Bone and Sickle

Banshees

March 17, 2020 boneandsickle banshee, Celts, curses, EPISODE, fairies, folklore, ghosts, history, Ireland, mummies, pagan, paganism

Banshees are spirits of Irish folklore, who warn of impending deaths. Originally considered fairies, their Irish name, bean sídhe, means “woman of the[…]

Dead Teeth: Fairies, Rats, and Worms

February 28, 2020 boneandsickle curses, EPISODE, fairies, fairy tales, folk customs, folklore, history, horror, Middle Ages, movies, rats, saints, skulls, teeth, Tooth Fairy, United States, witch trials, witchcraft, witches, worms

Explore the folklore of the Tooth Fairy and teeth, particularly dead teeth — those lost by children or adults, and[…]

Murdered Sweetheart Songs

February 12, 2020 boneandsickle ballads, birds, broadsheets, crime, criminals, death, EPISODE, folk music, folklore, ghosts, gore, history, Scotland, seduction, suicide, superstition, United States, Victorian

As a special Valentine’s episode, we present collection of folk songs known as “sweetheart murder ballads.” We begin with two[…]