Strange Characters

In the summer of 1612, a woman named Alice Nutter walked to her death. She was not like the others who stood beside her on the gallows, gaunt women worn hollow by poverty. Alice Nutter was a woman of property in Lancashire, a woman of standing, and—most damningly—a woman who did not easily bow her head. This episode brings you a story of fear, injustice, and resistance in early modern England: the story of the Pendle witch trials.Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcast

Morgan le Fay, the infamous enchantress of Arthurian legend, has worn many faces across the centuries: healer and villain, seductress and savior, sister and sorceress. Her story is often a mirror, reflecting the anxieties and desires of the cultures that tell it. This episode brings you the shapeshifting faces of Morgan le Fay.Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcast

In seventeenth-century England, astrology hovered at the edges of learned society. That is, until one man predicted the Great Plague and the Great Fire, both of which would strike at the very heart of London. This episode brings you the story of the English astrologer William Lilly and his legacy.Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcast

In the summer of 1836, against a backdrop of economic instability and fervent religious revival, Joseph Smith, accompanied by his brother Hyrum, Oliver Cowdery, and Sidney Rigdon, set forth on a journey that would forever connect them to the notorious witch trials that took place centuries earlier in Salem, Massachusetts. This episode brings you the story of seer stones, witch trials, and the life of Joseph Smith.Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcast

A bishop, a scholar, and a moral arbitrator, Burchard of Worms was a man of many roles, but it's his monumental work of church law, the Decretum, that may reveal folk beliefs about magic that persisted well into the eleventh century. This episode brings you the story of The Corrector and the folk magic of early medieval Europe. Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcast

From ancient times to the present, cultures worldwide have celebrated the sun’s return following the winter solstice. In this episode, I bring you the story of the midwinter celebrations of ancient Rome, from Saturnalia to Sol Invictus and beyond.Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcast

Since ancient times Avernus, an ancient volcanic crater in the Campania region of southern Italy, has been the source of legend. In this special minisode, I bring you the story of Italy’s legendary gateway to the underworld.Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcast

If there is one thing every reader of fairy tales can tell you, it’s that you should never, ever venture into the woods alone. From the whispering willows to the ominous oaks, this episode brings you the stories of the trees that loom large in our collective imagination, exploring their sinister attributes and the cautionary tales they inspire.Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcast

In 1584, Reginald Scot, a little-known English gentleman farmer from Kent, published a work that would shake the foundations of religious and legal authority in Europe. At a time when witch trials were sweeping through Europe, Scot’s book was a rare and radical challenge to the powers that be. This episode brings you the story of Reginald Scot and his The Discoverie of Witchcraft.Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcast

Despite the inscrutability of his writings and the fact that he was only one of a number of court astrologers advising Catherine de' Medici, "Serpent Queen" of France, Nostradamus’s prophecies have found a dedicated audience in the centuries following their publication. How is it that Nostradamus and his writings have such a lasting legacy? This episode brings you the story of Catherine de’ Medici, her occult advisors, and the life and lasting influence of Nostradamus.Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcast