Myths and Legends

92-Greek Myths: Gigantic

29 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

There is someone that isn't happy that the family of Zeus and Hera is sitting on Olympus. Well, there are many people that aren't happy about it. Actu...

91-Greek Myths: Fatherhood

22 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories of just terrible, terrible fathers from Greek mythology. The first is really only in the story for a few minutes, but helps to bring about...

90-Viking Legends: Mighty

15 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The land of giants. Jotunheim. The realm of the monstrous "other" from Norse myth. Thorstein grew up being told it was only a legend, and he probably ...

89-Maui: The Mauiest Maui

08 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Maui. Trickster. Demigod. Sometimes-fish. Abandoned at birth but in the possession of great power, the story of Maui is the story of an underdog that ...

88-Ragnarok: Doom

01 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Day of the Wolf. The Doom of the Gods. The end of all things. It has many names, but one word encapsulates it all: Ragnarok. It's what Odin has be...

87-Werewolves: The Lost

25 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Werewolves are people that turn into wolves. Or they don't. Maybe they just wear a fancy wolf belt. Or maybe part of a wolf skin. Or maybe they just l...

86-Grimm: Clever

18 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Clever Hans is clever. He knows the best way to store needles and knives and how to carry a goat in your pockets on long walks through the country. He...

85B-Slavic Folklore: Hold on to Your Hat

11 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The conclusion to the dwarf with the long beard, a story about a dwarf. And a long beard. And entering the ear canals of magic horses for fun and prof...

85A-Slavic Folklore: For the Right Reasons

04 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Today's story comes from Slavic folklore and it was so much fun. It's surprisingly complex and full of magic, love, and a sleazy little kidnapper who ...

84-Famous Fairy Tales: Rule of Three

27 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Threes are everywhere in folklore, and today we look at stories where they feature the most prominently: The three bears, the three little pigs, and C...

83-Tale of Tales: Skin Deep

20 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The "Tale of Tales" is a very famous, moderately deranged collection of folklore from 16th century Italy. It's by the author Giambattista Basile, a st...

82B-Arabian Nights: Show Me What You Got

13 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We have to go deeper.  Well, for Scheherazade to survive, she always has to have another level of story to go to - she always has to have another la...

82A-Arabian Nights: I'll Most Likely Kill You in the Morning

06 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

(Have you checked out Fictional? Check out Fictional! There are three episodes waiting for you. Go to https://fictional.fm for more info.) The collect...

81-Trolls: Breakups

30 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

An episode with a story from Scandinavia about trolls. Not the internet kind. No, these are the less annoying ones that will murder you in the forest....

80B-Perseus: I'm Set Free

23 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

**Have you subscribed to Fictional yet? You'll love it! https://fictional.fm/subscribe**  Wrapping up the story of Perseus, we'll see that fated con...

80A-Medusa: Golden Child

16 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Hey! Have you subscribed to Fictional? Go subscribe to Fictional! You'll love it, and it will be an amazingly huge help to us. Thank you!! You can fin...

79-Odin: The War to Begin all Wars

09 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We're back in the cold, unforgiving north, at the very beginning of Odin's reign. We'll see him meet a new friend while being completely unsuspicious ...

78-Egyptian Mythology: The Master Namer

02 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Starting at the beginning of the universe and going to the beginning of the epic and mildly disturbing battles between Set and his nephew Horus, Egypt...

77-Romanian Folklore: Mrs. Piggy

26 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a dark (well, dark-ish. Actually, kind of not even that. You'll see.) prophecy, a kingdom overrun by monsters (again, kind of), and one w...

76-Greek Myths: Lioness

19 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Atalanta is one of the woman who just couldn't be stopped...and of a world that had a big, big problem with that. Giant monster fights, m...

75-Pecos Bill: Rider on the Storm

12 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Pecos Bill is that of a true American Hero...who spends half the story naked and who legitimately thinks he is actually a coyote. But don...

74-Japanese Folklore: Do You Really Want to Live Forever?

05 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Sentaro the millionaire* is about a man with a dream. Well, not really a dream, but a deep, abiding fear of death. Soon, he becomes so ob...

73-Japanese Folklore: I will find you

28 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A young woman's father is taken, and she decided to go to the edges of the known world to get him back, to a faraway island harboring a dark and terri...

72-Kelpie: Party Horse

21 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A sea horse (but not that type of sea horse) that haunts the coasts of Scotland, the kelpie is a legendary cryptid that represents the dangerous unkno...

71C-Sinbad: There and Back and There and Back Again

14 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

If you've ever wondered about giving that strange old man a piggy-back ride in the woods, the philosophical nuances of way too much grave robbing, or ...

71B-Sinbad: Snake Eyes

07 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Whether it's deadly literary references, sticky cows, or extremely inappropriate eulogies, the stories of Sinbad have it all...as long as by "it all" ...

71A-Sinbad the Sailor: Venture

31 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Sinbad (no, not that Sinbad) is probably the 3rd most famous story from a collection titled "One Thousand and One Nights". It's a story of loss, hards...

70-Ugly Duckling: Fowl Play

24 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

It seems like with a lot of fairy tales someone looked at the original, thought that there was absolutely no way they could tell that to a child, and ...

69-Midas: You Got the Touch

17 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Don't, under any circumstances, trust the Midas touch. The king of unforced errors, Midas is a well-known figure in mythology mainly because of horrib...

68B-Morgan le Fay: Her Majesty

10 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Wrapping up this two-part series on Morgan le Fay, we'll see her devious schemes within schemes come to fruition with one aim in mind: killing King Ar...

68A-Morgan Le Fay: Get Thee to a Nunnery

03 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Sorceress. Confidant. Traitor. Sister. All of those words describe Morgan Le Fay, King Arthur's half-sister. She is by far the most complex character ...

67B-Gawain and the Green Knight: Head On

26 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

I wanted to name this episode "it's not easy being green," but it really is. The Green Knight had his head chopped off last episode...but still carrie...

67A-Gawain: To the Dogs

19 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

You probably had to read the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in high school. I know I did, and it's a great story. There are beheadings, gree...

66-Paul Bunyan: Truth in Advertising

12 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

You know how to make your stories completely resistant to any ridicule from a future podcaster? Make them as ridiculous as possible. The stories of Pa...

65-Oedipus: Motherboy

05 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Oedipus is fun until it isn't. I've met people with varying degrees of familiarity with the story. Some are familiar only with the centra...

64-Frog Prince: Warts and All

22 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the frog prince is well known - a beautiful princess meets a frog, kisses him, and he turns out to be a prince. Except, in the earliest v...

63-Puss in Boots: These Boots

15 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Puss is Boots is that of a cat who wears boots and talks. The character of the cat has somehow gone on to be voiced by Antonio Banderas, ...

62-Thor: Hammer Time

08 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Quite possibly the last episode on Norse mythology before we start on the epic showdown that is Ragnarok, this story has Thor earning a ridiculous fac...

61-Solomon: One Ring

01 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

According to folklore, King Solomon had a ring. Given to him by God, it allowed him control demons...but it also had some other powers unknown to Solo...

60C-Beowulf: Unknowable but Certain

22 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

There has been a menace sleeping in Beowulf's homeland since he was born. It has lived for centuries, and it is strong and dangerous, while Beowulf ha...

60B-Beowulf: The Depths

15 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

It's round two for everyone's favorite (only?) Geatish hero, as he bravely takes on...his former adversary's mother. Really, it's way more interesting...

60A-Beowulf: I'm Kind of a Big Deal

08 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

You know the story of Beowulf. I don't need to do this. But really, there's mead. There's Grendel. There are mead-fueled fights with Grendel. It's jus...

59-Greek Myths: The Violence of Our Ancestors

01 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Many connected stories from Greek mythology. We'll start with story of Hades and Persephone, and learn why she's always hanging around the underworld ...

58-Native American Folklore: Monster

25 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The first story today is from the Mi'kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet people, about all the things that can go wrong when creating the animals and wh...

57-Japanese Fairy Tales: Faithful

18 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week, there are two stories from Japanese folklore.  The first has to do with  a butterfly that just won't give up trying to land on the face o...

56-Nepali Folklore: Hope You Guess My Name

11 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A story of a young woman from Nepal who has a (sadly) common problem for folklore, but a very uncommon solution. Also she eats goat vomit. She probabl...

55-Grimm: My (Bird) Heart Will Go On

04 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This story from the Grimm brothers has giants, witches, magical animal organs, enchanted produce, and a helpful (and maybe a little homicidal) cloud b...

54C-Gilgamesh: Dust

28 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The end of the saga of Gilgamesh...and possibly the end of Gilgamesh, but not if the demi-god has anything to say about it. After a tragic loss, Gilga...

54B-Gilgamesh: Huge

21 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Gilgamesh and his new best friend are heading out on an adventure to fight a firebreathing giant named "Hugeness the Terrible." Also there's a giant ...

54A-Gilgamesh: Did We Just Become Best Friends?

14 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Epic of Gilgamesh is amazing. It is quite possibly the oldest epic we have, and though it only exists in fragments, it tells a surprisingly human ...

53-African Folklore: Crocodile Tears

07 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a dragon slayer from South Africa has, of course, dragons, but it also has giant towers, underwater villages, and a frog who is just tryi...

52-Greek Mythology: An Eternal Flame

30 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Two love stories from Greek mythology...because those go so well. The first is the story of Narcissus and Echo, which was doomed from the moment one j...

51-Loki: Them Apples

23 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Three stories of Loki, the infamous trickster from Norse mythology. Most of his hijinks are light-hearted, and end with him getting his comeuppance, b...

50-Dracula: Bad Blood

16 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Dracula isn't a creature from myths, legends, or folklore. The fictional vampire is a product of Bram Stoker. The name, though, stretches back centuri...

49-Russian Folklore: I Pity the Fool

09 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The unexpected story of a fool, an epic quest, and a flying ship. Also, why you should respect your elders, especially if they want to give you a lot ...

48-Snow White: Killer Queen

02 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The original stories of Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White, despite their Disney adaptations and being fairy tales largely told to children, are in...

47-Urban Legends: In the Dark

26 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

For this Halloween episode, we are doing something different. Instead of diving into the stories of the past, I’m telling stories of the present. Ur...

46D-Jason and the Argonauts: Scorned

19 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The end of the story of Jason, Medea, and the Argonauts. Things have been pretty easy for Jason. Medea solved all of his problems before he even knew ...

46C-Jason and the Argonauts: The Long Way Home

12 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It finally comes time to fight the dragon, (hopefully) survive the return journey home, and have the showdown with Pelias. This is a big episode. If ...

46B-Jason and the Argonauts: MacGuffin

05 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The quest for the golden fleece begins for the legendary heroes packed aboard the Argo. We find them making all haste for Colchis...except for all the...

46A-Jason and the Argonauts: Some Assembly Required

28 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The beginning of the story of Jason and his legendary Argonauts doesn't start with Jason, but with Zeus being...well, Zeus, and kidnapping an unsuspec...

45-Rumpelstiltskin: Let's Make a Deal

21 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Three stories of people making deals. The first is from Japanese folklore, and it's about making the most of what you have...even when what you have ...

44-Saint George: Here Be Dragons

14 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Three and a half stories of monsters of the ancient world. We meet vile beasts that lurk in the forests, the murky deep, and the wide, desolate places...

43-Slavic Folklore: The Wasteland

07 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A story of a super-powered Russian hero fighting the evil, also super-powered villain known as Nightingale the Robber. Nightingale can fly, kill with ...

42-Chinese Folklore (Cinderella): You Only Live Thrice

31 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week, it's two of the earliest Cinderella stories, one of which is the earliest written version of this type of story, pre-dating European versio...

41C-Lancelot: It's Complicated

24 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It's the conclusion of the Lancelot story, and we'll immediately pick up after last week's fairly cheap cliffhanger ending. He'll finally see the end ...

41B-Lancelot: Promises to Keep

17 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Things get weird on Lancelot's journey to become a knight of the Round Table...if Merlin trying to pick up a twelve-year-old last week wasn't strange ...

41A-Lancelot: The Stolen Child

10 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We're back in the time of King Arthur, picking up right about where we stopped off last time (though you don't need to have heard last time to listen ...

40-West African Folklore: Cold-blooded

03 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Five stories of a very savvy, completely unscrupulous turtle from Nigeria. He's a trickster we've met before, but he has an entire episode of semi-mur...

39-Odin: In the Land of the Blind

27 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Born in ice and fire, Norse mythology starts violently...and strangely. There's a blood ocean, a giant primeval cow, and some light grandpa murder. Th...

38B-Korean Literature: Master of Two Worlds

13 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Conclusion of the "Story of Hong Gildong" takes us from the household drama of last episode to a story that spans the entirety of the Korean peni...

38A-Korean Literature: Crossing the Threshold

06 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Hong Gildong has been called the Korean Robin Hood, but really oversimplifies the story. It is both an awesome adventure tale with dragons, magic, ass...

37-Hercules: The Best at What He Does

29 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Hercules is as terrible as he is awesome. There are sea monsters, centaurs, people being thrown off of things, Hydra poison, and Hercules making ridic...

36B-Pocahontas: Between Two Streams

22 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

An abbreviated history of Pocahontas and John Smith, this episode looks at the conflict largely from the Powhatan side. This isn't the Disney version....

36A-Pocahontas: The Empire Business

15 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Pocahontas and John Smith has turned from compelling historical story of a brave woman who united two warring nations, to a melodramatic,...

35-Beauty and the Beast: Prisoners

08 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is not the Beauty and the Beast you've heard. It's not even the story the one you've heard is based on. That one is a super-pared-down version of...

34-Greek Mythology: Uphill Battle

01 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories from Greek Mythology: first, it's the story of Sisyphus, who you might know from his interminable, crushing labor, but who actually really...

33-Ali Baba: Inheritance

18 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

As you've probably come to expect, the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, perhaps the second most famous story from One Thousand and One Nights...

32-Tricksters: Wager

11 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Three stories of tricksters. We have Coyote from Native American mythology giving great gifts and racing a turtle. There's also Anansi the spider-man ...

31B-Viking Sagas: Face-off

04 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The conclusion of the Saga of Arrow-Odd, a man who is destined to live 300 years, yet cursed to be killed by his favorite horse. He's watched his fri...

31A-Viking Sagas: Odd Man Out

27 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The saga of the legendary Viking Arrow-Odd contains trolls, ogres, giants, magic arrows, and a sorceress getting smacked in the nose. The mistakes of ...

30-Latin American Folklore: Unbreakable

20 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A story from Chilean folklore about the smartest woman in the world, her talking shoe, and a prince that deserved a slap on the face. The creatures th...

29-Grimm: Upward Mobility

13 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories from the Grimm brothers, both of which have people going up, but in different ways. The first is the story of Rapunzel, and the second is ...

28-Prometheus: Adamantine

06 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The much-requested story of Prometheus, a Titan who was cursed by Zeus to have his liver pecked out every day for defying the Olympian and bringing fi...

27C-King Arthur: The Errant Knight

05 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Old foes resurface as Balin, the fugitive knight, flees from King Arthur's court. He'll find himself on a perilous (and, at times, ridiculous) quest, ...

27B-King Arthur: Mayday

23 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When we left king Arthur, the monstrous Questing Beast was lumbering toward him. We'll learn all about that beast and the line of kings cursed to hunt...

27A-King Arthur: The Violence Inherent in the System

16 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the legendary King Arthur, from just after when he pulled the sword from the stone.Though he's in his late-teens or early-twenties, he is...

26-Japanese Fairy Tales: Wisdom

09 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week: two folktales from Japan. One is about a humble, happy stone cutter who becomes a power-mad, bitter stone cutter. The other is about, surpr...

25-Dragons: This is Where You Get to Make it Right

02 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a famous dragon from the folklore of north east England is filled with knights, curses, and, of course, the need to kill your favorite ch...

24-Thor: Whosoever Holds this Hammer

24 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Norse mythology, like all mythology, is strange. Thor's hammer is gone. It was stolen...or he just left it somewhere and forgot about it. To get it ba...

23-Cupid and Psyche: Burned

17 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In this famous story from Greek Mythology, we'll meet Cupid (not a baby), as he accidentally nicks himself with his own arrow. In a podcast episode th...

22C-Irish Legends: The Spoils of War

10 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A double-sized episode with the whole epic and slightly-ridiculous story of a cattle raid that ended up taking way longer than it should have. It in...

22B-Irish Legends: You Wouldn’t Like Me When I’m Angry

03 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Queen Medb, King Ailil, and Fergus make their way into Ulster while the army is crippled by feeling as if they are going into labor. Only one man, bar...

22A-Irish Legends (The Tain): Red Ledger

27 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Starting an epic string of legends from Celtic folkore. We're back in the time of kings, princesses, and intrigue. You'll see how you can steal a king...

21-Frozen/The Snow Queen: Fearful Symmetry

20 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It's the original story of the Snow Queen, more commonly known as the source material for the hyper-popular Disney movie named "Frozen". The original,...

20-Korean Folklore: Prayers

13 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week, it's a horror story from Korean folklore. A little girl gets lost in the forest, and then a strange problem begins tearing her family apart...

19-Native American Folklore: Skeletons

06 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The first episode of much-requested Native American folklore has giants, ghosts, anthropomorphic coyotes, jilted lovers, and the reason for why the ti...

18-St. Nick: Rusty Chains and Candy Canes

23 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The story behind the transition from Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus is one that includes murder, priest-punching, and ominous, demonic-looking companio...

17C-Theseus: I Volunteer as Tribute

16 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The final chapter in the story of Theseus, the Minotaur, and all the other people that have gotten swept up in this drama spanning decades. We'll lear...

17B-Icarus and Daedalus: A Portrait of the Artificer as a Young Man

09 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Daedalus and Icarus is much more than just Icarus flying too close to the sun. Daedalus, the inventor, is directly responsible for the la...