Episode 152: Creepy or Cool? (Live from the Bell House)
/Live from the Bell House, Julia is putting on her game show crop top and hosting CREEPY OR COOL - a game where you guess if a creature is, well… creepy or cool. It’s like friendship! But where someone wins!
Check out our INSTAGRAM for the slides from this episode!
This week, Julia recommends The Lighthouse. Amanda recommends the Reluctant Royals Series (again).
Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about child death, bodily functions, body horror, feet, corpse-eating, blood, insects, unsanitary conditions, suffocation, murder, drowning, kidnapping,
Sponsors
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Transcript
Amanda: Welcome to Spirits Podcast, a boozy dive into mythology, legends, and folklore. Every week we pour a drink and learn about a new story from around the world. I'm Amanda.
Julia: And I'm Julia.
Amanda: And this is Episode 152, "Creepy or Cool?", live from The Bell House.
Julia: Man, the Bell House show is so good. Editor Eric just sent me a message being like "Wow, I forgot how funny this was," and it made me smile with such delight.
Amanda: It was so lovely. For those who may not know, The Bell House is an iconic venue for live podcasting. Maybe just to those of us in New York, but years and years ago, Eric and I saw Thrilling Adventure Hour live at The Bell House. Julia and I have gone to see shows live at The Bell House. And it's just like Carnegie Hall, it's like Radio City Music Hall, to us, it's just one of those venues, and being able to do multitude live there and have such a fun time, and look out over a crowd of people under this extremely rustic ceiling, that I have stared up at so many times from the audience, was mind-blowing. And it's super fun, and we're so excited to share it with you.
Julia: Yeah, it was absolutely wonderful. It's probably one of those experiences that's going to be ingrained in my mind for the rest of my life, which is...
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: ... wild, just a wild concept.
Amanda: It's amazing. I remember every moment of it. And Julia absolutely kicked ass preparing this presentation. It was so funny. There were slides up behind us, which we will share the images, by the way, that we were looking at on our Instagram, @spiritspodcast. Go ahead and check it out there. But she described it, she was hilarious, she was wearing a great top, your great jokes, your timing with the slides was amazing. You're like a veritable TED speaker, Julia.
Julia: I'm just blushing. Don't make me cry on microphone. Unacceptable.
Amanda: You were so great, and I was so proud of you, and I cannot wait for everybody to know how wonderful this was.
Julia: Thank you. Do you know who else is wonderful? Not me.
Amanda: Is it our newest patrons?
Julia: Yes, it is.
Amanda: Hannah, Lindsay, Jordy, Talia, Emma, Candy, Sheera, Jason, and Luke, welcome. You are joining the wonderful sequin crop-topped ranks of our supporting producer level patrons. Phillip, Julie, Alpha Dogs, Deborah, Molly, Megan, Skylah, Samantha, Sammie, Josie, Neil, Jessica, and Phil Fresh. And our legend-level patrons: Morgan, Emily, James, Beam Me Up Scotty, Audra, Chris, Mark, Aisla, Cody, Mr. Folk, Sarah, and Jack Marie.
Julia: Even if you think you don't look good in a sequined crop-top, you do.
Amanda: Hell yeah, you do.
Julia: And so, Amanda, for this live show we were drinking beer backstage because the venue was kind enough to supply us with some, but for this episode, I want to encourage everyone to make a big punch bowl and then like try to play your own version of Creepy or Cool? Either you can play it with the slides that we provided on Instagram or you could make your own. It's a lot of fun. Just have people over, have a blast. It just might be your most memorable Halloween, who knows.
Amanda: That's so fun. And honestly as we all know creepiness and coolness are year round very fun so you can do this really anytime. It's like those drunken PowerPoint presentations that people do sometimes, but in this case you get to share something and be fun and look up like Yokai or Pokemon or historical figures or whatever it is that you want to do, and we would love to see your version of Creepy or Cool? on Instagram or Twitter. Tag us @spiritspodcast.
Julia: Absolutely please do it. I would love to see your versions or just how your friends react to it. That'll be a lot of fun. Amanda, I want to hear what you've been listening to, reading, or watching lately. But first I had to tell you about The Lighthouse.
Amanda: Plot twist. Tell me all about it.
Julia: Oh, The Lighthouse was so good.
Amanda: You mean the Virginia Woolf novel, which is kind of about depression and queerness and marriage?
Julia: No, about the movie that just came out.
Amanda: Oh.
Julia: It's the black and white one. Have you watched the trailer for this?
Amanda: No.
Julia: Okay. It is black and white. It is Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe-
Amanda: Oh, my goodness.
Julia: And they play early 18th century lighthouse keepers that are stuck on an island lighthouse for four weeks by themselves.
Amanda: Incredible.
Julia: And it's just...I've never seen a movie where I just kind of sat down, and I was like, "I don't know if this is like going to be..." The first 20 minutes were like, oh his seems okay. And then it just grabbed me and didn't let me go, and it was incredible use of sound and imagery. And the last two scenes of the film in particular have really Renaissant mythological, in particular greek mythological parallels that I think are absolutely fantasticc, and anyone who enjoys thrilling horror and listens to this show is really, really, really going to like it.
Amanda: That's amazing. I am going to have to see it, I think.
Julia: Yes. I know you're not huge fan of horror, but I think its really good, and I think that it speak a lot to how masculinity is a prison that we are all trying to escape.
Amanda: That is the surest way to get me to watch pretty much anything.
Julia: Okay, good. I'm glad. Now, Amanda, you can tell me your recommendation.
Amanda: Well, Julia, I'm glad that you had something to recommend as well, because this week I wanted to just endorse a previous recommendation, if I could do that. I recommended the Reluctant Royals series by Alyssa Cole several weeks ago. They're adult romcom books, some might call them romance, but I think that their just romcoms but in paper form. And I recommended it after reading the first book in the series, A Princess in Theory, and it was lovely. It's like The Princess Diaries but not all white, and funny and their like modern women, and it's just absolutely wonderful and emotionally really deep, and I want to do that again because I finished the series. I read all three novels and two novellas that are currently available.
Julia: Dang.
Amanda: And I'm completely obsessed. They keep getting better, and there is nothing I like more than Instagram influencer, business owner women who love each other and their siblings and want to communicate and advocate for themselves and relationships, and I'm honestly like, this is therapy for me, and they are so good and I think every single conspirator should read the Reluctant Royal series by Alyssa Cole.
Julia: That sounds incredible. I'm actually going to have to pick those up.
Amanda: Yeah. They're extremely good. One of the novellas that sort of happened between the major novels has a woman who owns a black women nerd website, like a community website that grew into her full-time job, and she falls in love with a full time streamer and escape room game designer, and it was just like, oh, my God. Oh, my God. Wait, it's for me. It's so good.
Julia: I love it. I absolutely adore it. Ahh! It's so cute.
Amanda: We hope that you love this episode. We hope also that you check out again @spiritspodcast on Instagram so you can see the slides to which Julia was referring. They're all so beautiful, so go on over there, check out the images and listen along to Creepy or Cool? which is episode 152, `live from the Bell House.
Male: Right now, we're going to have something from Spirits.
Julia: Hello, my name is Julia Schifini. As you can tell the fact that I am slightly tipsy and also wearing sequins, I'm going to be doing something a little bit different today. I'm going to be hosting a game show. Welcome to Creepy or Cool? The point of the game is to determine whether or not a creature from mythology or folklore is creepy or cool. I'm going to invite my co-host onto the stage, Amanda McLoughlin and Eric Schneider.
Eric Silver: Hello.
Julia: Take a seat. Thank you.
Eric Silver: I spun around there a lot.
Julia: Yeah. Appreciate it.
Amanda: Ooh. Such an active stage.
Julia: Now, Amanda and Eric, I know that from years and years of us doing Spirits at this point, you have learned very much about things that are creepy and also cool.
Amanda: Yeah. We like both.
Julia: But I wanted to really create a competitive nature for this game show. So I got-
Amanda: You know-
Julia: So friendship but where someone wins.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: So I asked you guys to bring on some contestants with you. So can you introduce your team mates for me, please? Amanda, you first.
Amanda: Yes, I would love to bring out an employee who always listens to me. Brandon Grugle.
Brandon: I'm very pliable.
Eric Silver: And I would like to bring out someone who isn't exactly me, but a lot of people think he is Eric Silver. We're different people. Stop adding us about the wrong podcast on Twitter.
Brandon: Which one's the right one-
Amanda: Look, they're both in the same place at the same time.
Eric Silver: See, see you can tell-
Amanda: At the same time.
Eric Silver: You can tell. We're different people.
Eric Schneider: Yeah. We're different.
Julia: All right, gang, so here are the rules. I'm going to show you a creature from mythology or folklore that is either creepy or cool.
Eric Silver: Okay.
Julia: You are going to determine, whether or not that creature is creepy or cool. The reasoning is arbitrary as hell.
Amanda: Oh, good.
Eric Schneider: I didn't know that part.
Eric Silver: Way to set the ground rules already, Julia.
Julia: You're welcome. So I'm going to give you the name of the creature and then a physical description. I will then reveal photos of the creature. You will then-
Eric Schneider: Hold on. I have a question.
Julia: Yes.
Eric Schneider: Photos or drawings?
Julia: Oh.
Amanda: Illustrations.
Eric Silver: Because there's a very different podcast. Because those are very different, but important in-
Julia: Illustrations.
Eric Silver: Here's a photo of a unicorn. What?
Julia: We'll fix it a post, we'll fix it a post.`
Eric Silver: This smudge from the Pacific north west.
Julia: Okay. Can I-
Eric Silver: Definitely lives outside my house.
Julia: Can I get through the rules please?
Eric Silver: Yes. Yes.
Julia: I will survey you guys, get your opinions I will then give you additional information about the creature and then you will decide whether or not it is creepy of cool. I will reward points to people who guessed correctly and points if I think you're funny.
Brandon: You're done for.
Eric Schneider: Me and Schneider are going to get points for that or just...
Amanda: No.
Eric Schneider: Cool great.
Julia: Alright, we're going to start now. The first creature is the Taka nyudo. So the Taka nyudo is typically dressed like a monk, mostly humanoid, occasionally portrayed as having one eye instead of two.
Eric Silver: Ah
Julia: Are we ready for photos now?
Amanda: [crosstalk] Oh no.
Eric Schneider: Yeah, yeah.
Eric Silver: Which, wait-
Brandon: Never.
Eric Silver: What, which eye?
Julia: It doesn't matter
Amanda: Which eye?
Julia: A cyclops, motherfucker.
Eric Silver: There's one. I was just looking at Punch Back Sib and he had an eye patch on.
Brandon: No, no, you're done.
Julia: [crosstalk] Please stop.
Eric Silver: Oh that makes more sense
Julia: Please. [crosstalk]
Eric Schneider: Okay. So the left eye probably.
Eric Silver: Always the left eye
Brandon: Yeah, go left eye.
Julia: So also, more information, usually confronts people in dark alleys while the person isn't looking. When the person raises their head to look at him he increases in size at the same time and the same speed as the person looks up, going giant.
Amanda: I love him. He's my son. He's very cool. Look how adorable he is. He has his bathrobe on, his toes are manicured in a distinctive way, it's not the way I would do mine. And I like the full ears.
Julia: All right. Any other thoughts from team McLoughlin?
Brandon: Cool as hell. Look at that pattern on the robe.
Julia: Alright, alright. Very good.
Brandon: I would wear that.
Amanda: He has an under robe and an over robe.
Brandon: Cool as hell.
Amanda: Cool as hell.
Julia: Team Erics that are your thoughts?
Eric Schneider: So wait I have a quick question.
Julia: Okay
Eric Schneider: So you said he grows in size as you look up at him? [crosstalk]
Eric Schneider: So, if you just keep looking up he just keeps getting tough. That's terrifying. That's creepy. Everything else about him I like though. Great beard, as they said the fashion sense is very good.
Eric Silver: I would say that if I wanted to play a pickup basketball game, like he could fill any spot. I could look him in the eyes and be like I want you to be the same size as me. And you're like
Eric Schneider: I mean look at his defensive position...
Eric Silver: And then you look up and you're like, oh I want you to be very large. Thank you Roy Hibbert.
Julia: All right so...
Brandon: What happens when he goes 30ft though and he's way too far above the hoop?
Eric Silver: Brandon you don't know anything about basketball. That sounds amazing
Julia: Furthermore this is-
Eric Silver: It's like you haven't even watched the ten times of Space Jam I told you to watch.
Amanda: Oh my God. Furthermore, this is our mythology podcast so let's keep it mythological. Talk about queer librarians, talk about good omens. Thank you. We know our audience here.
Julia: [crosstalk]
Julia: You're just pandering to the crowd now? And I don't appreciate it.
Amanda: I sure am.
Julia: Can you give me your final decision, team Mcloughlin ?
Brandon: Cool
Julia: Team Erics
Eric Schneider: I think we're going cool as well.
Eric Silver: Yeah
Brandon: The Taka nyudo
Amanda: Cool.
Eric Silver: Yeah.
Brandon: Nailed it
Julia: So, reasons why he is cool. He's a big boy always, perfect size for hugs. In mythology, he is easily defeated by carrying around a measuring tape or a ruler.
Eric Schneider: I have one weakness. Yardstick.
Eric Silver: Same.
Julia: Also, he just liked to scare folks instead of killing them.
Amanda: I think that's great.
Julia: He's just a lovable trickster. We're going to move on to our next one, which is the Rompo.
Eric Silver: Great name.
Brandon: Yeah, I like that.
Julia: So these stories come out of North Africa and India. It is described as having the head of a hare, human ears, a skeleton-like body and the front arms of a badger and the rear legs of a bear.
Eric Silver: That's too many things
Amanda: No, I'm not going to look at it.
Eric Silver: Too many things in one thing.
Eric Schneider: No.
Eric Silver: I was so on board you got to the like skeleton body, I was like okay I'd swipe on him, but then you're like badger arms, like no Sir. `
Eric Schneider: I'm just, I'm just confused cause like...
Julia: That's him.
Eric Schneider: Oh he's smaller than what I thought he would be.
Amanda: I don't want to look.
Eric Schneider: I was expecting an exposed ribcage [crosstalk 00:13:18].
Julia: He's approximately the size of a large dog, like a Newfoundland.
Brandon: I'm sorry, do you people not see the spikes on his back? What do you mean "awww"?
Julia: Some more information about him, he only feeds on human corpses
Eric Schneider: But doesn't kill them. [crosstalk]
Eric Silver: Eric and I...
Eric Schneider: Rompopologists over here...
Eric Silver: Doesn't kill the corpses.
Julia: It only...It has the ability to change colors and blend in with its surroundings and it's known to make a crooning cry.
Eric Silver: Crooning cry?
Julia: Crooning like...
Eric Silver: Like Sinatra.
Julia: Precisely.
Eric Silver: Fly me to the moon and give me all your dead people.
Amanda: He looks kind of like a balding porcupine, and I think that's kind of adorable.
Julia: All right so team McLoughlin, can I get your final thoughts before you vote please?
Brandon: I think it's pretty cool...
Amanda: You think it's pretty cool?
Brandon: Yeah, you're creepy?
Amanda: I think so as well, the ears are a little bit creepy but he also just looks like a grandpa. I think that's pretty cool.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric Silver: He looks like a grandpa? [inaudible]
Brandon: They're cool.
Amanda: Like big ears, balding just like, I don't know...like sing Frank Sinatra to you. Let's go with cool.
Julia: Cool, all right.
Eric Silver: I ate them my way.
Julia: Can I take your vote please sirs?
Eric Schneider: I think we're going to go...No, I have one...Can I ask one question? Are those whiskers on the picture on the left or...
Julia: Yes.
Eric Schneider: It's not like the remains of a person.
Julia: No, it's like a mole whiskers.
Eric Schneider: Okay, cause he doesn't have them in this one.
Julia: Yeah, I understand. [crosstalk]
Eric Schneider: We're going to go creepy.
Julia: Okay.
Eric Schneider: Yeah, especially this one.
Julia: Your teammate seems to disagree with you.
Eric Silver: I liked him.
Eric Schneider: Look, you can like creepy stuff, that's the whole show.
Brandon: That you're eating bodies and...
Julia: He got you there.
Amanda: I do appreciate that it's called a life cycle.
Brandon: Being part of the Rat Pack is creepy.
Julia: Yeah.
Brandon: 100%.
Julia: [crosstalk] So McLoughlin team cool, you guys team creepy?
Eric Silver: Yeah.
Julia: All right.
Amanda: Cool.
Brandon: Cool as hell.
Amanda: Yes.
Julia: So, sure it eats human corpses but it's helping the envirnmoment.
Amanda: That's what I said.
Julia: Also, he has a great singing voice, soft crooning, what's not to love? There is a dissension in the ranks of the Erics.
Eric Silver: What was the point of me breaking out that extremely good Frank Sinatra impression?
Julia: Modern interpretations say "It's just a very large porcupine." We're moving to the Ashirai Yashiki, which in translation, it is Japanese in case anyone is wondering, it comes at foot washing manner. It is just an enormous foot that breaks through the ceilings of houses, it's usually filthy water and dirt.
Eric Silver: Fuck yeah, yeah, fuck yeah. Yep.
Brandon: No, absolutely not.
Eric Schneider: Wait, I have a quest.
Eric Silver: Eric, sit down. 5000%
Eric Schneider: We'll say cool already but has anyone played the Nintendo Entertainment System game Snake, Rattle 'n' Roll?
Amanda: No.
Eric Schneider: Does anyone know this game?
Julia: No.
Eric Schneider: Cause our audience, who's much younger than me, it's a great game and this is definitely an enemy in it. You're playing as a snake and you've got to hop around this asymmetric board, and climb a mountain and there is a giant foot that'll just come down from the sky and stomp on you.
Julia: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Eric Schneider: That game was probably developed in Japan, cause it's early NES.
Julia: Probably.
Eric Schneider: So, that's probably this guy.
Eric Silver: Eric, are you playing as the snake?
Eric Schneider: No, you're playing as a snake.
Brandon: Can you play as the foot?
Eric Silver: Okay so, if you're playing as a snake, what if it's just a foot?
Eric Schneider: That's fair, that's fair but like it's a big foot.
Julia: Okay...
Eric Schneider: It's a big foot.
Julia: Team McLoughlin can I hear your thoughts?
Eric Schneider: I like the foot.
Brandon: I hate this. Feet are bad, everyone knows feet are bad, everyone would rather not have feet so creepy.
Amanda: Yeah, this is why I picked you. You agree with me.
Brandon: Yes.
Amanda: And I agree that I don't even want my own feet.
Brandon: Oh.
Amanda: Well, I do appreciate the reference to vintage Monty Python, my dad's in the house, thank you dad for showing me nice things when I was young. I hate feet, I hate dirt, I hate people breaking my roof, that costs like 10,000$ to repair.
Julia: Would we like some quick additional information before we make our final decisions?
Amanda: Okay.
Brandon: Yes.
Julia: Okay so, the foot crashes through the ceiling, it booms in a demanding voice "Wash my foot".
Brandon: Nooo.
Julia: If it is ignored, it'll thrash about destroying the house.
Amanda: This is anti-feminist, I don't need this.
Eric Silver: Who said the foot was male?
Amanda: You know the foot is male Eric.
Julia: She's got you there. Team McLoughlin, what is your vote?
Amanda: Creepy.
Julia: Team Erics, what is your vote?
Eric Silver: It's extremely cool.
Eric Schneider: We're just going with cool. The first two have been cool so it's unlikely that the third will also be cool.
Eric Silver: I follow my heart.
Eric Schneider: But I like this guy.
Julia: All right well, creepy.
Eric Silver: Yup.
Eric Schneider: Yeah, that's fair. That's fair.
Julia: Sir, this is my house, this is not a foot spa sir. Excuse me.
Eric Schneider: This is an [inaudible 00:18:17].
Julia: Please don't damage my house, I'm so poor and I need my security deposit back. And you can just ask, demands get you nowhere, don't yell at me.
Amanda: Totally agree.
Eric Silver: But what if, foot good?
Julia: Foot not good, foot covered in blood and dirt.
Eric Silver: But what if foot good?
Julia: The next one is the Akaname, which again Japanese thank you for asking. The translation is filth licker. It is described as a small, goblin-like, size of a child or smaller. Usually naked with greasy slimy hair and skin. The colors range from mottled green to ruddy pink.
Amanda: Uh, that's the worst version of both of those colors.
Brandon: Oh no, that's bad.
Julia: Team McLoughlin, thoughts please.
Amanda: So my first thought was, maybe this is a Rumba, who is my perfect cleaning son and I love him. I love watching him go, I love watching him eat all my dirt. It's adorable, I love it so much.
Eric Silver: Does your Rumba have a tongue?
Amanda: No, that's where you lost me. Rumba does not have greasy hair. Rumba is not the size of a child and this tongue...
Julia: It's like the size of an infant, let's be real.
Eric Silver: What if Rumba size of child?
Amanda: I would ride him and love him like he's a pony.
Eric Silver: If he was a size of a child?
Julia: Team Erics, your thoughts real quick?
Eric Silver: Yeah, this one's bad, that one's way worse. My favorite part of Spirits is when Eric comes on and Julia tells him something nasty and he's says "No".
Julia: It's bad.
Eric Silver: And I think I'm getting this right now. I also would like to say "No".
Julia: So more information, they inhabit dirty homes and public bath houses, they only appear when owners show a lack of sanitary discipline and they're known to spread disease like rats.
Eric Silver: So he is not here to clean it, he is...
Julia: No he is eating off of your floors. Your gross, gross floors.
Eric Silver: So he's just like a result of dirt.
Brandon: So here's the thing I'm coming up against, Amanda and I would never see this abomination...
Amanda: Yes.
Brandon: In our homes.
Eric Silver: Nor would me or Eric.
Eric Schneider: Yeah I don't think this could happen in any of our homes. This is very gross.
Amanda: I think it's creepy, no doubt about it, though I appreciate that someone is drawn to the filth of the world, I guess that is fine.
Julia: So your vote is creepy.
Amanda: Yeah I'm going to go creepy.
Eric Schneider: I can just imagine that there's someone walking around New York who's like the Akaname commissioner, he's like "Oh hey, you've got some Akaname here. Got to clear that up, just put a bug bomb in there, it'll just clear it right out. That's 600$."
Eric Silver: I think we've got to go creepy right?
Eric Schneider: That's creepy.
Julia: That's too real. Cool.
Eric Schneider: Oh no, Julia. This is way more about you than this game.
Julia: He's here to encourage you to clean your bathroom, he's trying to get you to do your goddamn chores.
Eric Schneider: I don't need a child-sized goblin to get me to clean my bathroom.
Julia: He's also shy and won't bother you at all. He's going to avoid you as best he can.
Amanda: Fair.
Julia: Like a cockroach, better.
Eric Silver: You know what every New Yorker says about a cockroach "Cool".
Julia: Also, he's not going to show unless your bathrooms dirty so why bother? He's fine, he knows his boundaries.
Brandon: You weren't kidding about how arbitrary this was.
Amanda: I respect your authority [inaudible 00:21:46].
Brandon: I was unsure whether on not we're going to get some of these right or wrong, this one I was like we're definitely both right on this one.
Eric Schneider: I was trying to see how much of a judge you would be, if you were going to be a fair judge but you're full on YA dystopian novel junks. You have your [crosstalk] It's true.
Julia: Stanley Tucci would wear this outfit and I would love to see that.
Amanda: We're sorry to interrupt the game but we have to tell you about the sponsors who help make this show possible. First, we are sponsored this week by Stitch Fix, it is so happily sweater weather and I love wearing my beautiful, colorful sweaters that I have gotten in years passed from Stitch Fix. Genuinely, the two that I get the most compliments on I'm just like "It's Stitch Fix, thanks." They were affordable, they fit me, they came right to my door, I didn't have to go into a shopping mall or giant big bucks store and try on sweaters and get my hair all messed up. I could do it in the comfort of my own home because Stich Fix sends your favorite clothing, shoes and accessories directly to you. A personal stylist pairs your brand, your body and your budget with the clothes available to them.
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Julia: So Amanda, we're actually hosting my brother-in-law for his birthday and I don't really want to cook so you know who I'm going to hit up?
Amanda: Is it DoorDash?
Julia: I am, I'm going to hit up DoorDash. DoorDash is incredible, they connect you with all of your favorite restaurants in your city area, ordering is super easy, you just open the DoorDash app, you choose what you want to eat and then the food is delivered to you wherever you are, in which case my house. So not only does it have that awesome pizza place that is down the street that I'm going to be ordering from but they have over 340,000 restaurants in 3,300 cities, so you can always find a new favorite. They also have door to door delivery in all 50 states and in Canada, and you can order your favorite national chains as well like Chipotle, Wendy's, Cheesecake Factory, Amanda loves the Cheese Factory.
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Julia: Yeah, thanks ThirdLove. Again, that's thirdlove.com/spirits for 15% off today.
Julia: All right, so our next creature is the Myling.
Brandon: Myling.
Julia: So this from Scandinavian folklore, they are phantasmal or shadowy forms of a small child or infant.
Brandon: Always a small child.
Eric Schneider: I'm sorry these drawing are cool as hell, what are you guys talking about?
Eric Silver: [inaudible]
Eric Schneider: Yeah that's [inaudible] mother.
Eric Silver: Yeah like right before you can see the ghosts. That's literally what that is.
Amanda: He's so sweet.
Brandon: That's not as good.
Julia: They are specifically the souls of unbaptized babies forced to roam the Earth until they can persuade someone to give them a proper burial.
Amanda: Scandinavia, always with the unbaptized baby ghosts, come on.
Brandon: I don't want to play anymore.
Julia: They'll usually attempt to get travelers to carry them to a nearby graveyard. Okay. All right.
Eric Schneider: Okay, this is the soul of like Jewish and Muslim babies, they're just fucking chilling. That's great, perfect, I love it. That's perfect.
Julia: Team McLoughlin, thoughts?
Amanda: Circumstances are creepy, the rendering is cool. I think they are sweet and need protection, going to go cool.
Julia: Okay.
Brandon: Super cool.
Julia: Team Erics?
Eric Silver: What are you going ?
Eric Schneider: Jewish babies, cool.
Eric Silver: I can't tell, are you saying cool or are you saying...
Eric Schneider: I'm saying super cool.
Eric Schneider: Cool and cool right?
Eric Silver: Cool and cool.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: Creepy.
Eric Silver: I knew it was going to be creepy.
Eric Schneider: Julia.
Julia: All children are creepy, welcome to Spirits Podcast.
Brandon: Should we leave you think?
Julia: If a traveler refuses to carry them, they'll jump on their backs until they get heavier and heavier and they'll sink the traveler into the ground suffocating them.
Amanda: That's no good.
Eric Schneider: I see a lot of details were left out before we made our decision.
Julia: If they fail to carry the Myling to the graveyard, they'll just kill them in a rage.
Eric Schneider: Same.
Julia: Worst toddler ever.
Brandon: And that's a very high bar.
Julia: Yeah, terrible threes, more like terrible infinity.
Amanda: Oh no.
Julia: Next we're going to go to the Apposha, this is also from Japan, it resembles a large red oni or demon, it has thick dark, kelp-like hair and is usually wearing the clothes of a workman.
Brandon: Okay, I like that. I like this one, yeah. You said there were no real-life photos in here.
Julia: I'm sorry, I did not. You guys were like [inaudible] so I was like yeah, sure whatever.
Brandon: He just stars in a Bon Jovi song, he's like "Apposha used to work on the docks."
Eric Silver: What are the odds it's from Showtime on the subway.
Julia: Probably not, it's from Japan. All right so...
Eric Silver: [crosstalk] at a subway station right?
Julia: Also, probably not because they only appear on land once a year during the first full moon of the Lunar New Year, they crawl out of the sea banging on iron kettles, and go from house to house demanding food and threatening children.
Eric Silver: This sounds like a guy that would definitely be here. You're very close to the sea.
Eric Schneider: Yeah they're coming out of the sea...
Eric Silver: You have a great way to work from house to house
Julia: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Eric Schneider: They come out of the sea cause they used to work on the docks and the union been on strike, they're down on his luck, so tough.
Julia: Okay...
Eric Schneider: So tough.
Julia: Team McLoughlin I need your first thoughts.
Brandon: Is this just bad Santa, like what's happening?
Amanda: Yeah, it kind of is reverse Santa.
Brandon: Reverse Santa, like he's actually also inside out.
Amanda: Eww, that's bad.
Brandon: Like look at...Look at this thing.
Amanda: I know. You know the kelp hair reminds me of the Kelpie, which is an extremely scary wet horse that comes out of the lakes in Scotland.
Julia: So wet.
Amanda: When kids go to pet him like "Oh my Gosh, cute horse, I love him", they stick to him and then get dragged into the lake and drown.
Brandon: Wait isn't it Kelpie, one of the Spirit Pins that you're selling outside?
Julia: No it's not.
Amanda: No, that's a Selkies.
Brandon: Oh okay, I'm sorry.
Julia: That's the seal ones.
Amanda: The sexy seal, it's great. You should go buy them. I think it's scary, I don't like any image of anything just walking out of the sea on mass.
Julia: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Amanda: Don't like it, so I'm going to go creepy.
Julia: All right, team Erics.
Eric Silver: I think we're going to go cool. He's just a musician trying to get by it looks like. And this guy with just a bit less of a creepy grin is just a cool Miyazaki character. [crosstalk]
Eric Schneider: Showtime folks, showtime.
Julia: Cool right? All right, the answer is cool.
Eric Schneider: Yeah.
Eric Silver: The first one we've got, I think.
Eric Schneider: We've got to hold on to what we've got.
Julia: So the Apposha translates to...
Eric Silver: How many more you got.
Julia: Give me mochi, he's just here to teach your kids some manners, because when he arrives he asks if the kids are being ill-mannered and if they say yes, they'll take him back to the sea with him to his weird kingdom under the sea. The parents then assure the yokai that their kids are being good and they give him mochi, those little sweet rice cakes.
Amanda: Yeah, the most adorable emoji. Awesome, yeah.
Julia: So he's trying to be a basic Scared Straight program, it's all good.
Amanda: This is totally reverse Santa.
Julia: Yeah.
Amanda: Instead of leaving you nothing if you're bad, he takes you if you're bad.
Julia: Also, he works for dessert which like same. So the next one is the Ashi-magari, which is also Japanese. This creature has no physical appearance but it is a phenomenon of something soft wrapping around your legs so you can't move.
Amanda: Oh no.
Brandon: So like an extremely good blanket?
Eric Silver: No, that's not what it is.
Eric Schneider: Now hold on, hold on. Those two things are different.
Julia: Yes they are. Is it creepy or cool?
Amanda: It's hard Julia.
Eric Silver: It's fun stuff.
Eric Schneider: Let's start with the one on the right...
Amanda: Are they drugged?
Eric Schneider: He definitely just vaped.
Brandon: That's for sure, 100% vapes right?
Julia: Team McLoughlin can I get your thoughts please? Actually no, let me give you some more information first.
Brandon: Yes.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: So this only happens at night, but it can happen anywhere, in your house, walking the streets at night etc.
Eric Schneider: You're safe nowhere.
Julia: It is said to be associated with the trickster spirit Tanuki.
Amanda: Um, I think it's hard enough for me to get through a day without tripping and falling, that I do not need assistance in doing that more.
Julia: Okay.
Brandon: Here's where I'm getting tripped up a little bit. If the feet were wearing formal shoes, it would be a very different vibe but because it's like flip-flops and a half stone furry thing...
Julia: Okay.
Brandon: I'm exceedingly into this creature.
Amanda: I do...Even though I don't love the effect, I do kind of love him. Also, I can't sneeze...It can't be allergic if it's invisible and has no physical form.
Julia: That's a very good point.
Brandon: Holy, yes. Team allergies, do we say cool?
Amanda: I think we say cool.
Julia: All right, team Erics.
Eric Silver: I like him, he seems really chill.
Eric Schneider: Can I make a counterpoint.
Eric Silver: Yeah, make one.
Eric Schneider: He has bad socks.
Eric Silver: Oh bad socks.
Julia: All right, interesting choice.
Eric Schneider: So I would say creepy personally.
Eric Silver: I don't know, I'm torn.
Eric Schneider: No, I'll differ to you, I sang so I'm going to give it to you.
Eric Silver: I mean I think creepy, I'll go creepy.
Julia: Okay so...
Eric Silver: I bet there's some really dark shit that he gets up to...
Julia: Ashi-magari, cool.
Eric Schneider: Ahh...
Julia: So it's kind of like having a ghost cat, it's adorable even if you can't see it.
Amanda: Doesn't make me sneeze.
Julia: You can just pet the cute thing and eventually it'll probably let you go. It's a soft thing that you get to visit at night.
Eric Schneider: No, that sentence makes me feel like it's creepy.
Julia: Also after the initial shock, soft things are always good, it's basically a pet without pet hair. That's it, probably only stopping you when you're about to get pets.
Eric Schneider: We don't need...What was that one that was the Rumba?
Julia: The Akaname.
Julia: All right, we're getting down to our final ones. The next one is El-kito which is from Sardinian tradition. Basically it is either just a white ox with two large horn or a half-man half-ox.
Eric Schneider: Those two things are very different.
Amanda: Which half?
Eric Schneider: Those two things are different.
Eric Silver: Oh no.
Eric Schneider: Calm, calm down.
Amanda: So we have a 'Where the Wild Things Are' cast here on the left.
Julia: Yes, yes, yes.
Amanda: And then we have sexy bald guy from DeviantArt on the right.
Brandon: That's the cover of an erotic fiction novel.
Julia: I will say there were not a lot of primary sources images for this one.
Eric Schneider: But the difference is one is man and one is only ox.
Eric Silver: Do you see the candles Eric?
Julia: Okay, more information...
Eric Silver: I want to know about the candles and who these two guys are.
Julia: So it started as a man but was transformed into ox or a half-ox by demonic forces.
Amanda: With also candles and it's horns.
Julia: What did you say?
Amanda: It also made him hot apparently.
Julia: Mm-hmm (affirmative). All demonic things are hot...
Amanda: I mean I wouldn't consider it, I'm just saying.
Julia: So it has two lit candles on its horns and can only be transformed back into a man if someone can blow them out with one puff, or cuts the horns off the head in one precise pattern.
Brandon: I think you might know this but those two methods of turning him back are different.
Julia: In fact they are, yes.
Eric Silver: Wait, he started as a man and then becomes half-man half ox?
Julia: Well no it's either, depending on the source, either full ox, or sexy half ox.
Eric Silver: I thought it was like a three stage Pokemon evolution.
Eric Schneider: What do you do in life do get like hot sexy ox or just regular ox?
Julia: It just depends on who's writing your story and if they're furry or not.
Eric Schneider: Take that, that's a lesson for all of you to digest and take home.
Julia: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Amanda: While I find the candles exceedingly adorable, I am going to go creepy because much like muscly Jesus, I'm not here for it. I find it very creepy.
Julia: Okay, all right. Team Erics?
Eric Schneider: We like crossfit ox.
Julia: Of course you do. Well, one of the Erics does.
Eric Schneider: We think he's good.
Eric Silver: There he goes.
Julia: Have you done crossfit Eric Silver?
Eric Schneider: No, but I've seen it done by friends.
Julia: To be fair, Eric Schneider posted about it on Instagram.
Brandon: And I post about, I don't know, my roommate's cat.
Amanda: It's very cute.
Brandon: Shout out Toast. Toast made it to the live show baby.
Eric Silver: We're going cool, we're going cool.
Julia: Cool, you're going cool and you're going creepy correct?
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: Creepy.
Eric Schneider: We're bad at this.
Julia: So context, it can only get transformed into an ox by committing a serious sin. So it's already a bad dude.
Eric Schneider: I need more information Julia.
Julia: I can't give it to you. He can do a big roar and it kills people.
Amanda: Oh no.
Eric Schneider: That's cool.
Julia: That's a shitty thing to do.
Eric Schneider: It's pretty badass.
Eric Silver: It is cool. It's not good but it is cool.
Julia: It's always accompanied by demons who prod him with hot skewers.
Brandon: Oh that is cruel.
Julia: So it hangs out with the wrong crowd. All right we're on to our last one here.
Eric Silver: Okay.
Amanda: Okay.
Julia: Are we ready for it?
Amanda: Yes.
Eric Silver: Yeah. Is this one with a bunch of extra points so me and Eric can win?
Julia: No.
Eric Schneider: Cause we are losing.
Julia: I'm pretty sure you're going to get it. It's the Kudan, this one translates to human cow. Typically, they're born from normal cows and come out as a calf with a human face but on rare occasions it comes out as an infant with a cow face.
Amanda: What if we don't...
Brandon: What if...No.
Amanda: Are we sure that isn't from King of the Hill?
Julia: Never.
Eric Schneider: What the fuck is that?
Julia: You have a microphone in your seat.
Eric Silver: So here's my problem, you definitely said this would be easy, I don't know what your actual opinion is on this.
Amanda: What is the appeal to cool?
Julia: Let me give you some context information.
Brandon: It's milk and hamburger plus face.
Julia: No.
Eric Silver: That was the wrong answer.
Amanda: I was a vegan for six years.
Julia: All right. So they never live more than a few days.
Amanda: No, oh my God.
Julia: They're able to speak human language immediately after they're born.
Eric Schneider: No.
Julia: And upon being born they give a prophecy of a major upcoming event and their prophecies always come true.
Eric Silver: That's cool.
Amanda: No, I hate that.
Brandon: It's bad, it's creepy.
Amanda: I hate it. Definitely creepy.
Brandon: It's 100% creepy.
Amanda: Let's see why.
Brandon: Yes, of course we're going creepy.
Eric Schneider: Eric, buddy, look at me. Eric look at me, Eric, Eric.
Julia: Erics.
Eric Silver: Yeah.
Eric Schneider: Crossfit Eric, look at me.
Eric Silver: Yeah.
Eric Schneider: Bud...
Eric Silver: It's creepy.
Eric Schneider: No, no sir. I'm the one saying to you, no.
Eric Silver: Okay.
Eric Schneider: He doesn't foretell good things he's not like "Oh, tomorrow the food truck is going to come..."
Julia: I will say it can foretell great harvest.
Eric Schneider: Cool, my corn is going to come in but there's cow baby in my stable.
Eric Silver: It's definitely bad, it's definitely creepy.
Julia: Going with creepy, all right. Creepy, creepy, okay. Creepy.
Eric Schneider: Yeah.
Amanda: Yes.
Julia: Look at that fucking face. I don't trust it at all, it just spells disaster. Think about the prophecies for a second, they're usually bad news.
Amanda: Yup.
Julia: Even if it has good things, like the chosen one is coming, from that thing? Just think about that, hearing the chosen one is coming from that fucking face, I'm going to go back to it just so we have to look at it again.
Brandon: Oh Julia don't.
Eric Schneider: I don't like that Julia found out how to use the clicker.
Julia: Thank you, I did my best.
Brandon: That thing could provide the meal and also the directions at the same time. And foretell a good dinner. It's like "Hey, you're going to have a hearty meal for the rest of your family, also pestilence is coming."
Amanda: Yeah, it's a great harvest but at what cost.
Julia: These are the important questions of the age.
Amanda: It's like the worst form of veal. Like I hate it, it's very bad.
Eric Silver: It's very bad.
Eric Schneider: We ended on the worst possible thing I have ever seen.
Brandon: Hey what was your favorite?
Amanda: I liked soft ghost cat.
Brandon: Oh ghost cat. I liked big foot.
Eric Schneider: I liked the guy that comes through the sea. I liked that guy a lot he just...
Eric Silver: You mean subway performer?
Eric Schneider: You liked Showtime?
Eric Silver: He seemed like a good guy. Someone you hang out with once a year and just kind of like grab drinks wasting time.
Eric Schneider: But what if big foot?
Julia: So I'm tallying the results. It was fairly close, not as close as I expected it to be but fairly close. And the winner is, and I will be buying them drinks at the bar later, is team McLoughlin.
Amanda: Thank you team Erics, you did an outstanding job regardless. I will say I've known Julia since we were five so the deck was a little bit stacked.
Eric Silver: I'm also on one fourth of the episodes of Spirits so I...
Julia: You edit every single one though.
Eric Silver: That's true.
Eric Schneider: It's fine I'm extremely talented.
Julia: Also, big foot. So, I think we are done, thank you so much for enjoying a game of Creepy or Cool?