Paranormal Pajama Party
Isn't it weird how often the horrors in our favourite scary stories tend to look a lot like, uh… ladies? Join me as I dig up the social and cultural contexts behind classic ghost stories and legends to challenge the often one-dimensional portrayal of women in horror.
Episodes
31 episodes
Hillary Clinton and the Lizard People
Hillary Clinton and the Lizard People | 27 Put on your tinfoil hat and grab your favourite pantsuit – “Paranormal Pajama Party” is back! In the Season 3 premiere, Steph connects the dots between confused Victorian lemur scien...
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Season 3
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Episode 27
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44:46
Ladies, Listen to This Before You Build Your Crow Army
I get it. It’s hard to be a woman. Almost as hard as it is to be a monster.Get ready for a spine-tingling third season of Paranormal Pajama Party!This fortnightly podcast explores folklore and the horror genre with a femi...
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Season 3
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1:30
“Aliens”: Game Over, Men – Game Over
In this thrilling conclusion to our two-part series on the “Alien” franchise, Paranormal Pajama Party dissects the 1986 classic sequel, "Aliens."We’re talking about Ellen Ripley’s groundbreaking portrayal of a female action hero...
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Season 2
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Episode 26
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55:02
“Alien”: In Space, No One Can Hear Dudes Scream
*MASSIVE CONTENT WARNING FOR THIS ONE:* This episode contains well as explicit descriptions of fictional sexual violence that is 100% a metaphor for real-world sexual violence, plus discussion of pregnancy, extremely traumatic births, death in ...
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Season 2
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Episode 25
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29:13
Green Ladies and Glaistigs: Skeletons in the Walls
This week on Paranormal Pajama Party, we're heading to Scotland to meet its green ladies and glaistigs.Discover the tragic tale of Dame Lilias Drummond, whose ghostly presence still haunts Fyvie Castle centuries after her untimely death....
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Season 2
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Episode 24
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35:02
Rangda: Queen of the Demons
This episode explores the complex figure of Rangda, a fearsome demon queen in Balinese mythology.Tourists may be familiar with Rangda’s frightening face, as a version of a ritual dance based on the Balinese myth of the widow-witch Calon ...
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Season 2
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Episode 23
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33:32
The Cult of True Womanhood: “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Part 2
This episode is the long-promised part two of our exploration of “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was doing his thing In 19th-century America, at a time middle- and upper-class white women were being encourag...
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Season 2
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Episode 22
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29:33
"What Happens Next?": Are Reproductive Rights Human Rights?
Paranormal Pajama Party is pro-self-care. I mean, come on. Pajamas are right there in the name.To be kind to myself this week, I'm not releasing a new episode. Instead, I'm sharing an episode I wrote and produced for the other ...
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Season 2
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41:01
Beautiful Dead Women: “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Part 1
When you think horror, you think of Edgar Allan Poe. His stories go hard on the eerie atmosphere, intricate plots, and unhinged characters.But it’s important to note that most of those characters are men. And among Poe’s female character...
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Season 2
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Episode 21
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56:15
Malleus Maleficarum: Incels and Modern Witch Hunts
The dark history of witch hunts has some unsettling parallels with modern misogynistic violence. Tonight’s episode continues our discussion on Heinrich Kramer’s witch-hunting manual, the “Malleus Maleficarum”, with a critical look at its legacy...
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Season 2
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Episode 20
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26:58
Malleus Maleficarum: Hammer of Witches
Tonight we’re burning books! Well. Just one book. And it started it.We’re opening the pages of the “Malleus Maleficarum”, or Hammer of Witches, a 15th-century treatise on identifying, trying, and punishing witches. We get into the origin...
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Season 2
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Episode 19
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29:39
Monster Girls of Video Games
Last week on Paranormal Pajama Party, we met the monster girls of Greek mythology. This week, in part two of our monster girls series, we’re considering the representation of monstrous women in horror video games.Monster girls a...
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Season 2
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Episode 18
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31:40
Monster Girls of Greek Mythology
This week on “Paranormal Pajama Party”, we’re kicking off a two-part series on the fascinating and often unsettling “monster girl” trope. These characters are more than just staples of horror media and anime; they are complex symbols that revea...
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Season 2
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Episode 17
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28:36
The Ciguapa: Danger in the Dominican Republic
Tonight’s special guest is the ciguapa, a legendary creature from Dominican Republic folklore.At first glance, the ciguapa may seem like just another fantastical being, with her backward-facing feet, golden or blue skin, and mesmerising...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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28:08
The Island of the Dolls: Mexico City's Haunted Hoard
Get ready to uncover the chilling mysteries surrounding the infamous Island of the Dolls.In this episode, we delve into the eerie tale of Don Julián Santana Barrera and his encounter with the spirit of a drowned young girl in the canals...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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23:12
Sarah Whitehead: The Bank Nun
Welcome back to Season 2 of “Paranormal Pajama Party”! I hope you’re as excited to dive back into these stories as I am.Set against the backdrop of Regency-era England (think “Bridgerton” and Jane Austen), this episode unravels the trag...
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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29:22
Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun – Paranormal Pajama Party Returns for Season Two!
Paranormal Pajama Party Season 2 trailerHey, boo. (Get it? Because ghosts?)It's me, Steph, and I'm delighted to announce that Paranormal Pajama Party is back for a second season, launching next week! Pull on your favourit...
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Season 2
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1:43
The Tower of London, Part 2: The Ghost of Anne Boleyn
The Tower of London, Part 2: Ghost of Anne Boleyn | 13Welcome back, as we continue our ghost tour of the Tower of London, focusing on the notorious female phantoms and femme fatales who have left an indelible mark on its history....
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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28:14
The Tower of London, Part 1: The Countess of Salisbury, Lady Arbella Stuart, and Lady Jane Grey
Tonight, we’re throwing our pajama party in the iconic Tower of London, a historic fortress that has long captured the public imagination. Renowned for its rich and often dark history, the Tower of London symbolises power, intrigue, and mystery...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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34:27
Beatrice Cenci: Innocent Murderess
Beatrice Cenci | 11The life of Beatrice Cenci, born into the noble Cenci family in 1577, is a tragic tale of abuse, desperation, and defiance. Subjected to unspeakable violence and cruelty at the hands of her father, Count Francesco Cen...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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24:40
"Coraline", Part 2: Scary Gender Expressions and Scarier Mothers
“Coraline” (Part 2) | 10Welcome back to part two of our discussion on the children's horror movie "Coraline". Tonight, we’re drawing on the works of Judith Butler, Barbara Creed, and Sigmund Freud to explore its themes of gender,...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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22:14
"Coraline", Part 1: The Uncanny and the Monstrous-Feminine
Tonight on the podcast, we’re unravelling the chilling tale of Coraline Jones and her mother. No, not her mother. Her Other Mother. The one with the button eyes.Coraline – both the children’s movie and the novella – is the story of a gir...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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41:10
Felines, Females, and Fear: Witches and Their Familiars
Felines, Females, and Fear | 8The relationship between women, cats, and darkness is as ancient as human civilisation itself – and that’s not just the toxoplasmosis parasites in my brain talking. Tonight, we’re diving deep into the...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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33:41
The Pontianak: The Malay Peninsula's Fiercest Ghost
The Pontianak | 7The Pontianak is the Malay Peninsula’s fiercest – and most fearsome – phantom. She’s a vampire ghost known for her terrifying appearance and insatiable hunger for revenge.This powerful entity represents a f...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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23:31