The Sponge

Aristomenes is delighted to find his missing friend Socrates alive and well at a bathhouse in Thessaly, but all is not as it seems and both men may be in danger… This story has been re-told from Apuleius, Metamorphoses, Book 1, and is followed by a chat about the history behind it, including ancient beauty standards, Roman bathhouses, and ancient Roman fast food.Content warning: goreSupport me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JulietteHarrissonBuy my books! https://books2read.com/ap/nzeerp/Juliette-HarrissonBuy merch! https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/storeCreepy Classics music written and performed by Ed Harrisson (C)SourcesApuleius, The Golden Ass, trans. Robert Graves (Penguin)Apuleius’ Metamorphoses: An Intermediate Latin Reader by Paul MurgatroydLaurie Maguire, Helen of Troy: From Homer to HollywoodRoman Justice and Apuleius’ Metamorphoses Author(s): Richard G. Summers Source: Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association , 1970, Vol. 101 (1970), pp. 511-531 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2936069https://www.unrv.com/articles/inns-and-taverns-in-ancient-rome.php#:~:text=What%20did%20Romans%20eat%20in,in%20keeping%20with%20Roman%20customMax Miller’s Tasting History channel on YouTubehttps://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/08/roman-fast-food/153232https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pompeii-archaeologists-reveal-rare-frescoes-of-trojan-war-characters-180984153/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

A feud between two lords of the manor, a Norman count and an English Abbot, has devastating consequences for the peasants who live and work in the village, which comes under the power of a dark spirit… This short story is inspired by a 12th century saint’s life, the Life of St Modwenna, and is followed by a chat about its historical context, the medieval cult of saints, and the living and working conditions of medieval serfs.Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JulietteHarrissonBuy my books! https://books2read.com/ap/nzeerp/Juliette-HarrissonBuy merch! https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/storeCreepy Classics music written and performed by Ed Harrisson (C)SourcesThe Penguin Book of the Undead: Fifteen Hundred Years of Supernatural Encounters, edited by Scott G. Bruce.™an Mortimer, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval Englandhttps://www.leidenmedievalistsblog.nl/articles/how-to-be-a-saint-a-medieval-guide-to-sanctityhttp://www.burton-on-trent.org.uk/category/early-history/1000-modwenCarl Lindahl, John McNamara and John Lindow (eds), Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and CustomsThomas Head (ed) Medieval Hagiography: An AnthologyIllustration of a reeve and serfs: Anonymous (Queen Mary Psalter), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

Thorstein just needs to do his business late at night, but it’s hard to focus when there’s a demon in the toilet… Inspired by ‘Þáttur Þorsteins skelks,’ Flateyjarbók, this short story is followed by a chat about the origins of Gandalf, and Viking toilets!Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JulietteHarrissonBuy my books! https://books2read.com/ap/nzeerp/Juliette-HarrissonBuy merch! https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/storeCreepy Classics music written and performed by Ed Harrisson (C)SourcesTranslation by Anthony Maxwell: https://www.richardfordburley.com/sin-and-evil/files/Thorstein.pdfhttps://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/daily_living/text/Villages.htmThe Welsh Viking on Vikings and medieval toilets, on YouTubehttps://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/viking-toilet-oldest-bathroom-denmarkhttps://www.vikinganswerlady.com/fire.shtmlRowe, Elizabeth (March 28, 1998). “Cultural Paternity in the Flateyjarbók Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar” (PDF). Alvíssmál. Retrieved December 17, 2015 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

Young Herdis is disturbed by a terrifying dream of an angry witch, but it is not the first time her grandmother Gudrun has encountered something supernatural in her long and colourful life… Inspired by Laxdaela Saga, especially Chapter 76, this short story is followed by a chat about its historical context, including Roman Catholic Easter services, ancient Norse witches and wizards (and their staffs with a knob on the end) and the mysterious Norse draugr.Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JulietteHarrissonBuy my books! https://books2read.com/ap/nzeerp/Juliette-HarrissonBuy merch! https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/storeCreepy Classics music written and performed by Ed Harrisson (C)Books and sources:The Saga of the People of Laxardal and Bolli Bollason’s Tale, ed. with Introduction y Bergljót S. Krisjánsdóttir, trans. Keneva KunzAlternative translation available at: https://sagadb.org/laxdaela_saga.enStephen A. Mitchell, Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ageshttp://viking.archeurope.com/settlement/iceland/the-early-medieval-church-at-seydisfjordur/G. K. Lund, Scandinavian Myths and Legends Vol. 3: GhostsMichael F. Reed, ‘Norwegian Stave Churches and their Pagan Antecedents’, RACAR: revue d’art canadienne / Canadian Art Review , 1997, Vol. 24, No. 2, (1997), pp. 3-13 https://www.jstor.org/stable/42631152Illustration of Gudrun meeting a ghost: Andreas Bloch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

King Mongán thinks he has got lucky when the poet Forgoll wanders into his ringfort, but when he dares to question one of Forgoll’s stories, he finds he has made a bitter enemy and only an old friend can save him… Based on Lebor na hUidre, 133, this short story is followed by a chat about Irish myth and legend, Irish archaeology, and the role of poets in medieval Irish society.Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JulietteHarrissonBuy my books! https://books2read.com/ap/nzeerp/Juliette-HarrissonBuy merch! https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/storeCreepy Classics music written and performed by Ed Harrisson (C) Books and sources:Text from The Celtic Heroic Age: Literary Sources for Ancient Celtic Europe and Early Ireland and Wales, by John T. Koch with John CarneyA History of Ireland in 250 Episodes, by Jonathan BardonStations of the Sun, by Ronald HuttonJ.Borsje, Understanding Celtic ReligionA lot of Wikipedia! And Favourite Irish Legends, by Yvonne Carroll, Fiona Waters, and Felicity Trotman.https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ab084821eb1441f891685f47b48fb93dhttps://dil.ie/42314 (on the tuigen)Cosmic Viking on YouTube on Irish archaeology: On spearheads: https://thethegns.blogspot.com/2012/02/spearheads.htmlhttps://irishfolklore.wordpress.com/2018/09/02/the-brehon-laws/ASSAULT AND ATTEMPTED MURDER IN BREHON LAW Author(s): NEIL McLEOD Source: Irish Jurist, 1998, New Series, Vol. 33 (1998), pp. 351-391 Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44027309The Royal Residence of Rathmore of Moy-Linne. With Notes on Other Early Earthworks in Ulster (Continued) Author(s): R. G. Berry Source: Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Second Series, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Oct., 1898), pp. 9-19 Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20563826 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

A greedy and corrupt Pardoner tells an inn full of pilgrims a very moral tale about the different forms Death might take as he stalks the land… Based on The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, this story is followed by a chat about Canterbury pilgrimages, the medieval legend of the Wandering Jew, and the impact of the Black Death on folklore around Death as a figure.Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JulietteHarrissonBuy Creepy Classics: Haunting Tales for Winter: https://books2read.com/u/bPrZkzBuy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Rome: https://books2read.com/u/b6XGkMBuy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Greece: https://books2read.com/u/mK5oaLBuy Creepy Classics merch: https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/storeCreepy Classics music written and composed by Ed Harrisson © This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

When William Sutor starts seeing a strange dog lurking near his farm around Christmastime, he has no idea what family secrets are about to be revealed… Adapted from a story reported in the Gentleman’s Magazine in 1731, this is followed by a chat about the Scottish Lowlands, witchcraft and cunning-folk, and the time Scotland banned Christmas!Buy Creepy Classics: Haunting Tales for Winter! https://books2read.com/u/bPrZkzBuy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Rome: https://books2read.com/u/b6XGkMBuy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Greece: https://books2read.com/u/mK5oaLBuy Creepy Classics merch: https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/storeCreepy Classics music written and composed by Ed Harrisson © This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

In the wake of the Black Death and the Peasants’ Revolt, a vicious murder and an act of vengeance leave a soul in need of absolution… Inspired by the third of twelve local ghost stories recorded by a monk at Byland Abbey around the year 1400, this story is followed by a chat about its history, the system of serfdom and its end in medieval England, and the medieval practice of conjuring a ghost.Buy Creepy Classics: Haunting Tales for Winter! https://books2read.com/u/bPrZkzBuy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Rome: https://books2read.com/u/b6XGkMBuy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Greece: https://books2read.com/u/mK5oaLBuy Creepy Classics merch: https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/storeCreepy Classics music written and composed by Ed Harrisson © This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

As a young student, Thelyphron took on what sounded like an easy job to make some money, but it turned out to be a lot more dangerous than he thought… Adapted from the comedic story of Thelyphron in Apuleius’ novel Metamorphoses (also known as The Golden Ass), this re-telling gives the story a slightly darker tone, leaning into the horror just a little more. It’s followed by a chat about ancient mourning rituals, gender and Roman witchcraft, and Apuleius’ own defence on charges of magic.Website: www.julietteharrisson.co.ukBuy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Rome: https://books2read.com/u/b6XGkM Buy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Greece: https://books2read.com/u/mK5oaLCreepy Classics music written and composed by Ed Harrisson © This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

A middle-aged Robin Hood is convinced a blood-letting will be the perfect cure for a chronic illness, but a mysterious old woman he meets in the woods suggests he may be about to lose too much blood… This story is based on the ballad Robin Hood’s Death and other Robin Hood ballads, and is followed by a discussion of medieval monks and blood-letting, the debate over the date of Robin Hood’s adventures, and the mysterious figure of the bean-nighe…Website: www.julietteharrisson.co.uk Buy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Rome: https://books2read.com/u/b6XGkMBuy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Greece: https://books2read.com/u/mK5oaLCreepy Classics music written and composed by Ed Harrisson © This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com