Foxxo Esoterica Forseti Fox

Welcome to the Foxhole, dear guests, and welcome to the latest installment of Foxxo Esoterica. On tonight’s episode, I’ll be discussing a legend pertaining to quasi-merfolk; specifically, the Scottish Blue Men of the Minch, located in the stretch of water between the Inner and Outer Hebrides. And what might have compelled me to discuss Scottish folklore? As it turns out, Zuma the Puma and I actually took a trip out to the Hebridean Isle of Barra this past August with a dear friend, Zippo the Tiger. Tragically, we saw zero blue men. But it was nonetheless a very enjoyable experience.

You can support Foxxo Esoterica on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ForsetiFox or at KoFi at https://ko-fi.com/forsetifox. All editing, research, recording, and music is done by myself, and the fox artwork is done by @sunelchikito on Twitter, @shadypixel on Twitter, @MLW on FurAffinity, @InuHein on Twitter, and @moutaindewdrawer on FurAffinity as well. 

Tonight’s sources include…

The book “Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend” written by folklorist Donald A. Mackenzie https://sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tsm/tsm08.htm

The book “The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore” written by Patricia Monoghan https://books.google.de/books?id=nd9R6GQBB_0C&pg=PA31&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false

The book “Superstitions of the Scottish Islands and Highlands,” written by John Gregorson Campbell in https://archive.org/details/superstitionshi00campgoog/page/n224/mode/1up?view=theater

The book The Fabled Coast: Legends & traditions from around the shores of Britain & Ireland” written by Sophia Kingshill and Jennifer Westwood https://books.google.de/books?id=zXa84-TWX0AC&pg=PT116&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage&q=Blue%20men&f=false

The article Scottish myths: The Blue Men of Minch on the website, The Scotsman https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/scottish-myths-the-blue-men-of-minch-1483877

The book “Folk Tales of Moor and Mountain” written by Winnifred Finley in 1969, that I didn’t actually read because it’s forty bucks plus shipping, but was conveniently summarized on the Writing in Margins blog.https://writinginmargins.weebly.com/home/the-water-horse-of-barra

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_men_of_the_Minch

The book“ A new description of Orkney, Zetland, Pightland-Firth and Caithness” written by John Brand

The article “Mum finds 'proof' of Scottish sailor's myth after spotting 'creepy' face in waves” written by Josie Adnit and Alexander Smail on the website, the Daily Record https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-now/mum-finds-proof-scottish-sailors-30358593

I went to the crossroads. I fell down on my knees. I fell down at the crossroads. I’m clumsy and trip over things with ease. Ask the Lord Above have mercy. Let me at least come back from the crossroads with a neat story. And indeed, I went to the crossroads fully knowing what story I wanted to cover, but this sounded like it’d be a fun comedic bit to play out, so I went to the crossroads and asked anyway. And now my knees are scraped and my fur is dirty.

Where was I? Oh yes, the topic of tonight’s terrifying and tantalizing tale; the legend of the man literally designated by the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame as the world’s First Ever Rock Star. He’s one of the most influential blues musicians to come out of the Mississippi Delta, but perhaps more famous than his contribution to music history canon is the legend that surrounds this mysterious singer. For indeed, very little is verifiable and known about this musician’s life, but many claim that his rose to fame came at the cost of his immortal soul, after a fateful encounter with the Devil Himself at the Crossroads. Tonight, dear guests, it’s time to talk about Robert Johnson. And, more specifically (you’ll have to forgive me for burying the lede), the actual history of this amazing musician, who, in my opinion, never actually met with the Devil actually. 

You can support Foxxo Esoterica on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ForsetiFox or at KoFi at https://ko-fi.com/forsetifox. You can also follow me on Twitter at @forsetifox and TikTok @forsyfox. All editing, research, recording, and music is done by myself, and the fox artwork is done by @sunelchikito on Twitter, @shadypixel on Twitter, @MLW on FurAffinity and @moutaindewdrawer on FurAffinity as well. 

The sources for this video include:

-The Robert Johnson Blues Foundation, for many different reasons. https://robertjohnsonbluesfoundation.org/biography/

-The book “Brother Robert: Growing Up With Robert Johnson” written by Annya C. Anderson 

-The book “Searching for Robert Johnson,” written by Peter Guralnick 

-The book “Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey, written by Robert “Mack” MacCormick

-The article “Why the English buried Suicides at Crossroads” article written by Kabir on the website Medium https://medium.com/the-collector/why-the-english-buried-suicides-at-crossroads-ecc12fef4122#:~:text=Why%20crossroads%20were%20chosen%20as,considered%20susceptible%20to%20demonic%20control.

-Wikipedia

-Google Images, for the Images

Welcome, dear vagabonds and visitors, to my first ever video iteration of the once-podcast, Foxxo Esoterica. Originally, I planned on indulging in a little audio ghost story project for the pandemic, to whet my proverbial artistic blade, but it occurred to me that adding pictures and dressing up in little costumes should constitute the next logical step in said project’s evolution, so the jump to video was made. Ideally, I shall aim to keep these videos about the length of a standard solo episode, and I endeavor to even edit them in a way that lets me rip them as an audio-only file without being too jarring, to those who still enjoy a good podcast format. As a result, I will not be able to upload these on a consistent schedule, but I do hope that the effort put into editing serves as a sizable enough consolation prize. I may even branch out in regards to the topics I want to cover, as I mention in the video. So stay tuned for perhaps mycology content, furry content, roller coaster content, and a slew of other things that strike my vulpine fancies. Rest assured, though, two videos out of three will remain on-theme. Or something like that.

Additionally, I shall be ripping the first part of the video, and publishing it as its own little separate thing. This is solely because YouTube has a cute little section where one can publish videos that describe the content therein, and I kept talking about “the process” and “my artistic vision” before actually getting into any ghost stories, that I sort of accidentally developed said video before I even thought about making one. Could I have made two different videos? Yes. Would it have taken more time than I’m willing to dedicate to a silly little channel intro? Most definitely. Point and case, this video description has been exactly the same up to this point. (As with the podcast's description)

And here the deviation occurs. I see you, reading the video title. “Codex Gigas? Who’s she?” Dear listeners, our topic this evening entails the largest medieval manuscript in history, gauging by size; the Codex Gigas. But one would be hard-pressed to summon spirits with a large book alone, which is where the Codex’s legend, and indeed, its nickname, come into play. Also known as “The Devil’s Bible,” this text was said to have been finished by Satan himself, after a monk failed to complete it in time to stave off an execution. This video shall cover the Codex’s legends, history, and a cavalcade of other little bits and jokes that I can now make thanks to the wonders of video editing.

You can support Foxxo Esoterica on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ForsetiFox or at KoFi at https://ko-fi.com/forsetifox. You can also follow me on Twitter at @forsetifox and TikTok @forsyfox. All editing, research, recording, and music is done by myself, artwork is done by @sunelchikito on Twitter (the witch one), @shadypixel on Twitter (The chef one), and MLW on FurAffinity https://www.furaffinity.net/user/mlw (The scared one).

The sources for this video include

The National Library of Sweden’s website, and specifically, the link to the World Digital Library that also shares scans of the book 

https://www.kb.se/in-english/the-codex-gigas.html

Ella Morton’s article, “Object of Intrigue: The Devil’s Bible,” on Atlas Obscurahttps://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/object-of-intrigue-the-devil-s-bible

Another article on Atlas Obscura titled simply “Codex Gigas (The Devil's Bible),” written by user Whiskey 55 https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/codex-gigas-the-devil-s-bible

The article “Visiting the Codex Gigas (Devil's Bible) at the National Library of Sweden,” written on the podcast A Strong Sense of Place’s website. 

https://strongsenseofplace.com/2020/04/22/visiting-the-codex-gigas-devils-bible-at-national-library-of-sweden/

The paper written by Kamil Boldan and Jinolich Marek titled “THE DEVlL’S BIBLE IN SWEDEN,”

Hey there, everyone! Almost forgot to put out an episode today, but I remembered with fifteen minutes to spare~ Welcom back to Foxxo Esoterica, the paranormal comedy podcast that's about to switch gears entirely and talk about fungus and true crime at the same time. I'm your host, Forseti Fox, and I tend to think about fungi in very adult terms, so if that's not your speed, do not listen to this episode! 18+ Episode alert! 

 Also, this month has gotten a bit busy for me, so I'm only going to be uploading the one episode, but when April rolls around, I should be back on schedule a bit! I have a job and also classes.  You can support Foxxo Esoterica on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ForsetiFox or at KoFi at https://ko-fi.com/forsetifox. 

You can also follow me on Twitter at @forsetifox and TikTok @forsyfox. All editing, research, and music is done by myself, artwork is done by @sunelchikito on Twitter!   

Sources 

-So, I’d like to start by saying that this episode would not exist if it weren’t for me devouring Merli Sheldrake’s book, Entangled Life, as well as Ryan Jacob’s book, The Truffle Underground: A Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and Manipulation in the Shadowy Market of the World's Most Expensive Fungus. The former opening up the fungal door, and the latter ripping the door off of its hinges in regards to t0he story. 

-The article on Spiegel International titled “Fake Italian Police Stage Highway Truffle Robbery,” https://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/fungus-thieves-fake-italian-police-stage-highway-truffle-robbery-a-515496.htm

-The article “The 10 Most Expensive Truffles in the World,” written on the website Wealthy Gorilla by a poster named Shawna https://wealthygorilla.com/most-expensive-truffles/

Welcome back to Foxxo Esoterica, and the second part of a two part series on the infamous urban legend, the Black-Eyed Kids. Did you listen to this first part? I'd definitely recommend it, but if you're worried about getting confused, worry not; that's a completely unavoidable thing on this podcast. Join me and my siblings, Maegan and Alex AKA Bralex, as my guest stars as we drink ourselves through a horrifying, terrifying tale (That I may be the only one to believe)

You can support Foxxo Esoterica on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ForsetiFox or at KoFi at https://ko-fi.com/forsetifox. You can also follow me on Twitter at @forsetifox and TikTok @forsyfox. All editing, research, and music is done by myself, artwork is done by @sunelchikito on Twitter!

Do you like Yokai? Pinball? Sewer Gators? Those are some of the videos covered on Bralex's channel, and they can be found here! / @bralex2670

And now, the sources!

-An article titled "Brian Bethel recounts his possible paranormal encounter with 'BEKs',” written by Bethel on the Abilene Reporter

-News.https://web.archive.org/web/20151208221117/http://www.reporternews.com/news/columnists/brian-bethel/brian-bethel-recounts-his-possible-paranormal-encounter-with-beks-ep-384772497-348207271.html

-Bethel’s original mail-in story, to the Ghost Discuss mail-in ghost story page, archived on the Wayback Machine https://web.archive.org/web/20050213181819/https://www.pinn.net/~royaloak/Stories/black_eyed.htm

-A collection of stories on the website, Week in Weird, collected by Greg Newkirk and Dana Matthews https://weekinweird.com/2016/01/28/witness-report-i-let-the-black-eyed-children-into-my-home-and-now-im-slowly-dying/ https://weekinweird.com/?s=black+eyed+kids

-The article “Cannock Chase’s Black-Eyed Demon Child,” written by Virginia Lamkin on the blog Seeks Ghosts. https://seeksghosts.blogspot.com/2014/09/cannock-chases-black-eyed-demon-child.html

-The book book, "Black Eyed Children," written by David Weatherly 

-The article "Black-Eyed Kids on Ohio" written by Jason Offut on his blog, From the Shadows http://from-the-shadows.blogspot.com/2010/08/black-eyed-kids-in-ohio.html

Welcome back to Foxxo Esoterica, the furry paranormal drunk comedy podcast that is once again sharing a story that may leave you cursed after listening. Indeed, tonight we're going to be covering the a topic that's pseudo-urban legend, psudeo-cryptid, maybe alien, and definitely jarring to those unlucky enough to have them as a visitor; the infamous black-eyed children! A legend that began in the nineties, and is notably horrifying for the fact that they're one of the only legends to actively invade your home, as well as being a legend that's more likely to occur the more you know about them. Hence; the curse warning. So sorry.  

And yes! Tonight's episode will be in the classic format, wherein I get drunk and talk about the topic with unsuspecting guests. Perfect for something with the proclivity to curse myself! Join my siblings, Maegan and Alex (AKA Bralex on YouTube) as we tackle this topic. Tonight will also be my first foray into two-part episodes; three-hour timestamps are a tad bit too long for me. 

 You can support Foxxo Esoterica on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ForsetiFox or at KoFi at https://ko-fi.com/forsetifox. You can also follow me on Twitter at @forsetifox and TikTok @forsyfox. All editing, research, and music is done by myself, artwork is done by @sunelchikito on Twitter! 

  Do you like Yokai? Pinball? Sewer Gators? Those are some of the videos covered on Bralex's channel, and they can be found here! https://www.youtube.com/@bralex2670 

And now, the sources!

 -An article titled "Brian Bethel recounts his possible paranormal encounter with 'BEKs',” written by Bethel on the Abilene Reporter-News.https://web.archive.org/web/20151208221117/http://www.reporternews.com/news/columnists/brian-bethel/brian-bethel-recounts-his-possible-paranormal-encounter-with-beks-ep-384772497-348207271.html

-Bethel’s original mail-in story, to the Ghost Discuss mail-in ghost story page, archived on the Wayback Machine https://web.archive.org/web/20050213181819/https://www.pinn.net/~royaloak/Stories/black_eyed.htm

-A collection of stories on the website, Week in Weird, collected by Greg Newkirk and Dana Matthews https://weekinweird.com/2016/01/28/witness-report-i-let-the-black-eyed-children-into-my-home-and-now-im-slowly-dying/ https://weekinweird.com/?s=black+eyed+kids

-The article “Cannock Chase’s Black-Eyed Demon Child,” written by Virginia Lamkin on the blog Seeks Ghosts. https://seeksghosts.blogspot.com/2014/09/cannock-chases-black-eyed-demon-child.html

-The book book, "Black Eyed Children," written by David Weatherly 

-The article "Black-Eyed Kids on Ohio" written by Jason Offut on his blog, From the Shadows http://from-the-shadows.blogspot.com/2010/08/black-eyed-kids-in-ohio.html