Spirits: A Drunken Dive into Myths and Legends discussion

Welcome to our GoodReads group! Use this thread as a place to say hello to the other Spiriters and share your favorite myths, legends, and lore.

Hi fellow Spiriters! I'm Catherine, and I am plain obsessed with indigenous American stories (among others). Specifically, I really love Mesoamerican (Mexico/Central America, so Maya/Aztec mostly) literature—in fact I'm soon going to be working on a library project about the Mayan creation narrative, called the Popol Vuh. So this podcast is my jam!! Love hearing stories that are new to me. Looking forward to meeting some of y'all :)

Hello! My name is TinTin and I'm from the Philippines :D I discovered this podcast when I was browsing for podcasts with "mythology" as the search keyword. Saw the logo and thought it was cool. I then checked the description of the show and some of the episode. I immediately saw aswang and gave the podcast a go.

Most of my knowledge in myths are that of the Greeks and Romans thanks to Edith Hamilton's Mythology (I haven't read the Norse section yet) and Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series (including spin-offs and companion books). I also know a few Egyptian myths, again thanks to Rick Riordan. With regards to Philippine myths, it's mostly from stories I heard while growing up and those covered in school. I genuinely want to learn more about the indigenous gods in my country.

Anyway, I love this show. Keep it up! :D

Hi! I've been binge listening to the podcast and was pumped to hear you were starting a goodreads group! First off, as a teacher who needs to partake in boozy relief, I definitely appreciate your podcast!

I teach high school and one of my classes is Myths and Legends :) I was totally into Greek mythology, but I love hearing all the new stories through you guys! I'm excited to get some good recommendations from people so that I can bring it to my class and share something new rather than the same old same old!

Hey guys! I love the podcast to bits (kudos Buzzfeed for the sick intro) and so glad to have a goodreads group for us share all the myth-ilicious goodness together.

First year of uni and so glad to have Spirits to bring a splash of puns and lore to my days. I love love love Greek and Roman mythology (I spot another Riordan reader); definitively intrigued by East Asian legends and myths especially since they have such diverse origins as well as outcomes.

Absolutely love the podcast and am so excited to be part of the expanding fandom through Goodreads. Am I missing the fiction thread or does that not exist yet?

I'm a huge fan of weird fiction, especially when it's got a mythological component thrown in. Currently rereading American Gods for the fourth time...another great fiction set featuring reimagined mythological creatures is Christopher Moore's Secondhand Souls and A Dirty Job. They're great snarky books with a kind heart, very Spirits-oriented.

Caleb wrote: "Absolutely love the podcast and am so excited to be part of the expanding fandom through Goodreads. Am I missing the fiction thread or does that not exist yet?

I'm a huge fan of weird fiction, esp..."

Hey Caleb, thanks for listening! We have our favorite myth-inspired fiction here: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

Greetings, everyone :) I quite enjoy that the Spirits podcast examines the social histories of global myths and storytelling traditions!

I have to say, even though Greek mythology has had heavy influence over a lot of human history, no one ever gives credit to one of the most maligned deities of any pantheon--Hera. Seriously--as soon as she was born, her father ate her. Hera was alive in his stomach until her brother Zeus killed her father, and then promptly married her. She became the goddess of women and marriage and birth, and started to exhibit her own power and autonomy. And then, her brother-husband consolidates his power by consistently cheating on her, having children, and generally disrespecting her. (This being a somewhat reductive synopsis). I know Hera has done some pretty heinous things in mythology, and this is often attributed to her possessing jealousy and other womanly evils, but she acted out of vengeance to protect her reputation and her perception of justice, and to preserve the life she had in accordance with her godly duties. Hera deserves more love.

Well, thanks for listening! And thank you, Amanda and Julia, for creating Spirits!

Hey everyone! I'm such a huge fan of the podcast and i bingelistened to the podcast in about three days... Myths and legends have been so very near and dear to my heart since i was a child...

I'm so happy to have joined the GoodReads community and had never heard of this until the podcast. I have added the Sabriel series to my list of things to read! I'm so excited to read it!

I'm a huge fan of Greek and Egyptian Mythology. I absolutely fangirl squealed when i went to Greece in my freshman year of high school... lol I actually cried when i went to temple in Delphi...

I hope to learn more on your podcast and expand my list of books i've read here in this community... thank you so much for your podcast and everything...

Plus i totally geek out when you mention anime and manga titles... Your.Name was so good... it is up in the top 5 anime movies i recommend to people...

Thank you again for everything!! ( i hope i haven't rambled on too much... )

Hey, everyone! Been listening to Spirits since late last year and been a member of this group for a while - forgot to post an introduction (whoops). Podcasts (and audiobooks) have sort of become my entertainment on the way to and from work. I stumbled on Spirits completely by chance. I don't even remember what I was searching for, but I'm glad it happened.

I've loved mythology since my first introduction to it - fifth grade History when we worked on the Greek/Roman unit. I sort of knew bits and pieces, but that was what got me started. I'm more of a fan of faeries and fae-lore but I'm always game for myths, legends, and lore.

Lately, I've been binging on Percy Jackson stuff, so Greek myths are back in for me after several months of Children's Ballads and Scandinavian lore. I love the variety that you ladies bring about to us listeners and how geeky you get. And I can't wait for the next episode!

Hello! My name is Noelle, I'm 25 and (obviously) love reading! I've been into mythology since I was like...ten and learning how to jar organs for Egyptian gods and goddesses. I love Greek and Egyptian mythology, but I'm definitely open to learning about other cultures!

Hi everybody! My name is Zeke, and it seems I am in good company because I am also an avid reader! I'm a first year graduate student working towards my PhD in biology (U.S.) and I read every night before going to sleep (and sometimes if I have some blissful free time on the weekends).

I got into Spirits by way of Lore, which I enjoyed at first but soon found to be a bit pedantic and Aaron Mehnke to be a bit condescending. While perusing Apple Podcasts, I stumbled across Spirits (they had just released their fourth episode) and I was immediately hooked! It was great for my walks to campus and between classes, and is a great fun and informational laugh for my commute to work nowadays.

In terms of my literary interests, I have been on a massive binge of cosmic horror (I would LOVE an episode of Spirits devoted to the Cthulu mythos of Lovecraft or the Old Leech mythos of Laird Barron) lately, and wanted something lighter. So I'm going back to my middle school roots by reading Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase & the Gods of Asgard trilogy! I grew up learning Greek myths, but lately I've been very interested in furthering my knowledge of Inuit, Egyptian, and indigenous American mythologies... It's nice to meet everybody!

Hello, my name is Gilberto. My favorite mythology is Greek, but I have a soft spot for fictional mythologies like Tolkien's. It is something that I like incorporating into my own work as a writer.

I recently graduated from college where I majored in anthropology and French and minored in creative writing. My favorite mythological stories include powerful female characters like Circe or Morgan le Fay.

hey yall! im lex! my pronouns are they/them. im a baker and im currently in school (again) for film. i recently discovered (and finished) spirits and im attempting to read more so i was really happy to find this place!

Hi folks! I've kind of been lurking here a little and been a fan of the podcast for ages…I'm trying to read more this year tho since I barely read any books last year (I decided podcasts count as reading…right?). Think this might be a nice place to encourage that reading!

Love stories with fantasy/magic realism and mythology obvs, plus comics – anything which really builds up a mythology. I'm currently reading Practical Magic (which the movie is based on) and it's really lovely – more magic realism than straight up magic but it's very folklore-ish and features a spirit or two. I've a couple more witchy books on my to read list for the year too, looking forward to getting some more recommendations and having some chats! :D

Hi lovelies, I'm Teddy! I'm England and I love UK and Norse mythology, you can blame my mum for getting me a DK book on Myths and Legends when I was very young. Spirits just seemed perfect to me, because mythology, urban legends and booze!

I love books like The Raven Cycle, Tithe, most things by Angela Carter and everythign i've read of Kelly Link but I also love books on macabre history and funereal traditions (with a death positive leaning ;) )

Hello all! It looks like this group hasn't been active in a few months... but I am a diehard mythology fan... always down to learn new lore and stories and just everything. I am actually eventually going to school for Anthropology... a few years down the line, finishing my associates in Business first... but I think that this is a fantastic idea!

I love reading books Harry Potter, a lot of Sci-fi, and just recently this author named Brom who wrote a book called "Lost Gods", and another "Krampus." He is slowly becoming my new favorite.... but I look forward to becoming apart of the community.

McKenzie wrote: "Hello all! It looks like this group hasn't been active in a few months... but I am a diehard mythology fan... always down to learn new lore and stories and just everything. I am actually eventually..."

Hi, McKenzie! We're quiet but we're here (=

Hey, everyone! I'm Lire. I adore Spirits and am contemplating a Sabriel reread, because it's awesome and it keeps getting referenced on the show.

Hello! I am a long time listener and a lifetime fan of myths, legends and spooky stories! I read a wide variety of things though as long as it's entertaining or educational. I love all kinds of books. Recently I've started listening to audio books so I can multitask or get through some literature I'd otherwise struggle with (AKA: Be bored to tears intermittently with because it's in 18th century prose or just very long winded)

I just finished Haunted Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I highly recommend listening to it, the middle kind of goes stagnant with a bunch of needless descriptors. The Netflix adaptation is a much more entertaining and updated rendition, imo.

Howdy all! I'm Sarah, listener for a couple months. (Binge listening is Olympian, geeze.) Going back to reading roots, and I am craving all the mythical goodness. In middle school, I was constantly in the library, taking out different mythologies, exploring the world between pages. I adore Authorian legends, and have a soft spot for myths from the British Isles. But most importantly, I love stories of tricksters - Coyote, Loki, ect. Correction, I love tricksters and always looking to celebrate them more.

Thrilled for my new reading hook ups!

Hello, I'm Caryn! I've got my roots in Greek mythology but have been broadening my horizons for many years. I play Smite, which is a fun way to learn a bit about mythology, too. Always looking for good informational books on myths, religions and cryptozoology!
Kids books, pertaining to it, too! I have a collection started of myths from around the world for my daughter!

Hello! I'm Poli! I'm 20 and I've been a Spirits fan for about two years, but only now decided to join in Goodreads because I kept forgetting to do so before. I'm Mexican and grew up with indigenous tales from all around my country (although I am not indigenous myself, I identify as mixed raced or mestiza) and visiting the ancient ruins of the Mayans, Aztecs, and others, I think that might have been how I fell in love with mythology!! Now I love fantasy and legends from all over the world!!

So very excited to stumble upon this group and learn that there is a podcast as well. Can't wait to give it a listen and see what you're saying about us.

Catherine wrote: "Hi fellow Spiriters! I'm Catherine, and I am plain obsessed with indigenous American stories (among others). Specifically, I really love Mesoamerican (Mexico/Central America, so Maya/Aztec mostly) ..."
Hey Catherine!!! I recently studied Mesoamerican Art from the Pre-Clasic to the Clasic eras in University and will study Mesoamerican Art from the Clasic to Post-Clasic eras next semester, however my teacher was pretty awful. I would love to compare notes sometimes and maybe fill in some mythology holes my awful teacher left!

Poli wrote: "Hello! I'm Poli! I'm 20 and I've been a Spirits fan for about two years, but only now decided to join in Goodreads because I kept forgetting to do so before. I'm Mexican and grew up with indigenous..."
Hey, I'm Poli's new account, I lost my password and even e-mail for this old account, because I had it since age 11, but I am back!

Hey folks! I'm Jaya, I'm 19, and I've been listening to Spirits for about a year now. It's my go-to podcast to binge whenever I'm between audio dramas!

I was trained in classical Indian dance for ten years so I know a lot of South Indian and Hindu mythology. I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy and just got my mom into NK Jemisin's books, which I adore. I just started reading The Edge of Memory: Ancient Stories, Oral Tradition and the Post-Glacial World, a book that connects the geologic history of Australia with the Aboriginal stories that were passed down over generations! I ALSO just got my mom to start listening to Spirits with ep. 88 (Sharks), because she's a professor of religion and ecology (and I'm studying ecology and physics), so that episode was right up both of our alleys!

Hello! I'm Mandy from Singapore (that's a country in South-East Asia), and I'm 30. I've been absolutely binge-listening to Spirits these past few weeks and I'm loving every second of it!!

I am ethnically Chinese so I particularly enjoyed the episodes with Chinese urban legends - Butterfly Lovers was a bedtime story for me - and have so many more I could recommend! I also enjoy learning more about other urban legends from different cultures. This is my go-to podcast to entertain me while I'm hammering away at my office job all day.

Hi everybody! Cheyenne, they/them, agender, nerd. Fairly new to Spirits, but loving it so far. I always love learning about mythology, so some of these are familiar and some are completely new.

I do book reviews, so feel free to give me a follow. I love that sometimes the stories on here tie into some of the books I've read or gives new context to a story I already know.

Hello all! My (online) name is Natashalie Lumley, but most people call me Nat. (Pronouns she/her, orientation aro/ace.) I've listened to Spirits for quite a while now, although it's been a minute since I've listened to a new episode (sorry! I found a Pathfinder podcast and got wrapped up in that. Downloading a couple new episodes for today though!). I really enjoy hearing all the different book recommendations, even if they're not stuff I would normally read I like to hear/read about people being really pumped about reading!

I mostly prefer light-hearted YA books (that are not super romance focused) to anything else. My absolute FAVORITE author is Patricia C Wrede - I've read all but maybe 3 of her books, and two of them are Star Wars novels (the other is written in old English which I can sometimes handle? but it was a library copy on old paper and it just all conspired to make my head hurt). I have listened to "Children of Blood and Bone" (both because of the rec on Spirits and a rec somewhere else, and because I wanted to support representation) and that was about as dark/heavy-topic as I get. Still excited to see all the recommendations on here though!

(Also if you haven't noticed, I have ADHD and tend to ramble. To me all information is important so I write it all down. XD)

Hey guys, I'm Jasmin, I just joined this group as I got to the episode on spirits where this group was announced.
I've always loved mythologies ever since reading my first Greek mythology YA series as a teen (which, surprisingly enough, wasn't Percy Jackson XD) and always love to discover new mythologies or deepen my knowledge I have about the ones I already know.
I also have a very soft spot for fairytales (especially the Grimm and Polish ones I grew up with) which comes with an obsession of The Beauty and the Beast in all its versions, from the original fairytale to all the Disney versions and all the different live action movies.
I don't know what else to say here. XD
I guess I can say that I also like to do book reviews? I'm mostly just jotting down my thoughts for the friends who follow me though.

*waves excitedly* If you like greek mythology check out inthepantheon.com its the gods being summoned back to modern day. Also, we just published our first anthology of the gods called immortal fears! Please email me at [email protected] if you want to review

Immortal Fears

Hello, I'm Kayleigh! I just found out about this group from the podcast website! I'm still not caught up with all the episodes, but it's my favorite to listen to at work. I work in a library and love books and mythology and folklore. I'm especially into the folklore of the British isles, but I like learning about stories from the rest of the world too. :) So happy to be part of this group!

Hello! I'm Kayden (they/them) and I FINALLY caught up with almost all of the spirits podcast episodes! My favorite episodes have been the ones that cover Korean and other non-European indigenous folklore as an adopted Korean myself. I'd love to hear more (Native) American based folklore as someone occupying Native land here on Turtle Island.

Hiya! I'm Keekee (they/them) and I have loved mythology since before I can remember! My partner and I found Spirits about a year ago when we were looking for an excellent podcast to listen to while we played Minecraft.

While I have many favorite mythoi, I have to name Cajun mythology as my favorite simply because I was born and raised with it in Southwest Louisiana. My top two favorite creatures are the loup-garou (aka rougarou) and the feu follet!

Aloha e Spirits Goodreads! Eia mai au o Thea (sie/hir or she/her). If you were wondering what language I was using in my introduction, it's Hawaiian. I am indigenous Hawaiian myself and listen in from Hawaii, so hearing Julia Schifini pronounce Niʻihau as "Niahau" in the Pele episode was very funny to me. I appreciate that the Spirits hosts acknowledge their privilege and are respectful toward the cultures they learn from.
My favorite Spirits episodes tend to be from the cultures I come from (Hawaii, China, Japan), creatures (including the sharks one from Melissa Cristina Marquez), and topics that seem to come from left field but make so much sense once they're explained (like Julia Turshen on bread and Caroline Crampton on the River Thames). And Jacheongbi. And "Creepy or Cool." Thank you Amanda and Julia for introducing me to other fantastic shows like Shedunnit and Arden!