Are you hungry like the wolf? In the last of our Halloween triple bill, Gillian tells Emma all about the centuries long history of the werewolf, tracing the development of this supernatural creature from ancient origins to the silver screen. They discuss the various ways that werewolves have been thought to change their shape (curses, spells, magic belts, the moon), the werewolf trials of the early modern period, whether all werewolves are bad, and where tropes like the silver bullet come from. And they consider whether werewolves reflect our fear of the other – or of ourselves. So what was the twelfth-century werewolf Renaissance? Did Twilight and Buffy get anything right about these creatures? And how do werewolf myths relate to the real-life wolves that used to roam Europe?

Unruly History is the podcast that blows apart the historical canon. This episode was hosted by Dr Gillian Kenny and Dr Emma Nagouse, and produced by Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow. We are a completely independent production, so please consider subscribing at patreon.com/unrulyhistory for all kinds of exciting bonus content.

Our cover art is by the supremely talented Aaron Kite, https://itsakite.com/

Sources:

Daniel Ogden, The Werewolf in the Ancient World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021).

Roger Bartra, The Myth of the Werewolf (Springer Nature Switzerland, 2024).

Renée Ward, The Werewolf in Medieval Romance (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025).

Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1988).

Do you believe in miracles, you sexy thing? In the second of three Halloween specials, Emma tells Gillian all about scandalous seventeenth-century Italian nun Benedetta Carlini, the wild visions she claimed to experience, and the lesbian acts that led to her downfall. They explore Benedetta's religious upbringing against the backdrop of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, her ambitious rise through the ranks of the convent where she lived, and the escalating series of religious experiences she claimed to have had – including an angel bestie and a mystical marriage to Jesus Christ Himself. But how can you tell whether a vision is divine or demonic? Was Benedetta the original bridezilla? And what did she get up to after dark with her 'companion', Bartolemea?

Unruly History is the podcast that blows apart the historical canon. This episode was hosted by Dr Gillian Kenny and Dr Emma Nagouse, and produced by Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow. We are a completely independent production, so please consider subscribing at patreon.com/unrulyhistory for all kinds of exciting bonus content.

Our cover art is by the supremely talented Aaron Kite, https://itsakite.com/

Sources:

Judith C. Brown, Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986).

Have you ever heard the chilling cry of the banshee? In the first of three Halloween specials, Gillian tells Emma all about Ireland's maligned and misunderstood death messenger. They discuss when and where the banshee cries, who gets to hear her, and which deaths she's interested in foretelling, before diving into the deep roots of this supernatural woman, both folkloric and historical. How did tales of a sovereign goddess and a death messenger combine with the real-life practice of keening to create the Irish banshee? Is she a fairy – or something else entirely? And why in a country of short, dark women is she always described as a golden Barbie-like beauty?

Unruly History is the podcast that blows apart the historical canon. This episode was hosted by Dr Gillian Kenny and Dr Emma Nagouse, and produced by Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow. We are a completely independent production, so please consider subscribing at patreon.com/unrulyhistory for all kinds of exciting bonus content.

Our cover art is by the supremely talented Aaron Kite, https://itsakite.com/

Sources:

Patricia Lysaght, The Banshee: The Irish Death-Messenger (Dublin: O'Brien Press, 1986).