Bone and Sickle

BONE AND SICKLE explores historical topics related to folklore and horror. With acerbic wit and a scholarly penchant for the grotesque, rogue folklorist Al Ridenour delves into a wide but carefully curated range of topics illustrated by stories from histo

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Recent Episodes

Announcement: Show Delay

Posted January 31, 2025 • 00:00:29

Unfortunately, release of the episode scheduled for this month has been delayed thanks to the Eaton Wildfire in California.

Your hosts are safe...

A Christmas Ghost Story VII

Posted December 23, 2024 • 00:33:20

The Victorian tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas has been celebrated by Bone and Sickle since 2018. This year is no exception as we share...

La Befana, the Witch of Twelfth Night

Posted December 15, 2024 •

A short extra episode on Befana, the gift-bringing Italian witch associated with Twelfth Night, the end of the Christmas season. Included in the show...

Vlad the Impaler

Posted December 1, 2024 • 00:54:42

A figure of mythic proportions during his lifetime, Vlad the Impaler’s notoriety receded over the centuries only to be resurrected in the 1970s, when...

Devil Boards

Posted October 28, 2024 • 00:34:36

The devilish reputation Ouija boards enjoy in horror films is a relatively new phenomenon. In the Victorian era, they were regarded by “psychical...