Lunatics Radio Hour: The History of Horror

The atomic bomb changed the world in 1945, but it also changed the way people imagined horror.

In Part One of our history of Atomic Horror, Abby and Alan look at how the Manhattan Project, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear testing, and the beginning of the Atomic Age influenced science fiction and horror cinema. As the threat of nuclear destruction became part of everyday life, filmmakers began turning those fears into stories about monsters, mutations, alien invasions, and the destruction of humanity.

We look at some of the films that helped establish Atomic Horror, including The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Godzilla, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. We explore how these movies reflected fears about nuclear weapons, radiation, scientific experimentation, and the possibility that humanity had created something it could no longer control.

This is the beginning of the Atomic Horror story, from the development of the atomic bomb to the monsters that emerged from the nuclear age.

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Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback.

Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

Sources

• A Nightmare on Film Street article by Kimberly Elizabeth: Oppen-Horrors or: How I Recommended 10 Atomic Horror Movies to Blow Your Mind

• History.com article on the Manhattan Project

• An Atomic Heritage Foundation article by Paul Tibbets and Curtis LeMay: Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – 1945

• PBS.org article Letter from Albert Einstein to FDR, 8/2/39

  
  

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This week Abby and Alan discuss dowsing and divining rods, and how people believed a forked stick could reveal hidden water, buried treasure, minerals, or even supernatural forces.

From early references to divining rods and their connections to magic and folklore to the rise of water dowsing in Europe and America, we trace how a simple forked branch became an instrument of supernatural belief.

We look at the people, practices, and ideas behind dowsing rods, including rhabdomancy, the occult traditions surrounding magical wands, early modern beliefs about hidden forces, and the long-running debate over whether dowsing actually works. Along the way, we explore the folklore and history that turned an ordinary stick into a supposed supernatural tool.

Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Death was a major part of everyday life in the Victorian era, and people developed elaborate ways to mourn, remember, and preserve the dead. In this episode of Lunatics Radio Hour, we explore the history of Victorian funerary traditions and the social and historical circumstances that shaped them in Britain and the United States.

We look at Victorian mourning customs, postmortem photography, mourning jewelry, human hair art, funeral rituals, embalming, funeral biscuits, mourning stationery, death masks, and Victorian cemeteries. We also examine how the American Civil War helped popularize embalming in the United States and how Queen Victoria's mourning for Prince Albert influenced Victorian mourning culture.

Along the way, we separate historical practices from later myths, including the popular story of Victorian "tear catchers."

Finally, we trace these traditions into Gothic literature and horror movies, looking at how Victorian cemeteries, mourning clothes, old photographs, preserved bodies, and memorial objects became part of the visual language of supernatural horror.

Because the Victorians weren't trying to make death scary. They were trying to find ways to live with it.

Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Sources

• The Gettysburg Compiler: Until We Meet Again: Victorian Mourning Practices by Ziv Camri

• The National Museum of Funeral History: 19th Century Mourning

• Eat Your Sorrow With These Victorian Funeral Biscuits: Atlas Obscura 

• Another Atlas Obscura article: Clearing Up Myths About Victorian ‘Postmortem’ Photography

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This week Abby and Alan dig into the strange history of witch bottles, a form of folk magic once used to protect from witchcraft, curses, and supernatural attacks. We explore where the practice came from, how witch bottles were made, why they were hidden in fireplaces, walls, and beneath floors, and what archaeologists have discovered centuries later.

From 17th-century England to colonial America, witch bottles reveal a fascinating intersection of folklore, magic, superstition, and everyday life. We’ll also look at the objects and rituals believed to make these bottles work, and how this obscure piece of folk magic eventually found its way into the imagery and traditions of modern horror.

If you’re interested in witchcraft, folk magic, occult history, supernatural folklore, haunted history, paranormal traditions, and the real history behind horror, this one is for you.

Lunatics Radio Hour explores the history behind the things that scare us.

Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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The Scary Scuffle reaches its bloody finale!

In Part Two of our horror villain tournament, the remaining sequel monsters and villains face off in a series of one-on-one battles to determine who will be crowned the ultimate champion. Every matchup is judged on strength, abilities, durability, intelligence, and, of course, their overall potential to ruin your day.

Abby is joined by Dan Roberts and Kate Rotunda as we break down the final matchups, argue for our picks, and decide which horror sequel villain deserves the title.

Who will survive the bracket? Who will be eliminated? And who will walk away as the winner of the second-ever Scary Scuffle?

Let the final fights begin.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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In Part One of the Scary Scuffle, we’re putting the villains of horror sequels head-to-head in a one-on-one tournament to determine who is the ultimate sequel villain. Using a bracket-style showdown, each round pits two horror icons against each other as we debate who deserves to advance and who deserves to be sent back to the franchise graveyard.

Who has the best kills? Who is the most terrifying? Who has the most staying power? And, most importantly, which sequel villain would actually win in a fight?

Abby and Alan are joined by Dan Roberts and Kate Rotunda for a chaotic debate covering some of horror’s most memorable sequel villains, from slashers and monsters to supernatural killers and everything in between.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week on Lunatics Radio Hour, we're exploring the history of horror sequels. It might seem like an unusual topic, but sequels have played a major role in the development of the horror genre. Horror has embraced sequels and franchises more successfully than almost any other genre, creating some of the most recognizable characters in film history and filling the genre's archives with long-running series.

In this episode, we trace the evolution of horror sequels from the Universal monster films of the 1930s through the slasher boom of the 1980s and into the modern era. We discuss why horror became the genre most closely associated with franchises and how sequels helped shape the industry.

We're also kicking off the Second Scary Scuffle, our head-to-head tournament that pits horror's greatest sequel monsters and villains against one another to determine the ultimate champion. Listen in as we examine the history behind horror sequels and begin the battle to crown the greatest horror sequel character of all time.

Sources

• Fangoria article by Will Jones: How The Horror Genre Created The World of Legacy Sequels 
• Den of Geek article by David Crow and Joe George: The 31 Best Horror Franchises of All Times, Ranked
• Entertainment Weekly article by Steven Thrash: The 20 best horror sequels of all time 
• Forbes article by Mark Hughes: Top 10 Most Successful Horror Sequels of All Time

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week on Lunatics Radio Hour we're talking through the fascinating history of horror taglines. We get into the history of film marketing, the evolution of taglines and some of the most iconic of all time.

Sources

• 10 Greatest Horror Movie Taglines, Ranked Collider Article by Chris Williams
• Fangoria article by Justin Lockwood: How Much Shock Can You Stand? Top Horror Taglines Across The Decades
• An article from the Museum of The Moving Image on The Silent Film Era

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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In this episode of Lunatics Radio Hour, we explore the history of the Final Girl, one of horror’s most recognizable character archetypes. From early examples in horror literature and film to the rise of the slasher genre in the 1970s and 1980s, we examine how the trope developed and why it became so important to horror storytelling.

We discuss the academic origins of the term, the characteristics traditionally associated with the Final Girl, and how characters like Laurie Strode, Nancy Thompson, and Sidney Prescott helped define and evolve the role. We also look at how modern horror films have challenged, expanded, and reinterpreted the trope for new audiences.

Join us as we trace the history of the Final Girl and her lasting impact on horror cinema.

Follow @Sonrisalibrary on Instagram.

Sources

• Men, Women, and Chain Saws by Carol J Clover (1992)
• Fandom article: Halloween Flips The Final Girl Trope on Its Head by Kim Taylor-Foster
• In Session Film article by Codie Allen: The Scream Queen’s Legacy: Janet Leigh and the Evolution of Horror
• Dread Central article by Mary Beth McAndrews: Jess’s Choice: How ‘Black Christmas’ (1974) Responsibly Addresses Abortion and Bodily Autonomy 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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In this episode of Lunatics Radio Hour, we explore the folklore behind masks, from ancient legends and seasonal traditions to the myths that gave rise to some of horror's most unforgettable imagery.

Discover how masks have been used to ward off evil spirits, conceal identities, represent supernatural beings, and blur the line between the human and the unknown. Then, we trace how these age-old beliefs found new life in horror, inspiring some of the genre's most iconic masked villains.

Join us as we uncover the folklore that continues to shape horror to this day.

Sources

• The-noh.com article: Introducing the world of noh masks
• A Minneapolis Institute of Art article on African Masks and Masquerade 
• Thorn and Vine article: Krampus in The Alps 
• A paper from Shorehaven Behavioral Health: The Curious and Fascinating Psychology of Wearing Masks
• The Wikipedia entry on the False Face Society

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week on Lunatics Radio Hour, we explore the history of masks, from prehistoric rituals and ancient Egyptian funerary masks to Roman death masks, Venetian Carnival, and the eerie plague doctor.

Sources

• National Geographic Article by A. R. Williams - World’s Oldest Masks Modeled On Early Markers Ancestors 
• Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt by Salima Ikram
• A BBC article by Zaria Grovett: The lost art of the death mask 
• An Art and Object article by Effie Jackson: The History of Venetian Masks
• National Geographic Article by Erin Blakemore: Why plague doctors wore those strange beaked masks 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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On the morning of February 9, 1855, residents across Devon, England awoke to a baffling sight. Strange hoof-like footprints stretched through fresh snow for miles, appearing in dozens of towns and villages. According to contemporary reports, the tracks crossed walls, rooftops, frozen rivers, and other obstacles, fueling rumors that the Devil himself had walked the countryside overnight.

Nearly 200 years later, the Devil's Footprints remain one of history's most enduring unsolved mysteries.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby and Alex present two original works of horror fiction.

Shadows was written by by Jon Adcock. Find more of Jon's work at https://linktr.ee/jonadcock.

Family, Like Branches was written by Marisca Pichette. You can find Marisca at www.mariscapichette.com, on Instagram @marisca_write, on Bluesky @marisca.bsky.social, and on Twitter/X @MariscaPichette.

Turn down the lights and enjoy two unsettling tales from two talented writers.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Modern UFO reports are often associated with the 20th century, but strange objects in the sky have been recorded for hundreds of years. Medieval chronicles describe unusual celestial events, mysterious lights, and unexplained phenomena that left witnesses searching for answers. Centuries later, some researchers and UFO enthusiasts have pointed to curious details in medieval and Renaissance artwork, arguing that certain paintings appear to depict objects that resemble modern ideas of UFOs.

In this episode, we explore reports of strange sightings from the Middle Ages and examine some of the most famous examples of alleged UFOs in historical art. We'll look at the historical context behind these accounts, the explanations offered by historians and art experts, and why these images continue to fuel debate today.

Are these records evidence of something extraordinary, misunderstood natural phenomena, religious symbolism, or examples of modern interpretations being applied to ancient works? Join us as we investigate the fascinating intersection of history, art, folklore, and the enduring mystery of unidentified objects in the sky.

Sources

• Artnet article: Is There a UFO in That Renaissance Painting? 
• A burials and beyond article: Aliens Over Nuremberg 
• Wikipedia and Public Domain review 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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In the 12th century, villagers in Woolpit, England reported a strange discovery: two children with green-colored skin who appeared suddenly near the village. The children spoke an unknown language, refused most food, and seemed unable to explain where they came from. Over time, their skin color faded, and one of the children eventually learned English, sharing a story that only deepened the mystery.

In this episode, we explore the history of the Green Children of Woolpit, one of medieval England's most enduring legends. We examine the original historical accounts, the theories that have emerged over the centuries, and why this unusual story continues to fascinate historians, folklorists, and paranormal researchers alike. Were the children simply lost travelers, victims of a misunderstood medical condition, or something far stranger?

Join us as we separate fact from folklore and trace the origins of one of the most mysterious tales from the Middle Ages.

Sources

• Historic, UK article by Ben Johnson: The Green Children of Woolpit 
• A Medievalists article by Timothy R Jones: Who Were The Green Children of Woolpit, a new look at a Medieval Mystery

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Watch our footage from the Paris Catacombs HERE.

Beneath the streets of Paris lies one of the most disturbing landmarks in the world: the Paris Catacombs. In this episode, we explore the real history behind the underground tunnels that hold the remains of more than six million people. From collapsing cemeteries and overflowing mass graves to the creation of the vast ossuary beneath the city, the Catacombs tell a story of disease, death, engineering, and urban legend.

We cover how the tunnels were first created as limestone quarries, why human bones were transferred underground in the late 1700s, and how the Catacombs became tied to ghost stories, secret gatherings, wartime history, and modern urban explorers known as cataphiles. We also discuss the darker side of the Catacombs, including reports of people getting lost beneath Paris and the strange discoveries made deep underground.

If you’re interested in dark history, horror history, haunted places, cemeteries, underground cities, French history, or paranormal legends, this episode dives into one of the most infamous locations in the world.

Sources

• The official website of the Catacombs and our visit 
• Paris Unlocked article: History of The Paris Catacombs by Courtney Traub
• Culture Veuz article by Antione Vitek: The Unusual History of The Paris Catacombs
• History.com article The Dark Origins of The Paris Catacombs by Jessica Pearce Rotondi 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby is joined by Alex Goleman to read two haunting stories about grief and death. 

Forgiving Amy was written by Mike Macera. Follow @mikemacera on Instagram and check out https://www.scene3.co/films

In Life and Death was written by Sam Logan. Visit samloganwrites.com and  sluggerfiction.com.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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From ravens and vultures to killer flocks and supernatural omens, birds have played a major role in horror for decades. In this episode of Lunatics Radio Hour, Abby sits down with Kate Rotunda to explore the history of birds in horror and why these animals continue to symbolize death, fear, and chaos across film and folklore. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Why do audiences jump in horror movies? What are some of the greatest jump scares in cinema history? In this episode of Lunatics Radio Hour, Abby and Alan explore the history of the jump scare, from early suspense filmmaking and the famous “Lewton Bus” scene in Cat People to the modern era of loud, fast-paced horror shocks. We break down how jump scares evolved, why they work psychologically, and the films that helped define the technique across horror history.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

Sources

• Collider Article: A Brief History of The Jump Scare by Samantha Graves 
• Inverse Article: The Unexpected Psychology of Jump Scares by Ben Guarino 
• An article from The Lineup by Kelsey Christine McConnell: The Hair Raising History of The Jump Scare
• An Atlas Obscura Article by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw: The Startling History of The Jump Scare

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This week Abby and Alan discuss the reported haunting of the Bell Witch in Tennessee during the early 1800s. The events centered on the Bell family and centers around unexplained noises, voices, and physical disturbances. The entity, often called “Kate,” was said to target specific family members.

The case became widely known and was later documented in An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch. There are also claims that Andrew Jackson visited the site. The episode reviews the reported events and their historical context.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

Sources

• An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch by Martin V. Ingram
• Tennessee State Museum article by Tori Kleinpeter: Tennessee Legends: The Bell Witch 
• MainStreetMediaTN.com article by Charlotte Reedy: Andrew Jackson and The Bell Witch

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This week, Abby and Alan dive into the folklore behind horror’s most contagious curses, from The Ring to Smile to It Follows.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

Sources

• BBC article by Quinn Hargitai: The Strange Power of The Evil Eye
• A psmag.com article on The Aye-Aye and The Finger of Death by Jason Bittel
• Collider article by Gabrielle Grady: The Ring is Based on A Haunting Ghost Story
• The Evil Eye: The Classic Account of an Ancient Superstition by Frederick Thomas Elworthy.
• Yale Tropical Resource Institute Article by Eleanor Sterling, PhD Candidate: The Aye-Aye Lemur of Madagascar: Feeding Ecology, Social Behavior, and Microhabitat
• James George Frazer in The Golden Bough
• An Anthropology Review article by Claudine Casser: Contagious Magic - Items that have been in contact, remain connected 
• https://www.bellwitchcave.com/bell-witch-legend/

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This week, Abby is joined by Alex Goleman for a double feature of eerie campfire tales, the kind that feel a little too real once the lights go out.

“Only The Dead” by Marisca Pichette and “Trash Talk” by Sam Logan.

Find more from the authors at mariscapichette.com and samloganwrites.com.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby sits down with Kate Rotunda to discuss the vast and unnerving history of mirrors. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Today we are bringing you 6 hometown urban legends straight from our listeners.

Follow Madz on Instagram @madzsmiled and @sonrisalibrary. And consider supporting BeLoved Asheville. 

Follow Abby on Substack: https://substack.com/@lunaticsproject

Email us at filmsaboutlunatics@gmail.com with your listener lore. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby and Alan sit down with Dan Roberts to discuss the history of The Babysitter and The Man Upstairs urban legend and When A Stranger Calls (1979). 

Follow Dan on Substack: https://substack.com/@drob91

Follow Abby on Substack: https://substack.com/@lunaticsproject

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Have you ever felt like someone was watching you from outside your house?  It's an (overdue) honor to present this real scary story from K.L. Mill.

If you want to walk down memory lane with us, you can listen to The Man With The Axe (the very first episode of this podcast). Or watch Midnight Visitor. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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In 1855, a bizarre incident in Toronto escalated into one of the city’s strangest riots. After a fight broke out between clowns from a visiting circus and members of a volunteer firefighting company, tensions quickly spiraled. What began as a confrontation in a brothel turned into a mob attack that ended with the circus being burned to the ground.

In this episode of the Lunatics Radio Hour, we explore the Clown Riot of 1855, the culture of volunteer fire companies at the time, and how the chaos exposed corruption within Toronto’s police force. The fallout from the riot helped push the city toward major reforms in policing and public order.

Episode 182 examines how an unlikely clash between firefighters and circus performers became a turning point in Toronto’s civic history.

Sources 

• An article by Alex Dunne, on The Uncircurriculum: The Great Toronto Circus Riot
• https://grandorangelodge.ca/history/
• BlogTo article by Alice McCurty: This weird event in 1855 sparked the creation of the Toronto Police force
• Peter Vronsky – "Rogues, Scoundrels and Screws" (Toronto crime history)
• Adam Bunch – "The Toronto Book of the Dead"
• Heritage Toronto article on the circus riot
• Toronto Public Library archives
• First hand sources, that we will cite as we go. Thanks to April Brenker for finding those for us.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby sits down with Kate Rotunda to talk through her classifications of horror villains. You can read Kate's original article HERE. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Before Salem, there was Connecticut.

In this episode of Lunatics Radio Hour, Abby Brenker sits down with historian Josh Hutchinson to explore the Connecticut Witch Trials, which spanned 1647 to 1697 and led to 11 executions decades before the events in Salem.

They discuss the Puritan beliefs and English laws that shaped colonial prosecutions, the role of coerced confessions and spectral evidence, and the social instability that fueled accusations. The episode examines cases including Alse (Alice) Young, Mary Johnson, Goody Bassett, Goodwife Knapp, Katherine Harrison, and the 1662 Hartford executions.

Josh also shares insights from his work with the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project and discusses ongoing efforts to formally clear the names of those convicted.

A factual look at one of early America’s lesser known chapters of legal and religious history.

Sources discussed include:
– Amanda Pitts, NBC CT https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/four-decades-before-salem-there-were-witch-trials-in-connecticut/3407226/
– Research by Josh Hutchinson https://www.legendsofamerica.com/mary-johnson-witch/
– William K. Holdsworth, The New England Quarterly
– Godbeer, Escaping Salem
– Brian Levack, The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe
– Carol Karlsen, The Devil in the Shape of a Woman
– Connecticut Colony Code of 1642

Other links mentioned in the episode:
https://connecticutwitchtrials.org/trail/
change.org/witchtrials
https://endwitchhunts.org/

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby and Alex present two stories for your enjoyment. 

In The Light of The Wisps was written by Marisca Pichette. Follow them on Instagram @marisca_write or check out their website: www.mariscapichette.com 

Airbag was written by Mike Macera. Follow Mike on Instagram and @mikemacera and check out his website: https://www.scene3.co/films

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby and Alan discuss the real history of the Lost Colony on Roanoke Island, from the first English expeditions to the colony’s unexplained disappearance in 1590.

We talk through the major historical theories, including integration with Indigenous tribes, disease, violence, the supernatural and failed rescue attempts. Finally, we explore how this mystery shaped modern horror, including references in Storm of the Century by Stephen King and American Horror Story.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby and Alan discuss Third Man Factor; real life incidents, theories and it's impact on horror and pop culture. Third Man Theory refers to the phenomena of people surviving extreme situations and claiming it's because an invisible entity came to save them. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby sits down with Kate Rotunda to discuss the very unnerving history of puppets.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Abby and Alan conclude the four part winter horror series. This week they discuss The Yerti and other snow cryptids. They even talk through some of the most famous instances of ice mummies. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby presents two spooky stories. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby and Alan continue exploring the intersection of winter and horror, this time through the lens of of isolation. 

Sources: 

• A Medical News Today article by Danielle Dresdon: What to know about cabin fever.
• JAMA Network, scientific study by Eugene Ziskind, M.D. called Isolation Stress in Medical and Mental Illness
• PubMed study from 2021, Social Isolation and Psychosis: An Investigation of social interactions and paranoia in daily life 
• Study we found on PubMed from 2008: Psychological effects of polar expeditions
• And another study listed on PubMed The role of circadian phase in sleep and performance during Antarctic winter expeditions from 2022
• Slash Film article by Danielle Ryan: The Haunted History Behind The Shinings Stanley Hotel
• SyFy article by Josh Weiss: The Thing Oral History: Cast and Crew Reveal Secrets of John Carpenter's Sci-Fi Horror Masterpiece

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby and Alan continue our exploration of snow horror by talking through 5 real life snow tragedies. 

Sources

• A History.com article by Becky Little: The Dyatlov Pass Incident: Why the Hiker Deaths Remain a Mystery
• Museumhack.com article by Alex Johnson: The Real Story of The Donner Party
• History.com article 10 things you should know about the Donner party by Evan Andrews
• The True Story Behind Society of Snow, a Time article by Megan McCluskey. 
• Piers Paul Read, Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (1974)
  Nando Parrado, Miracle in the Andes (2006)
• An A+Etv article by Adam Janos: What Happened to The Yuba County Five?
• An Oregon Encyclopedia article on Mount Hood 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby and Alan present a non-exhaustive look at winter folklore and mythology from around the globe. From Scotland, Norway and Germany to Japan and Native American mythology. 

This kicks off a multi-part series exploring the intersection of winter and horror from several different categories. 

Sources

• Smithsonian Magazine Article by Dennis Zotigh: The Winter Solstice Begins a Season of Storytelling and Ceremony
• Mythopedia article by Gregory Wright on Cailleach
• Article by Elizabeth Fabowale from OldFolklore.com: The Blizzard Spirit of The Inuit

The Iroquois and The Legends of The First Snowfall, an article from Native American Mythology Worldwide. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week we take a nostalgic walk down memory lane and piece together some of our past episodes on Christmas and holiday horror. We’ve covered so many different versions of holiday horror over the last few years, and we wanted to put together a mega-Christmas horror episode that highlights everything from the history of Yule and the pagan celebrations that pre-date Christmas, to the history of a Christmas Carol, one of the most famous ghost stories of all time, and different monsters from Christmas lore all over the world. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Abby sits down with our friend Kate Rotunda to talk about the intersection of feminism and horror. We start out by discussing Frankenhooker (1990) and go from there. 

CW: Discussion of violence against women and SA.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Abby and Alan sit down to talk through the dark history of every day expressions and sayings. From mad hatter to taking it with a grain of salt, we get into all of it. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Abby and Alex pick up where they left off last week, and talk through The Wiz and Wicked, in all of it's forms. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Abby sits down with Alex to talk through all things Wizard of Oz. From L Frank Baum's books which date back to 1900, to the 1939 classic MGM film and so much more.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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This week Abby and Alan present four modern day horror stories, all in some ways inspired by or adjacent to the Friday the 13th film franchise. 

Belly Bees was written by Sam Logan and narrated by Kate Rotunda. Follow Sam at samloganwrites.com. 

No Signal was written by Warren Benedetto and narrated by Mike Macera. Follow Warren at https://warrenbenedetto.com. 

The Lake was written by Jay D. Falcetti and narrated by Sara Luke. Follow Jay at @jdfalcetti and Sara at @saraluke25 on Instagram. 

Aluminum Canoes was written by Zachary Taylor and narrated by Peter Papazoglou. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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The saga concludes! Abby and Alan continue with their deep dive into the Friday the 13th horror franchise with the final four movies; Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X, Freddy vs Jason and the Friday the 13th reboot from 2009. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Abby and Alan talk about the middle films in the Friday the 13th franchise: Part 5 through Part 8. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Abby and Alan sit down to discuss the history and production of the first four films in the Friday the 13th horror franchise. In part one we start with the first four films; Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1983). 

From Kevin Bacon to Corey Feldman, there is a lot to discuss between the first four movies in this series. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Abby and Alex are so thrilled to present three haunting and spooky tales. 

The Summoning was written by Joseph Hare, and narrated by Denali Bartell. Check out Joseph on Instagram @josephhareifyoucare and on Substack josephhare.substack.

The Bark was written by Glenn Dugan and Narrated by Mike Macera. Check out Glenn's website here, whereisglennnow.com and follow him on Instagram @whereisglennnow.

Poltergeists on Presidents Street was written by LindaAnn Lo Schiavo and narrated by Alex Goleman. Follow LindaAnn on bluesky @ghostlyverse.bsky.social  and on Twitter: @Mae_Westside.

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Abby and Alex Goleman are thrilled to present three haunting horror stories. 

First Date was written by Carver Welsh and narrated by Abby Brenker. Follow Carver on IG @carverwelsh.

A Scratching at The Door was written by Jon Adcock and narrated by Denali Bartell. Follow Jon's work here. Check out Denali's poetry collection here. 

Division of Spoils was written by D.H. Parish and narrated by Mike Macera. Check out D.H. Parish's work here. 

Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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Abby just couldn't get enough. This week is a true deep dive into the history of one of the most bizarre phantoms to haunt a major city. Reports and sightings of Spring-Heeled Jack were commonplace in Victorian London. 

Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.

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