magic Archives - Bone and Sickle

Urban Legend

October 18, 2025 boneandsickle aliens, anomalies, crime, EPISODE, folklore, ghosts, Halloween, legends, local legends, magic, pop culture, Spook Shows, urban legends

A 1968 Halloween “Spook Show” in the Midwest left an unsettling heritage of urban legends possibly rooted in even more[…]

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The Dark Art of Ventriloquism

May 23, 2024 boneandsickle Bible, broadsheets, channeling, demons, Devil, diabolism, EPISODE, exorcism, folklore, ghosts, Hebrew mythology, history, Judaism, magic, necromancy, Old Testament, possession, puppets, ventriloquism

While the dummies may be inherently creepy, they were not the source of ventriloquism’s dark reputation in earlier times. This[…]

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The Mesmerist

April 20, 2024 boneandsickle EPISODE, folklore, Franz Mesmer, Gothic, gothic literature, history, literature, magic, medicine, mesmerism, Svengali

Our understanding of hypnotism, once known as “mesmerism,” has radically evolved over the centuries. This episode looks at where it[…]

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