Listen in as Julie tells us ghost stories that pull at our heartstrings, just in time for the holiday season.

About the Guest: Julie Penman Livesey

While she is now an author, Julie’s resume includes animation work on several productions. Most of these are movies children of the ’90s would recognize. Her resume includes one of my favorite animated films, Anastasia. It’s no wonder Julie’s stories have ghosts as characters, considering some of the strange things she’s encountered in various locales throughout England.

Every one of the places Julie stayed in 1992 was haunted (except the one next to a cemetery, ironically). Julie felt electricity in the air when visited by her recently deceased grandfather. Her story raises an existential question. Can a deceased loved one’s spirit visit 2 living family members in 2 different places at the same time? After hearing about her year of spiritual visitations, we wonder if Julie feels an affinity for psychopomps because she just may have briefly served as one. Listen to the episode above and decide for yourself.

Episode Show Notes and References

What is a psychopomp?

Angel, god, or ferryman; a psychopomp’s job is guiding recently deceased souls to the afterlife. In spiritual traditions, a psychopomp can be an earthly creature, like a human shaman or an animal. I always think of crows, for some reason. Or it can be a being from another realm. Sometimes psychopomps are gods, like Anubis, from ancient Egyptian mythology. Other times, they are supernatural beings, like the Archangel Michael in Christianity. There are many more throughout various religions and traditions. Julie writes stories of children, both ghostly and earthbound, who ambitiously perform this special paranormal job.

Julie was inspired to write her tale of Annie Humble, the ghost girl psychopomp, based on her dead neighbors. No, really. Julie lived in a home that shared a wall with Brompton Cemetery. This is a beautiful Victorian cemetery dating back to 1840. It houses over 200,000 of the dead. Julie also lived in an understandably haunted terrace building in Islington by the Old Street tube station. That one was once a Jewish-owned tailor shop nearly destroyed during the World War II Blitz.

What is a TV aerial?

For the youth, this is what a TV aerial is. Ah, the endless frustration. If you have first-hand experience with these, you’ll remember the awkward game of Twister the whole family played with the goal of finding the best reception in any given TV location. Not only that, you’ll appreciate just how rude it is for a ghost to sabotage all that hard work.

Until next time, have a spooky day!

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About our guest, Ludovic

Our guest this episode, Ludovic Vuillier, is CEO of The Good Life Manifesto. His company is dedicated to helping its clients live the best life they can through actionable processes. Learn more at thegoodlifemanifesto.com.

Notes on the Evil Apartment in Los Angeles

What is esoteric Judaism?

This episode makes the distinction between Judaism, at its core, and offshoots of Jewish mysticism such as Kabbala.

Many outside of the Jewish faith are fascinated by kabbalistic teachings and imagery. And why not? Kabbala is full of fascinating paranormal mysteries! Many within the faith, however, would argue that true Kabbala cannot be understood, nor should it be practiced, by those without a strong foundation in Jewish teachings. After all, dabbling in faith-based rituals without proper context can have unforeseen consequences. Surely we learned that from Episode 18: Dennis the Demon and the Meth Gators.

Here’s an article on High Profile Kabbala from Hadassah magazine. It includes an in-depth analysis of Kabbala inside—and outside—of Judaism.

Want to learn more about spiritual cleansing concepts within the core of Judaism? Encyclopedia Judaica has an in-depth article about ablution.

Jewish Horror

With so many classic horror film tropes pulling from Christian (specifically Catholic) origins, it’s easy to forget that Judaism has its own traditions revolving demonic evil, and how to protect and ward against it.

What is a Golem?

You may be familiar with the concept of a golem. Not the one from Tolkien. The term “golem” appears in the Talmud, referring to something unshaped or incomplete. In the context of Jewish tradition, it originally described an unformed or unskilled human. Kabbalistic mysticism added the concept of creating a supernatural golem to protect its creator. Kabbalistic texts provide detailed instructions on how to animate a golem from clay through mystical practices. The concept bears some vague similarity to creating a tulpa, or reanimating a corpse into a zombie.

Modern Golems appearing in film and television, such as in The X-Files, Supernatural, and The Simpsons, often show this creature as something horrific and dangerous; the protagonist is tasked with trying to kill or destroy the Golem before the creature wrecks havoc on the world. In fact, the 2018 Israeli film The Golem explores this theme delightfully. For a great article on how the film connects to the roots of Jewish horror, check out this well-written article in Tablet.

Have you ever rented a haunted apartment?

Apartment living can be spooky, even when there’s nothing paranormal involved. Startling noises, an unknown number of open flames in the building, and sleeping only 2 layers of drywall away from a stranger who might be listening to every breath you take is not for the faint of heart. That’s what makes these stories of real haunted apartments even more sinister than haunted houses. If you have a true ghost story you are willing to share with us, submit it here, and you might get to speak on a future episode of Homespun Haints!

Thanks again for spending time with us! Until next time, have a spooky day!

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