Episode 81: The Dancing Plague of 1518

Hungry Ghost Day is the one day of the year where all of the ghosts and spirits that have been dwelling in the Lower Realm can leave the Underworld and walk amongst the living. But the ghosts that walk the earth during the Hungry Ghost Festival are not those of our beloved dead ancestors who just popped in to say hello, or to tell us that they miss us. No, these spirits have a much more anguished story to tell.

The United States boasts an abnormal amount of haunted lighthouses, none of which hold a candle to Cape Romain Lighthouse on Lighthouse Island, in McClellanville, South Carolina.Cape Romain Lighthouse has seen murder and insanity, as has the lighthouse keeper of our original ghost story. When Daniel Merriwether is instructed with the care of a haunted lighthouse, he must do anything he can to survive!

Lighthouses are strange things. By definition and functionality, they are symbols of good, symbols of light. And yet there is something about them that also projects loneliness, isolation, and fear. There is a reason why lighthouses were very rarely entrusted in the hands of one person alone, but sometimes, even with someone there with you, things could still go horribly wrong. And that is exactly what happened off the coast of Scotland one strange December day.Let’s dive into the Flannan Isle Lighthouse Mystery.

Laughter is contagious. In 1962, a small village near the border of Uganda became the prime example for just how wildly contagious laughter could be. There are still a lot of questions surrounding this particular incident that need to be answered but the most important one is really the simplest: What caused the Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic of 1962?

Dancing is one of those things that we almost have no control over. But what if you really couldn't help it? What if one day you woke up, walked out into the middle of town, started dancing, and just never stopped? It wouldn't be so fun then, would it?That is exactly what happened to the people of Strasbourg when the Dancing Plague of 1518 hit.

If you study the religions and cultures from around the world that acknowledge possession as a universal experience, you’ll see that there is no specific criteria for who is more likely to become possessed over others. But that doesn’t explain what happened in 1634 to a specific group of people in Loudun, France. It doesn’t explain why of all the people in the world, a group of nuns found themselves at the center of demonic activity.

Special Re-Release Episode 79: Josephine and the Flying DutchmanOriginally heard in Episode 32, Josephine and the Flying Dutchman covers the lore and origins of famed ghost the Flying Dutchman, as well as the story of a young woman determined to concur her fear of the ocean and the ghosts that lurk its waters.

Houska Castle is an impressive gothic structure famous for its beautiful religious frescoes, romantic architecture, and a supposed literal gateway to Hell. How did it get there? What lives within? Let’s find out.

Fear of El Cucuy derives from the fear of the unknown. So let’s shine some light on what we do know about this amorphous, nightmare-inducing creature, and see if it helps dissipate that fear just a little.

New Jersey is known for many things – Atlantic City, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and the Jersey Devil. This demon cryptid is the last thing you want to see during your nighttime stroll through the woods. But what is the Jersey Devil? Where did it come from? And will you be its next victim?