This week we're bringing you an ITEM RENEWAL from our archives. In this episode of Rhody Radio first released on December 19, 2023, Liz Gotauco AKA Cosbrarian dispenses with the merry and instead wishes you a Very Scary Christmas, sharing some macabre yuletide folk tales to accompany a dark winter night.

If you love this episode and haven't yet, be sure to read Liz's book and listen to our episode with her and her sister Jade Gotauco all about folktales, illustrating the book, and their respective efforts to shine a light on neglected stories:

• F*cked Up Fairy Tales by Liz Gotauco, illustrated by Jade Gotauco
• Overdueing It Episode 35 - F*cked Up Fairy Tales the Book! With Liz and Jade Gotauco

Overdueing It is a project funded by the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services and is produced by library staff around the Ocean State. We are proud to be a resident partner of the Rhode Island Center for the Book. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own and do not represent those of the Overdueing It podcast, its sponsor organizations, or any participants' place of employment. The content of Overdueing It episodes are the property of the individual creators, with permission for Overdueing It to share the content on their podcast feed in perpetuity. Any of the content from the Overdueing It podcast can not be reproduced without express written permission.

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Story sources and further reading

• "Frau Perchta, the Belly-Slitter" by Bone and Sickle
• "Meet the Thirteen Yule Lads, Iceland's Own Mischievous Santa Clauses" by Smithsonian Mag
• "Why Iceland's Christmas Witch Is Much Cooler (and Scarier) Than Krampus" via Smithsonian Mag
• "Hans Von Trotha" via Wikipedia
• "The Evil Butcher" via the St. Nicholas Center
• Ginevra, or, The old oak chest, a Christmas story by Susan Wallace (1894)
• "The Legend of the Mistletoe Bough" via Wikipedia
• "The Romance of Certain Old Clothes" by Henry James (1868)
• "Secrets of the Old Oak Trunk" is an original short story by Liz Gotauco, November 2023

Music

• "The Demons Dance on Christmas Eve" by melodyayresgriffiths, via Pixabay
• "Coventry Carol" by Chillmore from Pixabay
• "A Christmas Tale" by lena_orsa via FreeSound.org
• "Our Love is Here to Stay" performed by Gracenotes in 2011, featuring Charles Wizon on violin, Lou Messana on guitar and Al Cardillo on bass
• "Grey Cuckoo Christmas Background Music" by Oleksii Kaplunskyi from Pixabay
• "In the Bleak Midwinter" by Julius H. from Pixabay