Ghosts of Christmas in New ‘What the Buzz’ Podcast

Tis the season! Emily and I are back with one more episode for 2020! This new episode, titled "It's the most wonderful time for ghost stories" is available now wherever you get your podcasts, and also conviently available for you on the "LISTEN NOW" link at KLAQ.com.

In this episode, Emily and I are sharing the joy of the season. Well, actually, not really. It's been a rough year all around and we're both just happy that we've made it this far. While Emily isn't really into Christmas or New Year's Eve, I'm all in! Despite the rough year, spending the holidays with my family is enough for me. With it being the holiday season, we also discuss the old timey tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas.

Turns out, telling ghost stories around a fire on Christmas eve was an old Victorian tradition that lasted well into the turn of the 20th century. It also has to do with the history of Christmas. According to Smithsonian Magazine, Christmas was originally a Pagan holiday. The Christmas you and I know was originally a Winter Solstice celebration and the festival known as "Yule". With the days cut shorter, the Pagans viewed mid-winter as a time when light dies and the veil between the world of the living and dead is most thin.

Emily and I kind of dig it! We also kind of get it. Christmas itself can be very scary. Take for instance Krampus, and Santa is a pretty scary dude himself. A guy who "sees you when you're sleeping" and who "knows if you've been bad or good" and when you're not good you get punished, or coal in your stocking.

The holidays can bring out the worst in people. But what is it exactly about the holidays that makes people crabby? Is it the nonstop Christmas music? The exhausting task of hunting down the perfect gift for someone? Maybe it's all the lights and decorations? Or maybe it's something far more sinister that turns many of us into Scrooges. With this being such a crazy year we believe this is the perfect year to bring this great tradition back!

Check out our new episode "The Most Wonderful Time for Ghost Stories" where podcasts are available. We'll see you in 2021!