Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/HELinde

Our theme for August is “Tales Across Cultures” – a month-long dive into stories that transcend place and exist in multiple cultures throughout the years. Today’s episode, we’re revisiting a tale from an earlier theme, a tale of finding love in unexpected places: Beauty and the Beast. She’s beautiful. He’s monstrous. She’s the youngest daughter, selfless and gentle. He’s cursed. Horned. Hidden away. But somehow they fall in love. Or so the story goes. We know the tale of Beauty and the Beast. A castle. A rose. A girl in golden gowns. And a beast who’s more than he seems. But where did this story come from? Is it about love? Or captivity? Is it a romance? Or a warning? Versions of this tale appear everywhere—from French salons to West African folktales, to Disney soundtracks and Stockholm syndrome debates. Because this isn’t just a story about a beast who becomes a man. It’s a story about how we learn to see differently. And sometimes… how we learn to love what scares us.

Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/HELinde

Our theme for August is “Tales Across Cultures” – a month-long dive into stories that transcend place and exist in multiple cultures throughout the years. Today’s episode, we’re looking at a story about stranger danger: Little Red Riding Hood. She walks through the woods in a red cloak. Carrying bread. Or wine. Or medicine. She’s headed to her grandmother’s house. But in the shadows… something waits. A wolf. A stranger. A danger dressed in fur. This is the story of Little Red Riding Hood—a fairytale we think we know. A girl. A wolf. A warning. But this story is older than the Brothers Grimm. Older than Perrault. It’s been whispered by grandmothers, painted in caution signs, and twisted into horror films. Is she an innocent victim? A rebellious teen? A symbol of growing up? Or is she something more dangerous? Let’s step off the path—and into the woods.

Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/HELinde

Our theme for August is “Tales Across Cultures” – a month-long dive into stories that transcend place and exist in multiple cultures throughout the years. Today’s episode, we’re looking at a story about the hundred year nap we all crave: Sleeping Beauty. Nearly every culture has a story about a girl who sleeps. Not just naps or dreams. But falls into a long, deep, magical sleep. She’s the enchanted princess. The girl behind the thorns. The beauty with the curse. And she doesn’t wake on her own. She’s kissed, rescued, awakened, by fate, by magic, by a prince. But where does she come from? Is Sleeping Beauty just a French fairy tale? A Disney cartoon? Or is she something older—something deeper? A story about time. About danger. About girlhood frozen in place… waiting for the world to shift. Let’s open the gate, walk through the thorns, and uncover what really lies behind the sleep.

Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/HELinde

Our theme for August is “Tales Across Cultures” – a month-long dive into stories that transcend place and exist in multiple cultures throughout the years. Today’s episode, we’re looking at a classic tale of kindness, courage, and magic: Cinderella. She’s the girl in rags and ashes… the forgotten daughter… the one cleaning hearths while her stepsisters try on pearls and silk.But then—by fairy godmother, divine intervention, or sheer grit—she transforms.She goes to the ball.She wins the heart.She gets the slipper.She gets the crown. She’s a story of transformation.Of injustice made right.Of rising,literally,from the ashes.But where did she come from? Is Cinderella a European fairytale? A Disney princess?Or something older, deeper—woven into the dreams of cultures all over the world? Let’s lift the veil of fairy dust and see what’s underneath the slipper.

Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/HELinde

Our theme for July is “Things That Go Bump in the Night” – a month-long dive into the creatures made famous by horror movies and legends. Today’s episode, we’re looking at a creature that has changed from living person to living dead: zombies. We bury the dead. We hold funerals. We light candles. We say goodbye. And we trust that the dead… stay dead. But what if they didn’t? What if the grave wasn’t the end—but the beginning? What if something rose? Something cold, blank, relentless? Not a ghost. Not a vampire. But a zombie. The walking dead.The mindless horde.The flesh-eating nightmare that just. Keeps. Coming. Where did this story come from? And why, after centuries, does it still haunt us?

Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/HELinde

Our theme for July is “Things That Go Bump in the Night” – a month-long dive into the creatures made famous by horror movies and legends. Today’s episode, we’re looking at a creature whose hunger can never be sated: the Wendigo. Nearly every culture has a monster born of fear. For some, it’s a ghost.For others, a vampire. A shapeshifter. A demon. But in the deep forests of the North—where winters are long and food can be scarce—there’s a different kind of fear. A different kind of monster. It’s tall. Thin. Eyes sunken. Skin stretched tight over brittle bones. Or maybe it has no skin at all—just ice, claws, and teeth. It hungers. It hunts.And the more it eats… the hungrier it becomes. It’s called the Wendigo. But what is it? A myth? A cautionary tale? A spirit? Or something more human than we’d like to admit? Let’s step into the woods… and see what we find.

Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/HELinde

Our theme for July is “Things That Go Bump in the Night” – a month-long dive into the creatures made famous by horror movies and legends. Today’s episode, we’re looking at a furry classic that explores the duality of humankind: werewolves. The full moon. The howl in the dark. The painful transformation. A cursed soul — half-human, half-beast. Sometimes noble. Sometimes savage. Always dangerous.The werewolf is a creature of instinct. Rage. Loss of control.But where did it come from?Is it just a spooky story for dark forests and foggy nights?Or is there something deeper hiding beneath the fur and fangs?

Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/HELinde

Our theme for July is “Things That Go Bump in the Night” – a month-long dive into the creatures made famous by horror movies and legends. Today’s episode, we’re looking at a classic that is associated with blood and glitter: vampires. Nearly every culture has a version of vampires.One of the most famous, of course, is the one we talked about a few weeks ago: Dracula. The cape. The fangs. The accent. The coffin. The castle in Transylvania.He’s the undead aristocrat—drinking blood by moonlight, seducing victims with hypnotic charm, and turning into mist or bats when the mood strikes.A creature of darkness. A metaphor for fear, desire, and death itself.But where did he come from?