The Legend of the Kushtaka

Scared To Death

"We watched silently as Ronald swam towards his destination. And then suddenly…. Ronald disappeared from our view. He slipped under the water, hands flailing for a moment, before his hands sunk under as well. And he never came back up. Moments passed. We waited with bated breath for him to come up. Streaks of red appeared on the surface, pale at first, them blooming out into a giant scarlet cloud. Blood..."

Dan takes us to Alaska to explore a new kind of folklore, a new entity we have not yet covered on Scared To Death. The Kushtaka. According to northern legends from southern Alaska , the Kushtaka are shape shifting creatures that are half man, half otter. Not a combo that is probably going to immediately strike fear into anyone hearts when that’s all you hear. When you think of an otter, you most likely think of a cute, water-loving little creature known for floating on its back and eating shellfish. But the Kushtaka is not some cute little creature. It’s a large, bigger-than-a-man, soul-stealing shape-shifter. After Alaska, we journey to Lancaster, Ohio to hear the tale of the Mudhouse Mansion. The history of this house is a troubled one that begins with a tortuous slave owner who abused one of his slave so severely that one night, the slave murdered the slave owner and his entire family. Thus begins the Mudhouse's many bizarre activities.

In the back half of the show, Lynze has two tales. The first one, though small, is mighty. A woman has what would seem to be is a lucid dream, at least that's what she thought. She thought the creepy man with wide grin and black hat were simply a nightmare. That is until her child told her not to follow the man. How could her child know about her dreams before she even spoke of them? Was it a dream afterall? Then a story of a haunted trailer! Lynze loved this story because while it had a few moments of being tense, it was really more about confirmation of what a ghost might be capable of that is not necessarily terrifying.

New Merch: New year, new merch! Entomophobia is an extreme and persistent fear of insects. It's what's referred to as a specific phobia, which is a phobia that focuses on a particular object. That's why we just dropped the new "Take my Hand" tee in the bad magic store!

Bad Magic Productions Monthly Patreon Donation:
The first Bad Magic Productions charity of 2022 is going to be Love Thy Neighbor. We will know what the total donation amount is soon! We met the wonderful people who run this 501(3c) nonprofit primarily serving Denver and the surrounding area last time I was touring there doing shows at Comedy Works. Working with generous local businesses, they hand out free food to the homeless. They also give clothing, shoes, blankets, etc and distribute them to the homeless. They literally keep people alive by supplying both food and clothing to people homeless in a cold, cold city. To find out more and/or donate yourself, please go to https://ltnsocks.com/

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Mailing Address:

Scared to Death
c/o Timesuck Podcast
PO Box 3891
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83816

Video/Audio by Bad Magic Productions
Additional music production by Jeffrey Montoya
Additional music production by Zach Cohen
Various free audio provided by http://freesound.org
Opening Sumerian protection spell (adapted):
"Whether thou art a ghost that hath come from the earth, or a phantom of night that hath no home… or one that lieth dead in the desert… or a ghost unburied… or a demon or a ghoul… Whatever thou be until thou art removed… thou shalt find here no water to drink… Thou shalt not stretch forth thy hand to our own… Into our house enter thou not. Through our fence, breakthrough thou not… we are protected though we may be frightened. Our life you may not steal, though we may feel SCARED TO DEATH."