In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will share the Danish folktale, “Prince Lindworm.” It’s a story of shadow and light, female agency and transformation. It’s also a story with a sequel. This mash-up or compilation of folktales is filled with metaphors and symbols. There is so much to discuss that will carry this on to the next podcast.

Story: East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North, illus. Kay Nielsen (New York: George H. Dorwan Co., 1922). "Strong Fairy Tale Heroines #21: Prince Lindworm" in Seven Miles of Steel Thistles: a blog by Katherine Langrish (July 14, 2020).
Illustration: "The Maiden Amidst the Lindorm's Shed Skins," illustration by Henry Justice Ford for Andrew Lang's The Pink Fairy Book (1897).

This podcast is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2025 Kathy Shimpock.

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, shares the story of "The Vampire Skeleton Corpse." This is a frightening tale from the Iroquois tradition. Although there is never a single meaning for any story, this one has an important teaching for the days ahead.

Story: This story is a conflation of early Iroquois variants and my version of the story as told by Joseph Bruchac. Iroquois Stories: Heroes and Heroines, Monsters and Magic as told by Joseph Bruchac (Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press, 1985).
Illustration: Birch bark longhouse. Fungus Guy, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons. "The Subject and his Skeleton" in Magic: Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, 1897 (public domain worldwide).

This podcast is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2025 Kathy Shimpock.

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will be reading Charles Dickens’ masterpiece, A Christmas Carol. The work is a novella, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843. Because of the story's length, it will be read over four episodes. This is chapter four and five (or what Dickens called Stave Four, The Last of the Spirits and Stave 5, The End of It). In this story Scrooge will have a visit from "Christmas Future." He will again visit the home of Bob Cratchit and discover the fate of Tiny Tim and of himself too. You'll find a link in the credits to the tale, so you can read along. At the end of each reading, there will be questions for you to journal and reflect on. My comments on A Christmas Carol can be found on my blog entitled, "Why We Remember A Christmas Carol." Although Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol long ago, this story is relevant for today.

Story: A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens (1843).
A Christmas Carol Study Questions, East Tennessee State University.
Illustration: Arthur Rackham, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Music: The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2024 Kathy Shimpock.

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will be reading Charles Dickens’ masterpiece, A Christmas Carol. The work is a novella, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843. Because of the story's length, it will be read over four episodes. This is chapter three (or what Dickens called Stave Three, The Second of the Three Spirits). In this story Scrooge will have a visit from "Christmas Present." He will visit the home of Bob Cratchit and his nephew Fred. You'll find a link in the credits to the tale, so you can read along. At the end of each reading, there will be questions for you to journal and reflect on. Although Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol long ago, this story is relevant for today.

Story: A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens (1843).
A Christmas Carol Study Questions, East Tennessee State University.
Illustration: Arthur Rackham, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Music: The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2024 Kathy Shimpock.

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will be reading Charles Dickens’ masterpiece, A Christmas Carol. The work is a novella, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843. Because of the story's length, it will be read over four episodes. This is chapter two (or what Dickens called Stave Two, The First of the Three Spirits). In this story Scrooge will have a visit from "Christmas Past." He will visit his childhood, time when he was apprenticed, and his failed relationship with Belle. You'll find a link in the credits to the tale, so you can read along. At the end of each reading, there will be questions for you to journal and reflect on. Although Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol long ago, this story is relevant for today.

Story: A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens (1843).
A Christmas Carol Study Questions, East Tennessee State University.
Illustration: Arthur Rackham, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Music: The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2024 Kathy Shimpock.

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will be reading Charles Dickens’ masterpiece, A Christmas Carol. The work is a novella, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843. Because of the story's length, it will be read over the next four episodes. This is chapter one (or what Dickens called Stave One, Marley’s Ghost). You'll find a link in the credits to the tale, so you can read along. At the end of each reading, there will be questions for you to journal and reflect on. Although Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol long ago, this story is relevant for today.

Story: A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens (1843).
A Christmas Carol Study Questions, East Tennessee State University.
Illustration: Arthur Rackham, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Music: The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2024 Kathy Shimpock.

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will be reading “Stribor’s Forest.” It’s a Croation literary tale written by Ivana Brlic-Mazuranic. It is a tale longer than most, so grab some tea and your journal before we begin. After listening to this story, you might have some thoughts to jot down and ideas to explore.

Story: "Stribor's Forest" by Ivana Brlic-Mazuranic in Croation Tales of Long Ago, trans. by F.S. Copeland (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co. Pub., 1924). (In Project Gutenberg.)
Illustration: Vladimir Kirin.
Music: The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2024 Kathy Shimpock.

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will explore elder abuse, as seen in stories, folklore and actual life. We'll start our exploration with a practice found in Japanese stories called ubasute or "abandoning the old woman." Then we'll shift to modern day America and the recent death of my friend who was killed by a family member in an unspeakable act of "elder abuse."

Story: Uchida, Yoshiko, The Wise Old Woman. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1994.
Illustration: By Yoshitoshi ( Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12303980muian04/04yoshitoshi05037.jpg )
For more information: National Center for Elder Abuse (https://ncea.acl.gov)
Music: The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2024 Kathy Shimpock.

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).