The Midnight Seminar

Tara & Doug
  • 5.0 (12)
  • Philosophy

Join Tara, a historian, and Doug, a philosopher, as they dive into the dark corners of culture, horror, folklore, and all things spooky. Blending sharp historical insight with deep philosophical curiosity, Tara and Doug unravel the stories, fears, and ideas that haunt us.

  1. 3d ago

    Our Listeners' Short Horror Stories Blew Us Away! - Halloween Special

    In September, our listeners submitted delightfully devilish 250-word horror stories. Tonight, we bring you a collection of the finest and most frightening! Tara, Doug, and Christopher perform your stories with music by Steve. Congrats to our featured authors: Steve, Olivia, Ceili, Colette, Bergman, Chloe, and our overall winner, Emily!

  2. 4d ago

    Why We Need Werewolves - Werewolves (Part 4)

    In this final part, Tara and Doug meander through lingering questions and curiosities related to the werewolf over time, today, and in a future lit by full moons. Do we all have a beast within? Do monsters lurk in the dark?    Thank you for joining us for our 2026 Halloween Special!   Resources for Series:   A Lycanthropic Reader: Werewolves in Western Culture edited by Charlotte F. Otten   "Battling demons with medical authority: werewolves, physicians and rationalization" by Nadine Metzger in History of Psychiatry (2014) (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4090416/)    "Clinical Lycanthropy, Neurobiology, Culture: A Systematic Review" by Sélim Benjamin Guessoum, Laelia Benoit, Sevan Minassian, Jasmine Mallet, and Marie Rose Moro in  Frontiers in Psychiatry (2021) (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8542696/?utm)   The Werewolf in Lore and Legend by Montague Summers   De la Demonomanie des Sorciers by Jean Bodin   Daemonologie by James I   "Le loup-garous" in Les Petit Choses de Notre Histoire by Pierre-Georges Roy   "Meet the Mysterious Beast of Gévaudan, France's 18th-Century 'Werewolf'" by Madeleine Muzdakis in My Modern Met (2024) (https://mymodernmet.com/beast-of-gevaudan-werewolf/)    The Book of Werewolves by Sabine Baring-Gould   "The Medieval Werewolf" by Amanda Hopkins (https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/researchcurrent/researchblog/werewolf/?utm)   The Metamorphoses by Ovid   The Satyricon by Gaius Petronius (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5225/5225-h/5225-h.htm)   The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson    The Werewolf in Lore and Legend by Montague Summers   The Werewolf: Past and Future: Lycanthropy's Lost History & Modern Devolution by Maegan A. Stebbins   Trial Transcript from Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf: A Classic Case in Comparative Perspective by Carlo Ginzberg and Bruce Lincoln (https://press.uchicago.edu/sites/thiess/old_thiess_transcript.pdf)     Wolf: Legend, Enemy, Icon by Rebecca Grambo

  3. Oct 21

    Meet the Modern Monster - Werewolves (Part 3)

    Get ready to finally meet the modern werewolf, who lurks in our legends and literature and scares us on the big screen. Your hosts share the stories that link the last major vestiges of public werewolf panic in centuries past to the rise of the archetypal character we know and love today.   Resources for Series:   A Lycanthropic Reader: Werewolves in Western Culture edited by Charlotte F. Otten   "Battling demons with medical authority: werewolves, physicians and rationalization" by Nadine Metzger in History of Psychiatry (2014) (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4090416/)    "Clinical Lycanthropy, Neurobiology, Culture: A Systematic Review" by Sélim Benjamin Guessoum, Laelia Benoit, Sevan Minassian, Jasmine Mallet, and Marie Rose Moro in  Frontiers in Psychiatry (2021) (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8542696/?utm)   The Werewolf in Lore and Legend by Montague Summers   De la Demonomanie des Sorciers by Jean Bodin   Daemonologie by James I   "Le loup-garous" in Les Petit Choses de Notre Histoire by Pierre-Georges Roy   "Meet the Mysterious Beast of Gévaudan, France's 18th-Century 'Werewolf'" by Madeleine Muzdakis in My Modern Met (2024) (https://mymodernmet.com/beast-of-gevaudan-werewolf/)    The Book of Werewolves by Sabine Baring-Gould   "The Medieval Werewolf" by Amanda Hopkins (https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/researchcurrent/researchblog/werewolf/?utm)   The Metamorphoses by Ovid   The Satyricon by Gaius Petronius (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5225/5225-h/5225-h.htm)   The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson    The Werewolf in Lore and Legend by Montague Summers   The Werewolf: Past and Future: Lycanthropy's Lost History & Modern Devolution by Maegan A. Stebbins   Trial Transcript from Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf: A Classic Case in Comparative Perspective by Carlo Ginzberg and Bruce Lincoln (https://press.uchicago.edu/sites/thiess/old_thiess_transcript.pdf)     Wolf: Legend, Enemy, Icon by Rebecca Grambo

  4. Oct 14

    Werewolves on Trial - Werewolves (Part 2)

    Tara and Doug cover the history of the changing relationship between people and wolves, a soured connection that helped give rise to the belief in werewolves. Whether merely outsiders to a community or, if one interpretation is to be believed, sadistic serial killers, accused werewolves went to court and suffered the gruesome consequences.   Resources for Series:   A Lycanthropic Reader: Werewolves in Western Culture edited by Charlotte F. Otten   "Battling demons with medical authority: werewolves, physicians and rationalization" by Nadine Metzger in History of Psychiatry (2014) (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4090416/)    "Clinical Lycanthropy, Neurobiology, Culture: A Systematic Review" by Sélim Benjamin Guessoum, Laelia Benoit, Sevan Minassian, Jasmine Mallet, and Marie Rose Moro in  Frontiers in Psychiatry (2021) (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8542696/?utm)   The Werewolf in Lore and Legend by Montague Summers   De la Demonomanie des Sorciers by Jean Bodin   Daemonologie by James I   "Le loup-garous" in Les Petit Choses de Notre Histoire by Pierre-Georges Roy   "Meet the Mysterious Beast of Gévaudan, France's 18th-Century 'Werewolf'" by Madeleine Muzdakis in My Modern Met (2024) (https://mymodernmet.com/beast-of-gevaudan-werewolf/)    The Book of Werewolves by Sabine Baring-Gould   "The Medieval Werewolf" by Amanda Hopkins (https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/researchcurrent/researchblog/werewolf/?utm)   The Metamorphoses by Ovid   The Satyricon by Gaius Petronius (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5225/5225-h/5225-h.htm)   The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson    The Werewolf in Lore and Legend by Montague Summers   The Werewolf: Past and Future: Lycanthropy's Lost History & Modern Devolution by Maegan A. Stebbins   Trial Transcript from Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf: A Classic Case in Comparative Perspective by Carlo Ginzberg and Bruce Lincoln (https://press.uchicago.edu/sites/thiess/old_thiess_transcript.pdf)     Wolf: Legend, Enemy, Icon by Rebecca Grambo

  5. Oct 7

    Wolfmen and Magic and Myths, oh my! - Werewolves (Part 1)

    Your hosts embark on their biggest exploration yet, and it's all about werewolves! This episode introduces the topic and explores the early mythology behind werewolf lore. Stops include Ancient Greece, Rome, Medieval Scandinavia, and Metal House.   Resources for Series:   A Lycanthropic Reader: Werewolves in Western Culture edited by Charlotte F. Otten   "Battling demons with medical authority: werewolves, physicians and rationalization" by Nadine Metzger in History of Psychiatry (2014) (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4090416/)    "Clinical Lycanthropy, Neurobiology, Culture: A Systematic Review" by Sélim Benjamin Guessoum, Laelia Benoit, Sevan Minassian, Jasmine Mallet, and Marie Rose Moro in  Frontiers in Psychiatry (2021) (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8542696/?utm)   The Werewolf in Lore and Legend by Montague Summers   De la Demonomanie des Sorciers by Jean Bodin   Daemonologie by James I   "Le loup-garous" in Les Petit Choses de Notre Histoire by Pierre-Georges Roy   "Meet the Mysterious Beast of Gévaudan, France's 18th-Century 'Werewolf'" by Madeleine Muzdakis in My Modern Met (2024) (https://mymodernmet.com/beast-of-gevaudan-werewolf/)    The Book of Werewolves by Sabine Baring-Gould   "The Medieval Werewolf" by Amanda Hopkins (https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/researchcurrent/researchblog/werewolf/?utm)   The Metamorphoses by Ovid   The Satyricon by Gaius Petronius (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5225/5225-h/5225-h.htm)   The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson    The Werewolf in Lore and Legend by Montague Summers   The Werewolf: Past and Future: Lycanthropy's Lost History & Modern Devolution by Maegan A. Stebbins   Trial Transcript from Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf: A Classic Case in Comparative Perspective by Carlo Ginzberg and Bruce Lincoln (https://press.uchicago.edu/sites/thiess/old_thiess_transcript.pdf)     Wolf: Legend, Enemy, Icon by Rebecca Grambo

  6. Oct 1

    BONUS: Which is Scarier - Round 2

    Tara and Doug usher in Spooky Season with another round of Which is Scarier, the game that asks you...which is scarier... Participate in the fun by playing along at home and looking for polls on Instagram (@themidnightseminar), or write in to tell us why we're wrong or right!

  7. Sep 17

    All Things Odd with Author J.W. Ocker

    Award-winning author J.W. Ocker joins Tara (a long-time fan) to talk about traveling to strange places, writing about horror and history, and his forthcoming book on Sleepy Hollow, a place (and legend) they both love!   Check out Ocker's books! He has written middle-grade and adult horror fiction as well as non-fiction essential for any spooky soul.   Author's Website: https://www.oddthingsiveseen.com/   Where to Buy the Books: https://bookshop.org/shop/jwocker   Pre-order a copy of Chasing the Headless Horseman: The History, Hijinks, and Halloweens of the Real Sleepy Hollow, and, if you can make it to Sleepy Hollow, stop by his book signings or get your tickets to one of Ocker's upcoming events:    Book Talk @ Lyndhurst Mansion (9/19): https://lyndhurst.org/events/ocker-book-talk/   Sleepy Hollow Fact & Fiction @ Tarrytown Music Hall (10/10): https://tickets.tarrytownmusichall.org/eventperformances.asp?evt=3227

  8. Aug 31

    Internet Horror

    Take a trip down memory lane to reminisce about cursed email chains, creepypastas, and the ghosts in our machines. Doug and Tara discuss how the Internet has spawned and spread horror stories as digital folklore and, more recently, in mainstream media and entertainment. Some movies come up, but they're not spoiled! Click the links below at your own risk.   Pop-up video that broke Tara: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYTrbDLSy_w The Rake: https://creepypasta.fandom.com/wiki/The_Rake Slenderman: https://theslenderman.fandom.com/wiki/Slender_Man Russian Sleep Experiment: https://creepypasta.fandom.com/wiki/The_Russian_Sleep_Experiment The Chair: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhazCS14Tas   Other References: "Bored at Work? Try Creepypasta, or Web Scares" by Austin Considine, New York Times, Nov 12, 2010. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/fashion/14noticed.html?searchResultPosition=1   "How Slender Man Became a Legend" by Gabe Cohn, New York Times, Aug 15, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/movies/slender-man-timeline.html    "Talk to Me Is Horror Made by and for the Internet Generation" by Eric Ravenscraft, WIRED, July 19, 2023. https://www.wired.com/story/talk-to-me-movie-review/

See All (24)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Join Tara, a historian, and Doug, a philosopher, as they dive into the dark corners of culture, horror, folklore, and all things spooky. Blending sharp historical insight with deep philosophical curiosity, Tara and Doug unravel the stories, fears, and ideas that haunt us.

Information

  • Creator
    Tara & Doug
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Midnight Seminar