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PODCAST

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

Dr. Crow and Ms. Fern

What do weird fiction and folklore have in common? That"s what this giant anthropomorphic crow and fern flower (Yes, that"s a thing. A folklore thing!) are here to find out! Take a deep dive into horror, fantasy, and science fiction stories of the epic, the fascinating, and the bizarre from ancient history all up to modern times. We look into all the ooey gooey madness you never knew you were missing!

fiction

All Episodes

00:53:19

Episode 50: Solomonari - Peddlers of Storms,...

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/09/28

Have you ever watched the Witcher and wondered if it was actually ever a real job? What if the answer was yes, but in addition to casting out demons and other foul creatures, you could also control the weather, summon dragons and all manners of spirits, speak every language, and cure disease? The job description you just read is for the position of solomonar-- and there are still people alive today who met these strange wizards in their lifetime. So pull up and listen to some lore and firsthand

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01:10:03

Episode 49: Weird Androids: Ex Machina and Artificial...

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/09/21

Welcome back, children! Yes, it’s been 3 weeks, and yes it was Crow’s fault, but we’re back, and this week we bring you: Philosophy, neuroscience, and androids! No, not the phones. The humanoid robots that would have been the best human companions if they’d just stop gaining consciousness.HAL 9000, David8, Ava, to name a few. If there’s one thing Sci Fi loves to do, it’s to freak us out. And it often does this by asking the question: what if man-made creatures gained sentience? But what exactly

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01:00:05

Episode 48: Kiviuq's Epic Journey

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/08/24

I (Fern) am really excited to share an absolute favorite of mine, the tale of Kiviuq from Inuit mythology. This fascinating story shares the tale of a man lost at sea, trying to find his way home in the unforgivingly harsh Arctic climate. He faces strange and magical dangers as he passes through a dreamlike world, all the while doing his best not to starve or freeze to death. Michael Kusugak's Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIL2lD8Wbgc Social Media Accounts: Instagram:

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01:02:17

Episode 47: I'm Sorry Jon and Monsters in The Playground

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/08/10

Skip to 6:10 to jump right into the episode. Have you ever wondered what lay behind the chipper eyes of everyone’s favorite deep sea pineapple inhabitant? Why children make an appearance as harbingers of terror in so many horror movies? What makes someone take a look at a cat obsessed with lasagna and think ‘This cat is an eldritch god intent on the destruction of humanity’? Why are we so turned off by sluggish cartoons like Teletubbies and Moon and Me? What makes clowns and rabbits and dolls so

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01:03:43

Episode 46: Fluffy Friend or Formidable Foe? Rabbits...

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/08/04

Today I fulfill my promise to Crow to "put her through hell" as we discuss one of her favorite phobias-- rabbits and hares. We'll talk about the folklore throughout the ages and across the world. Are rabbits kind and helpful, devious tricksters, or downright dangerous beings who will use their innocent appearance to put us at ease right before they destroy us? Topics today include the Hare in the Moon, Br'er Rabbit/Compère Lapin, Rabbits in witchcraft, Milk hares, the Bunny Man

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01:10:26

Episode 45: Dredge: An Intro into Cosmic Horror

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/07/27

Welcome BACK, children. In today's episode, we're finally going to be taking a look into a genre that more or less introduced Weird Fiction to a wider audience: Cosmic Horror. Crow takes us abroad the S.S What's It, so we can sail to the island of Greater Marrow. In Dredge we play a fisherman who explores the oceans around the island to catch a wide variety of fish. This is no fishing simulator, however. Because when night falls, strange things start to happen...and our fisherman finds

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01:02:25

Episode 44: Herbs of Prophecy; the Folklore of...

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/07/20

The world has always been fascinated with noxious nightshades. Visions, shape-shifting, contact with the dead-- these are just a few of the things associated with these toxic plants. This week we talk about both the science and the folklore surrounding belladonna and henbane, two of the old world's most important hexing herbs. Social Media Accounts: Instagram: crowandfernsguide TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide Twitter: @Crow_and_fern Tumblr: CrowandFern Email: crowandfernsguide@gmail.com Intro

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01:49:22

Episode 43: The Yellow Wallpaper and The Horror of...

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/07/13

After the birth of her daughter in 1885, Charlotte Perkins Gilman suffered from severe postpartum depression. This led her to Doctor Silas Weir Mitchell, one of the most prominent neurologists of his time and a pioneer of the once popular rest cure. Two years after her divorce and three years after the treatment, in 1892, Charlotte wrote one of her most well known works: The Yellow Wallpaper. A story about a woman led into madness after being prescribed the rest cure by none other than her

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01:01:44

Episode 42: Dangerous Datura-- Drugs, visions, and...

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/07/07

Datura is somehow the nightshade that no one knows about. And yet, despite that it's been used throughout the world to connect with the divine and peer into the future. This deadly plant has a rich lore, both in modern horror stories and the mythology of the past surrounding the vivid hallucinations it produces and the deftness with which it takes the lives of its users. I guarantee, this is the most interesting plant you've never heard of. Social Media Accounts: Instagram:

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01:12:16

Episode 41: How Fish is Made and The Concept of Choice

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/06/29

Welcome back, children, to another episode of 'are you guys ever going to stick to a proper release schedule?'. In today's episode, Crow and Fern wear a sardine suit and make their way through a pulsating fish processing planet. That's right, we're taking a look at How Fish is Made and what it truly means to choose. Are any of us really responsible for our choices? Are we significant enough to possess 'free will'? Does any of it really matter? Grab your Omega-3, because

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01:05:08

Episode 40: Metamorphoses-- Transgender Mythology

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/06/16

Today we dispel the myth that transgender people are a recent phenomenon by reaching deep into ancient mythology and discussing the stories of Caeneus and Iphis from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Ovid is one of the great Roman poets, and in this poem he made the bold attempt to record the entire history of the world up to his time, bringing together a wide variety of stories under the collective theme of transformation. The two stories I'm taking from his collection today take place in Greece and

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01:44:40

Episode 39: The Woman In The Dunes: A Japanese...

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/06/01

In today's episode, Crow is late (once again) to bring us the story of Niki Junpei. Or, rather, Niki is here to bring us the story of Niki Junpei, because he's going to be our guide through Kobo Abe's desert of horrors in The Woman in The Dunes! Abe has long been described as 'The Kafka of Japan'. Although, honestly, that's taking away from the brand of surrealism he brings to his stories, which we will be taking a look at as we follow Niki (an etymologist out to discover a

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01:15:05

Episode 38: Heart of Ice

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/05/19

Love doesn't come as easily to some people as it does to others. For some of us, it just takes more time. In this fairytale we highlight a love that is hard won, but all the more beautiful for it. Join us as we follow Mannakin in his quest to win the heart of a princess who cannot love. This epic French tale includes a kingdom of adorable dogs, a fairy named after stinky cheese, and of course, and a formidable mountain with a palace made of ice. Wait, come back-- this isn't Frozen, I swear

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01:11:46

Episode 37: Liminal Core and The Horror of Familiar...

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/04/20

Hello again, children! Boy, have we got a special episode for you. Today, Crow is going to be taking us on a tour of The Backrooms--a creative writing community that takes us through the backstage of our known universe. Where pools extended into infinity and stepping into the wrong elevator can take you to a whole of vast, endless, empty horror. Ask your moms for permission, pack your bags, and come along with us as we discuss the horror of familiar places. Social Media Accounts: Instagram:

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00:43:45

Episode 36: The Bone Woman and Healing from Loss

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/04/13

Hi, it's me, Fern. I'm finally back. This episode is a little different from my normal ones. Over the course of this last month I've been dealing with the death of my brother, who took his own life. I've been compiling my thoughts on loss and grief and how to heal and the stories that have helped me feel a little peace. I wanted to put it all together into an episode to commemorate him, and also because there may be someone else out there that will find comfort in these stories, too

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01:17:28

Episode 35: Edgar Allan Poe and The Heavy Conscience

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/04/06

We're playing with the big boys this week, children. Arguably, with one of the fathers of weird fiction, none other than: Edgar Allan Poe! Like in the Kafka episode, there's an endless sea of suitcases to unpack here so we're going to be focusing on one tiny shoebox in the pile. Guilt. Many of Poe's characters fit the profile of the tortured villain, and many of these stories are often superficially analyzed in the context of the murderer with the heavy conscience. But is that really

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01:08:48

Episode 34: Soylent Green: A Tale of Ecological...

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/03/30

Make room, make room! The world's overpopulated and authors, artists, screenwriters alike are trying to think of solutions to save us from the consequences of our hubris. Crow's talking environmental dystopias this week as she dissects a weird favorite: Soylent Green! Grab a cup of hot cocoa and huddle up as the world burns around us, children, as we look into a genre that's become more relevant than ever--its origins, how it developed throughout the decades, and whether or not Soylent

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01:01:10

Episode 33: Nothing But Blackened Teeth and How To...

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/03/23

Clutch your pearls, children, it's another Crow Episode. Yes, it's true, ten million years later Crow has crawled out of her pile of decomposing leaves and blueberries to bring us the harrowing tale of a bunch of frenemies who join forces to teach us everything about killing your darlings. Today we're talking Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw, a book with an eye catching premise and stunning descriptions. Yet--something wasn't sitting quite right with Crow as she worked

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01:02:50

Episode 32: The Monkey-Man of New Delhi

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/03/05

Today's story comes from India, where a series of very real attacks on sleeping people led to terrifying tales of a truly bizarre and horrifying cryptid. Join us as we try to discover what really happened in New Delhi on those dark nights where the Monkey-Man attacked. Social Media Accounts: Instagram: crowandfernsguide TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide Twitter: @Crow_and_fern Email: crowandfernsguide@gmail.com

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00:56:36

Episode 31: Strange Love and Alien Hands

Crow and Fern"s Guide to Weird Fiction, Folklore,... ·

2023/02/25

Crow is BACK and ready to unleash all the post-exam frustration in this in-between episode. We're talking possessed hands from outer space and Stanley Kubrick references as she and Fern discuss Alien Hand Syndrome. When hands develop a mind of their own, and when parts of the brain fail to communicate properly, we end up with body parts that start fighting with each other, grabbing things off the shelf, or even attempting to harm the body they're attached to. Strap in to find out more about the

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