Myth Monsters Podcast

 

I love all things mythological. I've always been fascinated with gods and goddesses and heroes and legends. But it was the creatures that always kept me coming back for more. Winged horses, harpies, the Minotaur, and, of course, mermaids and sirens. I just couldn't get enough.

As I got older, I began to read up on cryptids (though I didn't know that's what they were officially called) such as Mothman, the Yeti and Sasquatch, and the Jersey Devil. Believing that there had to be a grain of truth in some of the stories, I always wanted to know how these stories began. I still do.

I've been listening to a lot of ancient history podcasts lately. I used to watch ancient history documentaries on YouTube, but I think I've pretty much seen them all. In my search, I came across a really cool podcast called Myth Monsters. Yep, I had to go check it out. So glad I did.

Myth Monsters is based out of the UK and is run by a feisty little redhead named Erin. I started listening to her podcast from the beginning and found myself both informed and entertained. She cracked me up. 

The thing I love most about this podcast is that its main focus is just the creatures. Not the heroes, not all the hype that surrounds the creature, just the beasts themselves. And it's very well done. I especially like the segment near the end of each episode where Erin talks about whether she thinks the creature is/was an actual being. And, in a few episodes, she sings. It's awesome.

Myth Monsters look at beasts from all around the world. I have to admit that I knew many of them before the podcast, but Erin's done a few about Japanese creatures that I'd never heard of before. I enjoyed learning about those. Note to self: study more Japanese mythology.

Seriously, if you're looking for a way to learn more about mythic beasts and cryptids, check out Myth Monsters. The podcasts are short and sweet, as well as fun and educational. You can find Myth Monsters on several venues including Apple and Spotify, or follow them through any of their social media sites. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some mythic monsters to go study. 

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Images used in this post are the sole property of Myth Monsters Podcast and may not be used without the owner's expressed permission. Images were used in this post with permission. All rights reserved.

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Meet My Great, Great, Great, Grandma Gray

 

Meet my great, great, great-grandmother, Rachel Gray, nee DeGroat. Born in Vermont in 1804, passing on in 1875 at the age of 71 in Little Blue, KS. When I look at this photo, my emotions run the gamut between sheer awe and total fear. She is a scary-looking lady.

 My daughter has an Ancestry.com account and has been searching for our family. I say it that way because there is an entire side to my life that has been missing since I was a small child. I have very little information about my biological father's side of the family. Not just because he and my mother divorced when I was four, but because he was adopted. 

Though she wasn't able to find much about my father's side of the family, she found a slew of information about my mother's side. Wholly Buckets!!! She was able to find leads stemming from the late 16th century. That made my history-loving heart so happy. 

What really blew me away about this picture is that I remember visiting my Aunt Donna (mom's older sister) and spending hours staring at a portrait much like this...only it was a man in a Union soldier's uniform. His name was Andrew Gray...Rachel's husband. I'm sure the look on my face when my daughter sent me this picture was priceless.

I've always had a thing for those vintage photographs. This one seems, to me, to be more of a painting, but I don't know that to be a fact. The portrait of her husband in my aunt's house looks almost exactly like this, only not as dark. I find them so haunting.

My daughter is still digging for more information, but she's hitting a brick wall. We know Rachel had only one child. A son born in 1842, though we don't have a name as of yet. And she hasn't been able to find any information on Andrew Gray. I hope at some point, we'll have more of the details. 

How far back can you trace your family roots? Where are your ancestors from? I love this kind of thing. I'm not just someone who loves history, I'm finding out that thanks to my ancestors, I actually have a history. And that makes my day.

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