Spooktober: Homo lepidopteris - Ep 158

This week, we're taking a turn for the cryptid and spooking local with the legend of West Virginia native son, the Mothman. For a little over a year leading up to December 1967, sightings of a winged humanoid with glowing eyes were reported in and around Point Pleasant, WV. Since then, Mothman has evolved from evil omen to legend to meme. In this episode, we’ll explore the legend, collective memory, and the power of portents.

Links

• Paranormal Activity in West Virginia (Marshall University)

• Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend (West Virginia Book Company)

• Mothman myth rooted in Messenger reporter's work (Athens Messenger)

• Is the Mothman of West Virginia an Owl? (Audubon Society)

• Silver Bridge tragedy still haunts river city residents (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

• Tu-Endie-Wei State Park (WV State Parks)

• Point Pleasant, West Virginia: Making a Tourism Landscape in an Appalachian Town (Southeastern Geographer)

• West Virginian Urban Legends and Their Impact on Cultures Both Local and Abroad (Bowling Green State University)

• The Mothman and Other Strange Tales: Shaping Queer Appalachia Through Folkloric Discourse in Online Social Media Communities (University of Kentucky)

• UFOs Were Born Among America’s Cold War Fears (Foreign Policy)

• Welcome To The 'TNT Area,' Home Of The Mothman (NPR)

• Federal Facilities Restoration Program (WV Dept of Environmental Protection)

Contact

• Email the Dirt Podcast: thedirtpodcast@gmail.com

ArchPodNet

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Volcanoes! - Ep 124

Let’s lean into our fear of pyroclastic flow and talk about the traces that volcanoes can leave in the archaeological record. Turns out, it’s a lot more than buried cities. We’ll also take a look at how volcanoes manifest in the myths and legends of various cultures.

Links

• Hawaiian Myths Tell A Story About Volcanic Activity At Kilauea (Forbes)

• Volcano Myths and Rituals (American Scientist)

• Why ancient myths about volcanoes are often true (BBC)

• The Harmful Pseudoarchaeology of Mythological Atlantis (Women Write About Comics)

• Santorini eruption: new theory says ‘pyroclastic flows’ caused devastating Bronze Age tsunamis (The Conversation)

• The A.D. 79 Eruption at Mt. Vesuvius (UCSD Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics)

• Tephrochronology and its application: A review (Quaternary Geology)

Contact

• Email the Dirt Podcast: thedirtpodcast@gmail.com

Affiliates

• Wildnote

• TeePublic

• Timeular