of the grown-ups — and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of Messy and The Undercover Economist) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, daring heists and hilarious fiascos. They’ll delight you and scare you, but also make you wiser. You can find Cautionary Tales on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Further reading and listening related to this episode: Roger Luckhurst’s book, The Mummy’s Curse , is the perfect guide to every angle of the tale. Nigel Blundell’s The World’s Greatest Mistakes gives a vivid tabloid-style version, and Snopes described and then fact-checked the tale of the Unlucky Mummy. Skeptoid covers and debunks various explanations for the curse. The Mesmeromania incident is covered in detail by Christopher Turner for Cabinet Magazine. Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler set it in wider context in their fascinating book Useful Delusions. Charle’s Duhigg’s story about Target and the pregnant teenager is in the New York Times Magazine. Academic studies on placebos, nocebos, and the BMJ article about the mummy’s curse: Howick, J. Unethical informed consent caused by overlooking poorly measured nocebo effects. Journal of Medical Ethics. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:07126ead-92c8-4b82-87b2-7e677aaf98b5 Colloca L, Miller FG. The nocebo effect and its relevance for clinical practice. Psychosom Med. 2011;73(7):598-603. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e3182294a50 Nelson MR. The mummy’s curse: historical cohort study. BMJ. 2002 Dec 21;325(7378):1482-4. doi: 10.1136/bmj.325.7378.1482. PMID: 12493675; PMCID: PMC139048. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Perry and Mason have lost time, but discover a mysterious tape... The gang discovers a mysterious canister in the trunk of Perry’s (new) car. It's a reel of tape, which turns out to be an interview that they did not conduct. Tune in as Matthew Bliss (prominent ARG solver of Asemblance) and Niles Sankey (game developer of Asemblance) meet each other for the first time! Niles dives deeper into his approach in creating the mysterious puzzles behind his game Asemblance, the experience of watching a community come together to solve it, and shares a lot of insight into the world of creating video games. Guests: Niles Sankey, creator of the Asemblance videogame series, and owner of Nilo Studios. Matthew Bliss, host of The Dead Drop podcast - a twice-weekly 10 minute video game news podcast. 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hidden Meanings You never know what you might discover if you just #KeepYourEyesOpen. Perry and Mason venture into their local pawn shop where they meet the mysterious proprietor, Todd, as well as a handful of very interesting people who happen to all be connected... In this episode: An opening story about a gamer who discovers their deceased father's ghost car and gets to race him again A retelling of Ben Drowned, one of the most iconic creepypastas about a haunted copy of the classic N64 videogame Zelda: Majora's Mask. An exploration of what constitutes a 'folk group' and how folklore can emerge from pop culture fandoms and other established media. A discussion with the developer of an ARG (Alternate Reality Game) where various cryptic clues are spread across the entire internet. An interview with one of the key members of the community who solved that ARG, discussing how that community came together. Mason purchases a bicycle... Guests: Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman from the Carterhaugh School of Folklore & the Fantastic Niles Sankey, creator of the Asemblance videogame series, and owner of Nilo Studios. Matthew Bliss, host of The Dead Drop podcast - a twice-weekly 10 minute video game news podcast. Featuring voice acting from: Brooke Jennett of THIRTEEN narrated the opening story. Rich Daigle (aka Mouth Almighty) voices Todd the pawn shop owner. 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Keep Your Eyes Open Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monsters and Mental Healthcare - Vivian Asimos & Kathleen Hale This is the first of our 'Folk' episodes, where we share longer excerpts from our interviews! We talk with Dr. Vivian Asimos about the importance of storytelling and narrative, what makes a monster significant, and a deeper analysis of how of Slenderman - and the circumstances around his creation - catapulted a legend into our collective consciousness. Then, we'll hear from author Kathleen Hale about her journey to uncover details around the Slenderman stabbings in Wisconsin, the surprising insights she gained about our juvenile justice system, and a discussion about access to mental healthcare services in the United States. We'll also meet Mason's pet raccoon (and unofficial Digital Folklore mascot) Digby! Guests: Dr. Vivian Asimos, author of Digital Monsters and Digital Mythology and the Internet's Monster: The Slender Man Kathleen Hale, author of Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls Support our Show! 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Internet is The New Woods (Monsters, Ostension, & Moral Panics) This episode introduces us to two "monsters" who were birthed on the internet, but couldn't be contained there. Their names are Slenderman and Momo, and they are great examples of a few key folkloric concepts. So join us as we take a look at Slenderman and Momo and learn about ostension, monster theory, moral panics, and the defining traits that make something folklore as opposed to just a simple online expression of creativity. Guests: Dr. Vivian Asimos, author of Digital Monsters and Digital Mythology and the Internet's Monster: The Slender Man Ben Brock Johnson, Amory Sivertson, and Quincy Walters from WBUR's podcast, Endless Thread Chelsey Weber-Smith, host of American Hysteria Kathleen Hale, author of Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls And featuring the voice talents of: Jordan Reed as Georgeriegegege Colin Parker as Victor Surge Ty from Side Character Quest 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey folks! We're excited to share with you a sneak peek of episode 1. This episode introduces us to two "monsters" who were birthed on the internet, but couldn't be contained there. Their names are Slenderman and Momo, and they are great examples of a few key folkloric concepts. So join us as we take a look at Slenderman and Momo and learn about ostension, monster theory, moral panics, and the defining traits that make something folklore as opposed to just a simple online expression of creativity. Guests appearing on the full episode include: Dr. Vivian Asimos, author of Digital Monsters and Digital Mythology and the Internet's Monster: The Slender Man Ben Brock Johnson, Amory Sivertson, and Quincy Walters from WBUR's podcast, Endless Thread Chelsey Weber-Smith, host of American Hysteria Kathleen Hale, author of Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls Season 1 drops January 16, 2023. Subscribe or follow so you don't miss out! You can sign-up for our newsletter and learn more about the show at https://digitalfolklore.fm. 🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Digital Folklore Unplugged! Unplugged episodes are where we ditch all the fancy production and story elements and bring you the raw (or slightly edited) interviews with folklore experts. On this episode, Perry & Mason sit down with Paul Prater. Paul is a multifaceted guy – a lawyer, a musician, a mentalist and bizarre entertainer, an author… oh… and he collects ghost stories and leads haunted tours.  Topics covered include: Magic / mentalism / bizarre magic & storytelling Thoughts on what makes something 'creepy' Paul's experiences leading Ghost Tours Paul's favorite urban legend The importance of narrative storytelling for society Just a reminder – if you are one of our Patreon supporters, you get access to these interviews a few days early before they go live in our public podcast feed.  Ok, let’s get unplugged… Guest: Paul Prater (Twitter) (YouTube) (Website) Mentioned in the episode: Paul's "The End of Summer" performance (YouTube video) Haunted Argenta, Arkansas Relevant Books (Amazon Associate Links) Haunted Argenta, by Paul Prater What Follows is True: The Crescent Hotel, by Sean Fitzgibbon House of a Hundred Rooms: Tales the Ghost Tour Guides Do Not Tell, by Keith J. Scales The Choking Doberman: And Other Urban Legends, by Jan Harold Brunvand  Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, by Jan Harold Brunvand  🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to our 4th installment of Digital Folklore Unplugged. These unplugged episodes are all about stripping away the fancy production elements so that we can give you access to raw (or slightly edited) interviews with folklore experts. Today’s guest is Chelsey Weber-Smith. Chelsey is the creator and host of American Hysteria, a show that probes the depths of our collective anxieties, our shared stories, our cultural myths and legends, and even those mass panics that occasionally sweep through the nation. American Hysteria is not just a podcast, it's a journey into the heart of American culture… into the intricacies of our shared psyche. Every episode pushes us to question and reconsider the narratives we have been fed, the myths we've been told, and the truths we think we hold dear.  Chelsey peels back the layers of our society to expose its underbelly, revealing the impact of the stories we tell ourselves. Ok, let’s get unplugged… Guest: Chelsey Weber-Smith (Twitter) (Website) Relevant Books (Amazon Associate Links) America the Fearful: Media and the Marketing of National Panics, by Ben Radford Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance, by Erich Goode & Nachman Ben Yahuda Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The creation of the Mods and Rockers (Routledge Classics), by Stanley Cohen The Choking Doberman: And Other Urban Legends, by Jan Harold Brunvand  Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, by Jan Harold Brunvand  🗣 Join our Discord community 💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon 🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm. 📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books Find us on the socials: Twitter: @digiFolklorePod Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod TikTok: digitalfolklore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices