American Hysteria

This is an update on the new developments surrounding one of my favorite movies of all time, The Blair Witch Project, paired with our 2019 minisode. When news broke that the film's production company Lionsgate will be reviving the franchise with genre giant Blumhouse, the three original actors took to social media with a serious bone to pick. The Blair Witch Project masqueraded as real found footage of three college students who went missing in the woods while recording a documentary on the local legend. The story of the missing students and the lore of the Blair Witch were both widely believed during its monumental release, and we are covering just how the directors and marketing team were able to pull off one of the greatest hoaxes in American history, creating an original urban legend and facilitating its spread while also using a truly unorthodox method of filming, essentially becoming the Blair Witch, that encouraged true fear out of the actors. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Find us on Instagram @americanhysteriapodcast Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline or get your mitts on some merch at americanhysteria.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this episode, the hosts of the new podcast Pretendians, Robert Jago and Angel Ellis, explain Indigenous Identity Fraud, the phenomenon of scam artists pretending to be indigenous in order to receive certain kinds of benefits. We talk about the motivations of these Pretendians, how they get away with it, the effects these charlatans have on the indigenous peoples they attempt to emulate, and how these living caricatures overshadow the true identities of various indigenous communities. Listen to Pretendians wherever you get your podcasts! Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Head to americanhysteria.com to get merch and leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fur and Loathing is a new investigative podcast from Nicky Woolf about an unsolved 2014 chlorine gas attack on the world’s largest Furry convention, an assumed safe place for those who create animal avatars using elaborate costumes. Nicky takes me through the case, shares his experience at a recent convention, discusses misconceptions and urban legends about the Furry community, and explains a dark subculture that lurks in the fringes of this otherwise inclusive and colorful world. Subscribe to Fur and Loathing wherever you get your podcasts! Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Head to americanhysteria.com to get merch and leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reporter and Radiolab producer Matthew Kielty and musician Chad Matheny (AKA Emperor X) were both part of a 2014 episode of the 99% Invisible podcast called Ten Thousand Years that asked the same question we did in our Talking to the Future episode: how do we communicate warnings about nuclear waste to humans ten thousand years in the future when language, symbols, and familiar technologies have all fallen away? Matt was a contributor to the episode, helping bring the strange story to a much larger audience while Emperor X created a folk song containing lore about the Ray Cat (that biologically edited feline who would turn colors when getting too close to radiation). Could a catchy earworm stay stuck in the collective American head for ten thousand years to help warn future generations? We’ll discuss their experiences with nuclear semiotics, the rise of the Ray Cat and the associated public response, as well as how these thought experiments can be vital to imagining and creating a more hopeful future. Follow @EmperorX on Instagram or check out his website Follow Matthew Kielty on Twitter @Matt_Kielty Check out Ten Thousand Years from 99% Invisible Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Head to americanhysteria.com to get merch and leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we warn people 10,000 years in the future about nuclear waste sites that will remain extremely dangerous for longer than human civilization has existed? When language, symbols, and technologies are lost to time, how can we get our message across? Atomic Priesthoods, Radiation Cats, Forests of Thorns, manufactured folklore, these are just a few of the unorthodox ideas of government-sponsored academics trying to answer this baffling puzzle. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Find us on Instagram @americanhysteriapodcast Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline or get your mitts on some merch at americanhysteria.com Sound Designer and Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Voice Actor: Will Rogers and his daughter Zoe Written, Produced, and Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For some context for our upcoming series that we have not yet revealed, we will revisit excerpts from our past episodes: Horror Movies pt. 1, The End of the World, and Alien Abductions pt. 1 and 2. We encourage you to listen to the full episodes! Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Sound design and Production by Riley Swedelius-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Check out our new merch line Folk Devils United Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Thank you to our sponsors: Factor’s delicious, ready-to-eat meals make eating better every day easy. Head to factormeals.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amanda Montell is the host of the podcast Sounds Like A Cult as well as the author of the new book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, a collection of personal essays on various cognitive biases, those flawed ways of thinking that were very important for early humans but now cause all kinds of problems in our technologically advanced world. Amanda explains why these cognitive biases originally existed, how they manifest in the personal and political, and what we can do to understand, combat, and maybe even harness them to our advantage. Get a copy of The Age of Magical Overthinking Follow Amanda Montell and her new podcast Magical Overthinkers on Instagram Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Head to americanhysteria.com to get merch and leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah Marshall joins me to chat about how, in 1968, one unsuspecting young woman’s bustline almost caused a stock market bust when thousands of Wall Street employees became obsessed with watching her walk to work. I also tell Sarah about an absurd 20-year-long craze called Girl-Watching that taught "genteel" men the "refined art" of covertly checking out women, as well as the avant-garde artist and feminist responses to the treatment of Francine Gottfried who would come to be known as the Wall Street Sweater Girl. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Head to americanhysteria.com to get merch and leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the late 1950s, an organization known as SINA started a campaign with the mission of clothing naked animals for the sake of decency. Today we will look at this bizarre moral crusade and its leader, whose life you'll have to hear about to believe. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Find us on Instagram @americanhysteriapodcast Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline or get your mitts on some merch at americanhysteria.com Sound Designer and Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Voice Actor: Will Rogers Written, Produced, and Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist and author Tom Risen is here to tell me about some of the real conspiracies that the CIA and the FBI were involved in from the 50s to the 70s and how, in 1975, one senator finally took these agencies to task, revealing shocking truths that would be used for decades to make the conspiracy theories we know today seem far more plausible. Tom writes about government surveillance and spy agencies and is the co-author of the bestselling book 'The Last Honest Man: The CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, and the Kennedys—and One Senator's Fight to Save Democracy,'" which he wrote with his father, James Risen, another journalist who has spent decades covering intelligence agencies. Get Tom's Book Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Head to americanhysteria.com to get merch and leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline! Head to FACTORMEALS.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off your first purchase Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John O'Connor is the author of The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster, a cross-country adventure and investigation into the lore around Bigfoot as well as the personalities of those who spend their lives chasing this elusive creature. Get John's book here Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Go to factormeals.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off your order Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the second part of this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are continuing to explore various tall tales of ruthless gang initiations from the 1990s onward, as well as looking at the sweeping anti-gang laws of the 80s and 90s that had devastating effects on communities and categorized entire neighborhoods as gang associates, enacting severe punishments based on erroneous assumptions and outright lies. Call for a Ceasefire and Help End Civilian Suffering Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Sound designer and associate producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer: Miranda Zickler Voice Actor: Will Rogers Written, produced and hosted by by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are answering a listener message about a story of street gangs initiating wannabes with frightening rituals including driving around with their headlights off and murdering the first good samaritan who gives them a courtesy flash. We'll explore several scares that have flared up due to different versions of this urban legend, as well as real crimes wrongfully blamed on these initiations, all leading to the feeling that street gangs were creeping into the suburbs, looking for human sacrifices. Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Sound designer and associate producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer: Miranda Zickler Voice Actor: Will Rogers Written, produced and hosted by by Chelsey Weber-Smith Thank you to our sponsors: Factor’s delicious, ready-to-eat meals make eating better every day easy. Head to factormeals.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

'Gang Initiations' is the topic of our upcoming series, and this episode will provide extra context using excerpts from three previous episodes—Urban Legends, Drugs, and Dangerous Teens. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Thank you to our sponsors: Factor’s delicious, ready-to-eat meals make eating better every day easy. Head to factormeals.com/americanhysteria50 and use code americanhysteria50 to get 50% off. Sound design and co-production by Riley Swedelius-Smith Produced and edited by Miranda Zickler Hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Check out our new merch line Folk Devils United Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live at SF Sketchfest, Sarah Marshall tells me about the urban-legendary alligators in the sewers of New York City. But of course, that's only one of the many manholes we open. Make sure you listen to You're Wrong About! Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Check out our new merch line Folk Devils United Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Associate Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm joined by paranormal corespondent Jim Perry of the podcast Euphomet and Sapphire Sandalo of the podcast Stories With Sapphire as well as the TV shows Ghost Town Terror, Paranormal Caught On Camera, and Paranormal Nightshift. We'll discuss what it’s like to work on very different kinds of projects in the supernatural sphere and get a little behind the scenes look at classic reality ghost shows. We’ll talk about the dream of diversifying away from the formulaic industry of ghost bros and Christian-influenced endings to allow the paranormal to take different forms, understood in different ways by very different kinds of people. Donate to PCRF Learn more about Sapphire's work Learn more about Jim's work Go to Quice.com/hysteria to get free shipping and 365 day returns Hosted Chelsey Weber-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Associated Producer: Riley Swedelius-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I tell podcaster Sarah Marshall a truly wild story I uncovered about the first recognized case of Munchausen Syndrome (Factitious Disorder) in the United States. An alleged professional wrestler and American folk anti-hero called the Indiana Cyclone faked symptoms of injury and illness while blowing through hospitals across the country from the 1950s to the 1970s, leaving a bizarre kind of terror in his wake. Catch Sarah and I at SF SketchFest on Feb 2nd and Feb 3rd! Make sure you listen to You're Wrong About and You Are Good (duh duh duh!) Check out our new merch line Folk Devils United Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Hosted Chelsey Weber-Smith Produced and Edited by Miranda Zickler Music direction by Riley Swedelius-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pop culture correspondent and major Pro Wrestling fan BJ Colangelo and I discuss the quirky history of this manly soap opera, its changing landscape in terms of gender and sexuality, as well as the complicated psychology of kayfabe, in which staged performances are presented as genuine. Read BJ's Review of The Iron Claw Check out her podcast This Ends at Prom Check out our new merch line Folk Devils United Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Hosted Chelsey Weber-Smith Produced and Edited by Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author of the book Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America, historian Wendy Woloson joins me to discuss the long-time American obsession with pointless, poorly-made products and novelty items like Sea Monkeys, X-ray specs, fake vomit, and exploding cigars. Today we will go into much more detail analyzing this definitively American crap and what it all means about our history and society. Get Wendy's book! Check out our new merch line Folk Devils United Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Produced and Edited by Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The novelty pets known as Sea Monkeys have delighted and disappointed millions of American children since they were first marketed in the early 1960s, with the nostalgia-fueled craze returning decade after decade, even after the creator was linked to Neo-Nazi activities. Described in the highly exaggerated ad copy as the most lovable pets in America, these tiny, allegedly monkey-like aquatic creatures are actually nothing more than microscopic brine shrimp, usually used as fish food in pet stores. In this episode, we will look closely at the history of Sea Monkeys and their ingenious but controversial creator, and take you through the comic book ad copy that marketed junky novelty items directly to children using language both deeply misleading and hilariously hyperbolic. Get our Folk Devils United merch here Become a Patron or subscribe on Apple Podcasts to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Call our Urban Legends Hotline and share a teenage tale you heard growing up This episode was written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a rerelease of last year's holiday special! Find our new merch at americanhysteria.com/merch They usually go something like this: A cranky career woman from the big city who has lost the true meaning of Christmas arrives in a small town where she falls in love with a handsome handyman or baker or Christmas tree farmer and together they vanquish whatever big business force threatens the idyllic community. The Christmas spirit leads her to let go of her own ambitions and embrace a more traditional lifestyle and of course, someone's dad is always Santa. Sound familiar? We will explore the history of Hallmark, the formula that makes these cheesy productions so successful, the Christmas Movie Wars of the last few years, as well as the controversies over diversity and "family-friendly" entertainment. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Co-produced and co-edited by Miranda Zickler Co-researched and co-edited by Riley Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Voice acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a story from a recent episode of our exclusive Patreon/Apple + talk show Hysteria Home Companion, where producer Miranda and I take turns sharing stories related to the topics we are covering. For this one that we felt was too good not to share far and wide, Miranda tells me the story of a mysterious hanging cadaver that once decorated a California dark ride and unravels the decades-long, Forrest Gumpian journey of one long dead man. Become a Patron by heading to patreon.com/americanhysteria Or subscribe on your Apple Podcast App Producer/Edited by Miranda Zickler Music by Emily Westman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(explicit content warning) This *Urban Legends Hotline* episode dives deep into the viral myth that 90s shock rocker Marilyn Manson had ribs surgically removed so that he could perform autofellatio. We'll look at two other famous and controversial artists who also had this rumor attached to them, learn about another related tale that went around during Victorian times, and see how the rib removal story became perhaps the most widely told pop culture urban legend of the Millennial generation. Call our Urban Legends Hotline and share a teenage tale you heard growing up Become a Patron or subscribe on Apple Podcasts to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content This episode was written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate five long years of American Hysteria, our producer Miranda Zickler interviews Chelsey about the origins of the podcast and how their own life has impacted the content. Chelsey also answers questions that listeners have sent in over the years and gets into feelings around queerness, solidarity, faith, and death. And we celebrate you, our dear listeners, who have made all of this possible. Thank you <3 Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline Produced, edited, and hosted by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For our very special two-part Halloween conversation, Sarah Marshall and I are going to be sharing the less serious things that scare us: our favorite phobias, eerie feelings, and uncanny upsets. In this episode, I share the things that freak me out, from stilts and spiders to giraffes and medieval art. in order to hear all about what freaks Sarah out, head to the You're Wrong About feed, do not miss it my ghouls! Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts Leave us a message on our Urban Legends Hotline American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Home Depot's 12 ft. Skeleton decoration first premiered in the fall of 2020 and sold out immediately, the nationwide obsession fueling an underground black market. Memes and tweets made 'Skelly' the hottest Halloween fad of the last three years, and for some reason, the internet's biggest crush. For this episode, we will not only explore how the craze around this big old bone daddy unfolded, but we will also take you through our centuries-long bizarro relationship with human skeletons, both the fake and the very real, and we will consider the role they have played in the development of dark humor, the kind that made Skelly a massive star. Become a Patron or subscribe on Apple Podcasts to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Tell us your teenage tale on our Urban Legends Hotline! Get your tickets for our live show with You're Wrong About American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Halloween special will cover the 12 ft. Skeleton craze and the history of skeleton decorations in America. This episode will give some extra context using segments from: Haunted Attractions Death Horror Movies pt. 1 Join our Patreon or subscribe on Apple+ for ad-free early episodes and bonus content! Call into our Urban Legends Hotline and share your teenage tale! This episode was produced by Riley Swedelius-Smith Produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please enjoy this rewind of last year's Halloween special called Haunted Dolls. Coming up next week we'll start our Halloween series called 'The 12 ft. Skeleton.' Then we'll be teaming up with our sibling podcast You're Wrong About for another Halloween special! For this rewind, we'll see how possessed playthings have crept their way into the dark attic of America: Thomas Edison's little monsters, a demonic Raggedy Ann, a living ventriloquist dummy, a deadly voodoo curse, and an online market where you can buy yourself a soul trapped in the body of a doll. Become a Patron and support our show! Or subscribe on Apple Podcasts! American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Co-produced and co-edited by Miranda Zickler Co-researched and co-editing by Riley Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Justin McHenry, author of the forthcoming book Lemuria: A True Story of a Fake Place, tells me an expansive tale of an alleged long lost continent first written about in early scientific works, then harnessed by esoteric eccentrics and new age mystics, mutating over the decades into fantastical fuel that is embedded in the strangest of conspiracy theories and cults to this very day. Preorder Lemuria: A True Story of a Fake Place Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To unpack the movie trope of the Murderous Man in a Dress, prolific horror film analysts and writers BJ and Harmony Colangelo discuss with me all the complicated trans and drag “representation” in movies like Sleepaway Camp, Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, Dressed to Kill, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. We’ll look at how these crossdressing killers have affected the psyche of Americans through the decades, whether there is anything redeemable about these characters, and what they have to tell us about the horrors of the present day. Listen to This Ends at Prom Preorder 'Sleepaway Camp' Read Harmony's thoughts on The Silence of the Lambs Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Or subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For part two of our series, we are starting in the anti-gay moral panic of the 50s and 60s to see how the drag scene continued to transform underground, with female impressionists dazzling the starlets they tried to copy as closely as possible. We'll be introduced to a nationwide pageant circuit which allowed drag queens the opportunity to compete just like Miss America contestants, leading to a popular and well-reviewed documentary that revealed the controversial personal lives of these performers. Then we'll drop right into the Gay Liberation Movement where rifts between gay men, lesbian feminists, and drag queens led to a harsh animosity. Next we'll look at the southern tradition of Womanless Weddings that stretches back to the 1800s, where well-to-do men acted out every part of ceremony as a community wide ritual of hilarity. Finally, we'll travel all the way back to 16th century London where a moral panic around the theater's evil influence very much included the boys and men who dressed in woman's costumes to play their roles. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Tell us your teenage tale on our Urban Legends Hotline! American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This series will cover the moral panics and cultural crazes that have long followed the controversial art form once called "female impersonation." For part one of our two part series, we'll start back in the 1800s to look at the earliest drag balls put on by formerly enslaved men as well as the police raids that made front page news. We'll learn about a famous Vaudeville star known for his hyper-feminine on-stage and hyper-masculine off-stage personas. We'll explore a time when gay was in, the 1930s Pansy Craze, and the political crackdown that inevitably followed. And finally, we'll cover the smash-hit drag musicals put on by the manly soldiers of WWII and the closeted GIs who may have woven in a secret campy code. Throughout, we'll start to analyze how the culture reacted to female impersonation based on the changing events of the decades, bestowing on these performers both massive success and frightening suppression, usually depending on who was performing and what their intentions were. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Tell us your teenage tale on our Urban Legends Hotline! American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our upcoming series, Early Drag Queens, will cover the surprising relationship between "female impersonation" and American masculinity in the time before the gay and transgender civil rights movements. This episode will give historical context with excerpts from these previous episodes: Gender Reveal Parties Trash Talks Shows Horror Movies pt. 1 Join our Patreon for ad-free early episodes and bonus content! Call into our Urban Legends Hotline and share your teenage tale! This episode was produced by Riley Smith Produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the social media and the news got word of the new cases of leprosy found in Florida, a slew of misinformation and stigmatization followed. José P. Ramirez Jr. is the author of the memoir Squint: My Journey With Leprosy (Hansen's Disease), which leads readers through the mystery illness that took over his life as a teenager in the 1960s, his diagnosis at age 20, and his years spent at the only facility for people with Leprosy in the United States, but it was far more than just a hospital. Today José will dispel myths and share his devastating and uplifting life story so we can better understand the disease that still strikes a biblically-inspired fear in Americans. If you have any questions or comments, you can email José at [email protected] Donate to IDEA here Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BJ Colangelo is an editor at Slash Film and the writer of “The Only Guide To Barbie Lore You Will Ever Need,” a comprehensive look at the cultural movement of America's pinkest lady. On this episode, BJ will take us through the moral panics, conspiracy theories, and misunderstandings that have followed this controversial toy starting back in the 1960s and continuing into this very day. Read The Only Guide To Barbie Lore You Will Ever Need Listen to This Ends at Prom Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a collaborative look at the panics around Furby with the podcast Unspookable, a show much like ours that takes a more kid-friendly approach to understanding urban legends. In honor of the return of Furby to toy stores in July 2023, we revisit some of the ridiculous myths and freaky stories around the hottest toy of the late 90s, and look deeper into what it says about human nature and America as a whole. Listen to our good buddies at Unspookable Become a patron of our show! This episode was produced by Nate Dufort and Chelsey Weber-Smith Hosted by Elise Parisian Head writing by Ellenor Riley-Condit The AH theme song was composed by Hakan Erikkson The special mashup theme song was created by Jesse Case Special thanks to Jonah, Bella, Isabella, and Jon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jamie Loftus is the author of the recent New York Times bestselling book 'Raw Dog: The Naked Truth about Hot Dogs.' Together we discuss some very weird hot dog-related urban legends and conspiracy theories as a companion to our episode about the cannibal pig people of Pig Hill. We'll also learn about the history and politics of this great American meat tube and most importantly, we interrogate the aggressively gendered branding of gas station jumbo pickles. Get a copy of Jamie's book Raw Dog Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*Urban Legends Hotline* The inbred cannibal pig people who are said to inhabit Pig Hill in Meadville, PA attack teenagers who park on its lovers lane. But these are far from the only human-pig hybrids featured in American urban legends. For this episode, not only are we sharing different variations of the tale, but we are also digging deep into the weird history of pigs: Puritan bestiality trials, soldier-eating feral swine, hybrid animal experiments, the pigs who ruled the early cities, and what the history of the hog teaches us about suburbanization and the dehumanization of those the elite consider "unclean." If you have an urban legend you'd like us to explore, head to americanhysteria.com and leave us a message! Thank you to our listener Erin Hipple! Thanks to our author Nancy Williams! Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Voice acting by Will Rogers Producer: Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harmony Colangelo is one of the hosts of This Ends at Prom, a podcast that analyzes coming of age teen girl movies through a queer feminist lens, using her perspective as a trans woman and her wife’s experience as a cisgender woman. Today we are discussing the teen boy content of Jackass, how it affected our own journey with gender, how it changed the American culture of masculinity, what it says about Peter Pan Syndrome, and why we can’t get enough of these dirty and delightful boy-men. Listen to This Ends at Prom or wherever you get your podcasts Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the year 2000, a group of rowdy skateboarders and loosely defined "performers" came to MTV with a pitch that would showcase their vulgar antics—outrageous stunts, shocking pranks, and gross-out humor. Tweens and teens from all over the nation became enthralled with Jackass, leading to some copycat incidents and a customary moral panic. For this episode, we will be exploring the roots of the show, the shockingly uncensored, purposefully offensive skateboard magazines and videos of the 80s and 90s that brought together the cast, and the death-defying 1970s daredevil who inspired a young Johnny Knoxville to risk it all for the footage. We'll look at what all this has to do with the psychology of Generation X, with our changing patterns of gender and sexuality, and see what meaning, if any, we can find in the meaninglessness of Jackass. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode will give context for our upcoming series on Jackass, an early reality show starring a group of skateboarders and unorthodox performers that filmed their stunts and pranks, becoming the outrageous superstars of the new millennium. Episodes used: Influencers Rotten.com Haunted Attractions The Streaking Craze Join our Patreon for ad-free early episodes and bonus content! This episode was produced by Riley Smith Produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake Pfeil is the host of 'abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast,' a multimedia travelogue exploring abandoned spaces across the United States. Together, we discuss what our deep love of these American ruins means, how it relates to queerness, to addiction and recovery, capitalism and politics, and how these spaces can help us recultivate the empathy we need to find solidarity. Listen to abandoned: All-American Ruins wherever you get your podcasts or head to allamericanruins.com Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*Urban Legends Hotline* Lauren's story: On a rural road outside Chicago, the ghosts of children killed in a school bus-train collision are said to push cars uphill, off the tracks, and out of harm's way, leaving their handprints in baby powder dusted on the bumper by local legend-tripping teenagers. So we investigated this urban legend, versions of which are told in small towns all over the country, by searching through old newspapers for related historical crashes, and then by unearthing reports of bizarre "mock accidents" that have occurred near Munger Road for decades. I even headed out all by myself to a rural road in Washington State said to be haunted by similar helpful ghosts, to see if there is any truth to this urban legend, or if it's all just an illusion. Listeners like you can now share urban legends from your childhood and if selected, we will investigate your story in depth, sometimes even testing it out ourselves. CW: Train accidents, death If you have an urban legend you'd like us to explore, head to americanhysteria.com and leave us a message! Thanks to Lauren and to Nick Smith, check out his film Munger Road on Amazon Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer: Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For part two of my conversation with Sarah, I finish telling her about a satanic panic era "memoir" published by Chick Publications in the early 1990s which culminates in the author's transformation into a real-life vampire only able to survive by drinking human blood. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Listen to You're Wrong About wherever you get your podcasts American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the next two episodes, I tell Sarah the story of another one of Jack Chick's occult experts using his "memoir" published by Chick Publications in the early 1990s which culminates in his transformation into a real-life vampire. We also discuss other memoirs of cultic abuse and participation written during the Satanic Panic and how they contributed to the hysteria. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Listen to You're Wrong About wherever you get your podcasts American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who was Jack Chick, really? For the final episode in our series we will explore his childhood, his time in WWII, the comic moral panic happening at the beginning of his career, and how it all shaped the nightmarish world he would come to create through his work. We'll explore the negative impacts of his egregious messaging while at the same time looking at how beloved his lurid and campy cartoons have become. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An ex-druid grand priest for the illuminati, an undercover Jesuit agent of destruction, a woman married to the devil, and a doctor who battled demons and satanists alongside her – these are the people who brought Jack Chick the life stories he would use to create his tracts, comics, and books. For this episode, we are going to hear their sensational tales, explore their relationships to Jack, and expose both their lies and their crimes. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cartoons of satanic witch cults, Illuminati world domination, demonic homosexuals, and the pressing choice of hell or salvation were the horror hallmarks of Baptist indie comic artist Jack Chick's sensational world, his stories told through small booklets that his fans were instructed to leave anywhere a stranger might stumble across them. With a billion of these (often unintentionally hilarious) melodramatic little comics sold throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s, and into the present day, Chick Publications has played no small role in the creation of the most famous moral panics, conspiracy theories, and urban legends in American history. For part one, we will totally submerge you in his strange reality using some of the most outrageous examples of his work. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer: Miranda Zickler Voice acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chick Tracts, what are they? You'll find out in our upcoming three-part series that covers a fundamentalist comic artist who was a hidden architect of the satanic panic, illuminati, and gay agenda hysterias. Jack Chick printed hundreds of millions of his bible tracts, small stapled together cartoon booklets full of blood sacrificing witches, evil secret societies, and sensationalized sin, based on the stories of "experts" like a druid high priest, a Catholic secret agent, and two women battling demons in a witch infested hospital. Chick Tracts are ridiculously brutal, deeply offensive, unintentionally hilarious morality plays meant to be left in random places by random Christians, in order to scare straight whatever lucky sinner happens to find them. Join our Patreon for ad-free early episodes and bonus content! This episode was co-produced by Riley Smith and Miranda Zickler Produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are we being invaded?? I sure thought so. Today we are talking quite animatedly to our official paranormal correspondent Jim Perry of the podcast Euphomet, a documentary series that explores the unknown and our relationship to it. This episode includes our thoughts on the recent unidentified aerial phenomena, the first UFO hysteria of the 1940s, and how our otherworldly encounters have something to do with both personal and national trauma. Check out Euphomet! Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices