What happens when a song is played backward? Hidden messages, satanic panic, and one of music history’s strangest rabbit holes collide in this episode of Folklore & Bullshit. We dive into the origins of backmasking, the accusations that rocked the music world, and the question that still lingers: were these messages intentional, or were people just hearing what they wanted to hear?

Contact us: folklorepodcast26@gmail.com

Sources:

Brain priming and environment | neurodivergent insights. (n.d.-a). https://neurodivergentinsights.com/brain-priming/

The devil wears headphones: A brief history of backmasking. (n.d.-e). https://www.mentalfloss.com/entertainment/music/devil-wears-headphones-brief-history-backmasking

Elo’s fire on high... the backwards lyrics, turned around - youtube. (n.d.-b). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzmeKHv5k3o

Meet the beatles for real: Look-alike. (n.d.-c). http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2011/04/look-alike.html

Music’s biggest conspiracy theory: “Paul is dead” - the beatles story museum, Liverpool. (n.d.-d). https://www.beatlesstory.com/blog/paul-is-dead/

The Satanic message in “Stairway to heaven” - youtube. (n.d.-f). https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MnfdxPDKb08?cbrd=1

Is Florida's infamous I-4 Dead Zone really the most haunted stretch of highway in the state? In this episode of Folklore & Bullshit, Amber and Keegan explore the eerie legends behind the I-4 Dead Zone, from ghostly hitchhikers and mysterious orbs to abandoned graves, cursed construction, and the chilling history of St. Joseph's Colony. Buckle up as they separate fact from folklore and ask whether there's more than bad traffic lurking on I-4.

Contact us: folklorepodcast26@gmail.com

Resources:

Muncy, M., & Schultz, K. (2022). Freaky Florida the Wonderhouse, the Devil’s tree, the shaman of Philippe Park, and more. Arcadia Publishing.

The I-4 dead zone - florida’s Haunted Highway - Us Ghost Adventures. US Ghost Adventures . (2023, January 27). https://usghostadventures.com/haunted-stories/americas-most-haunted-east/the-i-4-dead-zone-floridas-haunted-highway/

Norman, L. (2024, January 26). Florida highway tops this list of deadliest Interstates in the U.S., crash data shows. The Daytona Beach News Journal . https://eu.news-journalonline.com/story/news/2024/01/26/florida-highway-i-40crashes-accidents-fatal-dangerous-highway-list-interstate-4/72364253007/

What happens when an invisible killer sweeps across a continent and fear spreads faster than the disease itself?

In this episode of Folklore & Bullshit, Keegan and Amber explore one of history’s darkest moments: the Black Death. From plague ships arriving in medieval Europe to the terrifying symptoms that devastated entire communities.

But the plague wasn’t the only thing spreading.

As fear took over, people searched for answers. They blamed poisoned wells, witches, “bad air,” and entire groups of people, leading to tragic consequences. We dive into the strange cures, terrifying beliefs, and the folklore that grew around one of history’s deadliest diseases.

References:

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Plague. CDC. Updated July 25, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/plague/
2. World Health Organization. Plague. WHO. Accessed July 8, 2026. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/plague
3. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Black Death. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Accessed July 8, 2026. https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-Death
4. History.com Editors. Black Death. HISTORY. Updated May 19, 2023. Accessed July 8, 2026. https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/black-death
5. Benedictow OJ. The Black Death, 1346-1353: The Complete History. Boydell Press; 2004.
6. Kelly J. The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time. Harper Perennial; 2005.
7. Cantor NF. In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made. Free Press; 2001.
8. NPR. Did Surviving the Black Death Change Human Genetics? National Public Radio. Published October 19, 2022. Accessed July 8, 2026. https://www.npr.org/
9. Barreiro LB, Klunk J, and colleagues. Research on genetic adaptation following the Black Death. Published in Nature. 2022.
10. de’ Mussi G. Historia de Morbo. Fourteenth-century chronicle describing the siege of Caffa and the spread of plague.