Creepy Classics

Juliette Harrisson
  • 5.0 (4)
  • History
  • Updated Bimonthly

Ancient, medieval and early modern ghost stories re-told, followed by a short discussion of where they come from and what they might mean. julietteharrisson.substack.com

  1. 2d ago

    The Desertion of Drakelow

    A feud between two lords of the manor, a Norman count and an English Abbot, has devastating consequences for the peasants who live and work in the village, which comes under the power of a dark spirit… This short story is inspired by a 12th century saint’s life, the Life of St Modwenna, and is followed by a chat about its historical context, the medieval cult of saints, and the living and working conditions of medieval serfs. Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JulietteHarrisson Buy my books! https://books2read.com/ap/nzeerp/Juliette-Harrisson Buy merch! https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/store Creepy Classics music written and performed by Ed Harrisson (C) Sources The Penguin Book of the Undead: Fifteen Hundred Years of Supernatural Encounters, edited by Scott G. Bruce. ™an Mortimer, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England https://www.leidenmedievalistsblog.nl/articles/how-to-be-a-saint-a-medieval-guide-to-sanctity http://www.burton-on-trent.org.uk/category/early-history/1000-modwen Carl Lindahl, John McNamara and John Lindow (eds), Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs Thomas Head (ed) Medieval Hagiography: An Anthology Illustration of a reeve and serfs: Anonymous (Queen Mary Psalter), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

    36 min

  2. May 11

    The Tale of Thorstein Shiver

    Thorstein just needs to do his business late at night, but it’s hard to focus when there’s a demon in the toilet… Inspired by ‘Þáttur Þorsteins skelks,’ Flateyjarbók, this short story is followed by a chat about the origins of Gandalf, and Viking toilets! Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JulietteHarrisson Buy my books! https://books2read.com/ap/nzeerp/Juliette-Harrisson Buy merch! https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/store Creepy Classics music written and performed by Ed Harrisson (C) Sources Translation by Anthony Maxwell: https://www.richardfordburley.com/sin-and-evil/files/Thorstein.pdf https://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/daily_living/text/Villages.htm The Welsh Viking on Vikings and medieval toilets, on YouTube https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/viking-toilet-oldest-bathroom-denmark https://www.vikinganswerlady.com/fire.shtml Rowe, Elizabeth (March 28, 1998). “Cultural Paternity in the Flateyjarbók Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar” (PDF). Alvíssmál. Retrieved December 17, 2015 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

    30 min

  3. Apr 2

    The Wife of Laxárdala's Tale

    Young Herdis is disturbed by a terrifying dream of an angry witch, but it is not the first time her grandmother Gudrun has encountered something supernatural in her long and colourful life… Inspired by Laxdaela Saga, especially Chapter 76, this short story is followed by a chat about its historical context, including Roman Catholic Easter services, ancient Norse witches and wizards (and their staffs with a knob on the end) and the mysterious Norse draugr. Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JulietteHarrisson Buy my books! https://books2read.com/ap/nzeerp/Juliette-Harrisson Buy merch! https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/store Creepy Classics music written and performed by Ed Harrisson (C) Books and sources: The Saga of the People of Laxardal and Bolli Bollason’s Tale, ed. with Introduction y Bergljót S. Krisjánsdóttir, trans. Keneva Kunz Alternative translation available at: https://sagadb.org/laxdaela_saga.en Stephen A. Mitchell, Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages http://viking.archeurope.com/settlement/iceland/the-early-medieval-church-at-seydisfjordur/ G. K. Lund, Scandinavian Myths and Legends Vol. 3: Ghosts Michael F. Reed, ‘Norwegian Stave Churches and their Pagan Antecedents’, RACAR: revue d’art canadienne / Canadian Art Review , 1997, Vol. 24, No. 2, (1997), pp. 3-13 https://www.jstor.org/stable/42631152 Illustration of Gudrun meeting a ghost: Andreas Bloch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

    38 min

  4. Feb 27

    The Poet and the King

    King Mongán thinks he has got lucky when the poet Forgoll wanders into his ringfort, but when he dares to question one of Forgoll’s stories, he finds he has made a bitter enemy and only an old friend can save him… Based on Lebor na hUidre, 133, this short story is followed by a chat about Irish myth and legend, Irish archaeology, and the role of poets in medieval Irish society. Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JulietteHarrisson Buy my books! https://books2read.com/ap/nzeerp/Juliette-Harrisson Buy merch! https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/store Creepy Classics music written and performed by Ed Harrisson (C) Books and sources: Text from The Celtic Heroic Age: Literary Sources for Ancient Celtic Europe and Early Ireland and Wales, by John T. Koch with John Carney A History of Ireland in 250 Episodes, by Jonathan Bardon Stations of the Sun, by Ronald Hutton J.Borsje, Understanding Celtic Religion A lot of Wikipedia! And Favourite Irish Legends, by Yvonne Carroll, Fiona Waters, and Felicity Trotman. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ab084821eb1441f891685f47b48fb93d https://dil.ie/42314 (on the tuigen) Cosmic Viking on YouTube on Irish archaeology: On spearheads: https://thethegns.blogspot.com/2012/02/spearheads.html https://irishfolklore.wordpress.com/2018/09/02/the-brehon-laws/ ASSAULT AND ATTEMPTED MURDER IN BREHON LAW Author(s): NEIL McLEOD Source: Irish Jurist, 1998, New Series, Vol. 33 (1998), pp. 351-391 Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44027309 The Royal Residence of Rathmore of Moy-Linne. With Notes on Other Early Earthworks in Ulster (Continued) Author(s): R. G. Berry Source: Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Second Series, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Oct., 1898), pp. 9-19 Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20563826 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

    37 min

  5. Jan 30

    The Root of all Kinds of Evil

    A greedy and corrupt Pardoner tells an inn full of pilgrims a very moral tale about the different forms Death might take as he stalks the land… Based on The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, this story is followed by a chat about Canterbury pilgrimages, the medieval legend of the Wandering Jew, and the impact of the Black Death on folklore around Death as a figure. Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JulietteHarrisson Buy Creepy Classics: Haunting Tales for Winter: https://books2read.com/u/bPrZkz Buy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Rome: https://books2read.com/u/b6XGkM Buy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Greece: https://books2read.com/u/mK5oaL Buy Creepy Classics merch: https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/store Creepy Classics music written and composed by Ed Harrisson © This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

    42 min

  6. 12/20/2025

    The Hound's Voice

    When William Sutor starts seeing a strange dog lurking near his farm around Christmastime, he has no idea what family secrets are about to be revealed… Adapted from a story reported in the Gentleman’s Magazine in 1731, this is followed by a chat about the Scottish Lowlands, witchcraft and cunning-folk, and the time Scotland banned Christmas! Buy Creepy Classics: Haunting Tales for Winter! https://books2read.com/u/bPrZkz Buy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Rome: https://books2read.com/u/b6XGkM Buy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Greece: https://books2read.com/u/mK5oaL Buy Creepy Classics merch: https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/store Creepy Classics music written and composed by Ed Harrisson © This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

    41 min

  7. 10/30/2025

    Looking for Absolution

    In the wake of the Black Death and the Peasants’ Revolt, a vicious murder and an act of vengeance leave a soul in need of absolution… Inspired by the third of twelve local ghost stories recorded by a monk at Byland Abbey around the year 1400, this story is followed by a chat about its history, the system of serfdom and its end in medieval England, and the medieval practice of conjuring a ghost. Buy Creepy Classics: Haunting Tales for Winter! https://books2read.com/u/bPrZkz Buy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Rome: https://books2read.com/u/b6XGkM Buy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Greece: https://books2read.com/u/mK5oaL Buy Creepy Classics merch: https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/store Creepy Classics music written and composed by Ed Harrisson © This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

    31 min

  8. 09/11/2025

    How I Got These Scars

    As a young student, Thelyphron took on what sounded like an easy job to make some money, but it turned out to be a lot more dangerous than he thought… Adapted from the comedic story of Thelyphron in Apuleius’ novel Metamorphoses (also known as The Golden Ass), this re-telling gives the story a slightly darker tone, leaning into the horror just a little more. It’s followed by a chat about ancient mourning rituals, gender and Roman witchcraft, and Apuleius’ own defence on charges of magic. Website: www.julietteharrisson.co.uk Buy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Rome: https://books2read.com/u/b6XGkM Buy Creepy Classics: Ghost Stories from Ancient Greece: https://books2read.com/u/mK5oaL Creepy Classics music written and composed by Ed Harrisson © This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com

    34 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Ancient, medieval and early modern ghost stories re-told, followed by a short discussion of where they come from and what they might mean. julietteharrisson.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Juliette Harrisson
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    47
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Juliette Harrisson
  • Show Website
    Creepy Classics