Freaky Folklore

Latest Episodes:

CURUPIRA - The Backward-Footed Monster of the Amazon Nov 02, 2026

Show notes

In 1560, a Jesuit priest wrote a letter from the coast of Brazil about demons that whip, torment, and sometimes kill people in the bush. It was the first monster ever recorded in Brazilian folklore. The people who lived beside it called it the Curupira.

He is about the size of a child, with hair the color of fire, green teeth, and feet that point backward, so every track he leaves leads you away from him and deeper into the forest. He whistles like a bird that has only heard birds described. He knocks on the great roots of the trees. And he can call you in a voice you know, from someone who is nowhere near you.

This week on Freaky Folklore, we head into the Amazon to meet the forest's strictest guardian. We cover the Tupi-Guarani origins of the legend, the Anchieta letter, the Caipora debate, the tobacco and the knot that hunters use to protect themselves, and how the Curupira became the face of Brazil's fight for its forests. Then we follow a hunter who broke the rules, in an original story, "The Trail That Walks Home."

Take only what you need. Leave the mothers. And if you hear your name in the woods, do not answer.

#FreakyFolklore #Curupira #BrazilianFolklore #AmazonRainforest #FolkloreHorror #CreepyFolklore #ForestSpirit #Cryptids #MythicalCreatures #HorrorPodcast #FolklorePodcast #ScaryStories #TupiGuarani #Eeriecast

EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:

Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

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CONNECT WITH CARMAN:

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SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:

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Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales.

DISCOVER MORE HORROR:

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MUSIC CREDITS:

Music and sound effects provided by: ElevenLabs

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Abhartach - The Irish Undead Chieftain Said to Have Inspired Dracula Oct 31, 2026

Show notes

Long before Count Dracula, something in the north of Ireland refused to stay buried.

Abhartach, the dwarf chieftain of Slaghtaverty in County Londonderry, was a magician and a tyrant. Killed once, he rose again. Killed twice, he rose again. Only a yew wood blade, an upside-down grave and a heavy stone finally held him, and locals still say not to move it.

This week on Freaky Folklore, we dig into the Irish vampire legend and follow it from Patrick Weston Joyce's 1870 account to Bob Curran's retelling of the bowl of blood. We also ask whether Bram Stoker may have drawn on it for Dracula. We separate what is documented from what is argued and what is campfire story, then close with a tale about the morning after the burial.

Is Abhartach the seed of Dracula, or just another monster in a land that has plenty? Tell me what you think in the comments.

Freaky Folklore is part of the Eeriecast Network.

EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:

Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

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Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales.

DISCOVER MORE HORROR:

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MUSIC CREDITS:

Music and sound effects provided by: ElevenLabs

#FreakyFolklore #Abhartach #IrishVampire #IrishFolklore #Dracula #BramStoker #CelticMythology #Folklore #Vampire #HorrorPodcast #FolklorePodcast #Halloween #EerieCast

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Special Announcement Oct 27, 2026

Show notes

🎃 A quick announcement for the Freaky Folklore family!

If your podcast feed looked a little different this past Monday, don't worry! We participated in a feed swap, and there's nothing you need to do on your end.

Our Halloween episode will arrive on Saturday morning, October 31st! Set your alarm, grab your candy, and get ready for a spooky start to Halloween with Carman.

Thank you for being part of this creepy little community. Happy early Halloween, and I'll see you on the 31st! 🕸️

#FreakyFolklore #Halloween #HalloweenPodcast #Folklore #SpookyStories #HorrorPodcast #CarmanCarrion

EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:

Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

CONNECT WITH CARMAN:

Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreakyFolklore

Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales.

DISCOVER MORE HORROR:

http://eeriecast.com/

https://www.carman-carrion.com/

MUSIC CREDITS:

Music and sound effects provided by: ElevenLabs

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Loch Ness Monster Photo of 1934: The Story Behind the Legend Oct 26, 2026

Show notes

Happy Halloween week! This is a special feed swap with History Daily, a co-production from award-winning podcasters Airship and Noiser. Every weekday, host Lindsay Graham (American Scandal, American History Tellers) takes you back to a momentous event that happened "on this day" in history.

In today's episode, "The Loch Ness Photograph," it's April 21, 1934, and the Daily Mail has just published an alleged photo of the Loch Ness Monster. It sparked an international sensation around one of the world's most enduring modern legends. Real or hoax? Press play and decide for yourself.

If you like what you hear, new episodes of History Daily come out every weekday and run under twenty minutes, so you can start and finish one nearly anytime you need a hit of history. Find them wherever you get your podcasts.

And if you enjoy spooky stories, come hang out with us at Freaky Folklore, where we dig into folklore, creatures, and legends.

Happy Halloween, and thanks for listening!

#HistoryDaily #LochNess #LochNessMonster #Halloween #FeedSwap #Cryptid #Cryptids #TrueHistory #HistoryPodcast #SpookySeason #PodcastSwap #LindsayGraham

EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:

Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

CONNECT WITH CARMAN:

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreakyFolklore

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:

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iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales.

DISCOVER MORE HORROR:

http://eeriecast.com/

https://www.carman-carrion.com/

MUSIC CREDITS:

Music and sound effects provided by: ElevenLabs

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POPOBAWA - Zanzibar’s Shapeshifting Demon Oct 19, 2026

Show notes

Bi Mwanaidi has washed the dead for thirty-one years and has never been afraid of a body. Then she finds the same tiny puncture beneath the eyelid on three bodies that seem to have nothing in common. And then a living man comes to her gate and asks her to prepare his body before sunset.

This week on Freaky Folklore, we travel to Pemba and Zanzibar to dig into the legend of the Popobawa (also spelled Popo Bawa), the shapeshifting spirit said to come for you while you sleep. Its smell is burnt matches. Its terrible rule is that you must tell everyone what happened, or it comes back. We cover the legend's origins in 1965, the 1995 panic that sent whole villages out of their beds to stay awake by the fire, the story of the sheikh who lost control of a jinn, and what skeptics and scholars say is really going on.

Freaky Folklore is part of the Eeriecast Network. Find more terrifying tales at eeriecast.com.

If you love the dark side of the human mind, check out Deadly Intent, where we dig into the monsters that are entirely human. If you'd rather have your monsters made up, come find Carman's Crypt, where I make new ones up to keep you awake.

#Popobawa #PopoBawa #Zanzibar #Pemba #FreakyFolklore #Folklore #AfricanFolklore #BatDemon #Jinn #Shapeshifter #SleepParalysis #ScaryStories #HorrorPodcast #CreepyPodcast #Eeriecast #TrueScary #Legends #Mythology #Cryptid #SpookySeason

EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:

Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

CONNECT WITH CARMAN:

Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreakyFolklore

Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales.

DISCOVER MORE HORROR:

http://eeriecast.com/

https://www.carman-carrion.com/

MUSIC CREDITS:

Music and sound effects provided by: ElevenLabs

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SIGBIN - The Backward-Walking Blood-Sucker of the Philippines Oct 12, 2026

Show notes

It walks backward, with its head hung between its hind legs. It claps its enormous ears like a hand. And it doesn't drink your blood from your throat. It drinks it from your shadow.

This week we're headed to the Visayas and Mindanao in the Philippines, for the legend of the Sigbin. It's a goat-like creature with a whip-like tail, a nauseating stench, and the power to vanish in front of you. We dig into the families said to keep Sigbin in clay jars, the link to the aswang, the folk logic behind staying out of the moonlight, and the theory that this monster is really a kangaroo. Before all that, there's a story set in a quiet Samar village, where a young surveyor home for a job hears clapping in the night and goes out to look.

Keep your lamp lit, and don't go looking for the sound.

Freaky Folklore is part of the Eeriecast Network. Find more shows at eeriecast.com.

If you like your monsters entirely human, listen to Deadly Intent. If you want new ones made up to keep you awake, try Carman's Crypt. Both are on the Carman Carrion channel on YouTube.

Does your family have a Sigbin story or a rule about shadows? Tell me in the comments.

#FreakyFolklore #Sigbin #PhilippineFolklore #FilipinoFolklore #Aswang #Cryptid #FolkHorror #Folklore #MythologyPodcast #HorrorPodcast #ScaryStories #Eeriecast #Philippines #CreatureFeature

EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:

Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

CONNECT WITH CARMAN:

Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreakyFolklore

Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales.

DISCOVER MORE HORROR:

http://eeriecast.com/

https://www.carman-carrion.com/

MUSIC CREDITS:

Music and sound effects provided by: ElevenLabs

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Melusine The French Water-Fairy Whose Curse Built a Royal Dynasty Oct 05, 2026

Show notes

Every Saturday, a woman locks her door. Her husband swore he'd never open it.

This week on Freaky Folklore, we dive into the legend of Melusine, the medieval French water-fairy cursed to become a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. Melusine built castles overnight, bore ten sons marked by her supernatural blood, and became the folkloric founding mother of the House of Lusignan. Her descendants ruled as kings of Cyprus and Armenia. Luxembourg, the Plantagenets, and other royal houses claimed her too. Then her husband broke his promise.

In this episode: a story of the stonecutter who came to tear down Melusine's castle, followed by the real history behind the legend. That includes Jean d'Arras's 1393 romance, Geoffrey Great-Tooth, the Château de Lusignan, the Luxembourg Melusina, and the twin-tailed mermaid that still turns up in pop culture.

Freaky Folklore is part of the Eeriecast Network. Find more shows at eeriecast.com.

More from Carman: Deadly Intent (true crime psychology) and Carman's Crypt (original horror fiction) on the Carman Carrion YouTube channel.

#FreakyFolklore #Melusine #Melusina #FrenchFolklore #MedievalFolklore #Folklore #MythicalCreatures #HouseOfLusignan #WaterSpirit #Mermaid #SerpentFairy #DarkFolklore #HorrorPodcast #FolklorePodcast #EuropeanFolklore #Eeriecast

EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:

Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore
Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://www.carman-carrion.com/
Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://www.carman-carrion.com/
Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

CONNECT WITH CARMAN:

Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreakyFolklore Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales.

DISCOVER MORE HORROR:

http://eeriecast.com/ https://www.carman-carrion.com/

MUSIC CREDITS:

Music and sound effects provided by: ElevenLabs

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Trows - The Shetland Creatures That Steal Fiddlers and Babies Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

Deep in the peat hills of Shetland, the old folk won't cross the green mounds after dark. Those hills belong to the trows: small, grey, limping hill-folk descended from the Norse trolls. They'll steal a fiddler for a night that lasts a hundred years, and they'll trade a healthy baby for a sickly changeling.

In this episode of Freaky Folklore, we go under the hill. First comes an original story. A wind-farm technician picks up a fiddle tune in the vibrations of the ground beneath a haunted mound. It's the unfinished song his father was playing the night he vanished, thirty years ago at Yule. Then we dig into the real Shetland and Orkney legends behind the trows:

Keep a knife by the door. Keep a light in the window. And if you hear music coming out of the ground, keep walking.

#Trows #ScottishFolklore #FreakyFolklore #Shetland #Orkney #Folklore #Changeling #NorseMythology #ScaryStories #HorrorPodcast #Eeriecast

EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:

Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore
Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://www.carman-carrion.com/
Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://www.carman-carrion.com/
Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

CONNECT WITH CARMAN:

Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreakyFolklore
Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales.

DISCOVER MORE HORROR:

http://eeriecast.com/
https://www.carman-carrion.com/

MUSIC CREDITS:

Music and sound effects provided by: ElevenLabs

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Case from My Other Show: The Sodder Children Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

On Christmas Eve, 1945, the Sodder family's home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, burned to the ground. Five of the ten children were never found. No remains were recovered, and the case was closed almost as quickly as it was opened. For decades, their parents refused to believe their children had died that night.

This is a preview from Deadly Intent, Carman's true crime psychology podcast. Every episode goes beyond what happened to ask why: what was going on in someone's mind that let them do the unthinkable, and what the evidence still leaves unanswered.

New episodes of Deadly Intent drop every Wednesday. Search "Deadly Intent" wherever you listen, hit follow, and start with the full episode on the Sodder Children.

Because intent doesn't lie. People do.

FOLLOW DEADLY INTENT:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LklHsNIa8p0ZFOwKE1SLD

EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT:

Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore

Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror

Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://www.carman-carrion.com/

Eeriecast Network: http://eeriecast.com/

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW FREAKY FOLKLORE:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales.

CONNECT WITH CARMAN:

Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/

YouTube (Carman Carrion): https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

YouTube (Freaky Folklore): https://www.youtube.com/@FreakyFolklore

Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

MUSIC CREDITS:

Music and sound effects provided by ElevenLabs

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Mami Wata — The Water Spirit Worshipped and Feared Across Africa Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

She's been called a goddess. A demon. A healer. A thief of husbands, minds, and sometimes lives. Across an entire continent — and every shore the diaspora ever touched — Mami Wata has been worshipped in shrines and feared on riverbanks for centuries, and she is not finished collecting.

This week on Freaky Folklore, we're wading into the legend of the Mother of Water: her murky, tangled origins stretching from indigenous river goddesses like Yemoja and Ogbuide, to a 19th-century German print that accidentally became her global face. We cover her powers, her price, the rules that keep her happy, and the ones that don't — plus a story about a woman who broke one rule on a riverbank at midnight, and the thing she saw beneath the surface that she's never told a soul about.

Got a folklore legend you want covered? Drop it in the comments.

#MamiWata #FreakyFolklore #AfricanFolklore #WaterSpirit #Folklore #Mythology #HorrorPodcast #TrueHorrorStories #Cryptid #Paranormal #Eeriecast #WestAfricanMythology #Yemoja #FolkHorror #ScaryStories #Podcast #MermaidLore #StorytellingPodcast

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SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion

CONNECT WITH CARMAN:

Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreakyFolklore Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184

Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales.

DISCOVER MORE HORROR:

http://eeriecast.com/ https://www.carman-carrion.com/

MUSIC CREDITS: