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Category: Halloween Stories

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Spooky Stories for Halloween 2022 on the Folklife Today Podcast

Posted by: Stephen Winick

It's October, so it's time for a new season of the Folklife Today podcast, and a new Halloween episode!  In this Season 5 opener, John Fenn and Stephen Winick talk about the new updated Halloween and Dia de Muertos Research Guide. Then we introduce some of our favorite spooky stories: a witch story told by singer and activist Aunt Molly Jackson from Kentucky, a ghost story told by songster and blues musician John Jackson from Virginia, and the story of Jack O Lantern told by folklorist and International Man of Mystery Jack Santino. And of course we included the stories! Sound good? Very well then...Get your podcast here!

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Aunt Molly Jackson Tells Witch Tales for Halloween Season

Posted by: Stephen Winick

This is the 10th Halloween we have celebrated at Folklife Today with stories and songs about ghosts, witches, spirits, death, and the Devil. As usual, this year we'll feature several Halloween posts leading up to the big day. We're starting with this one, presenting some fascinating belief stories about witches from early 20th century Kentucky. The speaker is Mary Magdalen Garland Stewart Jackson Stamos, known by the professional name Aunt Molly Jackson. In the post, you'll find embedded audio of Jackson telling the stories, along with complete transcriptions of the texts. Happy Halloween!