66: Baba Yaga

What if three unexpected knocks weren't announcing a visitor, but warning of something far more unsettling?For centuries, people have believed that mysterious knocking could signal an approaching death. From Ireland's death-knock traditions and Newfoundland's supernatural forerunners to unexplained disturbances in an English farmhouse, these strange sounds have become deeply rooted in folklore.In this episode of Let's Talk Spooky, we're exploring the origins of death knocks, the superstitions surrounding them, and chilling accounts from people who claim to have experienced these warnings firsthand.Are these encounters simply unfortunate coincidences, or is there something more behind those unexpected knocks?Content Warning: This episode discusses death, grief, family loss, the death of a pet, and unsettling paranormal experiences. Listener discretion is advised.Have a Spooky Story to Share?We're looking for your unexplained experiences, strange encounters, and winter or holiday ghost stories for an upcoming listener episode!Send your story by December 1.Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠TikTok: @letstalkspookypodInstagram: @letstalkspookypodcastStay curious, stay spooky. 👻Sources & Further Reading⁠Irish Schools' Folklore Collection — Dúchas⁠⁠Memorial University — Forerunners, or Signs of Impending Death⁠⁠Dale Jarvis — A Ghostly Knocking at the Door⁠⁠Park Farm, Anslow, Staffordshire, 1912 — Poltergeist Archive⁠Wirt Sikes, British Goblins (1880)Reported Encounters⁠University of Southern California Digital Folklore Archives — Three Knocks⁠⁠Tomb Raider Forums — Personal Account, December 2024⁠⁠LiveAbout — Death Knocks and Ghostly Warnings⁠⁠Utusan Malaysia — Mysterious Knocking Reports, August 2026⁠Folklore and personal accounts are presented as reported experiences and cultural beliefs. Their supernatural explanations have not been independently established.

This Halloween, things are getting a little more haunted on Let's Talk Spooky.We're joined by special guests from Northern Haunts Paranormal to explore the world of ghost hunting, haunted locations, paranormal investigations, and unexplained encounters.From eerie experiences to the realities of investigating the unknown, we're diving into the stories, strange occurrences, and mysteries that keep paranormal investigators searching for answers.So turn down the lights and join us for a special Halloween conversation about the dark, the strange, and everything in between.Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of hauntings, paranormal experiences, and potentially unsettling subject matter. Listener discretion is advised.🎃 Happy Halloween, and as always, stay curious, stay spooky.Meet Our Guests: Northern Haunts ParanormalFollow Northern Haunts Paranormal for more investigations and behind-the-scenes adventures!YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@NorthernHauntsParanormal⁠Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/northernhauntsparanormal/⁠TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@northernhauntsparanormal⁠Connect with Let's Talk SpookyFacebook: Northern Haunts ParanormalWebsite: ⁠https://letstalkspooky.com⁠TikTok: @letstalkspookypodInstagram: @letstalkspookypodcastStay curious. Stay spooky. 🖤

Two unsolved murders, chilling folklore, and a dark history of witchcraft accusations.In 1945, the brutal murder of Charles Walton in Lower Quinton, England, sparked rumours of witchcraft and ritual killing. Just two years earlier, an unidentified woman's remains were discovered inside a hollow tree in Hagley Wood, giving rise to the haunting mystery: Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?Two chilling mysteries. Decades of speculation. And questions that remain unanswered.Stay curious, stay spooky. 🌙⚠️ Content Warning: This episode discusses historical murders, violent deaths, human remains, and disturbing details of criminal investigations. Listener discretion is advised.Find us online:Website: https://letstalkspooky.comTikTok: @letstalkspookypodInstagram: @letstalkspookypodcastHave a strange experience or local legend you'd like to share? We'd love to hear your story!Sources and further readingThese are useful references to include beneath the episode description for listeners who want to explore the history.The Case That Foiled Fabian — Simon Read — Historical investigation of Charles Walton's murder and the witchcraft rumours.Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm? — ABC News — Examination of the unidentified woman and competing theories.Canadian Criminal Code, Former Section 365 — The archived legislation concerning fraudulently pretending to practise witchcraft.Bill C-51 — Parliament of Canada — Legislation that repealed Section 365 in December 2018.Bad Religion and Bad Business: The History of the Canadian Witchcraft Provision — Academic examination of the law's history.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of historical witchcraft accusations, curses, violence, and frightening experiences associated with sleep paralysis. Listener discretion is advised.Can a locked door really keep out everything we fear?For centuries, people believed witches, curses, and supernatural forces could find their way into even the safest homes. But protecting themselves often meant turning to some rather unusual methods.In the final episode of our Witches of October series, we explore Ontario's infamous Baldoon Mystery, the strange history of witch bottles and protective magic, and the unsettling objects discovered hidden within the walls of historic homes.Then, we travel to Newfoundland to uncover the terrifying legend of the Old Hag, a mysterious nighttime visitor connected to witchcraft, folklore, and sleep paralysis.From Canadian witch legends to centuries-old superstitions, these stories reveal just how far people went to protect their homes from unwanted forces.Because sometimes, the most frightening things don't need an invitation to come inside.Stay curious, stay spooky. 🖤Follow Let's Talk Spooky for more Canadian folklore, haunted history, witch legends, and unexplained encounters.Website: ⁠https://letstalkspooky.com⁠Instagram: @letstalkspookypodcastTikTok: @letstalkspookypodSources & Further ReadingDictionary of Canadian Biography. “Troyer, John.” University of Toronto/Université Laval, ⁠www.biographi.ca/en/bio/troyer_john_7E.html⁠.Glanvill, Joseph. Saducismus Triumphatus: Or, Full and Plain Evidence Concerning Witches and Apparitions. J. Collins and S. Lownds, 1681. Wellcome Collection.Historic England. “Discovering Witches’ Marks.” historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/features/discovering-witches-marks/.Hufford, David J. The Terror That Comes in the Night: An Experience-Centered Study of Supernatural Assault Traditions. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982.London Museum. “Lauderdale House: Witchcraft Relics Hidden in the Wall.” 15 Oct. 2024, ⁠www.londonmuseum.org.uk/blog/lauderdale-house-witchcraft-relics-hidden-in-the-wall/⁠.Museum of London Archaeology. “‘Witch Bottles’ Concealed and Revealed.” ⁠www.mola.org.uk/discoveries/research-projects/witch-bottles-concealed-and-revealed⁠.“Superstitions in Newfoundland.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 9, no. 34, 1896, pp. 222–23. ⁠https://doi.org/10.2307/533410⁠.University of Lincoln. “Rare 18th-Century ‘Witch Bottle’ Investigated by Lincoln Student.” 24 Jan. 2025, news.lincoln.ac.uk/2025/01/24/rare-18th-century-witch-bottle-investigated-by-lincoln-student/.Wallaceburg and District Museum. “Baldoon Mystery.” ⁠www.wallaceburgmuseum.ca/baldoonmystery⁠.

Deep in the forests of Slavic folklore stands a hut on chicken legs, surrounded by a fence of human bones. Inside waits Baba Yaga, the iron-toothed witch of Eastern European legend who might eat you or might help you, depending on how you behave when you step through her door.Content warning: This episode includes traditional folk tales involving harm to children, death, and human remains.Connect with Let’s Talk Spooky Website: letstalkspooky.com Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠ Instagram: @letstalkspookypodcast TikTok: @letstalkspookypodNew episodes every Friday at 8 p.m. EST.Stay Curious, Stay Spooky.SourceAfanasyev / Magnus: the source of Vasilisa and Finist. Essential.Blumenthal: the source of your orphans tale. Essential.Johns: the main scholarly book on Baba Yaga. Most of the research on her origins, appearance, and villain/helper roles traces back to him. Essential.UF Center for European Studies: a summary built on Johns. It supplied a lot of detail, but if you’re cutting for space, Johns covers it.Spisak: supports one detail, the blank space beside her name in Lomonosov’s table. Keep it, since nothing else on the list backs that claim.World History Encyclopedia: also draws on Johns, for the 1755 date and Levshin. It’s optional if Johns is listed.Atlas Obscura: supports the Soviet cartoons. Keep it.

For as long as people have feared witches, they’ve feared that death might not be enough to stop them. This week on Let’s Talk Spooky, we follow the strange burials of three women who were held down by stone, by tide, and by story.CONTENT WARNINGThis episode includes discussion of a confession obtained under likely torture, a death in custody that may have been suicide, a local legend involving suicide, and the desecration of a grave. Listener discretion is advised. If you are struggling, please reach out to a local crisis line; in Canada, you can call or text 9-8-8.CONNECT WITH THE SHOWWebsite: letstalkspooky.com Instagram: @letstalkspookypodcast TikTok: @letstalkspookypod Email: [email protected] episodes every Friday at 8 p.m. EST.Source Material:Moldovan, Octavian. “Strigoiul din Vâlcea. Femeie, dezgropată și înjunghiată în inimă de fratele ei: ‘O visează că vine la el’. Ce a pățit preotul.” Știrile ProTV, 15 Feb. 2024, stirileprotv.ro/divers/strigoiul-din-valcea-dezgropata-si-injunghiata-in-inima-de-fratele-ei-o-viseaza-ca-vine-la-el-ce-a-patit-preotul.htmlShaw, Allyson. “Ashes and Stones: A Scottish Journey in Search of Witches and Witness.” Books from Scotland, Jan. 2023.Frost, Natasha. “Meet a Scottish ‘Witch’ Who Died 300 Years Ago.” Atlas Obscura, 31 Oct. 2017.Lancashire Online Parish Clerk Project. “Burials at St Anne, Woodplumpton, 1693–1717.” Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks, lan-opc.org.uk/St-Michael-on-Wyre/stannew/burials_1693-1717.html.Lancashire County Council. “Other Witch Stories.” Red Rose Collections, item 235233, redrosecollections.lancashire.gov.uk/view-item?i=235233.McCann, Barry. “The Witch of Woodplumpton.” Spooky Isles, www.spookyisles.com/witch-of-woodplumpton.“Meg Shelton the Fylde Witch.” Mysterious Britain & Ireland, mysteriousbritain.co.uk/?p=3430.St Anne’s Church, Woodplumpton. “History of St Anne’s.” St Anne’s Woodplumpton, stanneswoodplumpton.org.uk.Ian. “Meg Shelton the Fylde Witch.” Mysterious Britain & Ireland, 8 Dec. 2009.“History of St Anne’s.” St Anne Church Woodplumpton.Ghost Guide Daniel. “Mary Rutherford | Separating the Witch from True History.” Ghost Walks, 26 Jan. 2026.Ghost Guide Daniel. “Mary Rutherford | Separating the Witch from True History.” Ghost Walks, Jan. 2026, ghostwalks.com/articles/mary-rutherford-witch-legend.“Early Modern Witch Trials: Accusation and Trial.” The National Archives, section “The 1604 Act Against Witchcraft.”“Scotland’s Witch Hunts.” National Geographic, www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/scotland-witch-hunts.“The Witchcraft Act, 1604.” The National Archives (UK).“Torryburn.” The Scots Magazine, Oct. 2025.“Under Her Spell.” Live Science, 2017.Ashes and Stones: A Scottish Journey in Search of Witches and Witness. Extract, Books from Scotland, 2023.

Look closely at any Halloween witch, and you’ll find a little creature perched beside her: a black cat, a toad, an owl watching over the cauldron. But long before they were decorations, familiars were evidence. This week, we kick off our October Month of Witches with the strange and unsettling history of the witch’s familiar.Website:letstalkspooky.comInstagram:@letstalkspookypodcastTikTok:@letstalkspookypod Email:[email protected] episodes every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST.Got a name for the new studio cat? Send it our way.Stay Curious. Stay SpookySOURCES:Damnable Practises of Three Lincolne-shire Witches. 1619. English Broadside Ballad Archive, EBBA 20058, ebba.english.ucsb.edu.The Examination and Confession of Certaine Wytches at Chensforde in the Countie of Essex. 1566. Edited by Frank Luttmer, Hanover College, history.hanover.edu/dept-archive/ischelm.html.Goodier, Christine. “The Pendle Witches.” Lancaster Castle,lancastercastle.com/the-pendle-witches. Hopkins,Matthew. The Discovery of Witches. R. Royston, 1647. Cornell University Library Digital Collections, digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:24343966.Kors, Alan Charles, and Edward Peters, editors. Witchcraftin Europe, 400–1700: A Documentary History. 2nd ed., U of Pennsylvania P, 2001.Lincolnshire Folktales Project. “The Witches of Belvoir.” 21Feb. 2024, lincolnshirefolktalesproject.com.Loxley, James. “The Bottesford Tombs.” Ben Jonson’s Walk, U of Edinburgh.Marsh, Moira. Review of Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits, by Emma Wilby. Journal of Folklore Research Reviews, 2006.Museum of Witchcraft and Magic. “Illustration of Martin le Franc’s ‘Le Champion des Dames’ Poem.” Object 601,museumofwitchcraftandmagic.co.uk/object/witch-picture-27/.The National Archives (UK). “Early Modern Witch Trials.” Education resource, nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/early-modern-witch-trials/.Niehaus, Isak, et al. Witchcraft, Power andPolitics: Exploring the Occult in the South African Lowveld. Pluto Press, 2001.Potts, Thomas. The Wonderfull Discoverie ofWitches in the Countie of Lancaster. 1613. Edited by James Crossley, Chetham Society, 1845. Project Gutenberg,gutenberg.org/ebooks/18253.Roth, Martha T. Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. 2nd ed., Scholars Press, 1997.Sasaki, Kokan. “Spirit Possession as an Indigenous Religion in Japan and Okinawa.” Senri Ethnological Studies, vol. 11,1984, pp. 75–84, doi.org/10.15021/00003362.Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. 1623.Sparham, Bob. “The Bottesford Witches.” Bottesford Living History, bottesfordhistory.org.uk.Webster, John. The Displaying of Supposed Witchcraft. 1677.Wilby, Emma. Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits. Sussex Academic Press, 2005.The Wonderful Discoverie of the Witchcrafts of Margaret and Phillip Flower. G. Eld for J. Barnes, 1619. Wellcome Collection.

Everybody knows the rhyme. Almost nobody knows the truth. On a mild summer morning in 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were hacked to death inside a locked house on Second Street in Fall River, Massachusetts — and before the police had finished searching for a stranger, the town had already decided who did it. This week we walk through the whole story: the morning of the murders, the cold and comfortless house of a very wealthy man, the shifting testimony, the trial that quietly fell apart, and the acquittal that never really ended. Then we sit with the strangest part of all — how a children's skipping rhyme convicted a woman the court set free, and why we still believe it a hundred and thirty years later.A story about a hatchet, an inheritance, a house you can still book a room in — and the way a legend can outrun the truth and never look back.Content note: This episode discusses a real double homicide and describes the injuries involved.SOURCES & FURTHER READINGPrimary records: Lizzie's inquest testimony & the 1893 trial transcript — famous-trials.com/lizzieborden; witness statements & wills — lizzieandrewborden.comArchival: Fall River Historical Society (trial exhibits, crime-scene photos, the Knowlton Papers) — fallriverhistorical.orgKey books: Cara Robertson, The Trial of Lizzie Borden; Martins & Binette, Parallel Lives (FRHS); Edwin Porter, The Fall River Tragedy (1893, free at gutenberg.org)On the hauntings: Joe Nickell, Skeptical InquirerAmong OthersCONNECT WITH LET'S TALK SPOOKYWebsite: letstalkspooky.comEmail: ⁠[email protected]⁠Instagram: @letstalkspookypodcastTikTok: @letstalkspookypodNew episodes every Friday at 8 p.m. ESTIf you've got a legend from your corner of the map, send it our way — we read everything.Stay Curious. Stay Spooky.

On a cool November night, a boy taking the shortcut home along the river hears something underneath the current that isn't the current. She has a hundred names and haunts the water from the canals of Mexico City to the concrete washes of Los Angeles — La Llorona, the Weeping Woman, searching forever for the children she lost. Tonight we follow her: where she came from, how she crossed a border, the mothers her story was really built out of, and the real people — including a police officer on the Texas–New Mexico line — who swear they've met her. Light a candle. Get cozy. And let's talk spooky.⚠️ Content warning: This episode discusses child loss, domestic violence, and suicide. Please take care of yourself as you listen. Support resources are listed below.If you or someone you know needs supportIn an emergency, call 911.9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline (Canada & US) — call or text 988, 24/7Kids Help Phone (Canada, up to 29) — 1-800-668-6868, or text CONNECT to 686868Hope for Wellness Help Line (Indigenous peoples, Canada) — 1-855-242-3310, 24/7Assaulted Women's Helpline (Ontario) — 1-866-863-0511, or #SAFE (#7233)US Domestic Violence Hotline — 1-800-799-7233Find A Helpline (worldwide) — findahelpline.comSources & further readingThe Florentine Codex — free digital edition at florentinecodex.getty.edu (Book XII for the weeping-woman omen)Library of Congress, "La Llorona: An Introduction to the Weeping Woman" (Stephen Winick)Amy Fuller, "The Evolving Legend of La Llorona"Bess Lomax Hawes, "La Llorona in Juvenile Hall" (1968)Legends of America — "La Llorona: Weeping Woman of the Southwest"Encounters with La Llorona — Greater Belize / News Five (Jenara Cano; Benigno Coch)The Anthony, TX dispatch account — KISS El Paso"The Silent Woman of Mines Road" — Laredo Morning Times (2021)The episode distinguishes documented history, recorded legend, and popular retelling throughout. Where a claim is unverified, we say so.🌐 letstalkspooky.com 📧 ⁠[email protected]⁠ 📸 Instagram @letstalkspookypodcast 🎵 TikTok @letstalkspookypodIf you have a story of your own, we'd love to hear it.Stay Curious. Stay Spooky.

A twelve-year-old boy refuses to leave the house on the night of a full moon — because he's convinced he's becoming a wolf. It sounds like something out of a dusty book of legends. It was written up by doctors and published five years ago.This week, we follow that one impossible sentence — I am becoming a wolf — back through the centuries. From the oldest werewolf ever written down to the movie rulebook Hollywood invented barely eighty years ago, then out into the real history: the beast that brought a kingdom to its knees in the mountains of France, a thirteen-year-old boy who confessed to being a wolf and the court that showed him mercy, and the cursed loup-garou who came knocking on the doors of French Canada.Light a candle, get cozy, and come find out why, four hundred years on, our fear still wears the same face.⚠️ Content warning: This episode includes descriptions of violent death and harm to children, a child confessing to violent acts, and a child experiencing mental-health distress. Please listen with care.Clinical / the boy & the moonGuessoum et al. (2021), "First Reported Case of Clinical Lycanthropy in a 12-Year-Old," Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 75(2) — the 2020 boy.Guessoum et al. (2021), "Clinical Lycanthropy, Neurobiology, Culture: A Systematic Review," Frontiers in Psychiatry 12.Rotton & Kelly (1985), "Much Ado about the Full Moon," Psychological Bulletin 97(2) — the moon debunk.OriginsOvid, Metamorphoses Bk I (Lycaon); Petronius, Satyricon §61–62; Herodotus, Histories IV.105; Epic of Gilgamesh Tablet VI.The storiesSmith (2011), Monsters of the Gévaudan (Harvard UP) — Gévaudan.Machielsen (2019), "The Making of a Teen Wolf," Folklore 130(3) — Grenier.de Lancre (1612), Tableau de l'inconstance des mauvais anges et démons — primary source, Grenier."Loup-garou," The Canadian Encyclopedia.Trials & filmSchulte (2009), Man as Witch; de Blécourt, ed. (2015), Werewolf Histories — the trial craze.The Wolf Man (1941, Siodmak) and An American Werewolf in London (1981) — the modern rulebook.