The Podcast - Lore

Humans have a tendency to collect things. From baseball cards to Twitter followers, we enjoy bringing everything into one place. But when that collection represents the very worst of humanity—both in how it's managed and where it comes from—the act of collecting comes with dire consequences.

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We love to simplify things. Easy is better than complex, after all, and simple things are easy to understand. Sadly, though, the people around us are far from simple; they are complex and layered, with deep, hidden stories just waiting to be discovered.

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The ocean is very good at taking things from us, but we are equally skilled at not forgetting. Still, no matter how many stories we tell about lost ships and vanished loved ones, it will never bring them back. At least, that's what most people believe.

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Humanity is fueled by hope. We hope for improvement, and dream of a day when things get better than they are right now. And for a very long time, there have been certain people who have taken advantage of that hope. What they deliver instead is an unexpected dose of darkness.

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Most of us live incredibly busy lives, and because of all that distraction, we tend to miss the little things. Whether it's a forgotten birthday, or the small puddle of water beneath your water heater in the basement, not noticing things can have consequences. And sometimes, those details can be a matter of life and death.

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Like a well-loved pair of shoes, or those jeans you bought in college and never gave up on, some things become worn out over time. But when that thing is a physical location, eroded away by thousands of years of human activity and deep, rich folklore, what sort of nightmares might we expect to pour in through the hole? There's only one way to find out.

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Every movement has a seed, that spark that sets the fire ablaze. But this spark is more than just a murder mystery, or a treasure hunt, or even a haunting unlike any other. This one is all three. Which may explain why a century and a half later, the world is still reeling from its impact.

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Each of us holds inside ourselves a precious cargo. It is the key to life, and a worthy sacrifice when important things are on the line. And yet it also sits at the center of some of our greatest fears. After all, if something's precious, there's always someone who wants to steal it.

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When tragedy strikes and poor choices haunt us, sometimes the only thing we can do is move on and build on the ashes of the past. But there are places where that hasn't worked out so well. In fact, sometimes the worst thing we can do to history is bury it.

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For thousands of years, humans have built rules and procedures for handling the various curveballs that life throws our way—and we place a lot of trust in those systems. Most of the time, it all works properly, but there are moments when human nature and our belief in the unusual throw a wrench in the gears.

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Life is full of challenges. From learning new skills to climbing the social ladder, most people struggle with the hurdles we're forced to overcome. But when it's all said and done, few things are as difficult as something all of us will have to face some day: saying good-bye.

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Few things disappoint us more than when our expectations aren't met. We expect to be loved, or to be rewarded for our hard work. And above all, we expect the people in our lives to always be there. Which is why it's so frightening to hear stories of those who don't—of people who were right there, where they should be, only to disappear without explanation.

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Our understanding of the natural world is incredibly advanced compared to our ancestors from a few centuries ago. We have established rules and order to help us frame how everything works. On occasion, though, those rules have been broken, and the results have been absolutely terrifying.

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Humans are hard-wired for trust. It's the secret ingredient that helps us form communities, build relationships, and grow as people. But while that trust is a noble inclination, it can also get us into trouble—trouble that can sometimes turn deadly.

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There is a lot in life that we can control, but no system is perfect. Every now and then, circumstances pull the rug out from underneath us and leave us powerless. But at least one surprise turn of events had a different affect, and the results have left us with questions that are still unanswered today.

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Islands have served a variety of functions for people over the years. They can be a place of safety and privacy, or of simplicity and escape. But islands have played host to other less savory events over the years. And just because they can be small, it doesn't mean they can't be dark.

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We tend think of rivers and lakes as tame. They are the safe and friendly counterpart to the deep and treacherous waters of the ocean. Freshwater rivers and lakes give us life, after all. But that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous. Somewhere in the darkness beneath their calm surface, terrifying stories wait for us.

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Some cities experience a single tragedy and then live with that pain and loss for generations. They are built on a dark foundation, and everything new takes on a flavor of the past. But there are other places where that tragedy is spread out over time, like a slow-burning fire that never fully consumes but always leaves its mark—and I'd like to take you on a tour of one.

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Humans have always sought companionship. From the communities we live in, to the pets we welcome into our homes, our need for companions is as old as we are. But that natural desire has led some to pursue some very unnatural ideas.

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Every now and then a story comes along that is so powerful and compelling that it creates a new branch on the tree of folklore. Yes, it has deeper roots, but sometimes a new expression of fear grows out to cast new shade on our already-fearful lives. And one of these rare moments happened less than six decades ago.

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Our bodies are a fortress, and every day, they suffer through attacks from the outside. Over the centuries, we're become very good at protecting ourselves from illness and disease, but all of those efforts assume everyone around us will be responsible. Illness, though, has often been misused—sometimes maliciously and other times through sheer ignorance—and the results have been horrifying.

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Our home is supposed to be a safe space where we are free to relax and enjoy life. History, though, contains stories that break that mould. Places where people want to live in peace, and yet find themselves at odds with forces beyond their control. And if there's a logical reason, it might very well be buried in the past.

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Nothing is more magical than when a family works together. But when their talents seem to defy all logic and reason, it might not be a bad idea to dig deeper and look for the truth. Just be careful—the truth, it turns out, isn't always that simple.

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Humans have always been more than a little bit superstitious, and one of the oldest and most universal of those beliefs is the curse. The story of how that belief has evolved in relation to one particular culture, though, is both powerful and frightening. It would serve us well to not get swept up in the lies.

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People are really good at moving on. We rush from fad to fad at an alarming speed, and it's difficult to predict where our interests will land next. In the process, we tend to abandon things—things like the places we live. But don't be fooled; even after we've all moved on, those places are far from uninhabited.

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Humanity seems to always be at risk of suffering through another major outbreak. History is full with dark moments of biological chaos, and despite constant advances in medical science, there seems to be no end in sight. We're afraid of getting sick, and sometimes it feels like we're right on the edge. And that can be a terrifying place to be.

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The places we inhabit slowly become like us, reflecting our brightest ambitions and darkest secrets. Countless cities harbor the shadows of a violent past, but few hide it so elegantly as one southern gem.

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Our lives have a way of becoming magnets that attract pain and suffering. Some of us go through more than others, but in the end, we're all running from something. Just how far we might go to get away is a mystery, but it could never top the lengths one person went to to escape a life of pain and guilt. This is their story.

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We live in a very technological world today, with constant updates and improvements over last year's model, and while many of the advancements are amazing, few have impacted humanity quite like photography. It opened up new worlds, and changed the way we think about time and space. Some, however, might have taken that too far.

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Waves of illness crash against the shores of humanity. They always have, and they probably always will. But we weather the storm through advancements in medical science and the resilience of human nature. Still, no matter how hard we've tried, some outbreaks have left a dark stain on the pages of history.

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Life is a lot like a big budget movie. We click play, and then let the action wash over us. There are highs and lows, laughter and tears, and then it's all over and the screen goes silent. The dead can't talk back, something most people are thankful for. Still, there have been rare moments in history when that rule appears to have been broken—and the results were extraordinary.

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The pages of our greatest literature are full of tales of powerful wizards. People gifted with abilities that stand head and shoulder above their peers. They act as guides, ushering us into a new world with fresh possibilities. And yet they are much more than simply a tool used by storytellers. In fact, history paints a much more fascinating—and dark—picture for us.

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The sky is a source of life for everything on this planet. Rain to quench our thirst and sunlight for our food. We don't look up too often these days, but that hasn't changed our dependance on it. But occasionally, the sky can be a source of something else. Something much less typical than rain or snow or sunshine. History, it seems, paints a very frightening picture of the world above us.

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When our health is failing and our lives are at risk, trust is essential. The people who care for us often find themselves in a position of power, with our well-being entirely under their control. As history has shown us, however, there's danger in handing that much control over to another person.

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Humans have a seemingly never-ending list of fears. The dark of night, small spaces, open water…there doesn't seem to be an area of life that doesn't come with a few reasons to take pause and be afraid. But the greatest of those fears might just come at the end of our lives, and for over a century, that fear drove people to unimaginable things.

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In this second Lore Trick or Treat 2017 set of stories, we explore the power of folklore and fate. A Head of Steam takes us on an eerie trip through the graveyard, while A Deadly Past shows us how sometimes our actions have a way of catching up with is.

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We've conquered much of our world, but even with all of our great cities and urban sprawl, there are still shadows on the edge. And it's in the shadows that the greatest threats still exist—creatures from our darkest nightmares that threaten our feeling of safety. Which has led some to strike out into the dark and hunt them.

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The first Trick or Treat Halloween special of 2017 features two tales. The first, A Bridge Too Far, walks us through a winter train ride that went horribly wrong over a century ago. The second story reminds us that life is a lot more complex than we're willing to admit. Rise Above introduces us to the darkness found inside that complexity.

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There's a fine line between rationality and madness, but it's not as easy to avoid as you might think. Throughout history, our world has played host to people who have taken their superstitions too far, but it was the chaos of the English Civil War that helped give birth to one of the worst.

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The sky is full of mystery. It's big, expansive, and—despite a century of powered human flight—outside our realm of control. Which is why, for centuries, humans have expected things to come down from the sky and harm us. It might sound crazy now, but the possibilities are wide open. And that might not be a good thing.

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The older the country, the deeper the roots of its folklore have grown—roots that are fed by darkness, fear, and pain. And few countries hold such a variety of frightening tales, both old and modern, as the lovely Emerald Isle. But not everything that walks those hills is safe to approach.

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There are some locations that seem to draw humans closer. Places that are away from the bustle of everyday life, that almost seem part of our soul. We go there for solitaire, or for rest, or recreation. Sometimes, though, we don't return.

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Fire is a dangerous tool. Used properly, it can transform a society, but if it isn't respected, it can burn that society to the ground. Which is why we are obsessed with controlling it—and completely, utterly afraid of it.

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There are very few bits of folklore that haven't spread around the globe over the past few centuries. Yet every now and then, something fresh and distinct pops up. But just because it's relatively new doesn't mean it's safe.

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The bigger the city, the easier it is to miss the little details. Stories of loss, tragedy, and horrifying events have a way of vanishing beneath the bustle of everyday life. And no place is better at hiding away its dark secrets than the Big Apple.

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Folklore and popular culture are filled with a type of event that seems both unusual and logical: time and time again, criminals return to the source. But as one man proved a century ago, it's not always easy to go home.

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Folklore and medicine often go hand in hand. In fact, for a long time they were the very same thing. But folklore has a way of leading people to tragic actions—all in the name of getting better.

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You can tell a lot about a culture by the things it creates. Tools, exploration, weapons; all of it speaks to the priorities and character of that society. But if that's true, then what are we supposed to assume about the mind behind one of history's most bizarre creations?

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Humans have an innate desire to fix what's broken, and that's a good thing. We're not the best at it, though, and we often fail—sometimes horribly. And few examples are as powerful as the world of mental health.

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H.P. Lovecraft said it best: "…the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown". And no other place in the world is as unknown to us as the ocean. It's dark, it's deep, it's full of questions—and maybe something else.

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