An epic hero. An unusually terrifying monster. If Hercules is going to survive, his greatest weakness will need to become his greatest strength. Join us over the next four weeks as we look at the monsters of the Twelve Labors of Hercules, and the legendary showdowns that were his penance for a terrible crime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The disfigured, betrayed bride known as Oiwa is one of Japan’s most legendary spirits. Her hideous appearance and thirst for revenge are scary enough, but what’s even more terrifying is her ability to warp her victims’ entire sense of reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Stalking the waters and villages of the Greenlandic Inuit, the Tupilaq is a horrific creature made up of parts from many dead animals. It’s conjured by a shaman for revenge… but all bets are off once the Tupilaq begins to think for itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Erinyes are some of Greek mythology’s most menacing figures. Though the three winged sisters make their home in Hades torturing wicked souls, they will also rise up to the human world if it means they can drink the blood of those who break the moral laws of society. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Kanontsistóntie is a flying, blood-thirsty head that terrorized Native American and First Nation clans across the U.S. and Canada. It’s bound to stalk and devour anyone who sees it… and it’ll take one young woman’s cleverness and patience to defeat it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From Southeast Asia comes the legend of the Pontianak. Once an innocent victim, she’s now a vampiric monster who pursues men and pregnant women to avenge her unfair death… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
First observed by Spanish colonizers in the 16th century, the Dark Watchers reside high up in California’s Santa Lucia Mountains. But these phantom figures do far more than just watch… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It has a home covering nearly 200 square miles in Big Sky Country. This slithering, serpentine water-beast is Montana's Flathead Lake Monster and you better hope you see it before it sees you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From the dregs of war-loving humanity’s industrial waste comes the terrifying winged Mothman, who’s a warning of danger to come... and also the danger itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The red-haired skunk ape stalks the Florida Everglades, and it’ll do anything to protect its territory against nosy humans and their cameras. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Grendel is the fearsome villain from the classic “Beowulf,” but this beast started out as a protector of nature. He only went bad to fight a terrifying threat to nature: humankind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Stinging tails. Fatal venom. The Scorpion Men from Babylonian mythology are ruthless guards of the underworld. But they were created by a powerful goddess for a noble purpose: to avenge a murder, and seek out justice. For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the Zodiac signs, constellations and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With their fifty heads and one hundred arms, the giant Hecatoncheires terrorize ancient Greece as they rise from their undersea prison to wreak havoc. It’s up to one scared young man to find his bravery and stop the devastation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The winged, feminine, and very feline Sphinx terrorizes ancient Greece with her sharp claws and unsolvable riddles. But all that changes when the Sphinx meets a young man named Oedipus… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Shojo is a water-dwelling monkey with bright red fur and a fondness for getting drunk. The creatures are said to have created sake, and they delight in drinking it with new human friends. But if a Shojo is betrayed, the party ends… and the danger begins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Amidst Japan’s highest peaks, a kindly woman provides weary travelers with food and shelter — if they obey her rules. If they don’t, the Yamauba reveals the demon inside of her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Much like Godzilla, the Bagan is an ancient dragon-like beast who erupts from the Earth to wreak havoc. Though the fire-breathing monster leaves a trail of destruction in its wake, it may actually be there to teach a lesson about balance in the natural world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lurking in the rivers of Japan is the kappa, a turtle-monkey hybrid who’s quite curious about human ways. The kappa’s favorite food is cucumbers, so you’d better have some on hand. Otherwise, it will want to indulge in its other favorite: human blood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Japanese Gashadokuro is a giant, ravenous skeleton made of restless, angry spirits. It can be controlled for a time with the right magic, but if it gets too hungry, it can ravage an entire country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Before Eve, there was Lilith. Adam’s first wife was a feisty, lusty woman whose defiance gets her thrown out of Eden, and whose passions put her in the Lord’s line of fire. But her power is undeniable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In biblical times, no tribe was as feared as the Amorites. Legends say they were fearsome giants with no morals — but this band of enormous shepherds had very human goals: to love, survive, and help their flock thrive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Book of Revelation presents an apocalypse worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster, with rivers of fire and gigantic beasts that lay waste to the land. These creatures haunt the visions of the old prophet John, who must figure out their meaning and warn the rest of the world before it’s too late. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The King of Demons stokes the flames of humanity’s lust and wrath. But when Asmodeus becomes obsessed with a young woman, killing her suitors until she agrees to marry him, a young man steps up to end his reign of terror... with a little help from an angelic guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Before she gained a reputation as a scheming sorceress and King Arthur’s nemesis, Morgan Le Fay was an ambitious teenager struggling to claim her power in the world of men. It takes a trip to an eerie fairy domain for Morgan to find her strength. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Fairy Godmother is a classic character who solves children’s problems with sparkles, magic, and whimsy. But some children have issues that are far more disturbing than finding the perfect prince… and it takes a fairy with edge and attitude to save the day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
She’s charmed her way into the hearts and piggy banks of children across America… But instead of asking how much money she’ll give them for their teeth, perhaps kids should be asking instead: Why does the Tooth Fairy need all those teeth? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
No one likes a Wicked Fairy who crashes a christening and curses a princess, but maybe she has her reasons. Perhaps the Wicked Fairy is a mother herself, who’s only fighting for her own daughter’s future… and will do anything to prove her love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
You may know Puck as the impish sprite from Shakespeare’s tales, but he also lurks in the English countryside and offers help to people with household chores… for a price. As one overwhelmed, newly married housewife learns, a deal with Puck may bring bad luck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Bái Hǔ is a celestial deity in ancient Chinese mythology who takes on the form of the majestic White Tiger. Those who worship Bái Hǔ can count on his blessings and protection… but those who thumb their noses at him may find themselves fleeing the claws and jaws of this ferocious beast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
High up in the Alps lives a creature that is part-snake, part-cat, and fully terrifying. The Tatzelwurm’s venomous bite can kill a man on sight, but it’s still a target for the Alps’ bravest hunters… especially Heinrich, a wrongly imprisoned man who learns that killing the beast will earn him his freedom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
