Crow and Fern’s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore, Mythology, and Everything in Between

Fat-Frumos's adventures continue in this week's episode as he tries to perfect the art of abduction, fights an old lady over a horse, and tries to reverse his fiancee's self-induced blindness. The antics only get more bizarre as this time Fat-Frumos tries to help his pal the emperor find a true lady love of his own. Will there be wedding bells or death knells in our hero's near future? 

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern

Email: [email protected]

What's a hero to do when his father sends him off to end a 50-year-old feud, his feral mother-in-law chews through all the chains he uses to restrain her, and all the food at his bestie's party is actually made of stone? Fat-Frumos attempts to tackle all these issues in Mihai Eminescu's classic tale of adventure, tradition, and... textiles?

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern

Email: [email protected]

History and folklore intersect in today's story about an African magic mirror and what happens when colonialist invaders decide that it should be theirs. Fern shares a dark tale that combines the mystic and impossible with very real, very tragic events in Mozambique. We'll discuss the disturbing past this tale preserves and the messages those who told it hoped to pass down. 

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern

Email: [email protected]

For this week's slice of folklore we venture into the rich world of cryptids, albeit in a place you might not expect to find one-- Ohio. Along the muddy banks of the Little Miami River (yes, that's still Ohio) lurks a strange yet fascinating creature known as the Loveland Frogman. Over the course of nearly seventy years the frogman has been sighted four times. This story captures everything from terrifying nighttime glimpses to alleged hoaxes and a supposed dead cryptid in the trunk of someone's car-- and even a little Pokémon Go! 

Also, feel free to check out the video captured of the Loveland Frogman here!

You can also see a (somewhat) better image of the frogman posted on our Instagram and Twitter! Speaking of which...

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern

Email: [email protected]

We've all know that scene in Harry Potter where poor Neville faints as the mandrake screams. But what is the real story behind the fabled mandrake plant? Is it as dangerous as we've all been told? Why is it said to scream when uprooted? And what is the history that led to the rich sense of lore that clings to this strange, oddly human root? Mandrake is a very real plant with potent properties that only add to the stories told about it. Join us this week as Fern explains the folklore, the history, and the science behind the mysterious-- and actually quite dangerous-- mandrake. 

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern

Email: [email protected]

Do ferns flower, I hear you ask? Not from a strictly scientific perspective, no. However, if you indulge in a little belief in the magical and are willing to traipse into the darkest part of the forest in the middle of the night then you might be fortunate enough to get the opportunity to fight a witch for one of these enigmatic and purely fictitious flowers. And will it all be worth it if you beat the odds and manage to best whatever fearsome supernatural creatures want to kick your unkempt trash for this glowing treasure? That's a solid maybe! Join us this week as Fern tells the story of her namesake, fern flowers, and the dangerous power that they wield. 

Charities to Support Ukraine:

https://war.ukraine.ua/donate/  

https://www.saintjavelin.com/

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/09/heres-a-list-of-top-rated-charities-to-help-the-ukraine-relief-effort.html

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern

Email: [email protected]

See you all in the second half of February (and in Fern's episodes!)

As you watch the fat snowflakes fall all around, have you ever wondered what dark spirits lurk beyond the veil of frost? We associate white with purity and snow with beauty, but when we look beyond the surface, there is a cold heaviness that comes with it. And there is a mystery in a world obscured by the brightness of the snow. Death and beauty, love and light-- Winter is many things. See how they all come together in this one enigmatic yokai as we explore the phantom waiting within the storm. 

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on Youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern

Email: [email protected]

What kind of music do you think plays in our dreams? 

Echoey, whimsical, with a healthy dose of creepy, hypnagogic pop emerged from the depths of the unconscious realms to drag us back to times not so long past. In today's episode, Crow takes a look at one particular artist, the animator behind such wonders as Cooking With Abigail** and Lima Bean Man and songs like the the tiktok famous Buttercup and Oh Klahoma: Jack Stauber. Who's the 'saddest little baby in the room', and how exactly do we 'electrify' someone's heart without, you know, going to jail? We take a look at a couple of reddit theories, and take a deep dive into Stauber's intriguingly weird style to see what it really means to write songs in this dizzying genre!

**It’s not Angela’s Kitchen who the heck is Angela I JUST got my license back. 

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on Youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern

Email: [email protected]

References: 

https://8forty.ca/2022/05/16/jack-staubers-nostalgic-and-uncanny-style-creates-videos-that-are-just-as-deep-as-they-are-strange/

https://www.vice.com/en/article/aejmba/the-80s-nostalgia-aesthetic-of-musics-hottest-new-subgenre-hypnagogic-pop

https://cotmasounds.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/instant-nostalgia-how-hypnagogic-pop-is-redefining-culture-why-you-should-be-listening-to-ducktails/

https://laviasco.com/jack-stauber-buttercup-lyrics-meaning/

https://www.reddit.com/r/LyricInterpretations/comments/dmrgmr/buttercup_jack_stauber_noone_can_seem_to/

Ticking sound effect: https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=37729

We've all heard of Krampus, the terrifying creature that goes bump on Christmas night, specifically. But did you know that there are many other terrifying evil Christmas characters? From the zombie Christmas horse of Wales to the belly-slitting goddess of cleanliness and the evil child-eating scarecrow man, join us this week as we explore anti-Santa figures in folklore. Get ready for Christmas by learning all the horrifying stories you can tell your friends and family to keep them up on Christmas Eve. 

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on Youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern

Email: [email protected]

It's five days to Christmas, so gather round the fireplace, children! Crow's dug through the Victorian archives and dug out the weird Christmas tradition that gave us Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol: Christmas Ghost Stories. Possibly dating back to when Christmas was still known as The Winter Solstice, families and friends used to gather round the fire and tell ghostly tales to ward the darkness away and celebrate the rebirth of the sun. This was then adopted into Victorian Christmas traditions and, soon, writers started spending their autumns perfecting ghost stories to sell around Christmas time. In this week's episode, Crow tells us one such story just in time for the holidays. So grab your hot cocoa, eggnog, mulled wine, or what have you, and sit your butts down for a tragic, phantasmic tale!

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on Youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern

Email: [email protected]

References: 

https://www.history.com/news/christmas-tradition-ghost-stories

https://carnegiemnh.org/history-of-holiday-ghost-stories/

https://onanunderwood5.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-best-robert-e-howard-christmas.html

Today's story masks dark subjects such as colonization and the horrors of serfdom with a fantastical story of flying horses, benevolent fairies, and epic adventuring fit to stand with any classic fairy tale. Join us as Fern demystifies the symbolism and powerful message of Ion Creanga's beloved tale of Harap Alb and his quest for freedom from a cruel and cunning master. 

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on Youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern

Email: [email protected]

Flapjack....Hey, Flapjack! Come with me, we'll go and see, a...Candied Dystopia???

In this week's episode, Crow's sick again so she's decided to smack us with another weird comfort show: Thurop Van Orman's The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. The show follows the titular Flapjack, a little boy who journeys through murky oceans and the splinter, rust, and plague infested floorboards of Stormalong Harbor, in order to find the mystical Candied Island. But Crow's not really interested in streams of sodie pop, lollipop trees, or lemonade seas--she's focusing a lens on something a bit more sinister. Past the Candy Barrel and Teehee Tummy Tums' Etsy comb shop, there's a Victorian nightmare that our young adventurer can't seem to comprehend. A nightmare you might even describe as...dystopian. Crow explains the difference between false utopias and candied dystopias, with references to all time favorites in the genre such as We Happy Few, Brave New World, and more. And, of course, a whole barrel of weird as always. So hold on to your buttcheeks, grab a bucket of candy, and apologize to your dentist before tuning in!

(Also, yes, we realize we're pulling a switcheroonie on you guys this week, but we will further make up for it with Fern's episode on Saturday, because it's going to be a good one!)

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on Youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern

Email: [email protected]

SAM AND MAX! Freelance Police. 

Get ready for a drive down the weirdest lane in memory town, children! Crow's favorite childhood buddy cop duo serves us bizarre on a silver platter, with a trip to a pest infested moon and a quest to stalk the (S)FDA into putting their favorite snack on the shelves. But, as usual, that's not all Crow's got in store! Sam and Max also show us how you (Yes, YOU!) can draw your readers in through the power of friendship and incredibly entertaining character dynamics. Romance is cool and all, but we'll do you one better in this episode: how to write dynamic duos that make your readers coo over them as they encourage one another to stomp on machine gun wielding cockroaches, terrorize healthcare officials into agreeing with your questionable food choices, and carry one another's remains in paper bags. This is Sam and Max, and The Dynamic Duo!

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on Youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern 

Email: [email protected]

Join us for the final, satisfying episode of the Ion Rimaru case as we see what happens when real life catches up to a folkloric phantom and he's made to face the consequences of his actions. The trial of Rimaru sparked a whole new set of mysteries, some of which are still hotly debated to this day. You will be shocked at the new developments in the case, and Ion's almost feral behavior right up until the very end. 

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern Email: [email protected]

Alternative title: The cursed episode that took us 5 weeks and 2 attempts to get through, children.

Crow wades through the depths of coughing and a lot of mucus to bring you the infamous American Psycho and just one of its many, many controversies. How eyebrow-ripping-ly boring it is. We aren't here to ask whether it is or isn't, because boy howdy is it one of the most painful reads for most human beings. The question we're asking is why? Why did Bret Easton Ellis choose to write American Psycho in a way that made the majority of its readers put it down before they'd absorbed its dangerous message? Well, Professor Julian Murphet and the late Elizabeth Young are here to shed some light on that for us. Tune in and please send Crow all your cough drops. 

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on Youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern Email: [email protected]

References: 

Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho by Julian Murphet 

The Beast in the Jungle, the Figure in the Carpet  from Shopping in Space by Elizabeth Young and Graham Caveney. 

Repetition and the Ethics of Suspended Reading in American Psycho by C. Namwali Serpell

In part 2 of the case of Ion Rimaru we discuss the spiraling behavior ofthe vampire of Bucharest as he prowls the streets, his behavior becoming more and more like that of a wild animal. Will the highly dysfunctional communist militia be able to get their act together to stop him? Or will Ion be free to enact his darkest fantasies on the innocent people of Bucharest? 

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern Email: [email protected]

Saucy Jack is at it again, and this time he's taking a step beyond the 19th century. Robert Bloch immerses us in a world of science fiction, supernatural creatures, and fantasy on his quest to find out the true identity of one of the most famous killers in modern history--which, coincidentally, works well into our topic, the Frankengenre known as Weird Fiction. Ann and Jeff VanderMeer tell us what constitutes the genre, and we break down one of Robert Bloch's most popular earlier works to understand how this genre came to be, what constitutes it, and how we can take a crack at it if we wanted to. Join Crow and Fern as they take a peep into the adventures of two totally un-ship-able best friends as they follow Jack the RipRip through Chicago, and then a more cautious peep into the world of Juliette who really should have just gotten into fanfiction and spared us the horrors of the second story. 

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on Youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern Email: [email protected]

Reference: 

The Weird: An Introduction https://weirdfictionreview.com/2012/05/the-weird-an-introduction/

Four Words: Communist Vampire Serial Killer. Join us as we explore the strange case of Ion Rimaru and the sensational folklore that built up around this communist era serial killer. It's terrifying enough to imagine living in a city with an active serial killer, but what if everything you know about this danger that stalks the streets comes from whispered gossip and the distorting voice of communist propaganda? When you know there's something murderous in the dark, but you don't know where to turn for the truth, what do you do? How do you cope? In this episode we'll explore the twisted, seldom-told facts of Rimaru's crimes, as well as the dark rumors that spread in their wake. 

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: crowandfernsguide

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern Email: [email protected]

You are about to enter another dimension.  A dimension of serial kill glorification, bad marriages, and *drum roll, please* another unsympathetic character! Thought Crow was done talking about characters we so love to hate? Think again! In today's episode, she takes us back to the  past, to a wax museum exhibit crafted by Jerry Sohl and Charles Beaumont. We borrow the eyes of Martin Lombard Senescu, the curator of the Murderers Row in Ferguson's Wax Museum. Martin introduces his to his bestest buddies of all time  Albert W. Hicks, Burke and Hare, Henri Desire Landru, and everyone's favorite serial killer bud--Jack the Ripper. "To murder," He says "To take a life with your hands again and again and not be able to stop oneself--can you begin to imagine the horror of that?".  Well, Martin, why imagine when you can have yourself a go at the real thing?  

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later). 

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links 

Social Media Accounts: 

Instagram: crowandfernsguide 

TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide 

Twitter: @Crow_and_fern Email: [email protected] 

Podcast mentioned in the Episode: The Twilight Zone Podcast with Tom Elliot 

In this week's addition to Serial Killer month Crow and Fern tackle one of the toughest cases yet-- Peter Stumpp. Accused of 16 murders and all manners of werewolfery, Peter was put to death in the late 16th century. But did he do the crime? Fern gives us the facts in this shocking case filled with twists and turns you won't see coming. Even if you think you know the story of Peter Stumpp, this retelling will surprise you. Listen to the facts and decide for yourself what you think happened-- and then let us know your thoughts on our social media!

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

• Instagram: crowandfernsguide
• TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide
• Twitter: @Crow_and_fern
• Email: [email protected]

Further Reference:

1) A True Discourse. Declaring the Damnable Life and Death of One Stubbe Peeter, a Most Wicked Sorcerer Original English Pamphlet, 1590 (There was a German one, but it did not survive) https://www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Courses/Phil%20281b/Philosophy%20of%20Magic/Arcana/Witchcraft%20and%20Grimoires/weredoc.html    

2) Truthful and Frightening Description of the many Sorcerers or Witches: An English Translation  https://danarehn.com/2022/01/02/truthful-and-frightening-description-of-the-many-sorcerers-or-witches-an-english-translation/   

3) Historical Analysis of Peter Stumpp by Dana Rehn https://danarehn.com/2022/05/04/werewolf-petter-stump/   

4) Broadsheet - talking paw https://danarehn.com/2021/05/22/the-execution-of-werewolf-petter-stump/   

5) Confession Broadsheet https://danarehn.com/2021/05/23/franz-hogenberg-petter-stump-broadsheet/

What's the difference between 'unlikable' and 'unsympathetic'? How can you tie your readers to your villains without giving them a sob story that drives even the most righteous of us to writing coffee shop AU fanfiction? Mia Nolan makes the distinction as clear as crystal in today's episode. Crow breaks down, the bad, the ugly, and the atrocious in today's episode, and tells us how we can write characters that, although we'd still like to see them tossed off a cliff, are still characters whose stories we want to follow to the very last page (or minute of screen time. Fight me). 

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

• Instagram: crowandfernsguide
• TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide
• Twitter: @Crow_and_fern
• Email: [email protected]

Further Reference: 

Memory engrams: Recalling the past and imagining the future: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7577560/#:~:text=In%201904%2C%20Richard%20Semon%20introduced,this%20engram%20induces%20memory%20retrieval.

Join Fern and Crow as they attempt to separate fact from folklore in the remarkable story of Gilles de Rais. Was he the inspiration for the infamous Bluebeard? Did the death of his beloved Joan of Ark send him spiralling into madness? Did he summon the devil with alchemy? And most importantly-- is he really responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent children? In this episode we'll learn which pieces of his lore have evidence to back them up. The answers may surprise you.

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

• Instagram: crowandfernsguide
• TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide
• Twitter: @Crow_and_fern
• Email: [email protected]

There's no character growth quite like growing to love an artist you dunked on because you didn't understand their work. 

In this episode, Crow tackles the works of her arch nemesis: Franz Kafka, an author whose works she's always struggled to understand the literary art behind. Why is he revered as one of the fathers of absurd fiction? What is this dream like feeling he manages to create through the written word? Above all else, though, how does he create a sense of anxiety that no author has since been able to replicate in his stories? Crow talks to us about Cognitive Dissonance, Tone, and the inescapability of the absurd to help us understand just a few of the techniques Kafka implements into his works, that have made him the weird-fiction genius we all know today. Join her and Fern as they take a look at the world through the eyes of Gregor Samsa, the smol bug boy who just wanted to make his family happy, and hop on a ride of collar tightening anxiety!

NOTE: Hypnogogic hallucinations happen as you're falling asleep and hypnopompic hallucinations happen as you're waking up. Crow sincerely apologizes for her mistake and has since had her license revoked, shredded, and fed to her in the hot pot soup base she's obsessed with.

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

• Instagram: crowandfernsguide
• TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide
• Twitter: @Crow_and_fern
• Email: [email protected]

Links: 

Tumblr blog with different metamorphosis translations: https://petitchou.tumblr.com/post/225168928/various-translations-of-the-first-sentence-of

Wikipedia page for The Metamorphosis translations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Metamorphosis

Christine W. Sizemore: Anxiety in Kafka: A Function of Cognitive Dissonance: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3831182 

Books: 

Understanding Franz Kafka by Allen Thiher. 

Essential Novelists: Franz Kafka by August Nemo. 

Have you ever considered all the different ways a tree could murder you? Fern has! And in this episode she will tell you all about them, from the yokai vampire tree Jubokko to the Man-Eating Tree of Madagascar or the Vampire Tree of Guadalajara, join us for tales from around the world about both real and fictitious trees that might try to take a bite out of you!

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

• Instagram: crowandfernsguide
• TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide
• Twitter: @Crow_and_fern
• Email: [email protected]

What if humans were made of layers, like trees? 

In this episode, Crow introduces her to one of her many horror obsessions and a master of surrealism, existentialism, body horror, and even the occasional cosmic horror: Junji Ito. No one can transmogrify mundanity into works of abject terror quite like Ito. Whether it's dreams lasting a little longer than they should, an annoying lack of privacy, or the annual growth rings in trees, he somehow manages to leave us paranoid and examining corners for the possible horrors lurking just around them. But how, exactly, does he do that? In Layers of Fear we examine Ito's method of disconnecting us from his characters, and contrasting the normal, the beautiful, the mundane with the terrifying to create grisly stories like no other. This is the story of Reimi, a retired child actress whose life is turned on its head when she, her mother, and jaded sister Narumi get into a gruesome car crash. Join us to find out what it is exactly that Reimi's been hiding...

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts: 

• Instagram: crowandfernsguide
• TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide
• Twitter: @Crow_and_fern
• Email: [email protected]

In this episode we discuss how vampires changed from energy-stealing, disease-giving, carnivourous rascals to posh, sparkly aristicrats. Join us as we dive into the lore of strigoii, moroii, and the surprising (and somewhat scandalous!) birth of the modern vampire. Fern will break down the dark mythology with macabre stories of the living dead that will keep you up all night. 

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

• Instagram: crowandfernsguide
• TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide
• Twitter: @Crow_and_fern
• Email: [email protected]

Out of the toilet bowl and into the rabbit pen. In today's episode, Crow comes face to face with demonic lagomorphs to bring you the story of the titular Cursed Bunny. 

What do we do when the punishing hand of capitalism descends upon our loved ones and starts tearing families apart? That's right, children! We head over to our friendly neighborhood cursed fetish vendor. And no, before anyone gets excited, we don't mean 'those' fetishes, but more like talismans or charms. Bora Chung continues to wow us with her ability to disconnect the reader from her characters, and immerse them instead in the bizarre worlds she's crafted. Tune in to the story of one CEO who decided to mess around and find out.

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

• Instagram: crowandfernsguide
• TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide
• Twitter: @Crow_and_fern
• Email: [email protected]

In this episode we explore the different types of Romanian vampires! We'll cover varcolaci, pricolici, and strigoii in part one! From vampiric werewolves that bite the moon to legends of what is basically Vampire Fight Club TM, we'll take you through the stories and lore of the vampiric creatures that preceded that sanitized, sparkly version we have today. And don't worry, Fern will let you know all the things you have to do to both ward off and avoid becoming a vampire!

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

• Instagram: crowandfernsguide
• TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide
• Twitter: @Crow_and_fern
• Email: [email protected]

It's a snake! It's a rat! It's--calling you mom and watching you do your business. In today's episode Crow takes us through the first story in Bora Chung's Cursed Bunny, a collection of short stories that take the 'weird' in weird fiction to the max, catching us in a whirlpool of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror. The very first story in the book 'The Head' starts us off with a bang. Or, should we say, splash. Hold on to your guts because we're about to take a look into one unfortunate woman's toilet bowl, where bits and pieces of her have taken on a life of their own and demand to be heard. Join us as we try to figure out more about this woman, her toilet habits, and, perhaps most importantly, what is this thing and it's creepy obsession with watching people poop!

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

• Instagram: crowandfernsguide
• TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide
• Twitter: @Crow_and_fern
• Email: [email protected]

How does an Ancient Dacian tale connect to the origins of Dracula? In this episode Fern tells the tale of The Great White Wolf, the real world history that inspired it, and how the story morphed over time until it connected in an unexpected way to the very real historical inspiration for Dracula, Vlad Tepes. Join us on this wild ride for dragons, Romans, and a bunch of sexy, shirtless farmers!

Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later).

Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links

Social Media Accounts:

• Instagram: crowandfernsguide
• TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide
• Twitter: @Crow_and_fern
• Email: [email protected]