Cool aunts, saints’ body parts, and inescapable demonic possession — this episode has truly got it all. Christine and Em rewind the true* story behind the 1973 horror film, The Exorcist. Is it a tale so chilling your ears will frost over? You gotta listen to find out. Let’s get into the allegedly real-life exorcism of a young boy named Ronald Hunkeler... aka, the infamous Roland Doe 👿 *maybe completely made-up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's magicians vs. mediums in today’s episode! Em and Christine conjure the life of Harry Houdini and his relentless crusade against his enemies, aka 20th-century Spiritualists. What was at the root of his hatred? How far would he go to expose them as frauds? We’ve got plenty of petty feuding, impassioned takedowns, and one juicy conspiracy theory up our sleeves... Come one, come all! 🪄 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He was a showman, psychic, and tabloid publisher we *really* wanted to like... until he started befriending Nazis and advising Hitler. Today Em and Christine unpack the life of “Europe’s greatest clairvoyant” to examine how exactly he became the “Prophet of the Third Reich.” These are the predictions, circus shows, and supremely unfortunate life decisions of... Erik Jan Hanussen 🤡 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A mysterious lady invites you over to check out her magical cabinet. Wyd? Well, one option is to go back to her place and conjure the ghost of a long-dead sorcerer! Today, Christine and Em are conjuring the life of a mid-1800s seminary student whose faith led him straight into radical socialism and the occult. He was a troublemaker who was convicted on charges like “preaching impiety” and “subversion” while writing influential books. Get to know the man behind the magic... Éliphas Lévi...

Now *that* is a malevolent look... This week Em and Christine take an around-the-world tour of Evil Eye lore! How much power is there in a hostile stare? And what happens if you’re on the receiving end? (Spoiler: nothing good!) From ancient amulets to modern accessories, Em and Christine are making heads and tails out of the “little blue eyeball-lookin’ thing” that wields so much force 👁️ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A proponent of free love in the 1800s? Sign us up!!! This week, Em and Christine introduce a man who lived *many* lives. He was a barber, doctor, occultist, spiritualist, and writer whose pen name was “The Rosicrucian.” So yeah, this guy ruled. And yet his legacy’s been largely ignored, likely due to racism. Em takes Christine through the visions, writings, and arcane science of... Paschal Beverly Randolph 🍻 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1940s, an actual rocket scientist tried to summon the goddess of sexuality. Why? To turn her into a flesh-and-blood human being, naturally! This week, Christine and Em open the book on the strange saga of JPL co-founder Jack Parsons, and his quest to create a moonchild using a series of rituals known as... Babalon Working 🌚 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Christine and Em head into 1880s London to hobnob with the city’s occult heavyweights — which *mayhap surprisingly* includes a Nobel Prize-winning poet! This Irish writer was unapologetic about his love for mysticism, and has the occult pedigree to prove it. From “Esoteric Buddhism” to spirit communication, Em and Christine crack into the magical pursuits of… William Butler Yeats ✍️ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s an ancient artifact rumored to hold the secrets of the universe, including instructions on how to make a Philosopher’s Stone. And it’s shown up in history enough times to make its mystery all the more alluring. So who’s up for a treasure hunt?? Em and Christine chase after the most mysterious document ever — the elusive, priceless Emerald Tablet 🟩 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He traveled astral planes. Uncovered secrets of the universe. And entered mesmeric states all on his own. This week, Christine and Em head back into the 1800s, to Orange County, New York, to unravel the mysteries, influence, and many, many books of... Andrew Jackson Davis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You know what makes for a toxic mix? Political power and spiritualism! Which is right where we land with today’s story of a man known as the Mad Monk: fugitive, fortune teller, and self-proclaimed healer. Christine and Em mull over the imperial influence and wild rumors surrounding the ever-controversial figure... Rasputin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

History has shown us that false accusations of witchcraft can be weaponized against vulnerable women. But it’s not a practice we’ve totally left behind. This week Christine and Em talk about the present-day witch camps of Ghana, where women accused of practicing the dark arts are banished. Today’s episode is heavy on some pretty dark facts and stats, but there *is* some light at the end of the tunnel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crystal balls at the ready? This week Christine and Em are gazing into the past, present and future of fortune telling — and it is one wild ride! They’re talking psychic energies and protective magic, fashion statements and scrying. Plus the incredible stories of practitioners throughout time. Enjoy! 🔮 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The royal hunt is on... This week, Christine and Em talk about a king with a thing for persecuting witches. So much so, that he *updated* religious texts and wrote his very own book to malign them! When you rule three countries, what can’t you do? Practice your curtsies and bows, because today’s topic is... King James I 👑 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s about to get deviant up in here. This week, Christine and Em examine the sexual rituals, wild writings, and unorthodox (to put it mildly!) beliefs of a notorious occultist living in the early 20th century. He went by the name of... Aleister Crowley 😈 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tree bark. Bird brains. Earthworms. Not the most seductive-sounding ingredients! And yet they’ve all been used to charm the socks off potential lovers for centuries. Christine and Em lap up the fascinating history of love potions, from the “love cakes” of the Middle Ages, to an around-the-world tour of concoctions and aphrodisiacs, to modern interpretations of this ~slightly~ problematic practice. Drink up, me hearties? ❤️‍🔥 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You’re probably at least casually acquainted with The Bell Jar, but did you also know its brilliant author had a mystical side? We’re talking tarot, Ouija, crystal balls, and what her husband called the “magnificent fun” of the occult. Christine walks Em through the work and otherworldly influences of... Sylvia Plath ✍🏻 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maybe it’s an instrument of the devil. Maybe it’s just a fun way to talk with the dead! This week Christine and Em are finding out... by going deep into the history, headlines, and wild family grudges surrounding the 19th- and 20th-century phenomenon known as... Ouija Boards 👻  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Christine and Em crack into the life and legacy of a local New Orleans legend! She was a pillar of her community, called “Her Majesty” by the press, and now allegedly haunts the city. Plus, how did voodoo reach North America? Why do some people associate it with dark magic? Christine takes Em through the beliefs, impact and gris-gris of... Marie Laveau ⚜️ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They’ve got souls, they’re soldiers, and while they technically haven’t existed for centuries, some say they’re now a secret society. Christine and Em meet at the intersection of religion and the occult to shake down the origins (and legacy! and curses!) of... The Knights Templar ⚔️ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you want to make it in this world, there’s one rule you’ve got to remember: Always Be Closing (Your Portals). This week we’re visiting the First Lady whose spiritual hobby was preempted by lots of loss, and lots of grief. Em takes Christine through the surprising history of seances in the White House, courtesy of... Mary Todd Lincoln 🎩 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let’s start from the top: It’s the beginning of time, and Adam’s already being a jerk. Today, Christine and Em are kicking back with the first man’s first wife, a lady demon-turned-feminist icon who left Eden to strike out on her own. It’s a creation story that turns into a revenge story that turns into... a vampire story? Christine takes a skeptical Em through the origins, evolution, and wrath of... Lilith 💁‍♀️ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just when you thought witches were your biggest problem… This week, Christine and Em are biting into lycan lore! From human transformations in mythology, to the panic over cannibalistic man-beasts in Europe, to real stories of the accused. It’s a real cattle and corn party, and everyone’s invited. Christine takes Em through the all-out wildness of… Werewolves 🐺 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pick a deck, pull some cards, and tip your hat to Jean-Baptiste Alliette! Christine and Em are trying their hand at a supernatural card game… which, as luck would have it, is NOT just for ancient polo players. They’re bouncing from Italy to France to the moon as they trace the evolution (and their mind-bendy personal connections) to the ancient, modern, practical, whimsical, art of… Tarot 🔮 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did someone say pool party? No? We’re trudging through a swamp in 16th-century Florida? Hey, whatever it takes… This week, Christine and Em are diving into the mystical stories around healing waters. From swamps and springs to wells and waterways, what’s the real deal with magically restorative H2O? Drink it in… Soak it up… ‘cause Christine is taking Em through the *ageless* lore behind… the Fountain of Youth ⛲ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices