Come on in. Gather round the hearth.

Once a year, folklore tells us, the world thins. The wind sounds like hooves where hooves should not be, and ancient riders move along the edges of reality.

In this episode of Geek Pizza, we explore the Wild Hunt as more than a ghost story. We look at it as a moving boundary, a reminder that thresholds, not dates, are what truly change us.

Along the way, we turn to The Hogfather as a modern myth that understands an old truth. Belief is infrastructure. Rituals do not just celebrate the world. They hold it together. And when belief falters, something else still rides the track.

This is a winter story about doorways, crossroads, and the danger of standing halfway through a choice.

Because New Year’s does not change you.
Stepping across a threshold does.

A Christmas ghost story from the Appalachian holler.

This Geek Pizza Holiday Special reimagines A Christmas Carol as a fireside folk tale set in a coal-town valley, filled with bottle trees, candlelit windows, and restless spirits.

Eben Crane has money, property, and power, but on Christmas Eve, he is forced to face the cost of a life lived cold. Three spirits walk him through memory, consequence, and the future still waiting to be changed.

Atmospheric. Narrative. Appalachian to the bone.

Light the fire.
Listen close.
Christmas is knocking.

From the misty lochs of Scotland to the deltas of Africa, every river has its ghosts. Join me by the hearth as we delve into tales of the Kelpie, the Washer at the Ford, the Nøkk, the Lorelei, the Water Panther, and Mami Wata spirits, which remind us that water remembers.

Come on in, kinfolk, the creek’s whispering tonight.

Gather round the hearth for a Halloween tale born from the misty hollers and the old country beyond. In this special episode of Geek Pizza, Nathaniel tells the story of Elias Boone, a young miner who makes a desperate bargain at the crossroads for the gift of music. But when the debt comes due, it is not the Devil who rides to collect. It is The Rider, whose blue flame burns with the light of every soul it has claimed.

Between the fiddle strings, the whispers of Granny Roots, and the echoes of Robert Johnson’s Cross Road Blues, this story carries you deep into the folklore that bridges the Appalachian Mountains and the old Irish myths that inspired them.

Settle in close, kinfolk. The fire is warm, but the wind outside carries hoofbeats.

Original Story by: Nathaniel King

Step off the porch and into the yard, where old magic still hums in the wind. From haint blue paint to bottle trees and iron gates, we dig into the traditions that kept mountain homes safe and the stories that still guard the holler when the night gets quiet.

Geek Pizza: A Slice of Life is a podcast about the stories and adventures that make up geek culture. Each week, host Nathaniel King talks about video games, movies, tabletop role-playing games, and folklore. Every episode explores how stories shape our world and how a bit of magic can be found in everyday life.

Nathaniel is a lifelong gamer, storyteller, and Army veteran who grew up in the Appalachian Mountains. He brings his love of myths, nature, and creative storytelling to each episode. Whether you enjoy rolling dice, watching fantasy movies, or learning about old legends, Geek Pizza has something for you.

So grab a slice, sit back, and join the conversation about the games, stories, and ideas that keep our imaginations alive.