Wicked, Weird, and Grim

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! The Grim Sisters are back and better than ever with a new podcast format and our annual Halloween episode! What better day to resurrect from the dead? In this episode we discuss the origins of the holiday of Halloween, corresponding and coinciding holidays and celebrations, and just why we bob for apples, roast chestnuts, and make human sacrifices. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wicked-weird-and-grim/message

In this episode, dive Wickedly deep with us into the bloody crimes of the Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed, hailed as one of the most prolific female serial killers of all time. The Blood Countess of Cachtice has been described as everything from a sensual vampire rivaling Dracula himself to being proposed as another wrongly accused "witch" convicted of fabricated crimes due to her social positioning and power. Perhaps most well known for bathing in the blood of young girls to maintain her youth and beauty, we discuss the fact that there is no actual evidence pointing to her ever doing this. So just how much of Elizabeth's fame is fabricated, purposefully or otherwise? From her reputed social work for the women of her domain affected by the Ottoman invasion to the horrific torturous acts she supposedly carried out, we describe the varied tales of Elizabeth, her ambiguous nature, and her sociopolitical background that may have encouraged others to implicate her. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers: mostly Caroline's inability to pronounce Hungarian names and the word judicial. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

This week, get Wicked, Weird, and Grim with us as we discuss the odd and abrupt disappearance of 9 year-old Asha Degree. This case hits especially close to home for us because it is so close to our local area, having happened in Shelby, North Carolina. Caroline particularly remembers the disappearance of Asha because of how much she related to the little girl. In this episode, we discuss the strange details of the case, possible theories, and how there seems to be so very little to go on in the first place. We urge you that if you have any information regarding the case to contact the Shelby Police CrimeStoppers hotline below. Shelby Police CrimeStoppers Hotline: +1 704-481-TIPS(8477) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

Ara gives heartfelt apologies for the break in episodes but, in her defense: "Grad School is chaotic". This week, we get truly Wicked, Weird, and Grim and set the dark-academic scene at University of St Andrews, Scotland to discuss their haunts, spectres, and ghostywosties (technical term). Ara describes first-hand accounts from St Andrews locals and students, usually from loitering around cemeteries, ruins, or tagging along so often on ghost tours that the tour guides have given up trying to get her to leave. Caroline professes her general love for Scotland and continues the longtime practice of questioning Ara's sanity. Stick around to hear us mispronounce Scottish words (Ara has no excuse at this point) and stay til the end for our infamous bloopers. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

After a hiatus due to Ara transplanting to Scotland, this week we dive into the Wicked, Weird, and Grim and discuss "the most terrifying building in America" - the Waverly Hills Sanatorium. We get nitty-gritty with the CDC in discussing tuberculosis, discuss converting a death shute into a slide, talk about some scary ass ghosts (not Timmy, we love Timmy), and nickname a void demon along the way. Tell us whether or not you'd ride the death shute slide and what toy of choice you'd bring for Timmy! Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

This week we dive into the Wicked, Weird, and Grim and discuss the "American Stonehenge" - the Georgia Guidestones - and their recent bombing. Join us as we get off-topic and discuss American occultism, the bastardization of the term communism, and how batshit crazy American conspiracies (and Georgia conservatives) are. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

This week, we dive into the Wicked, Weird, and Grim and discuss an infamous case in our local area: the disappearance of Brittanee Drexel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Join us as we look at this 13-year-old cold case that was only VERY recently solved in MAY of 2022. This is a case with many twists and turns that may leave you with more questions than answers. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers. **Trigger warning for a brief mention of an alleged sexual assault** --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

What do rat killers, the ice cream man, and peter pan all have in common? Well, if it's a story to be believed, the musical allure of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. As a haunting and cautionary figure of children's fairytales, this creepy piping dude has quite the reputation, especially in his supposed hometown of Hamelin, Germany. So much so, in fact, that there's even an officially licensed Hamelin Monopoly board game centered around this legendary figure. Hamelin doesn't stop there, with regular reenactments of the piper's luring and even a rat-killer themed-restaurant. What, exactly, about the mass-abduction (if you're being kind) or mass-murder (if you're not) of children is so intriguing? We get into the nitty-gritty of it in this episode, talking about some of the historical facts we have of the event and how some of the cultural spinoffs of this tale occurred. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers, including Ara messing up the German language (maybe on purpose?), Caroline's inability to control her bodily sounds, and a lot of stilted English. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

We're back with a wonky and wacky one, Weirdos. Join us as we explore the oddest cryptid we've come across yet, and not just because it hails from Ohio.... Hot Damn, It's the Loveland Frog! Now imagine some mixed-up version of a frog and a dwarf, but throw in a wand that creates sparkles that smell like alfalfa and almonds. Not to mention, this cryptid has its own musical and accompanying fan-base. Got it? Yeah, neither do we. We're convinced there is an LSD trip or five somewhere in this tale. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers, including us bashing on Ohio, forgetting how to podcast, and forgetting the English language (Ara, who says "scamp mook" when they're trying to say "swamp muck"? Get off that LSD) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

Verified Ukrainian nonprofits Links to War and Colonization Education Verified Middle Eastern/Southern and Central Asian nonprofits This episode is dedicated to Ukrainian freedom fighters and cultural preservationists due to the recent invasion of Ukraine. In today's short episode, Ara discusses the Sunflower Seed Curse, the Holodomor, and Maria Prymachenko. All proceeds from this episode will be donated to Global Empowerment Mission, a disaster relief nonprofit organization on the ground in the tiny village of Medyka, Poland, using donations to buy refugees train and plane tickets to help them reach any family or friends they may have in Europe. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

From Meso-America to Egypt, from Greece to the UK, sin-eating has been around for hundreds of years, most commonly attributed to the Welsh and other insular Celtic communities. In this week's episode, we discuss this gothic death ritual, and the religious and cultural circumstances surrounding it, particularly the impact of the Catholic Church and Protestant Reformation. We also discuss how sin-eating was brought to America and dug its roots in fairly close-by in Appalachian folk culture. We round out our episode discussing the legacy of sin-eating today around the world. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers, including exclusive ASMR of the Grim Sisters fighting with and duct-taping our microphone, and our dismal attempts at mathematics. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

We are back from suffering from our respective plagues and this week we dive into the Wicked, Weird, and Grim and discuss a cryptically-amazing creature: the thylacine. Join us as we debate whether the thylacine really counts as a cryptid, seeing as it is a very real animal but viewed as 'extinct' by the scientific community at large (but not by all!). We discuss crazy thylacine fan clubs, the thylacine's cute look-a-likes, and some astonishingly convincing videos of potential thylacines captured on camera (even us skeptics were swayed). Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers, including discussion of manatees, cannibalism, and our unique brand of Grim Sister craziness. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

It's our Holiday episode!! We're super excited for this episode as we dive into Wicked, Weird, and Grim folkloric holiday figures from around the world. We discuss witches, ogresses, anthropomorphic goat men, and more! Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers. Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season. You guys are our present this year, and we're so happy you're along for this crazy broomride with us! With love, the Grim Sisters. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

This week, we publish a late November episode for Native American Heritage Month, specifically discussing the atrocity that is residential schools. Join us as we discuss the ongoing battle to have colonizer states such as the US and Canada conduct investigations into registered/unregistered residential schools after the discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools in Canada. We also discuss Native and Indigenous resurgence and resistance, and the role of sovereignty in these movements. All proceeds from this episode will be donated to the Native American Rights Fund https://www.narf.org/ **Major trigger warning for genocide, physical and sexual assault, grooming, religious trauma** --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

Long time no talk! Wicked, Weird, and Grim is back and better than ever after a brief hiatus. This week, we get down to the nitty gritty and discuss the infamous I-70 Strangler, known also as Brian Smart and/or Herb Baumeister. This tale isn't just for our True Crime fanatics though - there's definitely also a haunting aspect to this tale. Tune in to see how this tale goes from serial killing spree to the latest paranormal activity movie. Also featuring erotic asphyxiation, really creepy mannequins, and some really questionable fertility statistics. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

It's our 13th episode!! And our Halloween episode!! We're super excited for this interactive experience as we visit one of North Carolina's most mysterious and haunted places, and bring you all along with us. This episode also features us NC girls being unable to pronounce North Carolina area names while recording (Sorry Chatham, Uwharries, and Appalachia) and having a bit too intense a fascination with the Devil carrying us around (Daddy? Sorry. Daddy? Sorry. Daddy? Sorry-). Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers, and us referencing bodily waste and bones a bit too much. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

Get ready to get Wicked, Weird, and Grim with the Grim Sisters in our second Spooky Short of this week leading up to Halloween! In this episode, we narrate two short but incredibly scary North Carolina ghost stories and the short story "The Pale Man", accompanied by some pretty awesome sound backing. Dive in and get spooked! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

Get ready to get Wicked, Weird, and Grim with the Grim Sisters. We're back from our COVID-related hiatus (blame Ara's immune system), and more Wicked, Weird, and Grim than ever! This week, we'll be uploading two special “Spooky Shorts” consisting of a couple short stories an episode to lead up to our Halloween episode! In this episode, we discuss the Headless Horseman/Dullahan and the Georgia Werewolf Girl, accompanied by some pretty awesome sound backing. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

This week, we dive into the Wicked, Weird, and Grim and discuss a pretty hairy topic: The Beast of Bray Road and its neighboring counterpart, the Dogman. Join us as we explore this odd cryptid dating back to the very beginning of humanity, fangirl over monster-expert Linda Godfrey, and discuss the sexualization of the werewolf (and why his human form has no hair at all on his rippling abs. Like, did you get laser hair removal, sir?) Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers, including getting a kick out of that one vine (“On every level except physical, I am a wolf”) a bit too much, and an intense Twilight conspiracy theory segment. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

*TW This week, we dive into disturbing disappearance of the nature-loving extreme hiker and amateur Youtuber Kenny Veach in the Nevada Mojave Desert. Join us as we try to uncover the truth behind his disappearance, be it aliens, the air force, murder, or a simple case of a hiking accident. This story is sure to leave you scratching your head in confusion, no matter how straightforward it may seem. Hijinks ensue, including Ara mentioning how she will self-mutilate like a hamster if trapped, plenty discussion of caves, caverns, and all sorts of dark, disturbing places, and a healthy dose of yee-hawing to commemorate Kenny Veach's cowboy alter ego. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers. All proceeds from this episode will be donated to and split between the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy in honour of Kenny Veach. **TW: Trigger warning for repeated mentions of suicidal thoughts in this episode** --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

To celebrate the recent autumnal equinox and harvest moon, our episode this week is dedicated to harvest festivals around the world. We discuss the origins of harvest season, as well as the mythology, folklore, and legends from around the world that explain the turn of the seasons. Additionally, we talk about all the great feasts and festivals during this time, in particular those featuring adult (i.e. alcoholic) beverages - we're looking at you, Greeks and Germans. In response to some of your voice messages on Anchor asking to hear more about the harvest daemons Ara mentioned in our Olga of Kiev episode, we discuss grain-y werewolves, spiteful field tricksters, iron-breasted ergot-infested hags, and daemons that take self-care a bit too seriously. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers and a considerable bashing of Beowulf while simultaneously hyping up Grendel's MILF. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

WE SOLVED IT! Tune in to this episode to hear us solve the famed Rendlesham Forest incident, known to many UFO enthusiasts as the "British Roswell". We discuss the ins and outs of this crazy tale, as well as conspiracy theories - from aliens and Soviet Union attacks to radiation leaks and elaborately planned hoaxes. But to hear us crack the case wide open and uncover the truth behind this incident, you'll have to listen (and put up with our numerous cow noises throughout)! Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, our topic this week is the infamous watery wailer: La Llorona (not Moaning Myrtle). We discuss the political, racial, and social roots behind the Latinx tale and its many offshoots, because Ara - once again and to no one's surprise - had no self-control and used her publication on La Llorona archetypes as essentially the entire script. Listen as the Grim Sisters discover La Llorona's aversion to feet, hatred of wild dogs, and her odd love for ditches. We wrap up this tale with some firsthand accounts of meeting La Llorona that made both of us shiver and caused Ara to have to anxious-pee a lot. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers (that are honestly starting to get longer than our actual content). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

In this episode, we cover the all-encompassing love between Prince Igor I and Princess Olga of Kiev. Sure, it's a little Wicked, Weird, and Grim considering Igor was brutally murdered and Olga went on a murderous rampage in retaliation, but that's just spicy true love. This episode spotlights St. Olga of Kiev, the first female ruler of what is now Russia and a woman who gives new meaning to the phrase “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”. The men who killed her husband certainly felt her wrath, from being buried and burned alive, to being decimated by Olga's armies. She granted no mercy, took no prisoners (well, except slaves), and managed to hold the throne for far longer than the men around her. Cersei Lannister wishes she could be this cool. Listen to us extol her virtues, simp for her a bit too much, and completely justify all the things she did because “that's just, like, the rules of feminism”. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

This week, we dive into the Wicked, Weird, and Grim and discuss our local area's most infamous fast-food felon: the Taco Bell Strangler. Join us as we bash the police, the navy, forensic experts, his public defendant, but most of all, 'Bad Henry' himself. This true-crime story has some of the oddest components we've seen yet, even managing to throw in a bit of romance post-conviction. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers. All proceeds from this episode will be donated to Charlotte Mothers of Murdered Offspring in honour of Wallace's victims: https://momocares.org/ **Major trigger warning for repeated mentions of sexual assault in this episode** --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

"I did it for the devilment." - Gef This week's episode is shorter and much less Wicked and Grim than the past two! We recount the story of Gef the "Talking Mongoose", a capricious little fellow who is prone to some nasty swearing, boasts a considerable ego, and is the oddest little ghost-cryptid-mongoose one ever did hear of. Join the Grim Sisters for more questionable singing, bashing on the worst parts of the Spiritualist movement, fangirling over Simone Biles, and generally living up to the 'Weird' in our name! Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

“Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” - H.L. Mencken In this episode, we're talking all things Puritan cancel culture— oops, we meant the Salem Witch Trials. We discuss the events leading up to the infamous witch hysteria, including Puritanical pick-me's, classic brainwashing, and some good ole demonology. Also featuring Ara bragging about her published article, Caroline's vocal tour through modern-day Salem, and the both of us spouting pure Puritan slander. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support

Welcome to Wicked, Weird, and Grim, your #1 podcast for a trip through the history of the odd, haunting, and mystifying. In this episode, we discuss the infamous Dyatlov Pass incident. From a Russian Yeti to Aliens, KGB to radiation, we cover it all. Tune in for some surprising twists to the tale, uncovered thanks to some incredible primary source documents. Also featuring: Bigfoot erections, our attempts at explaining meteorological phenomena accurately, and relying heavily on Slavic stereotypes. Stick around at the end for our infamous bloopers. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wicked-weird-and-grim/support