The Night Battles: Benandanti, Italian Folk Magic, and the Inquisition's Greatest Confusion

The Night Battles: Benandanti, Italian Folk Magic, and the Inquisition's Greatest Confusion

This week, Michelle and Beth dig into one of the strangest, saddest, and most compelling folk traditions ever pulled from a forgotten archive box: the Benandanti of Friuli, Italy. Born into a calling, dispatched four times a year in spirit form to wage plant-based warfare in the fields, fiercely proud of who they were — until the Inquisition spent a century grinding that pride into confession. We trace their roots from the crossroads culture of northeastern Italy all the way to the Wild Hunt, Livonian werewolves, and a pan-European shamanistic pattern that historian Carlo Ginzburg spent decades trying to prove. Plus: the amniotic sac as a lucky charm, why fennel beats sorghum, and what it means when an institution can't tolerate something it simply can't categorize. It's not just folklore. It's a gaslit identity. And it almost disappeared completely. 📚 Resources from this episode: * The Night Battles by Carlo Ginzburg [https://courses.washington.edu/hsteu305/Ginzburg%20Night%20Battles%201-20.pdf] — The book that started it all. Absolutely worth your time. * Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath by Carlo Ginzburg [https://www.academia.edu/41206227/Ecstasies_Deciphering_the_Witches_Sabbath_The_folkloric_roots_of_the_European_witches_Sabbath_through_the_work_of_Carlo_Ginzburg] — Ginzburg's follow-up and the deeper rabbit hole on the pan-European shamanic substrate. * The Wild Hunt — Encyclopedia Britannica [https://norse-mythology.org/the-wild-hunt/] — A solid entry point into the broader tradition. * European Shamanism and Folkloric Spirit Flight — Folklore Studies overview, JSTOR [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1260520] — For the academically inclined among you. * The Inquisition and Witch Trials [https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1079&context=chronos] — Broader context for the institutional machinery at work in this episode. * Luna Nera on Netflix [https://www.netflix.com/title/80244780] — The fictional take. Not historically accurate, but atmospheric. 🗓️ Upcoming Events (May 17–24): Paranormal & Supernatural * PennHurst Paracon & Oddities Expo [https://pennhurstasylum.com/] — May 16–17, Spring City, PA * Texas Frightmare Weekend [https://texasfrightmareweekend.com/] — May 22–24, Irving, TX * Quantum-Con 4 [https://quantum-con.org/] — May 15–17, Plymouth, MN Pagan & Esoteric * Sussex Faerie Festival [https://sussexfaeriefestival.co.uk/] — May 15–17, Alfriston, East Sussex, UK * Welsh Occult Conference [https://welshoccultconference.co.uk/] — May 16, Welshpool, Wales * Rites of Spring [https://earthspirit.com/rites-of-spring] — May 20–25, Western Massachusetts (and online) Sacred Days & Observances * May 17 — Maple Ceremony (Haudenosaunee): Honoring the maple as the first gift of the year from the earth. * May 19 — Festival of Adonia: Women's mourning rites for Adonis, consort of Aphrodite. * May 20 — Frigga Blót (Norse): Honor the All-Mother. Light the hearth. * May 20 — Sun enters Gemini: Start talking more. You won't be able to help it. * May 22 — International Selkie Day: The hidden folk are watching from the water. * May 23 — Vulcania (Roman): Fire, smithing, and the creative destruction of flame. * May 24 — Feast of Sekhmet (Kemetic): The lion-headed protector, invoked for warding and healing. In the Sky * Now through May 30 — Waxing Moon: Prime time for growth and manifestation work. * May 31 — Full Blue Moon: Mark your calendars.

The Science, Folklore, and Mystery of Dreams

What are dreams, really? Science says your brain is filing memories and simulating threats. Psychology points to the subconscious doing its messy work. Metaphysics suggests something far stranger, that it’s a doorway to other realms, other versions of yourself you can only half-remember come morning. This week, Michelle and Beth float through the dreamscape: shared dreams that two people experience without knowing it, precognitive dreams that reach into a future you weren't supposed to know yet, and the dream locations your sleeping mind returns to that you've never visited while awake. They share their own precog dreams, including one born in the desert during wartime and one that foretold a tragedy before it happened and ask the question every vivid dreamer eventually faces: is it memory, the mind processing what it can't face in daylight, or something else entirely?

Between Myth and Belief | The Witch of Booger Hole: West Virginia’s Legend of Murder and Mobs

What happens when a community’s justice system fails, and the line between vigilante law and supernatural lore begins to blur? In this episode of Between Myth and Belief (formerly Folkloric), Michelle and Beth travel to the dark hollows of Booger Hole, West Virginia. Known for a string of mysterious disappearances and a history of post-Civil War violence, Booger Hole became the stage for one of Appalachia’s most haunting legends: The Witch of Booger Hole. We dive deep into the tragic story of Lacey Ann Boggs, a woman labeled a witch and targeted by the notorious Clay County Mob. Was she truly "hag-riding" her neighbors through sleep paralysis, or was she a convenient scapegoat for a community gripped by fear and lawlessness? Whether you’re here for the West Virginia folklore, the Appalachian history, or the true crime mysteries of the 19th century, grab a hot drink and join us in the gray area between what we know and what we believe. As mentioned in the podcast, here is the Upcoming Events for 4/16 to 5/1 of 2026: Folklore & Myth Events: April 19 – May 1 April 19: The Cerealia & The Ritual of the Burning Foxes This was the primary festival for Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. The most evocative (and slightly "feral") ritual involved tying blazing torches to the tails of live foxes and releasing them into the Circus Maximus. * The Lore: It was said to cleanse crops and protect them from vermin, or to represent Ceres' frantic search for her daughter Proserpina with torches in hand. * Links: History of Cerealia | Ceres and the Foxes April 21: Parilia (Rome’s Birthday) A pastoral festival dedicated to Pales, the deity of shepherds. This is a day of purification and "city-building" mythology. * The Lore: Shepherds would jump through bonfires of straw and laurel to purify themselves and their flocks. Legend says Romulus founded Rome on this day in 753 BC by plowing a sacred boundary line. * Links: Parilia Traditions | Rome’s Founding Myths April 23: St. George’s Day A cornerstone of European dragon lore. * The Lore: The Golden Legend tells of a dragon in Libya that demanded human sacrifices. St. George subdued the beast, and in some versions, the princess led the dragon back to the city on a leash like a "meek beast." * Links: St. George and the Dragon April 25: St. Mark’s Eve (The Death Vigil) In British folklore, this was a night of eerie divinations, often focused on mortality and marriage. * The Lore: It was believed that if you sat in the church porch and fasted from 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM, you would see the ghosts of all those in the parish who were destined to die in the coming year entering the church. * Links: St. Mark's Eve Superstitions April 25: Robigalia (The Red Dog Sacrifice) A Roman ritual to ward off Robigo, the spirit of grain rust (mildew). * The Lore: To protect the wheat, a priest would sacrifice a red-haired dog. It’s a fascinating look at how ancient cultures personified agricultural diseases as vengeful spirits. * Links: Robigalia Lore April 30: Walpurgis Night (Hexennacht) Known as the "Other Halloween," this is the night witches were said to gather on the Brocken, the highest peak in Germany's Harz Mountains. * The Lore: Traditions involve lighting massive bonfires to ward off evil and playing pranks. Offerings of bread with butter and honey (ankenschnitt) were often left out for "phantom hounds." * Links: Walpurgis Night History | Witch Lore in the Harz May 1: Beltane (The Gaelic Fire Festival) One of the four major Gaelic seasonal festivals, marking the beginning of summer. * The Lore: This is a "liminal" time when the veil between worlds is thin. Cattle were driven between twin fires for protection, and offerings were left for the Aos Sí (The Fae). It’s also the day of the Maypole, symbolizing fertility and the union of earth and sun. * Links: Beltane Myths & Customs | Fae Offerings & Traditions Cryptid Anniversaries April 21–22: The Dover Demon (1977) One of the most famous short-lived cryptid "flaps" in American history occurred in Dover, Massachusetts. * The Event: Over 24 hours, three teenagers independently reported a creature with glowing orange eyes and a watermelon-shaped head. It was described as having long, spindly fingers and peach-colored, "sandpaper-like" skin. * Links: Dover Demon Records April 22: The "Strange Animal" of West Sutton (1921) A more obscure historical sighting from the Pine Barrens region. * The Event: Residents reported a creature that "would answer a horn" with a cry like a wolf, but could also roar like a lion. It was noted for its incredible fleetness and tracks much larger than a wolf's. * Links: Pine Barrens Cryptid Archive

The Enfield Horror: The 1973 Three-Legged Cryptid of Illinois

In the spring of 1973, in a small Southern Illinois town of about 800 people, something scratched at Henry McDaniel's door. He opened it. What he described was four feet tall, three-legged, pinkish-grey skin, eyes catching the porch light. It sent him rushing for his gun and sent the rest of Enfield into chaos. Michelle and Beth dig into the 1973 Illinois cryptid sightings from the ground up, the place, the time, the people, and what Southern Illinois in economic decline might have to do with what showed up on Canal Street. They also drag in a French explorer, the Illini legend of the Piasa, the case for an escaped wallaby, and the question of what happens when a town's dread gets heavy enough to need a shape.   Whazat.mp3 by macindoe1 -- https://freesound.org/s/52890/ -- License: Sampling+ evening woods Drunen NL 02 151009_0803.wav by klankbeeld -- https://freesound.org/s/333217/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

Trees in Folklore: Ancient Myths, Forest Spirits, and the Secrets They're Keeping

They were here before us. They will be here after we're gone. And in the meantime, they are definitely watching. For as long as people have been brave enough to go into the woods, trees have given us shelter, oxygen, fruit, and stories. People from all over the world and throughout history have looked up into those branches and felt something old looking back at them. So the question isn't if trees have power. Should we be afraid of it or respect it? Join Michelle and Beth as they dig deep into tree folklore, forest mythology, and the very human need to figure out why something that old and that shouldn't make you feel that way makes you feel that way.