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About the Guest: Beth Castrodale

The way she describes her books makes our goth hearts soar. We want to read every one of them right now. Her first novel was about a scandal-fleeing corset maker during the Depression Era (Marion Hatley). The second book is about a former indie rock star turned gravedigger, overcoming his guilt-ridden past (In This Ground). Her third is about sisters reconnecting over their criminal father’s unfinished business (I Mean You No Harm).

Beth’s most recent novel as of this writing is now available for pre-order through Regal House Publishing. The Inhabitants is coming out September 10, 2024. Keep up with all of Beth’s happenings at her website, BethCastrodale.com, or ask her a question on Goodreads. You can also follow her on Facebook and X.

Beth’s Ghost Story

Beth tells us real haunted apartment stories that may have, in part, inspired her fascination with ghost stories. She used to live by the ocean in a little attached apartment. She’d occasionally come home to some very confusing circumstances, even though she always locked her doors and windows before leaving. That’s when she found out that a friend of her landlord’s had died in that apartment. Was there a connection? There’s never been any other forthcoming explanation for the strange happenings she witnessed in that haunted apartment.

What are the architectural features of a haunted house?

Victorian and gothic architecture was, in many cases, specifically designed to soothe the mind and rejuvenate the soul. And then, there are those houses that feel like they must be haunted, just by the way they look. Beth tells us that, at least in novels, the architecture of any haunted house will likely share some specific features. Here are some of the features an evil architect might incorporate into a hauntingly scary house.

• Being difficult to exit, or making inhabitants feel trapped or lost within.
• Liminal spaces like staircases without a clear view of the space beyond.
• Never having quite enough light, or seeming to absorb what little light enters.
• Situations where one might find themselves in absolute darkness, or complete silence.
• Low ceilings.
• Closed-in, claustrophobic spaces.

The psychology of haunted house architecture

These similarities in architecture among haunted houses probably exist for a reason. All of these features have a potential to evoke disturbing emotions, which can make inhabitants feel uneasy. Take absolute silence, for example. There are very few places in life where people with hearing actually experience REAL silence. When the house seems silent to our conscious mind, there are likely sounds still happening that fall outside the audible range. More than one study has found that infrasound at around 19 Hz could cause physical effects in humans. Not just any physical effects, but specifically feelings of anxiety, shivering, and chest pressure, all of which could likely contribute to the perception of a paranormal event.

In addition, the effect of low ceilings might be inferred by examining the inverse. Turns out, there’s actually a name for the feeling of awe and spiritual elevation one feels when inside a large, high-ceilinged indoor venue: the “Cathedral Effect.” Research indicates that high ceilings can actually create a sense of openness and freedom, which can lead to abstract and creative thinking. This is one reason why places of worship usually feature high ceilings.

Why is Gothic Revival architecture associated with haunted houses?

In this interview, Beth tells us that, in Gothic novels, the house itself is a character. Often, the house has agency, a backstory, even a fate. In stories like “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe, or “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë, the house reflects (and perhaps influences) the mental state of the characters. In some cases, like in “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson and “The Woman in Black” by Susan Hill, the house even directly controls or influences the characters, driving the plot. Many Gothic novels exemplify this association between Gothic architecture, haunted houses, and ghost stories, but is it strictly a literary convention, or something more insidious?

Houses in Dreams

Interestingly, in at least one style of dream interpretation, houses and similar environments represent the mindset of the dreamer. Because dreams are the language of the subconscious in a sense, this quantum entanglement of sorts between one’s house and one’s mindset seems programmed deep in our human psyche. Yet, dreams are sort of ghost stories in their own right, are they not? Fictional alternate worlds where the rules of reality don’t apply, featuring people who may not precisely exist, whose main purpose is to represent an idea?

What mindset do OUR houses represent?

Diana’s house is streamlined and spartan. Most of the things she furnishes and decorates it with were found objects, hand-me-downs, or handmade crafts. She prefers to have a designated place for everything to hide away when not in use. The few exceptions to this frugal minimalism are a handful of mementos with little intrinsic value besides the people, places, and experiences they abstractly remind her of. Even though the aesthetic of the home hints at the deep well of darkness below the surface, Diana values having a well-organized home full of natural light, which filters into rainbows through translucent prisms of privacy film on the windows.

The only landscaping Diana cultivates is either fast-growing vines, or easily-moved potted plants. Diana has never lived in a home long enough for larger, slower plants like trees and shrubs to germinate and mature. Amazon Music is often playing on shuffle, or there’s dead silence; there’s never a TV on in the background.

What things about Diana does her home reflect?

Similar to her house, Diana’s mindset values light, in the form of enlightenment and education. Her aesthetics are more of a game than a standard: whereas she might wear a ballgown to a casual dinner, most days she wears only pajamas. Her house reflects this with walls of intensely subversive creepy artwork, that, when you get closer, you realize is mostly Halloween decorations she didn’t bother putting away. She values privacy, and lets very few people in. And like her house, she’s much nicer inside than her rough exterior would imply. Like her plants, Diana doesn’t enjoy putting down roots, preferring to be trans-locational when possible. She’s quiet and introspective for the most part, and has a habit of going with the flow instead of making distinct choices and following them to fruition.

Becky’s house reflects her nature.

Becky’s house is more open, with very high ceilings and quite a bit of natural light, coming through clear, floor-to-ceiling windows that offer no privacy, which is fine because it’s set far back from the street in a small copse of old trees. All the entrances are convoluted, especially the front door, making it a little daunting to enter the house for the first time.

Inside, her belongings are out and about, wherever she likes to use them. Every wall shines with professionally curated art and family portraits. There’s usually a record spinning on the turntable, and the delectable smell of things frying in butter wafting out of the warm, roomy kitchen. There’s always a whirlwind of activity inside, as several 2- and 4-legged children romp within. She’s also recently discovered a surprise, hidden behind a wall for the past 40 years, which you’ll hear about in this episode.

What parts of Becky’s personality does her home reflect?

Like her house, Becky is an open book. Yet, she’s one so far off the beaten path that not everyone attempts to read her. She has a penchant for catching people off-guard with non-sequiturs, which feels like she’s revealing secret passageways between parts of her own mind. Like Diana, she also values education. She tends towards pursuing the A in STEAM more than the other letters. Her wide open spaces full of useful and whimsical belongings lend themselves to creative expression and flow states. Like her established arbor, Becky is settled and doesn’t mind having some roots, even feeling like her current city offers her opportunities for growth. Also, like the constant movement in her house, she tends to mainly pass through her home as part of a wider, global orbit. She’s always planning the next trip out of town before the previous trip even starts.

Based on the architecture, is your house haunted?

Hainted Loves, what do you think? Does architecture influence hauntings? Are some buildings just irresistible to wandering spirits? Have you lived in a haunted house with any of these architectural features? If you have a true ghost story about haunted houses, why not submit it to tell on Homespun Haints? We’d love to have a spooky day with you!

The post How to Build a Haunted House appeared first on Homespun Haints.

So what exactly is a Pukwudgie and do people still see them today? We break it down for you in our bonus episode, which you can listen to below.

Are Pukwudgies real?

You might call pukwudgies cryptids, faeries, or mythological creatures. It is uncertain whether or not ancient Native Americans believed pukwudgies were real or merely mythical. Yet more than one person has reported seeing a real one in the natural world, so it might be reasonable to wonder: are pukwudgie real?

Where do Pukwudgies come from?

Tales of Pukwudgies appear in Lenape and Wampanoag folklore, and date back at least 9,000 years, marking them as some of the oldest mythical creatures in North America. The mythical origins of Pukwudgies lie in a creation story told by the Wampanoag Tribe and some other northeast Algonquian tribes. These little creatures are believed to have originated in Hockomock Swamp in Massachusetts. This area has had a reputation of being home to spirits for millenia, and it’s no coincidence it’s located in Massachusetts’ notorious Bridgewater Triangle.

Where do they live now?

You may encounter pukwudgies across what is now New England. From Massachusetts down to Ohio and Indiana, and up into parts of Canada. There’s a good reason for why these creatures are so widespread: they were thrown there.

Pukwudgies in Native American Folklore

According to oral history of some tribes, the pukwudgies originally tried to live in harmony with Native Americans; even help them. The humans didn’t understand or appreciate the help, and the Pukwudgies eventually decided that the humans were ungrateful and not worth helping. The formerly friendly Pukwudgies felt especially spurned by the appreciation humans had for the creation giant of Cape Cod, Maushop. So they started being little pains-in-the-ass: stealing food, throwing sand in peoples eyes, those sorts of nasty tricks.

Humans in the area complained to Maushop’s wife, Granny Squannit, who relayed their gripes back to the giant himself. Maushop then asked the humans to gather up all the pukwudgies they could find in the woods and bring them to him. The humans obliged, and Maushop collected and flung the captured pukwudgies across what is now southern New England, into the Great Lakes Region. Perhaps this is how Pukwudgies ended up all the way in Indiana.

In one version of the pukwudgie mythology, the little creatures returned with a vengeance. After being so abused, the tricksters turned deadly. Now instead of pranks, the pukwudgie began kidnapping children, luring people to their deaths, and burning villages. Maushop sent his children to eradicate them again. The pukwudgies lured them into deep grass and shot them with magic arrows, killing all five sons. In some versions, they may have even killed Maushop, or Maushop’s wife.

What does a pukwudgie do?

This little wild man creature hides out in the woods and causes serious trouble for the humans who annoy it.

What are the powers of pukwudgies?

Pukwudgies may have the ability to become invisible, appear and disappear, and perhaps even to shapeshift.

Are Pukwudgies dangerous?

Although they are only small creatures, legend says pukwidgies are very dangerous animals. If you encounter a pukwudgie, leave it be. Pukwudgies are still bitter about past grievances with humans, and can cause all sorts of problems if you bother them.

If you leave them alone, at worst they’ll mess with you a little (they are tricksters, after all). But piss them off, and you could be facing serious or fatal injury, as they may have magical abilities, poison arrows, and have been known to kidnap people and lure people to their deaths.

What does a Pukwudgie look like?

Those who have seen pukwudgies describe them as a small humanoid creature, appearing half troll, half human. They are knee-height (or about two to three feet tall). They have large ears and noses, so they may be mistaken for dwarves or duwende when first spotted. They may also have smooth gray skin, resembling stones.

What really makes pukwudgies unique is the sheath of porcupine spines that runs from the top of their heads all the way down their backs. In fact, when you see one from behind, you may mistake it for a porcupine that walks upright…until it turns around and gives you the stink eye.

Pukwudgie pictures

As far as we know, there are no authenticated real pukwudgie photos. Pukwudgie art and literature is based on the oral stories passed down through generations within Native American cultures. Since we couldn’t include a real pukwudgie photo, Becky sketched this image based on the eyewitness description our recent guest gave.

Pukwudgie etymology

“Pukwudgie” translates approximately to “little person of the wilds.” The Wampanoag word pukwudgie may have descended from the Ojibwe prefix bagwaji- (“wild”). The Wampanoag people, who are indigenous to parts of present-day Massachusetts and Rhode Island, speak a dialect of the Algonquian language family. The exact linguistic roots within the Wampanoag language are not well-documented in mainstream etymological sources. If you know more about the etymology, please let us know so we can share it here!

Pukwudgie pronunciation guide

The pronunciation of “pukwudgie” is typically pronounced “puck-wuh-jee,” or in formal diacritics can be represented as /ˈpʌkˌwʌdʒiː/.

How to spell pukwudgie

“Pukwudgie” is the most common spelling for the mean little people of the Wampanoags mythology. You may also see spellings like “Puckwudgie,” “Puk-Wudjie,” or “Puk-Wudgie”, though they are less common.

How to draw a pukwudgie

What does a pukwudgie look like? Becky created this process drawing video so you can see (and draw) a pukwudgie for yourself!

Pukwudgies in popular culture

• The CW show Legacies, spin off to The Vampire Diaries, features both a character with pukwudgie powers and a pukwudgie cryptid itself. You can see the later in this clip, although the image may be a bit more Muppety than what pukwudgies look like usually.
• In the Harry potter series, Pukwudgie House is one of the four houses at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is the North American counterpart to Hogwarts.
• Mounds State Park in Indiana hosts a pukwudgie-themed nighttime nature hike.
• In a 2017 April Fool’s Day prank, newbedfordguide.com wrote about how there were so many sightings in the Freetown State Forest near Freetown, Massachusetts, that the police would be installing a Pukwudgie crossing sign during the mythical creatures’ mating season.
• There is a film in pre-production at the time of this writing (March 2024) called The Ledge, Curse of the Pukwudgie.

Listen to the episode for more details!

The post What is a Pukwudgie? appeared first on Homespun Haints.

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Episode Summary: What are interplanar creatures?

Not everything in the shadows is a ghost. Sometimes, we see things that we know in our bones were never human. Strange creatures that flit just beyond our periphery, and make scratching sounds in the night.

Our guest today repeatedly sees entities of a different nature. Are they creatures poking in from another dimension? And if so, can they see us back? We’ll let you decide after you hear her stories. Today, on Homespun Haints.

AI-generated transcript of this episode available upon request.

About the Guest, Girl Henry Rollins

You can find Amber leading the Haunted Footsteps ghost tour through Salem Historical Tours. If you’re not in MA, follow her on TikTok @girlhenryrollins or on IG @girlhenryrollins, where she is mean to fascists between fun spooky posts. You can also follow her official tour guide account at @salemuncensored.

Show Notes

Broad Street Cemetery

What were the spindly beings blowing in the wind at the Broad Street Cemetery? Our guest thinks the reason all the paranormal creatures she sees are sepia shades of brown and tan is because she can only partially perceive them from this dimension. She described shadow people as protrusions into our dimension.

Did Amber see a Pukwudgie?

What’s short, hairy, has hunched shoulders, a flat head, and wants the kids to get off his damn lawn? The word “Pukwudgie” literally translates to “Person of the wilderness.” These creatures appear in Wampanoag, Ojibwe, and Lenape folklore, and from other indigenous people of northeastern North America.

What is a Pukwudgie? Pukwudgies are about two- to three-feet high, can shape-shift, and tend to be mischievous. Many people of all backgrounds, from the east coast to Indiana, claim to have encounters with these strange, troll-like creatures. Once friendly to humans, these fae folk now harbor resentment toward mankind and should best be left alone.

The Legend of Goatman

There are so many urban legends that apply to specific geographic regions. The thing about Goatman (not to be confused with the Hat Man, another spooky interplanar creature) that fascinated us the most is just how many of the Parker, AZ, locals apparently truly believe in his existence. The documentary referenced in this episode, ‘Goatman: Search for the Legend,’ was produced in 2010 by Hemet Productions. You can watch it for yourself on YouTube. The surprising number of comments on YouTube for a niche video with only just over 350 views as of this writing shows just how interested people are in this Goatman. In 2013, another film was released titled Legend of The Goatman.

Have you seen a local legend?

Have you seen a pukwudgie? Or, have you seen Goatman? What about Double Dog? Or, is there another legendary interplanar creature skulking around your neck of the woods on these dark, long nights? Share with the class, by joining us in our Facebook group. Or, submit to tell your story in a Homespun Haints interview. Either way, you’ll have a spooky day!

The post Pukwudgies, Goatman, and Shadow People appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Listen to these stories about haunted Salem, Mass, right here:

How do you picture what life was like when pilgrims and Puritans landed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony? And what ghosts linger from those first few decades of trauma and bloodshed?

Becky and guest host Karly speak with a tour guide and historian working in Salem, who dishes out a realistic picture of life in Massachusetts in the 17th century. These stories are more gruesome history than ghosts, so settle in for a taste of macabre history, today, on Homespun Haints.

Transcript available on request.

Podcast Promo

This week’s podcast promo is from Weird Darkness, hosted by voice actor Darren Marlar.

About the Guest, Girl Henry Rollins

Our Thanksgiving and witch trial stories are told by our guest, Girl Henry Rollins. This history expert is a tour guide with Salem Historical Tours. She mainly leads the Haunted Footsteps Ghost Tour.

Follow our guest Girl Henry Rollins on TikTok at @girlhenryrollns and check out her tour guide account at @salemuncensored.

About our Guest Host, Karly The Village Tarot Witch

We’re so thrilled to be joined by Karly (@thevillagetarotwitch on Instagram) as a guest ghost host. Karly has been on our show in the past in Season 3, where she told a terrifying story of a supernatural creature that accosted her in the bath.

Now, Karly has a new show called Drinks and Disasters and you should definitely check it out. Follow this podcast on Instagram @drinksanddisasters and check out Karly’s co-host Bizzy at @bizzybcoven.

Episode Show Notes and References

Where is Diana?

Diana had her throat ripped out by a cryptid. Because cryptids are trans-dimensional beings, it’s been a bit of an effort to get her throat back. She is diligently working with CERN to find the throat thief and restore her vocal cords to their rightful place.

What is a Pukwudgie?

Sometimes spelled Puk-Wudjie, this strange creature originates with the Wampanoag people. Pukwudgies are small human-like creatures that stand about two to three feet tall and inhabit a vast swath of New England. They have long ears and fingers and smooth, gray skin, and are similar in disposition to goblins and leprechauns (i.e. they’re tricksters). Wampanoag legend says once upon a time, Pukwudgies and humans got along just fine, but a dispute led to the deity Maushop exiling Pukwudgies from the area. The small creatures eventually made their way back to New England. Bloodshed ensued and things have never been quite as nice between humans and Pukwidgie-kind since.

Were there Real Witches in Salem, MA?

400 years ago, there was a bizarre event in Salem, Massachusetts. If you haven’t heard of the Salem Witch Trials, what have you been doing with your life? But here’s the rub: you didn’t get the real story.

No, there were no real witches in Salem during the witch trials. However, there are plenty of witches there now. The town has become a haven for occultists, goths, Satanists, LGBTQIA+ folks, and witches. After all, someone has to make sure that all those tourists have a spooky day.

The post Horror in Massachusetts appeared first on Homespun Haints.