Today's episode includes discussion of death, suicide, emotional abandonment, wartime trauma, depression, spiritual unrest, and folklore involving ghosts and vengeful spirits- as they relate to Christmas in Japan.

Source Notes & References

BBC News. "Why KFC Is Japan’s Go-To Christmas Dinner."

Japan Times. "How Christmas Became a Romantic Holiday in Japan."

National Diet Library of Japan. Historical records on post-war Westernization and consumer culture.

Turnbull, Stephen. The Kakure Kirishitan of Japan.

Britannica. "Christianity in Japan."

Paramore, Kiri. Ideology and Christianity in Japan.

Foster, Michael Dylan. The Book of Yōkai.

Reider, Noriko T. Japanese Demon Lore: Oni from Ancient Times to the Present.

Lafcadio Hearn. Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things.

World Health Organization (WHO). Suicide and seasonal trends reports.

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan). Annual suicide statistics and winter trend data.

Japan Times. "Loneliness and Seasonal Depression in Urban Japan."

Mizuki, Shigeru. Yōkai Watch and Collected Folklore Essays.

University of Tokyo Folklore Studies Archive. Urban legends and modern spirit narratives.

Journey with us to Iceland, where we discuss a towering feline menace with a taste for fashion—and flesh. Sources:

The Myth of the Yule Cat: Iceland’s Weird Christmas Monster | The Pagan Grimoire

Yule cat - Wikipedia

Beware the Yule Cat, Iceland’s Child-Eating Christmas Monster - Atlas Obscura

Christmas Cat Cost Causes Controversy

Most of us know Jack Frost as a playful trickster. However, did you know that he is linked to a modern true-crime case?

Join us today as we explore the legend that is Jack Frost.

SOURCES & REFERENCES

• Grimm, Jacob. Teutonic Mythology. (1883).

• Briggs, Katharine. A Dictionary of Fairies. (1976).

• Rydberg, Viktor. Teutonic Mythology: Gods & Goddesses. (1907).

• Anglo-Saxon Chronicle references to winter spirits (translated editions).

• Afanasyev, Alexander. Russian Fairy Tales — Morozko story variants.

• Minnesota Cold Case Review (1973 declassified notes; regional historical society archives).

• Newspaper archives from 1838 (London), 1855 (Massachusetts), and 1799 (Scotland) documenting winter deaths.

• “Myth-Assisted Homicide: Seasonal Patterns in Rural Crime” — Journal of Criminal Psychology (1998).

• Society for Psychical Research — Winter phenomenon case files.

• Northwoods Folklore Archive — Frost pattern reports.