Isn't it weird how often the horrors in our favourite scary stories tend to look a lot like, uh… ladies? Join me as I dig up the social and cultural contexts behind classic ghost stories and legends to challenge the often one-dimensional portrayal of women in horror.
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“Aliens”: Game Over, Men – Game Over
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Send me a text message! In this thrilling conclusion to our two-part series on the “Alien” franchise, Paranormal Pajama Party dissects the 1986 classic sequel, "Aliens." We’re talking about Ellen Ripley’s groundbreaking portrayal of a female action hero and feminist icon, considering the ethics of care in Ripley's decision-making, and contrasting i…
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“Alien”: In Space, No One Can Hear Dudes Scream
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Send me a text message! *MASSIVE CONTENT WARNING FOR THIS ONE:* This episode contains well as explicit descriptions of fictional sexual violence that is 100% a metaphor for real-world sexual violence, plus discussion of pregnancy, extremely traumatic births, death in childbirth, and abortion. Please listen with care. On this episode of Paranormal P…
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Green Ladies and Glaistigs: Skeletons in the Walls
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Send me a text message! This week on Paranormal Pajama Party, we're heading to Scotland to meet its green ladies and glaistigs. Discover the tragic tale of Dame Lilias Drummond, whose ghostly presence still haunts Fyvie Castle centuries after her untimely death. Learn about the protective yet mischievous nature of glaistigs, the goat-legged women w…
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Send me a text message! This episode explores the complex figure of Rangda, a fearsome demon queen in Balinese mythology. Tourists may be familiar with Rangda’s frightening face, as a version of a ritual dance based on the Balinese myth of the widow-witch Calon Arang is popular at Bali’s many resorts. But Rangda is a much more complex figure than t…
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The Cult of True Womanhood: “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Part 2
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Send me a text message! This episode is the long-promised part two of our exploration of “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was doing his thing In 19th-century America, at a time middle- and upper-class white women were being encouraged to join the "Cult of True Womanhood", which idealised women as pious, pure, submissive, and…
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"What Happens Next?": Are Reproductive Rights Human Rights?
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Send me a text message! Paranormal Pajama Party is pro-self-care. I mean, come on. Pajamas are right there in the name. To be kind to myself this week, I'm not releasing a new episode. Instead, I'm sharing an episode I wrote and produced for the other podcast I make – the one people actually pay me for. This is Monash University's What Happens Next…
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Beautiful Dead Women: “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Part 1
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Send me a text message! When you think horror, you think of Edgar Allan Poe. His stories go hard on the eerie atmosphere, intricate plots, and unhinged characters. But it’s important to note that most of those characters are men. And among Poe’s female characters, two recurring traits stand out prominently: they’re usually beautiful, and they’re us…
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Malleus Maleficarum: Incels and Modern Witch Hunts
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Send me a text message! The dark history of witch hunts has some unsettling parallels with modern misogynistic violence. Tonight’s episode continues our discussion on Heinrich Kramer’s witch-hunting manual, the “Malleus Maleficarum”, with a critical look at its legacy, especially as it relates to incel culture and the manosphere. We’ll examine the …
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Malleus Maleficarum: Hammer of Witches
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Send me a text message! Tonight we’re burning books! Well. Just one book. And it started it. We’re opening the pages of the “Malleus Maleficarum”, or Hammer of Witches, a 15th-century treatise on identifying, trying, and punishing witches. We get into the origins of the book and its misogynistic zealot of an author, Heinrich Kramer. I’m not saying …
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Send me a text message! Last week on Paranormal Pajama Party, we met the monster girls of Greek mythology. This week, in part two of our monster girls series, we’re considering the representation of monstrous women in horror video games. Monster girls are female-coded creatures that blend human and monstrous elements, often portrayed as both alluri…
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Send me a text message! This week on “Paranormal Pajama Party”, we’re kicking off a two-part series on the fascinating and often unsettling “monster girl” trope. These characters are more than just staples of horror media and anime; they are complex symbols that reveal deep-seated societal fears and fantasies about women. Monster girls have long em…
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The Ciguapa: Danger in the Dominican Republic
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Send me a text message! Tonight’s special guest is the ciguapa, a legendary creature from Dominican Republic folklore. At first glance, the ciguapa may seem like just another fantastical being, with her backward-facing feet, golden or blue skin, and mesmerising black eyes. But a closer examination reveals layers of meaning deeply intertwined with t…
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The Island of the Dolls: Mexico City's Haunted Hoard
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Send me a text message! Get ready to uncover the chilling mysteries surrounding the infamous Island of the Dolls. In this episode, we delve into the eerie tale of Don Julián Santana Barrera and his encounter with the spirit of a drowned young girl in the canals of Mexico City’s Xochimilco district. But why are dolls so inherently creepy? It's more …
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Send me a text message! Welcome back to Season 2 of “Paranormal Pajama Party”! I hope you’re as excited to dive back into these stories as I am. Set against the backdrop of Regency-era England (think “Bridgerton” and Jane Austen), this episode unravels the tragic story of Sarah Whitehead, a woman consumed by grief and desperation after the executio…
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Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun – Paranormal Pajama Party Returns for Season Two!
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Send me a text message! Paranormal Pajama Party Season 2 trailer Hey, boo. (Get it? Because ghosts?) It's me, Steph, and I'm delighted to announce that Paranormal Pajama Party is back for a second season, launching next week! Pull on your favourite pyjamas, grab a midnight snack or a warm drink, and join me for another round of spine-tingling stori…
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The Tower of London, Part 2: The Ghost of Anne Boleyn
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Send me a text message! The Tower of London, Part 2: Ghost of Anne Boleyn | 13 Welcome back, as we continue our ghost tour of the Tower of London, focusing on the notorious female phantoms and femme fatales who have left an indelible mark on its history. In our previous episode, we met the Countess of Salisbury Margaret Pole, Lady Arbella Stuart, a…
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The Tower of London, Part 1: The Countess of Salisbury, Lady Arbella Stuart, and Lady Jane Grey
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Send me a text message! Tonight, we’re throwing our pajama party in the iconic Tower of London, a historic fortress that has long captured the public imagination. Renowned for its rich and often dark history, the Tower of London symbolises power, intrigue, and mystery. It’s also supposed to be one of the most haunted sites in the world – and its mo…
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Beatrice Cenci: Innocent Murderess
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Send me a text message! Beatrice Cenci | 11 The life of Beatrice Cenci, born into the noble Cenci family in 1577, is a tragic tale of abuse, desperation, and defiance. Subjected to unspeakable violence and cruelty at the hands of her father, Count Francesco Cenci, Beatrice orchestrated his murder alongside her family as a means of escape. Their plo…
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"Coraline", Part 2: Scary Gender Expressions and Scarier Mothers
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Send me a text message! “Coraline” (Part 2) | 10 Welcome back to part two of our discussion on the children's horror movie "Coraline". Tonight, we’re drawing on the works of Judith Butler, Barbara Creed, and Sigmund Freud to explore its themes of gender, power, and the uncanny. In this episode, we’ll talk about how the introduction of a male charac…
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"Coraline", Part 1: The Uncanny and the Monstrous-Feminine
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Send me a text message! Tonight on the podcast, we’re unravelling the chilling tale of Coraline Jones and her mother. No, not her mother. Her Other Mother. The one with the button eyes. Coraline – both the children’s movie and the novella – is the story of a girl battling for independence and identity. This battle is symbolic, sure, but it’s also l…
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Felines, Females, and Fear: Witches and Their Familiars
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Send me a text message! Felines, Females, and Fear | 8 The relationship between women, cats, and darkness is as ancient as human civilisation itself – and that’s not just the toxoplasmosis parasites in my brain talking. Tonight, we’re diving deep into the connections between cats, women, and evil… or at least, male fear. The episode begins with a w…
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The Pontianak: The Malay Peninsula's Fiercest Ghost
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Send me a text message! The Pontianak | 7 The Pontianak is the Malay Peninsula’s fiercest – and most fearsome – phantom. She’s a vampire ghost known for her terrifying appearance and insatiable hunger for revenge. This powerful entity represents a fascinating tension between traditional mystical beliefs, contemporary Islamic culture, and Western sc…
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The Headless Mule: Brazil's Cautionary Tale
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Send me a text message! 26.2.24 Paranormal Pajama Party The Headless Mule | 6 Tonight’s episode tells the story of Brazil’s headless mule, or mula sem cabeça, Argentina’s almamula, and their older sister, the muladona of Catalan mythology. Hold on – we’re in for a wild ride with this one. Imagine being cursed for eternity because you dared to defy …
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“The Boarded Window”: 'The Oregon Trail' Lied to Us
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Send me a text message! 19.2.24 Paranormal Pajama Party “The Boarded Window” | 5 ⚠️ This episode contains spoilers ahead for “The Boarded Window”, which I read at the beginning. You can read it here (for free!) first if you’d prefer. ⚠️ In Ambrose Bierce’s popular short story, “The Boarded Window”, the mysterious former pioneer Murlock lives out hi…
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Sweet Dreams: The Night Hag, the Mare, and the Succubus
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Send me a text message! 12.2.24 Paranormal Pajama Party The Night Hag, the Mare, and the Succubus | 4 Chances are good, I'm sorry to say, you've already had a run-in with the old hag, also known as the Night Hag. She's haunted the dreams of many across cultures for thousands of years. She's strongly connected to the mare, a spirit known for riding …
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Bloody Mary: A Slumber Party Classic
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Send me a text message! 5.2.24 Paranormal Pajama Party Bloody Mary | 3 If you've been a preteen at a slumber party, chances are you've heard the chilling tale of Bloody Mary. Today, we'll dissect the origins of Bloody Mary and the various interpretations surrounding her name. Bloody Mary, the spectral figure said to appear in mirrors when her name …
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Send me a text message! 29.1.24 Paranormal Pajama Party The Rusalka | 2 Get ready for a spooky episode as Steph delves into the Slavic legend of the rusalka. Although often associated with water, these spirits are far from the mermaids we might imagine. Instead, they're more like zombies... permanently trapped in puberty. It doesn't sound fun. At t…
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The Vanishing Hitchhiker: Sibyls, the Oracle of Delphi and an Urban Legend
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Send me a text message! 22.1.24 The Vanishing Hitchhiker | 1 Welcome to the Paranormal Pajama Party! I'm so glad you could join. Get cozy, because we’re kicking off our first-ever party with a campfire standard — the vanishing hitchhiker. In this classic urban legend, a male driver picks up a seemingly innocent passenger, but the journey upends lif…
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You're invited to a Paranormal Pajama Party!
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Send me a text message! From women in white to witches, have you ever noticed how often the horrors in our favourite scary stories tend to look a lot like, uh… ladies? Paranormal Pajama Party is a podcast that brings you classic ghost stories and legends featuring female phantoms and femme fatales. Join me, Steph, a horror fan and feminist, as we d…
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