history
Hosted by Al Ridenour · history · EN-US
BONE AND SICKLE explores historical topics related to folklore and horror. With acerbic wit and a scholarly penchant for the grotesque, rogue folklorist Al Ridenour delves into a wide but carefully curated range of topics illustrated by stories from historical texts. Narratives are given dramatic readings by “Mrs. Karswell” (Sarah Chavez) backed by richly produced soundscapes blending original music, sound design and effects. The source books, though real enough, are said to be pulled from an imaginary library on Ridenour’s imaginary estate situated somewhere in the neighborhood of Charles Addams and Edward Gorey. Each episode begins with our hosts briefly discussing goings-on in this world before diving into the topic to be explored. Occasional alternate-format episodes are devoted to readings of classic horror stories or curious texts of antiquarian interest. Ridenour is the author of “The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas” (2016) and “A Season of Madness: Fools, Monsters, and Marv
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Contact path
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Booking probability
35%
Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchBONE AND SICKLE explores historical topics related to folklore and horror. With acerbic wit and a scholarly penchant for the grotesque, rogue folklorist Al Ridenour delves into a wide but carefully curated range of topics illustrated by stories from historical texts. Narratives are given dramatic readings by “Mrs.
Bone and Sickle is hosted by Al Ridenour. The show has published 166 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "The White, Old Maid: a Story for Halloween" (31 October 2026, 42 minutes), "Born with a Veil" (15 August 2026, 39 minutes), and "The Dog-Head Saint" (5 July 2026, 40 minutes).
Bone and Sickle publishes roughly monthly, with episodes averaging 38 minutes across 166 episodes.
Booking probability for Bone and Sickle is 35%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Bone and Sickle requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Bone and Sickle's contact route on record: verified email.
Al Ridenour hosts Bone and Sickle, a history podcast with 166 episodes published.
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Episode #160
Curl up by a glowing Jack-o-Lantern and enjoy Mrs. Karswell’s reading of another eerie tale by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Originally titled “The Old Maid in the Winding-Sheet,” this 1835 tale, “The...
Episode #158
To be “born with a veil” (or caul) was once regarded as far more than an unusual circumstance of birth. Being born with a caul—a portion of the amniotic membrane adhering to a newborn’s head or face—is exceedingly rare...
Episode #157
Today he’s known mainly as a figure from medals carried to insure safe travels, but that image of a giant carrying the Christ Child across a dangerous river represents only the final stage in the long and strange...
Episode #156
Robert the Devil is a supernatural medieval legend that inspired a 19th-century French opera, which incorporates key elements from a seminal Gothic novel. The opera and legend are substantially different but both...
Episode #160
Trolls, as presented in medieval literature, are vastly different from the creatures we encountered in our last episode’s collection of 19th-century Norwegian folktales. These Viking Age trolls are more vividly...
Episode #154
Trolls in Scandinavian folklore can be a little different from what’s imagined in the rest of the world. We begin our show with a montage of clips from recent movies, Trollhunter (2010) , Troll (2022) , and Troll...
Episode #153
Gammer Gurton’s Garland , published in 1784, is one of the earliest collections of English nursery rhymes, and contains verses both familiar and alarmingly unsettling. Intended to be read to toddlers (i.e...
Episode #152
The Christmas Eve ghost story is a fine old tradition associated with Victorian and Edwardian England, one that’s been making a comeback on both sides of the Atlantic. Since 2018, Bone and Sickle has...
Episode #152
Historically, the celebration of Christmas and Carnival could overlap, and there is some reason to believe that customs associated with the former were inherited by the latter. A clue to this calendrical shift is...
Episode #150
In our second short episode for November, we take a close look at a the 1692 trial of Thiess of Kaltenbrunn, a purported werewolf in the town of Jürgensburg, in Livonia, (a Baltic region now divided between Estonia and...
Episode #149
This is a special short episode looking at fictional evidence used to bolster horror narratives in literature, film, and broadcast media. We compare the found-footage phenomenon with earlier literary techniques and...
Episode #148
This year, in the tradition of Halloween fortune-telling, we have an interactive divination game you can play at home. It comes from aa 19th-century book on cartomancy called, The oracle of human destiny: or, the...
Episode #147
If you’ve been curious regarding Mr. Ridenour’s and Mrs. Karswell’s troubles with anomalous events in the house, this short episode should answer some of your questions as Dr. Bartusch and crew attempt...
Episode #147
(SPOILER ALERTt: Do not listen to this until you have heard Episode 146 “Urban Legend”.) This is a short postscript to our “Urban Legend” episode based on feedback from a listener. It has to do...
Episode #146
A 1968 Halloween “Spook Show” in the Midwest left an unsettling heritage of urban legends possibly rooted in even more unsettling facts. What little is definitively known regarding this event comes from the...
Episode #145
The Halloween Jack-o’-lantern, made from pumpkins in the US and originally turnips in the UK, began its existence as a wisp of glowing marsh gas or “spooklight.” We begin our episode with a montage of...
Episode #144
There’s so much more to the figure of St. George than his battle with a dragon. Legends also tell of his grisly martyrdom, capture of a demon, and postmortem abilities to cure madness through contact with his...
Bone and Sickle
As a summer replacement for our regular episode: a round-up of non-English-language Folk-Horror films (here as audio but also available as video ) The presentation was created by Mr. Ridenour’s for the Rural Gothic...
Episode #142
The Fates of Classical Antiquity not only survived in the form of related fairy-tale figures but also as the object of superstitions and rituals associated with newborns. In South Slavic and Balkan regions particularly...
Episode #141
During the 15th-century, citizens of Nuremberg, Germany, experienced spectacular Carnival parades highlighted by the appearance of floats known as “hells.” Featuring immense figures, including dragons...
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