Podcasts about Christmas carol

It is a privilege to welcome Rebecca Roberts and Kurt Szarka to The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.  Rebecca began her career as a singer and a dancer for Katherine Jenkins' Believe: Live from the O2 concert. She started in shorts such as Always at Home and Altered Memories before moving on to films such as Pompeii and Life. Rebecca also lent her voice as various characters in the Assassin's Creed video game franchise and appeared on The CW's The Flash (January Gilmore) and Legends of Tomorrow (Queen Anne of Austria), and the popular web series, Evolve: Year Zero (Rawny).  Kurt spent his younger years playing sports and always had a passion for the creative arts. Szarka discovered his love for acting at an early age when he played Scrooge in his grade six school production of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol.” After studying Economics and Finance at University, he went to work on the trading floor, but his passion for acting never left and he continued to study acting in his free time.Finally, he took the leap, moved out to the West Coast, and quickly began working full-time in film and television. Kurt appeared in the CW's Batwoman, where he portrayed the famed DC comics character, Slam Bradley. He then worked for the CW again in their hit series Riverdale.  Kurt also appears in the Netflix series Maid and the Netflix Christmas Feature “Love Hard.” In addition, he appeared in Syfy's Wynonna Earp, V.C. Andrews' Heaven mini-series for Lifetime, and the movies Sweet as Pie and Fishing for Love. For Hallmark, Kurt has appeared in Picture Perfect Mysteries: Newlywed and Dead and Falling for You.Rebecca Roberts and Kurt Szarka are also the co-founders of ReadyMade Productions. The production company focuses on independent films made right and created for creatives by creatives.  ReadyMade Productions was also built to protect the crew, elevate the work, and connect with audiences in a way that lasts.On this edition of The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Rebecca Roberts and Kurt Szarka spoke about their iconic roles, shared ReadyMade Productions' origin story, and their latest project, BROTHER. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.

The miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is a cold-hearted man of business and has little time for the good humor and charity of the Christmas season. But that's about to change. A visit from his deceased business partner sets in motion a night in which Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. Will his listen to their messages? Will he heed their warnings? Ebenezer Scrooge is about to take a Christmas journey that he won't soon forget. (Summary by Kyle Munley)Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, Myths, Legends & Fairy Tales, Horror & Supernatural FictionLanguage: EnglishKeyword(s): literature (1959), romance (1092), adventure (1062), religion (744), short stories (730), fairy tales (283), instruction (124), ghost stories (49)

Merry Christmas you beautiful people!It's a very special episode, because we welcome to the show Shelli and Frank Arnold. Shelli and Frank have been listening since the early days of the show and we've been chatting once a year about their Christmas village. Well they're here in the UK for the whole episode.First it's Christmas All Over The World and Shelli and Frank share what Christmas is like for them in the US.Then, thanks to a suggestion from listener Dave McCrae, Bob Baker talks about a place in Iceland where you can celebrate Christmas all year round in Where Are You Christmas.Next up Shelli and Frank share their stories of how they found out the truth about Santa Claus,Then Bob is back and this time it's Do You Hear What I Hear and he's talking about what us Brits mean by 'A wobbly'.Check out Bob's podcast here:  https://4fpodcast.buzzsprout.comThen it's The Christmas Quiz. See if you can beat Shelli and Frank's scores, plus my wife is in their as well for good measure.While Shelli and Frank were over they visited Salisbury Cathedral, which is not far from me and they had a great time, so that's this episodes recommendation.Get in touch:Email: totalchristmas@gmail.comMerry Christmas!

The LibriVox community wants to bring you a special treat for the 2009 Holiday Season. Here is a collection of 30 traditional Christmas carols performed in a variety of styles by our wonderful volunteers. Enjoy!Genre(s): MusicLanguage: MultilingualKeyword(s): Christmas (207), holiday (62), carols (17), songs (12)Group: Christmas Carol Collections

Merry Christmas you beautiful people!We start the show by looking at the Winter solstice in the Southern hemisphere. Is there an equivalent of Christmas in June when the South of the globe has its shortest day?Then Bob Baker our resident barman looks at Wellington boots in Do You Hear What I Hear?There's no Christmas Quiz this episode, instead we have the triumphant return of Santa Banter, don't worry it's only for this episode.Then Bob is back with Where Are You Christmas? and he's looking at Bethelehem, but not the one you're thinking of.Check out Bob's podcast here:  https://4fpodcast.buzzsprout.comA couple of episodes ago I looked at the Alistair Simm version of A Christmas Carol, I talked about George Cole the actor who played the young Scrooge. He went on to have a great career and he even released a Christmas song with his Minder co-star Dennis Waterman. It's called What Are We Gonna Get 'Er Indoors? and it's not great, but you can have a listen here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP8bqOcj9H8This episodes recommendation is the autobiography of the actor Brian Blessed. It's called Absolute Pandemonium and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.Get in touch:Email: totalchristmas@gmail.comMerry Christmas!

TVC 736.2: David Spencer, author of The Novelizers, uses Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962), the 1984 made-for-TV adaptation of A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott, and Harry Sinclair Drago's novelization of The Champ (1932) as examples of the kind of choices that an adapting writer will make when presenting characters from the source material in a way that is unique to prose. The Novelizers: An Affectionate History of Media Adaptations and Originals, Their Astonishing Authors, and the Art of the Craft is available through Bear Manor Media as well as Amazon.com.

It's time for another Festive Fridays episode as we cover a unique new spin on a holiday classic. ABOUT EBONY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL Three spirits visit a bitter winery owner, helping her confront her past and find her lost Christmas spirit. AIR DATE & NETWORK FOR EBONY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL November 24, 2025 | Streaming CAST & CREW OF EBONY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL Ebony Tates as Ebony Scrooge BRAN'S EBONY CHRISTMAS CAROL SYNOPSIS Meet Ebony Scrooge. It's the holiday season and she wakes up absolutely miserable. She's out here wearing all black, so you KNOW she hates Christmas. She walks out of her room to find her assistant Maggie has decorated the house for Christmas. Ebony's response? “THROW IT AWAY!” To her, Christmas is only good for boosting sales. We then meet Nate, an aspiring winemaker who dreams of making his own wine someday. Unfortunately, for now he just works at Ebony's winery. Ebony storms into the office and cannot believe everyone is trying to decorate for Christmas. She reminds everyone that she has very clear rules: no Christmas music, no decorations, no jingle bells, and absolutely NO Mariah Carey. That night on Christmas Eve, Ebony falls asleep and is awakened by her Aunt Pooch, who warns her that she'll be visited by three ghosts. Ebony is not impressed. First up is the Ghost of Christmas Past, who shows Ebony her childhood. Growing up, her family never had much money, which made Christmas hard for her to enjoy. Her parents worked really hard to make the holidays feel special, but young Ebony could never really appreciate it. Then the Ghost of Christmas Present arrives…and he's hot. He shows Ebony how much her employees dislike working for her. He also shows her parents — who are very much alive — sadly talking about how she never visits anymore and how much she hates Christmas. This one actually gets to her. Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows her a future where she dies and nobody really cares. Not even Nate. Brutal. Ebony wakes up changed. She rushes to the winery, apologizes to her employees, gives everyone time off, and hands out bonuses. She also finally reconnects with her parents. Then she throws a huge Christmas party for the staff where she spends an aggressively long amount of time backing that thang up on Nate. Eventually, she pulls him aside, tells him she wants to help launch his wine, and then they kiss — because obviously these two have had feelings for each other the entire movie. Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email bran@deckthehallmark.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Merry Christmas you beautiful people!We start the show with a version of A Christmas Carol. This is an episode of the BBC sitcom Bad Education. It has its moments.Then Bob Baker takes us to Poland for Where Are You Christmas?Next up we have a Christmas Story of Shame from our lovely listener Nettie Tebeau. It's a Christmas tree infestation.Then Bob is back with Do You Hear What I Hear? and he's looking at the word nob.Check out Bob's podcast here:  https://4fpodcast.buzzsprout.comLast episode, somehow someone added an extra question to The Christmas Quiz. We don't know who that person was, but when we find out there's gonna be big trouble. This episode there are the regulation 10 questions, I managed 6, make sure to email in your score.Get in touch:Email: totalchristmas@gmail.comMerry Christmas!

Watch Tom McBeath ("Maybourne") reprise his "A Christmas Carol" role as Ebeneezer Scrooge along with Garwin Sanford ("Narim") and Jacqueline Samuda ("Nirrti") in special parts from the beloved Dickens classic.

Emily Ristine Holloway is the Artistic Director of Summer Stock Stage   Listen to Circle City Success Podcast episode 231 where you'll hear Emily tell us about...   ● How she got her start in theatre as an Actress for Disney ● Her first role back in Indy was A Christmas Carol at Indiana Repertory Theatre ● How Summer Stock Stage mission is to enrich the community through theatre, what access is granted with the FlexPass, and how to support the mission and purchase tickets   Circle City Success Podcast Sponsors ● T&W Corporation Design & Build: https://twdesignbuild.com/ ● Eclipse Staffing and Security: https://www.eclipsestaffing.com/ ● The Barrel Bar Indy: https://www.instagram.com/thebar ● St Elmo Steakhouse: https://www.stelmos.com/ ● D&E Printing: https://www.dandeprinting.com/   Connect with Circle City Success Podcast hosts: ● Connect with Jason: https://lnkd.in/dS82puKp ● Connect with Drew: https://lnkd.in/d-VtF9Hb ● Connect with Matt Hadley: linkedin.com/in/matthadleyindy ● Connect with Matt Carroll: https://lnkd.in/dkv7VmDx

The Twelve Tubs of Christmas has to visit a version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and it wouldn't be syrupy if it didn't involve a diva. Vanessa Williams stars with TLC's Chili, Duran Duran's John Taylor and Kathy Griffin in A Diva's Christmas Carol, which was made for VH1 and features the fictional hit song, Heartquake. You will cringe, but you will sing along. Eventually. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Merry Christmas you beautiful people!Last epsisode I told the story of shame about my Christmas jumer that was too small, but this episode we have a happy ending where a lovely listener gets to win it.Then I talk about a Christmas Not So Classic, it's from the very rude British comedian Roy Chubby Brown, it's called Rockin' Good Christmas and it's naff.Have a listen here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCc7AoLQzzsLast episode I mentioned the phrase 'Bob's your uncle' and briefly explained, well this episode Bob Baker has actually done some proper research into it in Do You Hear What I Hear?Then it's The Christmas Quiz, I scored a respectable 8, make sure you email in your score.Next up Bob is back and this time he's looking at Canada in Where Are You Christmas?Check out Bob's podcast here:  https://4fpodcast.buzzsprout.comIn the last episode I explained why the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol starring Alistair Sim was rubbish, this time I explain why it's fantastic. If you've never seen it, shame on you, but here's a link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knpvLR879fwThis episodes recommendation is Welcome To The Neighbourhood with Jayde Adams, a BBC Radio 4 show that is very funny. Have a search for it, it's worth a listen.Get in touch:Email: totalchristmas@gmail.comWeb: totalchristmaspodcast.comMerry Christmas!

Feast on a Full English breakfast with Farah Mendlesohn as we discuss whether their Hugo-nominated Heinlein book changed the conversation about that author, if there's such a thing as an inverse of The Suck Fairy, why it might be wrong to chat about The Female Man while nibbling on toast, the reason Russ's novel took so long to get published, the probable purpose of the self-critique within the book, the difficulties in communicating with cross-cultural metaphors, why The Female Man is a version of The Christmas Carol, the reason the book isn't Postmodernist but Modernist, why I failed to pick up on the novel's Jewishness, what surprised them most during their rereading of the novel, the reason Considering The Female Man by Joanna Russ was so painfully hard to write, and much more.

Samuel and Jacob dive into Doctor Who's “A Christmas Carol” and make the case for why it stands as one of the very best Christmas specials the series has ever done. They talk about Michael Gambon's incredible performance, the episode's clever use of time travel, its emotional core, and why this festive sci-fi remix of … Continue reading Going Through Who 19.11: A Christmas Carol →

It's Festive Friday and todays movie is a fresh take on a Christmas classic! ABOUT CHRISTMAS KARMA A hard-nosed businessman, Mr. Sood, is forced to confront his past, present, and future over one fateful Christmas Eve - guided by three unforgettable spirits - on a journey toward compassion and redemption. AIR DATE & NETWORK FOR CHRISTMAS KARMA November 14, 2025 | Theatrical Release  CAST & CREW OF CHRISTMAS KARMA Director: Gurinder Chadha Writers: Gurinder Chadha, Charles Dickens Producers: Gurinder Chadha, Amory Leader, Celine Rattray Cast: Kunal Nayyar as Eshaan Sood Leo Suter as Bob Cratchit Boy George as Ghost of Christmas Future Billy Porter as Ghost of Christmas Present Eva Longoria as Ghost of Christmas Past BRAN'S CHRISTMAS KARMA SYNOPSIS It's Christmas Eve and Scrooge is not thrilled. His employees are busy throwing a Christmas party. And this is when we find out this is a musical. Honestly, had no idea. Scrooge fires everyone except his accountant Bob Cratchit. He reluctantly gives Bob an advance on next month's pay so he can buy presents for his kids. Scrooge hates Christmas. When he gets home, he thinks he sees something on the door, but it's nothing. Except when he goes to go to sleep, he hears a loud bang on the door. It's the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley warns Scrooge that he better change his ways OR ELSE! To help him, he will be visited by three spirits throughout the night. Scrooge is like whatever and falls asleep. He is woken up by the ghost of Christmas past. It's Eva Longoria, DUH! She projects images of where he grew up in Africa with his best friend Akiiki. We see him and his family learn the news that all Asians must leave the country within 90 days. Scrooge is forced to watch his father die and other bad stuff. But it's not all bad. We see him at his first job, falling in love, proposing. But her parents don't believe he will be able to financially support their daughter. So Scrooge is like just wait and see. I'll show you! Scrooge starts a business and refuses to help his first boss, Mr. Fezziwig, when he asked him to help him. He shows up a year later, shows that he has money to her parents but she isn't interested because she learned about how he treated Fezziwig. She shows him what happened to her but he's not interested. He insists that he regrets nothing! It's time for the ghost of Christmas present! He's fun. He's funky. He's Billy Porter. He shows him the Cratchit house on Christmas who is discussing Scrooge. Bob says he's just sick. Something is broken inside of him. Then he sees his nephew at a Christmas party, mocking Scrooge, and dancing big. Suddenly, the ghost of Christmas future. Obviously, it's Boy George. And he is joined by Billy Porter for a duet while Eva Longoria stands there awkwardly. He discovers his death, but more importantly the death of Tiny Tim. He promises he will change. He wakes up and it's Christmas. HE DIDN'T MISS IT! He goes to give money to everyone. And they all meet up to celebrate at the Christmas carnival. Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email bran@deckthehallmark.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our Patreon voted on it so we're talking about the Doctor Who special - A Christmas Carol! Neither Dylan nor Matt are Whovians so they're going into this fairly blind, so please be nice! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join Our Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy some merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our Facebook Group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Merry Christmas you beautiful people!Do you think the Alistair Sim version of A Christmas Carol is the best? Well think again, because in this episode I explain why it's rubbish.This episodes Do You Hear What I Hear? is an interesting one, and Bob Baker looks at the term to 'read' as in to study. Then it's The Christmas Quiz and after my pitiful performance last week when I scored a paltry 4, this week I've scored a paltry 4.Next up Bob Baker takes us to Austria with Where Are You Christmas?Check out Bob's podcast here:  https://4fpodcast.buzzsprout.comThen we have a story of shame, but it doesn't have to have a sad ending, you can change the scripy, all you have to do is tell me the name of my pet mouse. If you haven't got a clue have a listen to the latest episodes of my daughters' podcast, I'm Not Complaining and you'll find out. Here's a link: anchor.fm/notcomplainingThis episodes recommendation is the game show Taskmaster. It's really fun to watch, but it's even more fun to play. If you've never seen it, have a look for it, it's great.Get in touch:Email: totalchristmas@gmail.comWeb: totalchristmaspodcast.comMerry Christmas!

Tyler and David discuss various film adaptations of A Christmas Carol as well as Alex Russell's Lurker.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merry Christmas you beautiful people!Last episode I talke about Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas and Bob Baker sent me a great versio of Our World, have a listen to it here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFvIIuvA4yE&list=RDuFvIIuvA4yE&start_radio=1Then we take a look at some Christmas related Guinness World Records. How many candy canes can one man fit into his beard? You'll find out.Next up is Do You Hear What I Hear and Bob Baker looks at why us Brits refer to the police as Bobbies.This episode's version of A Christmas Carol is very short and is a sketch from Saturday Night Live called Scrudge. It's worth a look, so here's a link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMKZctlLDPUWe also have a short What The Dickens, and I discuss the word 'hello'.Then Bob is back with Where Are You Christmas? and this time he's found it in Texas.Check out Bob's podcast here:  https://4fpodcast.buzzsprout.comIn last episode's Christmas Quiz I did pretty poorly, in this episode's Christmas Quiz I did even worse.  Make sure to send in your scores.The recommendation is the film version of the book Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks, which is the book I recommended last episode. The film isn't great, but you can watch it for free on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G40a7PWyewQGet in touch:Email: totalchristmas@gmail.comWeb: totalchristmaspodcast.comMerry Christmas!

What makes a Faust story? Michael, Ethan, and special guests Josiah & Jacob discuss this ontological question and all things Faust in this special episode.In this episode:Michael begins confrontationally.Is this episode Faust? Is this podcast Faust?Ethan is NOT in Law School.Is capitalism Faust?The Bible is inevitable.Josiah brought it up. Totally. It was Josiah. He's very smart. The Josian Anti-Faust idea (C) 2026.Demon, Helen, Margaret - Where are the lines of demarcation between them?Two questions: 1) What are you willing to sacrifice [to get what you want; and is it your very soul]? 2) What do you worship?(Josiah came up with the smart thing again. (C) 2026.)What you worship you will sacrifice.Ethan cheats with Wikipedia.Vein.American Faust: do we win?(Sorry for the Beetlejuice summoning.)If it looks like an exchange but is a gift, it's grace. If it looks like a gift but is an exchange, it's vampi-- Faust.When you're having night terrors, fart in the Devil's face and confess the Apostles' Creed.Shout-out to Reading Revisited!Every time he comes on this podcast, Jacob makes it a different podcast and/or a deal we need to wiggle out of.There are other things in Detroit other than Eminem.Let it be known, we can be charitable to a garbage fire.The answer is a tautology. Or cake.Here's each work we discuss: Is it Faust?The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton: Is it Faust?The book of Job: Is it Faust?It's A Wonderful Life: Is it Anti-Faust? Is it Faust?Jesus tempted in the desert: Is it Faust? Is it Anti-Faust? Is Faust a fan-fiction of Jesus?Genesis 3: Is it the OG Faust?A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens: Is it Faust?Trust, by Hernan Diaz: Is it Faust?The Secret History, by Donna Tartt: Is it Faust?The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde: Is it Faust?"The Ballad of Reading Gaol," by Oscar Wilde: Is it Faust?Of One Blood, by Pauline Hopkins: Is it Faust?Hadestown, by Anaïs Mitchell: Is it Faust? Orpheus & Euridice: Is it [proto-]Faust?Dracula, by Bram Stoker: Is it Faust?Hades & Persephone: Is it Faust?Interview with the Vampire: Is it Faust?Underworld: Is it Faust?"The Devil Went Down to Georgia," by Charlie Daniels: Is it Faust?Robert Johnson: Is he Faust?O Brother, Where Art Thou?: Is it Faust?Oedipus: Is he Faust?Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke: Is it Faust?Devil's Advocate: Is it Faust?Beetlejuice: Is it Faust?Macbeth, by William Shakespeare: Is it Faust?The Waterboy: Is it Faust?Rick & Morty: Is it Faust?Doctor Who: Is it Faust?Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie: Is it Faust?Ghosts, S4E22-S5E1: Is it Faust?The Passenger, and Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy: Are they Faust?Previously featured on Michael & Ethan in a Room with ScotchNo Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy: Is it Faust?Grimm's Fairy Tales, e.g. "The Devil's Sooty Brother," "Bearskin," "The Devil and His Grandmother," "The Gravemound," "The Peasant and the Devil," "Doctor Know-all," "The Spirit in the Bottle": Are they Faust?Irish Fairy Tales, and Russian Stories: Are they Faust?Luther throwing his inkwell at the Devil: Is it Faust?"The Little Mermaid," by Hans Christian Andersen: Is it Faust - WAIT, we'll talk about it later!"The Magic Thread": Is it Faust?Click: Is it Faust?The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare: Is it Faust?Breaking Bad: Is it Faust?Rapid(-ish) Fire:Fullmetal Alchemist"Ain't No Rest for the Wicked," by Cage the ElephantBetter Call SaulMelmoth the Wanderer, by Charles Maturin - WAIT, we might also talk about that later(?)It FollowsThe Imaginarium of Doctor ParnassusDeath Note"Button, Button," by Richard Matheson"The Monkey's Paw," by W.W. JacobsThe Third Man[, by Graham Greene]The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. LewisThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. LewisThat Hideous Strength, by C.S. LewisThe Magician's Nephew, by C.S. LewisOut of the Silent Planet, by C.S. LewisPerelandra, by C.S. LewisThe Book of the New Sun, by Gene WolfeHamlet, by William ShakespeareLove's Labours Lost, by William Shakespeare"Goblin Market," By Christina RosettiHowl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne JonesParadise Lost, by John MiltonThe Tempest, by William Shakespeare"Calliope," by Neil GaimanRavelstein, by Saul BellowPreviously featured on Michael & Ethan in a Room with ScotchKPop Demon HuntersThe Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence SternePreviously featured on Michael & Ethan in a Room with ScotchDon Quixote, by Miguel de CervantesPreviously featured on Michael & Ethan in a Room with ScotchThe Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor DostoevskyCrime and Punishment, by Fyodor DostoevskyLolita, by Vladimir NabokovFrankenstein, by Mary ShelleyLiar, LiarBruce AlmightyBigDarby O'Gill and the Little PeoplePhantom of the Opera[, by Gaston Leroux]"Alastor," by Percy Bysshe ShelleyLes Miserables, by Victor Hugo"Young Goodman Brown," by Nathanael HawthorneWittenberg, by David Davalos - DON'T BOTHERStranger Things (especially Season 5)Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss “Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day,” by Jonathan L. Howard! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page. Join us on GoodReads!Get on our Substack!Donate to our Patreon! MUSIC & SFX: "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission. "The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. "Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.(Links to books & products are affiliate links.)

Welcome to the Binge Buddies Holiday Special — where instead of watching one wholesome Christmas movie together like normal people, we each locked ourselves into separate Dickensian dimensions. Bryan Dressel went full heart and felt with The Muppet Christmas Carol, embracing Michael Caine's Oscar-worthy seriousness opposite a frog and a rat. It's warm. It's musical. It's probably the most emotionally stable choice anyone made. Matt “Zombie Dog” Dykes chose the razor-sharp sarcasm of the Blackadder Christmas Carol episode, because nothing says holiday cheer like British cynicism and a moral lesson that might actually make things worse. Joel Dewitte… selected the Jim Carrey motion-capture A Christmas Carol. Yes, that one. The uncanny valley rollercoaster where everyone looks like wax figures that escaped a haunted museum. Bold choice, Joel. Deeply concerning. We'll unpack that. And Ryan Lootens rounded things out with Scrooged, where Bill Murray discovers the meaning of Christmas through corporate greed, explosions, and pure 80s chaos. Four Scrooges. Four vibes. One timeless story about a man who desperately needed therapy and instead got haunted into personal growth. The chains are clanking. The snow is falling. And someone please check on Joel. Let's get festive.

It's our Oscar Special! It's our St. Patrick's Day Special! It's our combination Oscars/St. Patrick's Day Special! Okay, so it's not really either of those things... On this episode we dug up Ebenezer, a 1998 made-for-TV western adaptation of "A Christmas Carol". It stars Academy Award winner Jack Palance as the film's namesake money-grubbing miser. It also stars Rick Schroder as a sadsack who just can't stop getting swindled by that charming old cad Ebenezer! We also get into the state of cable television, a brief history of Turner Broadcasting, and even a little bit of Oscar chat. (We recorded this three days before the Oscars, and releasing it two days after. Whaddaya gonna do?) Questions/Comments? Email us at XmasCreeps@gmail.comTweet us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel!

The Daily Quiz - Art and Literature Today's Questions: Question 1: Which book contains the character 'Santiago'? Question 2: Which author wrote 'The Turn of the Screw'? Question 3: What art movement was Maurice de Vlaminck part of, known for its bold use of color? Question 4: Who wrote the play "The Mousetrap"? Question 5: Which author wrote 'The Descent of Man And Selection in Relation to Sex'? Question 6: Which author wrote 'A Journey to the Center of the Earth'? Question 7: Which author wrote 'The Idiot'? Question 8: Who Wrote The 1951 Novel The Catcher in the Rye? Question 9: What is the name of the miserly main character in A Christmas Carol? This podcast is produced by Klassic Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello you beautiful people!We start the show with one of the worst songs of all time. Mr Blobby was the UK Christmas number 1 in 1993 and it's pretty bad.Have a look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIRQrnPRiUkThen Bob Baker takes us to Mora, Sweden for Where Are You Christmas?Next up it's The Christmas Quiz. I scored a 6, make sure to email me your score.Ever heard the term 'Taking the Mickey'? Well it's pretty common here in the UK and Bob Baker explains it all in Do You Hear What I Hear.Check out Bob's podcast here:  https://4fpodcast.buzzsprout.comThen we take a look at Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas, it's truly charming and if you haven't seen it, you should.It was cover a few years ago on the Advent Calendar Podcast, have a listen: https://adventcalendar.house/episodes/emmet-otters-jug-band-christmasThis episode's recommendation is Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks. It's a book, an audiobook and a film, It's very entertaining so you should check it out.Get in touch:Email: totalchristmas@gmail.comWeb: totalchristmaspodcast.comMerry Christmas!

What's up, dudes? It's a LOST EPISODE! Recorded in August 2020, my brother Danny joined me to talk “The Muppet Christmas Carol!” After disappearing into Zoom archive obscurity, this recording was finally found and dusted off so that you can hear my brother and I really get into it! There's impressions, there's singing, there's tons of nostalgia as we reminisce about watching this every Christmas in our living room! “Marley & Marley? Check! Creepy Ghost of Christmas Past muppet? Got it! Good times to the max? For sure! So lay a big ol' blanket on the floor, get your popcorn and hot chocolate ready, and dig into this muppety episode! Give us a buzz! Send a text, dudes!Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Totally Rad Christmas Mall & Arcade, Teepublic.com, or TotallyRadChristmas.com! Later, dudes!

What's up, dudes? Ed Daly, author of The Christmas Book: The Ultimate Guide to Your Favorite Holiday, and I talk all things Charles Dickens as we dive into ‘80s versions of A Christmas Carol! There were some real heavyweights! George C Scott, Michael J Fox, others without a middle initial in their stage name… Mickey Mouse? Check. Alice, Bankrupt Scrooge, and AC? Yep. Three Dog Night? Oh yeah! So put on your nightshirt, start up your smoke machine, and travel to the past with this episode! Oh, and go check out Ed's book! It's rad!!Get “The Christmas Book” at AmazonEd's WebsiteGive us a buzz! Send a text, dudes!Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Totally Rad Christmas Mall & Arcade, Teepublic.com, or TotallyRadChristmas.com! Later, dudes!

In "Face the Strange", Rayner has to face his own little "Christmas Carol", except instead of three ghosts he's got Michael and Stamets. When transporters and time travel tech have an inverted space baby, they find themselves bouncing all around time, learning about themselves...and a possibly doomed future if our old friends THE BREEN change everything via Progenitor tech! Also this week: a uniform gripe, betting on "Futurama", and lost love lost in space! [Strange: 00:48; Voyager romances: 40:12] [Everyone knows the Delta Quadrant is the hottest quadrant: https://sshbpodcast.tumblr.com/post/810187444418985984/hearts-stars-and-trek-romances-in-voyager ]

Hello you beautiful people!We begin the episode with a Jack Ask question from listener Kevin Church, apologies because it's Valentine's Day related not Christmas.Do you know what the word 'Dross' means? Well, although I use it frequently, I didn't, but Bob Baker explains it all in Do You Hear What I Hear.This episode's version of A Christmas Carol is called Estrella Scrooge: A Christmas Carol with a Twist. It was made during Covid and every actor was filmed separately. It's not great, but it's not awful either.Then Bob Baker is back with Where are you Christmas? and this time he's looking at Melbourne in Australia.Check out Bob's podcast here:  https://4fpodcast.buzzsprout.comNext up my best friend (self-appointed), Chris Cavanagh, tells us his story about how he found out the truth about Santa Claus.Then it's The Christmas Quiz and I scored 7. Last episode loads of people beat me, let's hope that doesn't happen again.The recommendation is The Tim Vine Chat Show. It was a show on BBC Radio 4 and it's just delightful. Hopefully this link will work in your country:www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08770wq/episodes/playerGet in touch:Email: totalchristmas@gmail.comWeb: totalchristmaspodcast.comMerry Christmas!

Today's daily dose is a–hopefully–thoughtful and balanced discussion of a controversial person, who has played beloved characters, and is the forthcoming Ebenezer Scrooge in A CHRISTMAS CAROL. www.orwhatevermovies.com 818-835-0473 orwhatevermovies@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Monday Christmas fanatics! Can you believe this is our last episode of February 2026? We sure can't! This year is flying! This week, Julia and Anthony return to Woodstone Manor to discuss the 2025, two part Christmas episode of CBS' "Ghosts": "It's a Wonderful Christmas Carol, Parts One and Two"! Per usual when we discuss this show, there are plenty of laughs and festive cheer to go around, so trust us when we say this is one you don't want to miss! So grab a cup of hot chocolate, settle back, relax, and enjoy this little dose of holiday cheer which is guaranteed to jumpstart your week the right way! As always thanks for your love and support y'all!

Hello you beautiful people!Last episode I talked about a stage version of A Christmas Carol and listener Christy Easter sent in a link to her favourite stage version, you can check it out here:  https://www.nsmt.org/achristmascarol.htmlThis episode's version of A Christmas Carol isn't really a version at all, but it's worth a look. It's a Christmas episode of a sitcom called Dear Phoebe starring Peter Lawford.  You can watch it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snYEc2LhXOsThen Bob Baker, our resident barman, is here with Do You Hear What I Hear? and he looks at why us Brits are called Limeys.In this weeks Christmas Quiz I managed to score 7, make sure to send me your score.Next up Bob is back with Where Are You Christmas? and he looks at a town in Brazil called Blumenau. They have a lot of German heritage and so they know how to keep Christmas all year round.Check out Bob's podcast here:  https://4fpodcast.buzzsprout.comThen I share a story of shame that happened to me this Christmas. It was a sad day for everyone involved.This episode's recommendation is The Unbelievable Truth, a radio show from the BBC. It's lots of fun so have a listen.Get in touch:Email: totalchristmas@gmail.comWeb: totalchristmaspodcast.comMerry Christmas!

In his latest novel, George Saunders continues to explore his interest in death and the afterlife. Vigil tells the story of an oil tycoon and climate change denier named K.J. Boone who's visited by a series of ghosts in his final hours. In today's episode, NPR's Scott Detrow asks Saunders about similarities between this novel and A Christmas Carol. They also discuss the author's Substack, his experience in the oil industry, and the role of storytelling in this political moment.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Happy Monday, Christmas Fanatics! We hope our U.S. listeners had an amazing Super Bowl weekend! This week, Julia, Thom, and Anthony got together to dive into another take on Charles Dickens' timeless classic, "A Christmas Carol" — but one unlike any version they've covered before. They're talking about 2025's "Christmas Karma", a genre-blending Bollywood-style holiday film packed with music, comedy, drama, and modern flair. It's a bold reimagining of Scrooge and the spirits that brings something completely new to the table. Is different a bad thing? Not at all — but it definitely gives the hosts plenty to unpack, debate, and celebrate in a lively, funny, and festive conversation. So grab some cocoa, get cozy, and enjoy this cheerful burst of Christmas spirit to start your week. As always, we truly appreciate your continued love and support!

What if the most transformative thing you can do for your writing craft and author business is to face what you fear? How can you can find gold in your Shadow in the year ahead? In this episode, I share chapters from Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words. In the intro, curated book boxes from Bridgerton's Julia Quinn; Google's agentic shopping, and powering Apple's Siri; ChatGPT Ads; and Claude CoWork. Balancing Certainty and Uncertainty [MoonShots with Tony Robbins]; and three trends for authors with me and Orna Ross [Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast]; plus, Bones of the Deep, Business for Authors, and Indie Author Lab. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn  Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, dark fantasy, and memoir as J.F. Penn. She's also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. What is the Shadow? The ‘creative wound' and the Shadow in writing The Shadow in traditional publishing The Shadow in self-publishing or being an indie author The Shadow in work The Shadow in money You can find Writing the Shadow in all formats on all stores, as well as special edition, workbook and bundles at www.TheCreativePenn.com/shadowbook Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words The following chapters are excerpted from Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words by Joanna Penn. Introduction. What is the Shadow? “How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow? I must have a dark side also if I am to be whole.” —C.G. Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul We all have a Shadow side and it is the work of a lifetime to recognise what lies within and spin that base material into gold. Think of it as a seedling in a little pot that you're given when you're young. It's a bit misshapen and weird, not something you would display in your living room, so you place it in a dark corner of the basement. You don't look at it for years. You almost forget about it. Then one day you notice tendrils of something wild poking up through the floorboards. They're ugly and don't fit with your Scandi-minimalist interior design. You chop the tendrils away and pour weedkiller on what's left, trying to hide the fact that they were ever there. But the creeping stems keep coming. At some point, you know you have to go down there and face the wild thing your seedling has become. When you eventually pluck up enough courage to go down into the basement, you discover that the plant has wound its roots deep into the foundations of your home. Its vines weave in and out of the cracks in the walls, and it has beautiful flowers and strange fruit. It holds your world together. Perhaps you don't need to destroy the wild tendrils. Perhaps you can let them wind up into the light and allow their rich beauty to weave through your home. It will change the look you have so carefully cultivated, but maybe that's just what the place needs. The Shadow in psychology Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychologist and the founder of analytical psychology. He described the Shadow as an unconscious aspect of the human personality, those parts of us that don't match up to what is expected of us by family and society, or to our own ideals. The Shadow is not necessarily evil or illegal or immoral, although of course it can be. It's also not necessarily caused by trauma, abuse, or any other severely damaging event, although again, it can be. It depends on the individual. What is in your Shadow is based on your life and your experiences, as well as your culture and society, so it will be different for everyone. Psychologist Connie Zweig, in The Inner Work of Age, explains, “The Shadow is that part of us that lies beneath or behind the light of awareness. It contains our rejected, unacceptable traits and feelings. It contains our hidden gifts and talents that have remained unexpressed or unlived. As Jung put it, the essence of the Shadow is pure gold.” To further illustrate the concept, Robert Bly, in A Little Book on the Human Shadow,uses the following metaphor: “When we are young, we carry behind us an invisible bag, into which we stuff any feelings, thoughts, or behaviours that bring disapproval or loss of love—anger, tears, neediness, laziness. By the time we go to school, our bags are already a mile long. In high school, our peer groups pressure us to stuff the bags with even more—individuality, sexuality, spontaneity, different opinions. We spend our life until we're twenty deciding which parts of ourselves to put into the bag and we spend the rest of our lives trying to get them out again.” As authors, we can use what's in the ‘bag' to enrich our writing — but only if we can access it. My intention with this book is to help you venture into your Shadow and bring some of what's hidden into the light and into your words. I'll reveal aspects of my Shadow in these pages but ultimately, this book is about you. Your Shadow is unique. There may be elements we share, but much will be different. Each chapter has questions for you to consider that may help you explore at least the edges of your Shadow, but it's not easy. As Jung said, “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular.” But take heart, Creative. You don't need courage when things are easy. You need it when you know what you face will be difficult, but you do it anyway. We are authors. We know how to do hard things. We turn ideas into books. We manifest thoughts into ink on paper. We change lives with our writing. First, our own, then other people's. It's worth the effort to delve into Shadow, so I hope you will join me on the journey. The creative wound and the Shadow in writing “Whatever pain you can't get rid of, make it your creative offering.” —Susan Cain, Bittersweet  The more we long for something, the more extreme our desire, the more likely it is to have a Shadow side. For those of us who love books, the author life may well be a long-held dream and thus, it is filled with Shadow. Books have long been objects of desire, power, and authority. They hold a mythic status in our lives. We escaped into stories as children; we studied books at school and college; we read them now for escape and entertainment, education and inspiration. We collect beautiful books to put on our shelves. We go to them for solace and answers to the deepest questions of life. Writers are similarly held in high esteem. They shape culture, win literary prizes, give important speeches, and are quoted in the mainstream media. Their books are on the shelves in libraries and bookstores. Writers are revered, held up as rare, talented creatures made separate from us by their brilliance and insight. For bibliophile children, books were everything and to write one was a cherished dream. To become an author? Well, that would mean we might be someone special, someone worthy. Perhaps when you were young, you thought the dream of being a writer was possible — then you told someone about it. That's probably when you heard the first criticism of such a ridiculous idea, the first laughter, the first dismissal. So you abandoned the dream, pushed the idea of being a writer into the Shadow, and got on with your life. Or if it wasn't then, it came later, when you actually put pen to paper and someone — a parent, teacher, partner, or friend, perhaps even a literary agent or publisher, someone whose opinion you valued — told you it was worthless. Here are some things you might have heard: Writing is a hobby. Get a real job. You're not good enough. You don't have any writing talent. You don't have enough education. You don't know what you're doing. Your writing is derivative / unoriginal / boring / useless / doesn't make sense. The genre you write in is dead / worthless / unacceptable / morally wrong / frivolous / useless.  Who do you think you are? No one would want to read what you write. You can't even use proper grammar, so how could you write a whole book? You're wasting your time. You'll never make it as a writer. You shouldn't write those things (or even think about those things). Why don't you write something nice? Insert other derogatory comment here! Mark Pierce describes the effect of this experience in his book The Creative Wound, which “occurs when an event, or someone's actions or words, pierce you, causing a kind of rift in your soul. A comment—even offhand and unintentional—is enough to cause one.” He goes on to say that such words can inflict “damage to the core of who we are as creators. It is an attack on our artistic identity, resulting in us believing that whatever we make is somehow tainted or invalid, because shame has convinced us there is something intrinsically tainted or invalid about ourselves.” As adults, we might brush off such wounds, belittling them as unimportant in the grand scheme of things. We might even find ourselves saying the same words to other people. After all, it's easier to criticise than to create. But if you picture your younger self, bright eyed as you lose yourself in your favourite book, perhaps you might catch a glimpse of what you longed for before your dreams were dashed on the rocks of other people's reality. As Mark Pierce goes on to say, “A Creative Wound has the power to delay our pursuits—sometimes for years—and it can even derail our lives completely… Anything that makes us feel ashamed of ourselves or our work can render us incapable of the self-expression we yearn for.” This is certainly what happened to me, and it took decades to unwind. Your creative wounds will differ to mine but perhaps my experience will help you explore your own. To be clear, your Shadow may not reside in elements of horror as mine do, but hopefully you can use my example to consider where your creative wounds might lie. “You shouldn't write things like that.” It happened at secondary school around 1986 or 1987, so I would have been around eleven or twelve years old. English was one of my favourite subjects and the room we had our lessons in looked out onto a vibrant garden. I loved going to that class because it was all about books, and they were always my favourite things. One day, we were asked to write a story. I can't remember the specifics of what the teacher asked us to write, but I fictionalised a recurring nightmare. I stood in a dark room. On one side, my mum and my brother, Rod, were tied up next to a cauldron of boiling oil, ready to be thrown in. On the other side, my dad and my little sister, Lucy, were threatened with decapitation by men with machetes. I had to choose who would die. I always woke up, my heart pounding, before I had to choose. Looking back now, it clearly represented an internal conflict about having to pick sides between the two halves of my family. Not an unexpected issue from a child of divorce. Perhaps these days, I might have been sent to the school counsellor, but it was the eighties and I don't think we even had such a thing. Even so, the meaning of the story isn't the point. It was the reaction to it that left scars. “You shouldn't write things like that,” my teacher said, and I still remember her look of disappointment, even disgust. Certainly judgment. She said my writing was too dark. It wasn't a proper story. It wasn't appropriate for the class. As if horrible things never happened in stories — or in life. As if literature could not include dark tales. As if the only acceptable writing was the kind she approved of. We were taught The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie that year, which says a lot about the type of writing considered appropriate. Or perhaps the issue stemmed from the school motto, “So hateth she derknesse,” from Chaucer's The Legend of Good Women: “For fear of night, so she hates the darkness.” I had won a scholarship to a private girls' school, and their mission was to turn us all into proper young ladies. Horror was never on the curriculum. Perhaps if my teacher had encouraged me to write my darkness back then, my nightmares would have dissolved on the page. Perhaps if we had studied Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or H.P. Lovecraft stories, or Bram Stoker's Dracula, I could have embraced the darker side of literature earlier in my life. My need to push darker thoughts into my Shadow was compounded by my (wonderful) mum's best intentions. We were brought up on the principles of The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale and she tried to shield me and my brother from anything harmful or horrible. We weren't allowed to watch TV much, and even the British school drama Grange Hill was deemed inappropriate. So much of what I've achieved is because my mum instilled in me a “can do” attitude that anything is possible. I'm so grateful to her for that. (I love you, Mum!) But all that happy positivity, my desire to please her, to be a good girl, to make my teachers proud, and to be acceptable to society, meant that I pushed my darker thoughts into Shadow. They were inappropriate. They were taboo. They must be repressed, kept secret, and I must be outwardly happy and positive at all times. You cannot hold back the darkness “The night is dark and full of terrors.” —George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords It turned out that horror was on the curriculum, much of it in the form of educational films we watched during lessons. In English Literature, we watched Romeo drink poison and Juliet stab herself in Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet. In Religious Studies, we watched Jesus beaten, tortured, and crucified in The Greatest Story Ever Told, and learned of the variety of gruesome ways that Christian saints were martyred. In Classical Civilisation, we watched gladiators slaughter each other in Spartacus. In Sex Education at the peak of the AIDS crisis in the mid-'80s, we were told of the many ways we could get infected and die. In History, we studied the Holocaust with images of skeletal bodies thrown into mass graves, medical experiments on humans, and grainy videos of marching soldiers giving the Nazi salute. One of my first overseas school field trips was to the World War I battlegrounds of Flanders Fields in Belgium, where we studied the inhuman conditions of the trenches, walked through mass graves, and read war poetry by candlelight. As John McCrae wrote: We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields. Did the teachers not realise how deeply a sensitive teenager might feel the darkness of that place? Or have I always been unusual in that places of blood echo deep inside me? And the horrors kept coming. We lived in Bristol, England back then and I learned at school how the city had been part of the slave trade, its wealth built on the backs of people stolen from their homes, sold, and worked to death in the colonies. I had been at school for a year in Malawi, Africa and imagined the Black people I knew drowning, being beaten, and dying on those ships. In my teenage years, the news was filled with ethnic cleansing, mass rape, and massacres during the Balkan wars, and images of bodies hacked apart during the Rwandan genocide. Evil committed by humans against other humans was not a historical aberration. I'm lucky and I certainly acknowledge my privilege. Nothing terrible or horrifying has happened to me — but bad things certainly happen to others. I wasn't bullied or abused. I wasn't raped or beaten or tortured. But you don't have to go through things to be afraid of them, and for your imagination to conjure the possibility of them. My mum doesn't read my fiction now as it gives her nightmares (Sorry, Mum!). I know she worries that somehow she's responsible for my darkness, but I've had a safe and (mostly) happy life, for which I'm truly grateful. But the world is not an entirely safe and happy place, and for a sensitive child with a vivid imagination, the world is dark and scary. It can be brutal and violent, and bad things happen, even to good people. No parent can shield their child from the reality of the world. They can only help them do their best to live in it, develop resilience, and find ways to deal with whatever comes. Story has always been a way that humans have used to learn how to live and deal with difficult times. The best authors, the ones that readers adore and can't get enough of, write their darkness into story to channel their experience, and help others who fear the same. In an interview on writing the Shadow on The Creative Penn Podcast, Michaelbrent Collings shared how he incorporated a personally devastating experience into his writing:  “My wife and I lost a child years back, and that became the root of one of my most terrifying books, Apparition. It's not terrifying because it's the greatest book of all time, but just the concept that there's this thing out there… like a demon, and it consumes the blood and fear of the children, and then it withdraws and consumes the madness of the parents… I wrote that in large measure as a way of working through what I was experiencing.” I've learned much from Michaelbrent. I've read many of his (excellent) books and he's been on my podcast multiple times talking about his depression and mental health issues, as well as difficulties in his author career. Writing darkness is not in Michaelbrent's Shadow and only he can say what lies there for him. But from his example, and from that of other authors, I too learned how to write my Shadow into my books. Twenty-three years after that English lesson, in November 2009, I did NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, and wrote five thousand words of what eventually became Stone of Fire, my first novel. In the initial chapter, I burned a nun alive on the ghats of Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges River. I had watched the bodies burn by night on pyres from a boat bobbing in the current a few years before, and the image was still crystal clear in my mind. The only way to deal with how it made me feel about death was to write about it — and since then, I've never stopped writing. Returning to the nightmare from my school days, I've never had to choose between the two halves of my family, but the threat of losing them remains a theme in my fiction. In my ARKANE thriller series, Morgan Sierra will do anything to save her sister and her niece. Their safety drives her to continue to fight against evil. Our deepest fears emerge in our writing, and that's the safest place for them. I wish I'd been taught how to turn my nightmares into words back at school, but at least now I've learned to write my Shadow onto the page. I wish the same for you. The Shadow in traditional publishing If becoming an author is your dream, then publishing a book is deeply entwined with that. But as Mark Pierce says in The Creative Wound, “We feel pain the most where it matters the most… Desire highlights whatever we consider to be truly significant.” There is a lot of desire around publishing for those of us who love books! It can give you: Validation that your writing is good enough Status and credibility Acceptance by an industry held in esteem  The potential of financial reward and critical acclaim Support from a team of professionals who know how to make fantastic books A sense of belonging to an elite community Pride in achieving a long-held goal, resulting in a confidence boost and self-esteem Although not guaranteed, traditional publishing can give you all these things and more, but as with everything, there is a potential Shadow side. Denying it risks the potential of being disillusioned, disappointed, and even damaged. But remember, forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes. Preparation can help you avoid potential issues and help you feel less alone if you encounter them. The myth of success… and the reality of experience There is a pervasive myth of success in the traditional publishing industry, perpetuated by media reporting on brand name and breakout authors, those few outliers whose experience is almost impossible to replicate. Because of such examples, many new traditionally published authors think that their first book will hit the top of the bestseller charts or win an award, as well as make them a million dollars — or at least a big chunk of cash. They will be able to leave their job, write in a beautiful house overlooking the ocean, and swan around the world attending conferences, while writing more bestselling books. It will be a charmed life. But that is not the reality. Perhaps it never was. Even so, the life of a traditionally published author represents a mythic career with the truth hidden behind a veil of obscurity. In April 2023, The Bookseller in the UK reported that “more than half of authors (54%) responding to a survey on their experiences of publishing their debut book have said the process negatively affected their mental health. Though views were mixed, just 22%… described a positive experience overall… Among the majority who said they had a negative experience of debut publication, anxiety, stress, depression and ‘lowered' self-esteem were cited, with lack of support, guidance or clear and professional communication from their publisher among the factors that contributed.” Many authors who have negative experiences around publishing will push them into the Shadow with denial or self-blame, preferring to keep the dream alive. They won't talk about things in public as this may negatively affect their careers, but private discussions are often held in the corners of writing conferences or social media groups online. Some of the issues are as follows: Repeated rejection by agents and publishers may lead to the author thinking they are not good enough as a writer, which can lead to feeling unworthy as a person. If an author gets a deal, the amount of advance and the name and status of the publisher compared to others create a hierarchy that impacts self-esteem. A deal for a book may be much lower than an author might have been expecting, with low or no advance, and the resulting experience with the publisher beneath expectations. The launch process may be disappointing, and the book may appear without fanfare, with few sales and no bestseller chart position. In The Bookseller report, one author described her launch day as “a total wasteland… You have expectations about what publication day will be like, but in reality, nothing really happens.” The book may receive negative reviews by critics or readers or more publicly on social media, which can make an author feel attacked. The book might not sell as well as expected, and the author may feel like it's their fault. Commercial success can sometimes feel tied to self-worth and an author can't help but compare their sales to others, with resulting embarrassment or shame. The communication from the publisher may be less than expected. One author in The Bookseller report said, “I was shocked by the lack of clarity and shared information and the cynicism that underlies the superficial charm of this industry.” There is often more of a focus on debut authors in publishing houses, so those who have been writing and publishing in the midlist for years can feel ignored and undervalued. In The Bookseller report, 48 percent of authors reported “their publisher supported them for less than a year,” with one saying, “I got no support and felt like a commodity, like the team had moved on completely to the next book.” If an author is not successful enough, the next deal may be lower than the last, less effort is made with marketing, and they may be let go. In The Bookseller report, “six authors—debut and otherwise—cited being dropped by their publisher, some with no explanation.” Even if everything goes well and an author is considered successful by others, they may experience imposter syndrome, feeling like a fraud when speaking at conferences or doing book signings. And the list goes on … All these things can lead to feelings of shame, inadequacy, and embarrassment; loss of status in the eyes of peers; and a sense of failure if a publishing career is not successful enough. The author feels like it's their fault, like they weren't good enough — although, of course, the reality is that the conditions were not right at the time. A failure of a book is not a failure of the person, but it can certainly feel like it! When you acknowledge the Shadow, it loses its power Despite all the potential negatives of traditional publishing, if you know what could happen, you can mitigate them. You can prepare yourself for various scenarios and protect yourself from potential fall-out. It's clear from The Bookseller report that too many authors have unrealistic expectations of the industry. But publishers are businesses, not charities. It's not their job to make you feel good as an author. It's their job to sell books and pay you. The best thing they can do is to continue to be a viable business so they can keep putting books on the shelves and keep paying authors, staff, and company shareholders. When you license your creative work to a publisher, you're giving up control of your intellectual property in exchange for money and status. Bring your fears and issues out of the Shadow, acknowledge them, and deal with them early, so they do not get pushed down and re-emerge later in blame and bitterness. Educate yourself on the business of publishing. Be clear on what you want to achieve with any deal. Empower yourself as an author, take responsibility for your career, and you will have a much better experience. The Shadow in self-publishing or being an indie author Self-publishing, or being an independent (indie) author, can be a fantastic, pro-active choice for getting your book into the world. Holding your first book in your hand and saying “I made this” is pretty exciting, and even after more than forty books, I still get excited about seeing ideas in my head turn into a physical product in the world. Self-publishing can give an author: Creative control over what to write, editorial and cover design choices, when and how often to publish, and how to market Empowerment over your author career and the ability to make choices that impact success without asking for permission Ownership and control of intellectual property assets, resulting in increased opportunity around licensing and new markets Independence and the potential for recurring income for the long term Autonomy and flexibility around timelines, publishing options, and the ability to easily pivot into new genres and business models Validation based on positive reader reviews and money earned Personal growth and learning through the acquisition of new skills, resulting in a boost in confidence and self-esteem A sense of belonging to an active and vibrant community of indie authors around the world Being an indie author can give you all this and more, but once again, there is a Shadow side and preparation can help you navigate potential issues. The myth of success… and the reality of experience As with traditional publishing, the indie author world has perpetuated a myth of success in the example of the breakout indie author like E.L. James with Fifty Shades of Grey, Hugh Howey with Wool, or Andy Weir with The Martian. The emphasis on financial success is also fuelled online by authors who share screenshots showing six-figure months or seven-figure years, without sharing marketing costs and other outgoings, or the amount of time spent on the business. Yes, these can inspire some, but it can also make others feel inadequate and potentially lead to bad choices about how to publish and market based on comparison. The indie author world is full of just as much ego and a desire for status and money as traditional publishing. This is not a surprise! Most authors, regardless of publishing choices, are a mix of massive ego and chronic self-doubt. We are human, so the same issues will re-occur. A different publishing method doesn't cure all ills. Some of the issues are as follows: You learn everything you need to know about writing and editing, only to find that you need to learn a whole new set of skills in order to self-publish and market your book. This can take a lot of time and effort you did not expect, and things change all the time so you have to keep learning. Being in control of every aspect of the publishing process, from writing to cover design to marketing, can be overwhelming, leading to indecision, perfectionism, stress, and even burnout as you try to do all the things. You try to find people to help, but building your team is a challenge, and working with others has its own difficulties. People say negative things about self-publishing that may arouse feelings of embarrassment or shame. These might be little niggles, but they needle you, nonetheless. You wonder whether you made the right choice. You struggle with self-doubt and if you go to an event with traditional published authors, you compare yourself to them and feel like an imposter. Are you good enough to be an author if a traditional publisher hasn't chosen you? Is it just vanity to self-publish? Are your books unworthy? Even though you worked with a professional editor, you still get one-star reviews and you hate criticism from readers. You wonder whether you're wasting your time. You might be ripped off by an author services company who promise the world, only to leave you with a pile of printed books in your garage and no way to sell them. When you finally publish your book, it languishes at the bottom of the charts while other authors hit the top of the list over and over, raking in the cash while you are left out of pocket. You don't admit to over-spending on marketing as it makes you ashamed. You resist book marketing and make critical comments about writers who embrace it. You believe that quality rises to the top and if a book is good enough, people will buy it anyway. This can lead to disappointment and disillusionment when you launch your book and it doesn't sell many copies because nobody knows about it. You try to do what everyone advises, but you still can't make decent money as an author. You're jealous of other authors' success and put it down to them ‘selling out' or writing things you can't or ‘using AI' or ‘using a ghostwriter' or having a specific business model you consider impossible to replicate. And the list goes on… When you acknowledge the Shadow, it loses its power Being in control of your books and your author career is a double-edged sword. Traditionally published authors can criticise their publishers or agents or the marketing team or the bookstores or the media, but indie authors have to take responsibility for it all. Sure, we can blame ‘the algorithms' or social media platforms, or criticise other authors for having more experience or more money to invest in marketing, or attribute their success to writing in a more popular genre — but we also know there are always people who do well regardless of the challenges. Once more, we're back to acknowledging and integrating the Shadow side of our choices. We are flawed humans. There will always be good times and bad, and difficulties to offset the high points. This too shall pass, as the old saying goes. I know that being an indie author has plenty of Shadow. I've been doing this since 2008 and despite the hard times, I'm still here. I'm still writing. I'm still publishing. This life is not for everyone, but it's my choice. You must make yours. The Shadow in work You work hard. You make a living. Nothing wrong with that attitude, right? It's what we're taught from an early age and, like so much of life, it's not a problem until it goes to extremes. Not achieving what you want to? Work harder. Can't get ahead? Work harder. Not making a good enough living? Work harder. People who don't work hard are lazy. They don't deserve handouts or benefits. People who don't work hard aren't useful, so they are not valued members of our culture and community. But what about the old or the sick, the mentally ill, or those with disabilities? What about children? What about the unemployed? The under-employed? What about those who are — or will be — displaced by technology, those called “the useless class” by historian Yuval Noah Harari in his book Homo Deus? What if we become one of these in the future? Who am I if I cannot work? The Shadow side of my attitude to work became clear when I caught COVID in the summer of 2021. I was the sickest I'd ever been. I spent two weeks in bed unable to even think properly, and six weeks after that, I was barely able to work more than an hour a day before lying in the dark and waiting for my energy to return. I was limited in what I could do for another six months after that. At times, I wondered if I would ever get better. Jonathan kept urging me to be patient and rest. But I don't know how to rest. I know how to work and how to sleep. I can do ‘active rest,' which usually involves walking a long way or traveling somewhere interesting, but those require a stronger mind and body than I had during those months. It struck me that even if I recovered from the virus, I had glimpsed my future self. One day, I will be weak in body and mind. If I'm lucky, that will be many years away and hopefully for a short time before I die — but it will happen. I am an animal. I will die. My body and mind will pass on and I will be no more. Before then I will be weak. Before then, I will be useless. Before then, I will be a burden. I will not be able to work… But who am I if I cannot work? What is the point of me? I can't answer these questions right now, because although I recognise them as part of my Shadow, I've not progressed far enough to have dealt with them entirely. My months of COVID gave me some much-needed empathy for those who cannot work, even if they want to. We need to reframe what work is as a society, and value humans for different things, especially as technology changes what work even means. That starts with each of us. “Illness, affliction of body and soul, can be life-altering. It has the potential to reveal the most fundamental conflict of the human condition: the tension between our infinite, glorious dreams and desires and our limited, vulnerable, decaying physicality.” —Connie Zweig, The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul The Shadow in money In the Greek myth, King Midas was a wealthy ruler who loved gold above all else. His palace was adorned with golden sculptures and furniture, and he took immense pleasure in his riches. Yet, despite his vast wealth, he yearned for more. After doing a favour for Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry, Midas was granted a single wish. Intoxicated by greed, he wished that everything he touched would turn to gold — and it was so. At first, it was a lot of fun. Midas turned everything else in his palace to gold, even the trees and stones of his estate. After a morning of turning things to gold, he fancied a spot of lunch. But when he tried to eat, the food and drink turned to gold in his mouth. He became thirsty and hungry — and increasingly desperate. As he sat in despair on his golden throne, his beloved young daughter ran to comfort him. For a moment, he forgot his wish — and as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek, she turned into a golden statue, frozen in precious metal. King Midas cried out to the gods to forgive him, to reverse the wish. He renounced his greed and gave away all his wealth, and his daughter was returned to life. The moral of the story: Wealth and greed are bad. In Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is described as a “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner.” He's wealthy but does not share, considering Christmas spending to be frivolous and giving to charity to be worthless. He's saved by a confrontation with his lonely future and becomes a generous man and benefactor of the poor. Wealth is good if you share it with others. The gospel of Matthew, chapter 25: 14-30, tells the parable of the bags of gold, in which a rich man goes on a journey and entrusts his servants with varying amounts of gold. On his return, the servants who multiplied the gold through their efforts and investments are rewarded, while the one who merely returned the gold with no interest is punished: “For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” Making money is good, making more money is even better. If you can't make any money, you don't deserve to have any. Within the same gospel, in Matthew 19:24, Jesus encounters a wealthy man and tells him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor, which the man is unable to do. Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Wealth is bad. Give it all away and you'll go to heaven. With all these contradictory messages, no wonder we're so conflicted about money! How do you think and feel about money? While money is mostly tied to our work, it's far more than just a transactional object for most people. It's loaded with complex symbolism and judgment handed down by family, religion, and culture. You are likely to find elements of Shadow by examining your attitudes around money. Consider which of the following statements resonate with you or write your own. Money stresses me out. I don't want to talk about it or think about it. Some people hoard money, so there is inequality. Rich people are bad and we should take away their wealth and give it to the poor.  I can never make enough money to pay the bills, or to give my family what I want to provide. Money doesn't grow on trees.  It's wasteful to spend money as you might need it later, so I'm frugal and don't spend money unless absolutely necessary. It is better and more ethical to be poor than to be rich. I want more money. I read books and watch TV shows about rich people because I want to live like that. Sometimes I spend too much on things for a glimpse of what that might be like.  I buy lottery tickets and dream of winning all that money.  I'm jealous of people who have money. I want more of it and I resent those who have it. I'm no good with money. I don't like to look at my bank statement or credit card statement. I live off my overdraft and I'm in debt. I will never earn enough to get out of debt and start saving, so I don't think too much about it. I don't know enough about money. Talking about it makes me feel stupid, so I just ignore it. People like me aren't educated about money.  I need to make more money. If I can make lots of money, then people will look up to me. If I make lots of money, I will be secure, nothing can touch me, I will be safe.  I never want to be poor. I would be ashamed to be poor. I will never go on benefits. My net worth is my self worth. Money is good. We have the best standard of living in history because of the increase in wealth over time. Even the richest kings of the past didn't have what many middle-class people have today in terms of access to food, water, technology, healthcare, education, and more. The richest people give the most money to the poor through taxation and charity, as well as through building companies that employ people and invent new things. The very richest give away much of their fortunes. They provide far more benefit to the world than the poor.  I love money. Money loves me. Money comes easily and quickly to me. I attract money in multiple streams of income. It flows to me in so many ways. I spend money. I invest money. I give money. I'm happy and grateful for all that I receive. The Shadow around money for authors in particular Many writers and other creatives have issues around money and wealth. How often have you heard the following, and which do you agree with? You can't make money with your writing. You'll be a poor author in a garret, a starving artist.  You can't write ‘good quality' books and make money. If you make money writing, you're a hack, you're selling out. You are less worthy than someone who writes only for the Muse. Your books are commercial, not artistic. If you spend money on marketing, then your books are clearly not good enough to sell on their own. My agent / publisher / accountant / partner deals with the money side. I like to focus on the creative side of things. My money story Note: This is not financial or investment advice. Please talk to a professional about your situation. I've had money issues over the years — haven't we all! But I have been through a (long) process to bring money out of my Shadow and into the light. There will always be more to discover, but hopefully my money story will help you, or at least give you an opportunity to reflect. Like most people, I didn't grow up with a lot of money. My parents started out as teachers, but later my mum — who I lived with, along with my brother — became a change management consultant, moving to the USA and earning a lot more. I'm grateful that she moved into business because her example changed the way I saw money and provided some valuable lessons. (1) You can change your circumstances by learning more and then applying that to leverage opportunity into a new job or career Mum taught English at a school in Bristol when we moved back from Malawi, Africa, in the mid '80s but I remember how stressful it was for her, and how little money she made. She wanted a better future for us all, so she took a year out to do a master's degree in management. In the same way, when I wanted to change careers and leave consulting to become an author, I spent time and money learning about the writing craft and the business of publishing. I still invest a considerable chunk on continuous learning, as this industry changes all the time. (2) You might have to downsize in order to leap forward The year my mum did her degree, we lived in the attic of another family's house; we ate a lot of one-pot casserole and our treat was having a Yorkie bar on the walk back from the museum. We wore hand-me-down clothes, and I remember one day at school when another girl said I was wearing her dress. I denied it, of course, but there in back of the dress was her name tag. I still remember her name and I can still feel that flush of shame and embarrassment. I was determined to never feel like that again. But what I didn't realize at the time was that I was also learning the power of downsizing. Mum got her degree and then a new job in management in Bristol. She bought a house, and we settled for a few years. I had lots of different jobs as a teenager. My favourite was working in the delicatessen because we got a free lunch made from delicious produce. After I finished A-levels, I went to the University of Oxford, and my mum and brother moved to the USA for further opportunities. I've downsized multiple times over the years, taking a step back in order to take a step forward. The biggest was in 2010 when I decided to leave consulting. Jonathan and I sold our three-bedroom house and investments in Brisbane, Australia, and rented a one-bedroom flat in London, so we could be debt-free and live on less while I built up a new career. It was a decade before we bought another house. (3) Comparison can be deadly: there will always be people with more money than you Oxford was an education in many ways and relevant to this chapter is how much I didn't know about things people with money took for granted. I learned about formal hall and wine pairings, and how to make a perfect gin and tonic. I ate smoked salmon for the first time. I learned how to fit in with people who had a lot more money than I did, and I definitely wanted to have money of my own to play with. (4) Income is not wealth You can earn lots but have nothing to show for it after years of working. I learned this in my first few years of IT consulting after university. I earned a great salary and then went contracting, earning even more money at a daily rate. I had a wonderful time. I traveled, ate and drank and generally made merry, but I always had to go back to the day job when the money ran out. I couldn't work out how I could ever stop this cycle. Then I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, a book I still recommend, especially if you're from a family that values academic over financial education. I learned how to escape the rat race by building and/or accumulating assets that pay even when you're not working. It was a revelation! The ‘poor dad' in the book is a university professor. He knows so much about so many things, but he ends up poor as he did not educate himself about money. The ‘rich dad' has little formal education, but he knows about money and wealth because he learned about it, as we can do at any stage in our lives. (5) Not all investments suit every person, so find the right one for you Once I discovered the world of investing, I read all the books and did courses and in-person events. I joined communities and I up-skilled big time. Of course, I made mistakes and learned lots along the way. I tried property investing and renovated a couple of houses for rental (with more practical partners and skilled contractors). But while I could see that property investing might work for some people, I did not care enough about the details to make it work for me, and it was certainly not passive income. I tried other things. My first husband was a boat skipper and scuba diving instructor, so we started a charter. With the variable costs of fuel, the vagaries of New Zealand weather — and our divorce — it didn't last long! From all these experiments, I learned I wanted to run a business, but it needed to be online and not based on a physical location, physical premises, or other people. That was 2006, around the time that blogging started taking off and it became possible to make a living online. I could see the potential and a year later, the iPhone and the Amazon Kindle launched, which became the basis of my business as an author. (6) Boring, automatic saving and investing works best Between 2007 and 2011, I contracted in Australia, where they have compulsory superannuation contributions, meaning you have to save and invest a percentage of your salary or self-employed income. I'd never done that before, because I didn't understand it. I'd ploughed all my excess income into property or the business instead. But in Australia I didn't notice the money going out because it was automatic. I chose a particular fund and it auto-invested every month. The pot grew pretty fast since I didn't touch it, and years later, it's still growing. I discovered the power of compound interest and time in the market, both of which are super boring. This type of investing is not a get rich quick scheme. It's a slow process of automatically putting money into boring investments and doing that month in, month out, year in, year out, automatically for decades while you get on with your life. I still do this. I earn money as an author entrepreneur and I put a percentage of that into boring investments automatically every month. I also have a small amount which is for fun and higher risk investments, but mostly I'm a conservative, risk-averse investor planning ahead for the future. This is not financial advice, so I'm not giving any specifics. I have a list of recommended money books at www.TheCreativePenn.com/moneybooks if you want to learn more. Learning from the Shadow When I look back, my Shadow side around money eventually drove me to learn more and resulted in a better outcome (so far!). I was ashamed of being poor when I had to wear hand-me-down clothes at school. That drove a fear of not having any money, which partially explains my workaholism. I was embarrassed at Oxford because I didn't know how to behave in certain settings, and I wanted to be like the rich people I saw there. I spent too much money in my early years as a consultant because I wanted to experience a “rich” life and didn't understand saving and investing would lead to better things in the future. I invested too much in the wrong things because I didn't know myself well enough and I was trying to get rich quick so I could leave my job and ‘be happy.' But eventually, I discovered that I could grow my net worth with boring, long-term investments while doing a job I loved as an author entrepreneur. My only regret is that I didn't discover this earlier and put a percentage of my income into investments as soon as I started work. It took several decades to get started, but at least I did (eventually) start. My money story isn't over yet, and I keep learning new things, but hopefully my experience will help you reflect on your own and avoid the issue if it's still in Shadow. These chapters are excerpted from Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words by Joanna Penn  The post Writing The Shadow: The Creative Wound, Publishing, And Money, With Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.

When a cold wind blows it chills you . . . CHILLS YA TO THE BONE! Andy Hoover – Ebenezer Scrooge Kara Strait – Gonzo Paulo Quiros – Rizzo Joz Vammer – DM

Charles Dickens didn't invent the Christmas ghost story — he was continuing a tradition that stretched back centuries. These true tales of holiday hauntings show why the longest nights of winter were once considered the most dangerous.IN THIS EPISODE: Before Halloween claimed the spooky spotlight, Christmas Eve was once the traditional time for telling ghost stories - a centuries-old custom that gave us Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and brought families together around crackling fires to share spine-tingling tales on long winter nights. Tonight I continue my efforts to bring back this tradition with some ghost stories and hauntings that took place during the Yuletide season… and every single ghost story is absolutely true.SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…Photo of the Berthelot ghost: https://weirddarkness.com/TrueChristmasGhostStories“A Christmas Carol” narrated by Darren Marlar: https://weirddarkness.com/?s=%22A+Christmas+Carol%22More holiday horror stories from Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/?s=%23holidayhorrorsMost stories were gathered from the book, “30 Real Christmas Ghost Stories” by MJ Wayland: https://amzn.to/41QrPBjWeird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. = = = = =(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)= = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46= = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.= = = = =Originally aired: December 25, 2024SOURCES PAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/RealParanormalChristmas#WeirdDarkness #ChristmasGhostStories #HolidayHauntings #TrueScaryStories #ChristmasHorror #Paranormal #GhostStory #ChristmasEve #HauntedHistory #VictorianGhosts

Christmas wasn't always a national shopping spree — or even a day off work. But when Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol in 19th-century London, the holiday went viral.Guests:Leon Litvack, professor of Victorian Studies at Queen's University in Belfast and editor of the Charles Dickens Letters project.Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, author and historian of Victorian England.To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

GGACP celebrates Christmas Day by revisiting this fan favorite extravaganza from 2017 as holiday fixture Mario Cantone drops by the studio to chime in on everything from the infamous Bette Davis-Joan Crawford feud to the not-so-special effects of “Mighty Joe Young” to the strange predilections of Frosty the Snowman. Also, Dracula plays heavy metal, Carol Kane plays Gilbert's wife, Mario learns the Perfecto Telles story (!) and the co-hosts rank the best (and worst) adaptations of “A Christmas Carol.” PLUS: Dueling Dylans! “The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas”! The genius of Alan Menken! In praise of Leonard Maltin! And the (triumphant) return of Carol Channing and Herve' Villechaize! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a gift to listeners, I read O. Henry’s classic "The Gift of the Magi"—a timeless reminder of what really matters most for our happiness during the holidays. Resources & links related to this episode: "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry (Amazon, Bookshop) I read "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens (Amazon, Bookshop) I read "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen (Amazon, Bookshop) Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During the holidays, it's very easy to get caught up in chaos and consumerism. In this special episode, Brian shares how to tap into the real spirit of Christmas and look forward to the year ahead with faith, confidence and peace of mind. YOU WILL LEARN:The ghosts of Christmas past.The lessons of Christmas present.The blessings of Christmas future. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:Buffini Coaching LiveNOTEWORTHY QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE: “The real gift of Christmas is the gift of you.” – Brian Buffini “Don't go it alone.” – Brian Buffini “It's impossible to shine a light to someone else's path without lighting up your own.” – Brian Buffini “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.” – Maya Angelou “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction of knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” – John Wooden Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

December 27, 1853. On a freezing, snowy night in Birmingham, England, 2,000 people have lined up outside the town hall. They've braved the temperatures for a landmark performance, Charles Dickens' first reading of A Christmas Carol. The tale will become an international sensation and beloved Christmas tradition. In this special episode of HISTORY This Week, we bring you a classic 1949 rendition of the story starring Vincent Price, so you can decide for yourself: What is it about A Christmas Carol that's endured for over 150 years?  ** This episode originally aired December 21, 2020. Get in touch: historythisweekpodcast@history.com  Follow on Instagram: @historythisweek Follow on Facebook: ⁠HISTORY This Week Podcast⁠ To stay updated: http://historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Christmas Eve, a bitter old miser receives a terrifying warning from his dead business partner: change your ways or spend eternity in chains. Before morning, three spirits will drag him through his past, present, and future — and what he sees will either save his soul or seal his fate.IN THIS EPISODE: The holiday classic in its entire audiobook format – “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, narrated by Darren Marlar.SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…“A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens (public domain)= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46Find out how to escape eternal darkness at https://weirddarkness.com/eternaldarknessWeirdDarkness™ - is a production and trademark of Marlar House Productions. Copyright, 2023= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =https://weirddarkness.com/a-christmas-carol-audiobook

Four ghosts, one night, and a transformation so complete it's been pointing people toward a baby in a manger for nearly 200 years.SERMON TRANSCRIPT…https://weirdddarkness.com/cotu-gospelaccordingtoscroogeWeird Darkness® and Church Of The Undead™ are trademarked. Copyright © 2025.#COTU, #ChurchOfTheUndead, #AChristmasCarol, #CharlesDickens, #EbenezerScrooge, #ChristmasSermon, #ChristianSermon, #GospelMessage, #Redemption, #ChurchOfTheUndead, #ChristmasMessage, #WeirdDarkness

Every year, goblin-like creatures called Kallikantzaroi stop sawing through the World Tree, crawl up from the underworld, and spend the twelve days of Christmas stealing babies, destroying homes, and terrorizing anyone unlucky enough to cross their path, pooping all over the place while they are at it.IN THIS EPISODE: If your kids think Elf on a Shelf is creepy – just tell them that kids in Greece and its surrounding countries are terrorized each Christmas for a full twelve days by nocturnal goblins that like to defecate all over your home! (The Defecating Christmas Goblins of Greece) *** The ghost of Mary, Queen of Scots makes her presence known on Christmas Eve, 1900… or does she? (The Tower of London's Christmas Eve Ghost) *** A serving of poisoned Christmas pie causes the death of Captain David Paye on Christmas day, 1882. But who had a motive? (A Christmas Poisoning) *** People worldwide have been celebrating Christmas for hundreds and hundreds of years – but not all of those years were joyous for everyone. For example, those who happened to be black living in America while slavery was still legal. What was Christmas like for them? (Christmas As a Slave In America) *** In that song, “It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” there is the line “there will be scary ghost stories”… why on earth would a Christmas song have a line like that? We'll look at that song – and other Christmas songs – that are a lot darker than you might know. (The Darker Side of Christmas Carols) *** We're all familiar with the classic Christmas ghost tale, “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens – but before that novel, there was another ghost story of Christmas, a purportedly true story. (A Ghost Story of Christmas) *** In 1897, Dr. Philip O'Hanlon was asked by his young daughter whether Santa Claus was real. His suggestion for her to find an answer has resulted in something so famous, it has practically become a meme. (Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus) *** December 16, 1965… Gemini 6 and 7 have just completed the first ever manned rendezvous between spacecraft, making history. But they were about to achieve another first in space exploration… and a first for Christmas! (The 1965 Gemini 6 UFO Christmas Prank) *** (Originally aired December 20, 2021)SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…“The Defecating Christmas Goblins of Greece” by A. Sutherland for Ancient Pages:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3kydv38f“The 1965 Gemini 6 UFO Christmas Prank” by Rob Scharz for Stranger Dimensions: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p9x2w3z“The Tower of London's Christmas Eve Ghost” from the Victorian Book of the Dead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/bdm47kt7“A Christmas Poisoning” by Robert Wilhelm for Murder by Gaslight: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/ya5m7wfd“Christmas As a Slave In America” by Farrell Evans for History.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/5n8nedeh, and William Loren Katz for the Zinn Education Project: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/5n6me3hw“A Ghost Story of Christmas” by Paul Brown for Singular Discoveries: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/muuxt5z3“There Will Be Scary Ghost Stories” by Mike Wilton for All Hallows Geek: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yckjkerd“The Darker Side of Christmas Carols” by Erin McCann for Ranker: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8wcpwp“Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus” by Troy Taylor: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p83k7m3Visit our Sponsors & Friends: https://weirddarkness.com/sponsorsJoin the Weird Darkness Syndicate: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicateAdvertise in the Weird Darkness podcast or syndicated radio show: https://weirddarkness.com/advertise= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. Background music provided by Alibi Music Library, EpidemicSound and/or StoryBlocks with paid license. Music from Shadows Symphony (https://tinyurl.com/yyrv987t), Midnight Syndicate (http://amzn.to/2BYCoXZ) Kevin MacLeod (https://tinyurl.com/y2v7fgbu), Tony Longworth (https://tinyurl.com/y2nhnbt7), and Nicolas Gasparini (https://tinyurl.com/lnqpfs8) is used with permission of the artists.= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =https://weirddarkness.com/defecatinggoblins#WeirdDarkness #Kallikantzaroi #ChristmasMonsters #GreekFolklore #HolidayHorror #ScaryChristmas #ChristmasGoblins #12DaysOfChristmas #Krampus #DarkChristmas

This week on The Nikki & Brie Show, the twins are toasting to the season with a Curious Convos: Holiday Edition—and they've got festive wine in hand and big questions on their minds. From ugly Christmas sweaters to emotional holiday songs, Nikki and Brie explore why this time of year hits so deep. Is it the music? The memories? Or maybe even a little bit of soul-level faith? They reflect on their childhood Christmases, wonder why the season always flies by, and debate whether December niceness is genuine or just peppermint-scented fakery.In classic Curious Convos fashion, it's not all deep talk—there's plenty of fun too. Nikki reads wild headlines about herself and Brie asks the hard-hitting questions like: “How dramatic was Nikki really last Christmas?” They also dig into the traditions they love, the chaos of holiday shopping, and the warm magic of shared meals. Oh—and don't miss their hilarious Holiday Red Flag or Green Flag game, judging the new guy your cousin brings to dinner.As always, they close with a heartfelt reminder: the little moments matter. Whether it's a text, a call, or a cozy cocoa catch-up, reach out to someone who might need it this season. Now pour a glass, get curious, and press play! Call Nikki & Brie at 833-GARCIA2 and leave a voicemail! Follow Nikki & Brie on Instagram, follow the show on Instagram and TikTok and send Nikki & Brie a message on Threads! Follow Bonita Bonita on Instagram Book a reservation at the Bonita Bonita Speakeasy To watch exclusive videos of this week's episode, follow The Nikki & Brie Show on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok! You can also catch The Nikki & Brie Show on SiriusXM Stars 109! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Paul and Amy ring in the holidays with The Muppet Christmas Carol, celebrating the Muppets' heartfelt take on Dickens, the film's joyful performances, and the craftsmanship that made it a cozy holiday fave. They also reflect on the movie's deeper emotional resonance in the years following Jim Henson's passing, and why this Muppet classic continues to mean so much at Christmastime. You can join the Unspooled conversation on Paul's Discord at https://discord.gg/ZwtygZGTa6 Follow Paul and Amy on Letterboxd for more of their movie hot takes! https://letterboxd.com/paulscheer/ https://letterboxd.com/theamynicholson/ Paul's book Joyful Recollections of Trauma is out now! Find it at https://www.harpercollins.com/products/joyful-recollections-of-trauma-paul-scheer Check out more of Paul's writing on his Substack https://substack.com/@paulscheer Episodic Art by Kim Troxall: https://www.unspooledart.com/ Learn more about the show at Unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and on Instagram @unspooledpod, and don't forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or where you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a dozen of one or one-tenth of another any way you look at it, but this episode will surely be meandering as Scrooge learns about business, fiber optics, and which kind of elf has the most holiday cheer.The show really needs your help right now. Keep Sleep With Me going and get hours of bonus content by joining Sleep With Me Plus! sleepwithmepodcast.com/plusGet your Sleep With Me SleepPhones. Use "sleepwithme" for $5 off!!Are you looking for Story Only versions or two more nights of Sleep With Me a week? Then check out Bedtime Stories from Sleep With MeLearn more about producer Russell aka Rusty Biscuit at russellsperberg.com and @BabyTeethLA on IG.Show Artwork by Emily TatGoing through a hard time? You can find support at the Crisis Textline and see more global helplines here.HELIX SLEEP - Take the 2-minute sleep quiz and they'll match you to a customized mattress that'll give you the best sleep of your life. Visit helixsleep.com/sleep and get a special deal exclusive for SWM listeners!ZOCDOC - With Zocdoc, you can search for local doctors who take your insurance, read verified patient reviews and book an appointment, in-person or video chat. Download the Zocdoc app to sign-up for FREE at zocdoc.com/sleepUNCOMMON GOODS - Uncommon Goods scours the globe for original, remarkable, handmade things. Surprise your friends and family with unique - and even personalized! - gifts this holiday season. Head to uncommongoods.com/sleep for 15% off!EVERYDAY DOSE - Everyday Dose combines high quality coffee with powerful ingredients like Lion's Mane and Chaga, collagen protein, and nootropics to fuel your brain, boost focus, and give you clean, sustained energy all day long. Head to EverydayDose.com/SLEEP for 61% off your first Coffee+ Starter Kit, a free A2 Probiotic Creamer, and over $100 in free gifts. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A warning to anyone engaged in demeaning rhetoric: How do you want to be remembered after you're gone? Like Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, it's not too late to change. Plus, Sharon is joined by political and data scientist, and stand-up comedian, Andrea Jones-Rooy for a fun discussion about data literacy. You'll learn how to spot manipulation and political spin in headlines and news stories before they fool you.  And then, when did Hanukkah become a tradition in the White House? From the first outdoor menorah lighting, to a fire emergency in the Oval Office, you'll hear the history of the holiday in the People's House. If you'd like to submit a question for Sharon to answer, head to ThePreamble.com/podcast – we'd love to hear from you there. And be sure to read our weekly magazine at ThePreamble.com – it's free! Join the 350,000 people who still believe understanding is an act of hope. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks Audio Producer: Craig Thompson To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fixing the Affordable Care Act, security concerns at a Christmas market, and how Charles Dickens shaped Christmas. Plus, a father-daughter dance behind bars, Cal Thomas on the consequences of high taxes, and the Thursday morning newsSupport The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donateAdditional support comes from His Words Abiding in You, a Bible memorization podcast designed for truck drivers. His Words Abiding in You … on all podcast apps.From I Witness: The Long Shore: A faith-based audio drama that brings history to life. iwitnesspod.comAnd from Ridge Haven Camp in North Carolina and Iowa. Winter Camp starts December 29th. Registration open at ridgehaven.org

You'll be spirited off to dreamland faster than Scoots can say, “Flimpit.” May your inner bowl of jelly jiggle and and your chimney sounds be joyous. Thanks for listening!The show really needs your help right now. Keep Sleep With Me going and get hours of bonus content by joining Sleep With Me Plus! sleepwithmepodcast.com/plusGet your Sleep With Me SleepPhones. Use "sleepwithme" for $5 off!!Are you looking for Story Only versions or two more nights of Sleep With Me a week? Then check out Bedtime Stories from Sleep With MeLearn more about producer Russell aka Rusty Biscuit at russellsperberg.com and @BabyTeethLA on IG.Show Artwork by Emily TatGoing through a hard time? You can find support at the Crisis Textline and see more global helplines here.HELIX SLEEP - Take the 2-minute sleep quiz and they'll match you to a customized mattress that'll give you the best sleep of your life. Visit helixsleep.com/sleep and get a special deal exclusive for SWM listeners!ZOCDOC - With Zocdoc, you can search for local doctors who take your insurance, read verified patient reviews and book an appointment, in-person or video chat. Download the Zocdoc app to sign-up for FREE at zocdoc.com/sleepUNCOMMON GOODS - Uncommon Goods scours the globe for original, remarkable, handmade things. Surprise your friends and family with unique - and even personalized! - gifts this holiday season. Head to uncommongoods.com/sleep for 15% off!EVERYDAY DOSE - Everyday Dose combines high quality coffee with powerful ingredients like Lion's Mane and Chaga, collagen protein, and nootropics to fuel your brain, boost focus, and give you clean, sustained energy all day long. Head to EverydayDose.com/SLEEP for 61% off your first Coffee+ Starter Kit, a free A2 Probiotic Creamer, and over $100 in free gifts. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices