For more than two thousand years, grieving families blamed the same woman for the deaths of their children. Her name was Lilith.

You've heard the story. Now hear the case.

Across ancient Mesopotamia, Jewish folklore, medieval Europe, and generations of household tradition, Lilith became an immortal woman of the night: an enemy of childbirth, a killer of infants, and one of folklore's most enduring female monsters.

But there was never a single crime scene. There were only thousands of families confronting the same terrifying reality: mothers and newborns who could become sick and die without warning.

This week, Folklore Forensics reopens the case against Lilith.

From ancient Mesopotamian spirits and the Hebrew Bible to the Alphabet of Ben Sira, protective amulets, incantation bowls, and medieval birth rituals, we investigate how centuries of folklore transformed unexplained death into an enemy families could fight.

And we ask a more difficult question:

When grief refuses to explain itself, why do we need to give it a face?

Folklore Forensics reopens myths, legends, and folklore as historical criminal cases. Listener discretion is advised.

Written and hosted by Danielle Christmas and produced by Audio Ellis.

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Case suggestions and research inquiries: folkloreforensicspod@gmail.com