SpectreVision Radio

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Channel • 53 Shows

Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Twice monthly
Fiction

Fiction

Updated weekly
Drama

Drama

Every-two-weeks series
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Twice monthly
TV & Film

TV & Film

Updated 01/01/2025
Arts

Arts

Every two weeks
Drama

Drama

Twice monthly

15 MAY

Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker

"Dracula's Guest" by Bram Stoker first appeared in Weird Tales in December 1927. The story was originally intended to be part of the book, "Dracula," but was excised before the book was published. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 May

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32 min
4 DAYS AGO

All That Flows: Benzaiten, White Snakes, and Human-Headed Serpents

In this episode of Uncanny Japan, we follow Benzaiten — also known as Benten — from her origins as Saraswati to her place among Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods. Along the way: Enoshima’s five-headed dragon, white snakes as divine messengers, snake-skin wallets, house snakes, and Ugajin, the wonderfully strange human-headed snake deity linked to rice, water, fertility, fortune, and wealth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 days ago

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23 min
5 MAY

The Will of Claude Ashur by C. Hall Thompson

"The Will of Claude Ashur" is a Cthulhu Mythos novelette by C. Hall Thompson, first published in the July 1947 edition of Weird Tales. "Evil legends hang over this ancient coastal village and its infamous secret more terrible than all the terrors of night." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 May

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2h 10m
30/10/2016

Musha-burui: Trembling Before Life's Greatest Challenges

I want to share something my mother-in-law taught me years ago - a Japanese concept that perfectly captures how we feel before life's biggest challenges. Musha-burui describes that trembling mixture of fear and excitement a samurai felt before battle. That's exactly how I felt starting this podcast after 30 years in Japan, feeling like my English was slipping away but knowing I had to share these cultural discoveries. What happens when your body says "don't do this" but your spirit says "you must"? This is the very first episode of Uncanny Japan, where I introduce both the concept of musha-burui and what this show is about - sharing the strange, fascinating cultural treasures I discover through my research as a writer of Japanese folklore and horror. I recorded this originally in 2017, then re-recorded it in 2020, and both versions are included here. [Please Note: Some of the links are affiliate links (both Amazon and other). This means that at no cost to you, if you use and purchase through them I receive a small compensation. This is paid by the retailer. It also helps support me and my artistic endeavors. Thank you.] Follow Uncanny Japan Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Credits Music by Julyan Ray Matsuura About SpectreVision Radio SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We're a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. spectrevisionradio.comlinktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30/10/2016

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21 min
3 DAYS AGO

In the Lake at Garlock's Bend by David Kaufman

"In the Lake at Garlock's Bend" is a short story by the American author, David Kaufman, first published in the July 1985 edition of Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. In an abandoned lakeside town, a witness recounts the horrifying night a local drifter became trapped by an unseen force. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 days ago

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30 min
12 MAY

The Noseless Horror by Robert E. Howard

"The Noseless Horror" is a short story by Robert E. Howard, first published in the February 1970 edition of Magazine of Horror. According to Glenn Lord, who submitted the story to MoH, it was written prior to 1930. "At a remote manor, a guest is drawn into a murder and a terrifying mystery linked to a stolen mummy and an old betrayal." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 May

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41 min
4 MAY

Everyone Has a Throat Buddha / What is it and Why? -- Nodohotoke & Story Time: "The Buddha Bone" (Ep. 189)

Have you ever heard of the nodo-hotoke, or “throat Buddha”? In everyday Japanese, it usually refers to the Adam’s apple. But after death, especially in the context of cremation, the nodo-hotoke becomes something else entirely, the actual seat of your soul. In this episode of Uncanny Japan, I talk about the fascinating and beautiful funeral custom of gathering bones after cremation, using long chopsticks to place them into the urn from feet to head, with the nodo-hotoke placed last. I’ll also touch on the taboo against passing food from chopsticks to chopsticks, the role of the crematorium attendant, and the belief that this Buddha-shaped bone can be connected to the soul, the life lived, or rebirth into the Pure Land. After that, I read my dark story “The Buddha Bone,” originally published in Weird Horror Issue 7 by Undertow Publications. I also explain a couple of story-context words: hifuki-take, a bamboo tube used to blow into and stoke a fire, and hyottoko, the puckered-mouth comic figure associated with fire-blowing imagery. Content warning: this episode discusses death, cremation, funerary ritual, and contains a dark fictional story on those themes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 May

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33 min
29/07/2020

The Jellyfish Takes a Journey (plus eel and seppuku!)

Ever wonder why a jellyfish looks the way they do? Well, the Japanese folktale "The Jellyfish Takes a Journey" (Kurage no Honenashi) tells you how that came about. Then after that folktale, I'll give you a little trivia about the connection between eel and seppuku. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon. Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/ Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan Credits Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29/07/2020

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21 min
16/07/2023

Raijū: The Thunder Beast

The raijū or thunder beast is smallish, very weird-looking creature that darts around during thunderstorms and wreaks havoc on the community. Here's what you need to know about it. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon. Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/ Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan Credits Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16/07/2023

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17 min
20/11/2025

Japanese Moon Lore: Selfless Rabbits, Murdered Goddesses, and Tsukimi

Don't point at the moon—you might wake up without your ears. In Japan, the moon rabbit isn't just making mochi. Its image was placed there by the gods to honor an act of pure sacrifice, a Buddhist tale that traveled from India through China and transformed along the way. In this episode we explore Tsukimi moon-viewing traditions, the violent origin of the moon god Tsukuyomi, protective pompous grass rituals, and dozens of poetic names for moonlight—from the "moon you can stand and wait for" to the "moon that rises deep into the night." Plus: moon-viewing thieves, spirit-attracting moonbeams, and why pointing at the moon might cost you more than you think. Tsuki wa jōman. The moon is always full. Please Note: Some of the links are affiliate links (both Amazon and other). This means that at no cost to you, if you use and purchase through them I receive a small compensation. This is paid by the retailer. It also helps support me and my artistic endeavors. Thank you. Follow Uncanny Japan: Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Credits: Music by Julyan Ray Matsuura About SpectreVision Radio: SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We're a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. spectrevisionradio.comlinktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20/11/2025

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31 min

SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring the anomalous, the luminous and numinous. We’re a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions.

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