Episode 120 – Son of a Peach – Myths Your Teacher Hated

Episode 120 Show Notes

Source: Japanese Folklore

This week on MYTH, we’re going to Edo period Japan for a fruit-filled tale of demons and heroism. You’ll see why you should always eat random giant peaches, why you should never leave a dog alone with a monkey, and why you should always threaten pretty birds. Then, in Gods and Monsters, we’ll meet a creepy baby that can turn into a ball of fire. This is the Myths Your Teacher Hated podcast, where I tell the stories of cultures from around the world in all of their original, bloody, uncensored glory. Modern tellings of these stories have become dry and dusty, but I’ll be trying to breathe new life into them. This is Episode 120, “Son of a Peach”. As always, this episode is not safe for work.
This story comes from 1908’s Japanese Fairy Tales collection by Yei Theodora Ozaki. It was originally a tale from the oral tradition first set down during the Edo period (which lasted from 1603-1867) but it may be as old as the Muromachi period (which lasted from 1392-1573). There are, of course, multiple versions of this story but, surprisingly, almost all of them are essentially the same with only minor variations in the details.
Once upon a time, long ago, there lived an old man and an old woman. They were peasants and very poor, so they had to labor extremely hard to earn their daily rice. The old man went out every day to go and cut grass (or kindling in some versions) for the other local farmers. While he was out in the wilds, the old woman did the daily chores around the house as well as working in their small personal rice field. It was a simple life and a hard one, but it was theirs. One day, the old man went out to the hills as usual, leaving the old woman to head to the river to wash their dirty clothes.
Summer was quickly approaching, which was a magical time in old Japan. Everything was lush and green and vibrant, and the freshness of it all revitalized the two old people as they headed out to work. The grass on the river’s banks was especially vital, looking like a carpet of emerald velvet with bushy pussy willows dancing in the breeze along the water’s edge. Both of them smiled at the gentle touch of the summer breeze, feeling very happy for reasons they couldn’t quite explain. Setting up in a great spot at a bend in the river, the old woman got down to the hard work of scrubbing on stones and setting things out to dry. The water was crystal clear, so the old woman could see the bright fish sparkling and flashing around her.
As she was busily working, she saw a massive peach come floating along, bobbing in the waves. I mean, not like James and the Giant Peach big but like bigger than any peach had the right to be. “Wow, that is a huge peach. In all my 60 years, I’ve never seen anything like it. If that thing is half as sweet and delectable as it looks, it’ll be one of the best fucking things I’ve ever tasted. I gotta get it – me and the hubby can share it and have a really nice night.” I think it’s really sweet that her first thought is to share her newfound treasure.
The old woman stretched out her hand as far as she could but the peach was juuuust out of reach. She looked around for a stick or something to try and snag it but there wasn’t anything immediately at hand. She could go look for one but she feared that the peach would float away while she was gone. Racking her brains for another option, an old charm popped up in her memory. With no better idea, she began clapping her hands in time to the rolling of the peach in the current and sang: “Distant water is bitter, the closer water is sweet. Pass by the distant water and come into the sweet.” To her surprise, it fucking worked. As she sang this verse over and over, the peach veered off course and drifted right towards her until it was finally close enough for her to reach out and pluck it from the water.
The old woman was delighted by this unexpected and incredible result. So much so, in fact, that she couldn’t focus on finishing her work so she put all the clothes back in her bamboo basket and hurried home with the peach cradled delicately in her hands. It was hard for her to wait the hours until her husband came home to bite into the succulent-looking fruit but she wanted to share this special moment with him, so wait she did. The sun was setting when he finally trudged back to their small cottage with a big bundle of grass on his back. Enormous in fact, so massive that she almost couldn’t see him beneath it. He looked utterly exhausted from the day’s labors as he walked slowly home using his scythe as a walking stick.
Once she was sure he was in earshot, she called out to him. “Hey, O Fii San!” (which apparently means old man) “what kept you? I’ve been waiting for you to get back forever!” He gave her an aggravated look, glancing up at the incredibly heavy burden on his back. “What do you think kept me, old woman? What’s chapping your ass today to make you so impatient? Did something happen while I was gone?” His wife smiled. “No no, nothing like that. I just have a present for you and am excited to give it to you!” He smiled back at her. “That’s very sweet, wife. Let me wash up and meet you inside.”
While he was busy washing his feet, she hurried to the cupboard where she’d stashed the peach. It was enormous in her hands. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear it had gotten bigger since this morning, but of course that was silly. She held it up to the old man as he entered. “Have you ever seen such a gigantic, delicious-looking peach in your life?” The man gaped open-mouthed at it. “No, I don’t think I have. That’s a real monster of a peach – where’d you buy that?” The old woman shook her head happily. “Didn’t have to buy it – I found it floating down the river while I was out washing our clothes. Oh, by the by, I didn’t actually finish washing our clothes yet. Too excited.” She related the whole story to him and he was duly astonished by it all.
“That is truly one hell of a story, wife. It’s an incredible find and, after today, I’m starving. Let’s cut that sucker open and eat it!” He took a large knife from the kitchen and placed the peach on a cutting board to do just that when the peach suddenly split in half down the middle. “Hold up just a second there, old man!” said a tiny voice as out of the peach stepped a small child. The elderly couple was understandably terrified by this bizarre and unexpected occurrence and they fell down to the ground in fear convinced that this was something evil and supernatural. Can’t say I blame them, but they were in luck. “Oh don’t worry, I’m not a demon or a fairy or anything like that. I’m just a little peach boy. You see, the gods in the heavens have seen your plight and have compassion for the two of you. You work hard every day and all you ever wanted is the child you couldn’t have. The heavens have heard and sent me to be your child in your old age. And hey, I come with language-pre-installed, which is pretty cool right?”
The little child’s voice had the ring of truth, so the couple got up and rejoiced at this unexpected boon. They had indeed cried every night about not having any children of their own and now their hearts were filled with joy. The old man lifted up his new son into his arms then passed the child to his wife to do the same. They named the kid Momotaro, which translates to Peach Boy or the Son of a Peach, for obvious reasons.
The years passed quickly and, before they knew it, Momotaro was 15. He was taller and stronger than any of the other boys his own age and, given his divine heritage and solid parenting, he was also courageous and wise. Oh, and he was also super attractive as far as teenage peach boys go, which is apparently very pretty. His parents were thrilled with the young man he was growing up to be. When they looked at him, they thought he was exactly what a young hero should look like.
One day, Momotaro came to speak with his adopted father. “Dad, you and I both know that it was kind of an unusual situation that brought this little family together, but I want you to know that you’ve been the best dad a peach boy could hope to have. Your goodness has been higher than the grasses you cut every day and deeper than the river where mother washes our clothes. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.” “Of course, Momotaro! It is my duty as a father to take care of you and raise you with love and kindness. Besides, when you’re older it will be your duty to take care of us in turn, so it all balances out in the wash. It’s very sweet, but I’m a little surprised you would thank me like this. There’s really no need.”
“I understand that dad, but I need a favor from you (and a little patience as well). There’s something I need to do before I can start paying back all the kindness you’ve shown me these last 15 years.” “Of course, my son. You are so mature and wise that of course I will grant you whatever you wish.” “I was hoping you’d say that. What I need is for you to let me go away. Like, right this instant.” “Wait, leave? Why? Where? You really want to leave your home? Your mother and father?” “It’s important, dad, and I promise I’ll come back if you let me go right now.” “Go where, Momotaro?”
“Look, I know it sounds weird but that’s only because I haven’t told you why yet. You see, far away from here in the northeast of Japan lies a small island in the sea. It’s the island stronghold for a vicious band of devils. Like, literal devils. Even all the way out here, I’ve heard whispered rumors of how they raid our villages, killing and raping and robbing, carrying off any captives they can. This is vile and evil but even worse, it’s disloyal to the Emperor. How dare they disobey his laws! Oh, and they’re also cannibals. Maybe should have led with that. They slaughter and eat the captives they take, which is both evil and illegal. Someone needs to stop them, and I’m just the Son of a Peach for the job. I need to go and conquer their island fortress and bring back all of the plunder they’ve stolen from our people. Obviously, I can’t do that from here, which is why I need to go away.”
The old man was understandably surprised to hear such a bold declaration from his 15-year-old son. There was such conviction in his voice though that his father knew in his heart that he had to let Momotaro go. Besides, he was no ordinary boy – he was a wise and courageous child of heaven. Those demons wouldn’t be able to touch a hair on his head. “I won’t stand in the way of your destiny, Momotaro. You have my blessing to journey to that island as soon as you’re ready and conquer those vile demons.” “Thanks for understanding, dad.”
Momotaro was ready to begin his quest the very next day. He was ambitious and courageous and nothing could hold him back. His parents spent the whole previous day pounding rice in their kitchen to make rice cakes for their brave boy to eat while he traveled. He packed it all up and headed out, watched with tearful smiles by his parents. “Good luck, Momotaro! Be safe and come back soon!” Momotaro was sad to leave his beloved parents behind and vowed to come back as quickly as he could manage. He would be very lonely on his trek, but that was a price he was willing to pay.
He walked until midday when his stomach started to growl, so he sat down under a tree to eat. As he was munching on his lunch, a dog the size of a small horse bolted out of the tall grass. Snarling, the beast rushed right at Momotaro. “Hey there, asshole! It’s pretty fucking rude to tresspass in my fields without asking permission first! Give me all those rice cakes in your bag as tribute or I’ll maul you to death!” The dog growled menacingly to drive home the threat. Given the heckin’ pupper’s size, this should have been scary as hell but our hero Momotaro just laughed.
“Seriously? You’re threatening me, pup? Do you have any idea just who the hell I am? I am Momotaro, the hero of Japan on my way to subdue the evil demons lurking in their island stronghold. If you try to stop me from completing my quest, I will cut you clean in half from your snout to your tail.” He moved one hand towards his sword in a clear threat. And no, I have no idea where he got a sword from, or the war fan he uses later – his family is very poor, so there’s no way they could afford such expensive weapons. Maybe they came out of the peach with him? However it happens, he’s heavily armed and apparently very well trained. Somehow.
All savagery vanished from the dog at Momotaro’s declaration. “Wait, are you really Momotaro? THE Momotaro? Holy shit, I’ve heard the stories about your incredible strength and courage. If I’d known who you were, I wouldn’t have acted like such a jackass. Sorry bout that. Can you forgive my rudeness? Are you on the way to Devil Island right now? I know I’ve been a bad dog, but can I come with you?” Momotaro smiled. “You’re not a bad dog. Of course you can come with me if you want to.” “Awesome! Thank you so much, you won’t regret this. I hate to ask but I really am starving. Any chance you could share one of those delicious-smelling rice cakes?” “These aren’t just any rice cakes, these are the best damn rice cakes in all of Japan so I can’t spare a whole one but I can give you half.” The dog shrugged. “I’ll take it. Thanks!”
And so the boy and his dog continued on their journey towards Devil Island. They walked together for a long time, over hills and through valleys until they came to a large tree in the distance. A large animal spied them as they approached and swung down from the branches to greet them. “Morning Momotaro! A hero like you is more than welcome to journey through these lands. Looks like you’re off on an adventure – mind if I tag along?” Before the young man could answer, the dog stalked forward jealously. “Why would Momotaro want someone like you? What are you, a flea-bitten monkey? He’s already got Man’s Best Friend with him – what the hell are you gonna do in a fight? Eat a banana? Throw your shit? We’re heading to fight a bunch of demons and we don’t need your help. Get lost!”
As everyone apparently knows, dogs and monkeys hate each other (news to me but I’ve never seen a dog with a monkey so what do I know?) so they began to fight. Momotaro dragged the two apart and stepped between them. “Stop fighting you two! Knock it off, dog!” The dog gave the Peach Boy a wounded look. “Come on, Momotaro. It’s undignified for you to have a wretched creature like this tagging along behind you.” “What would you know about it, dog? Knock it off.” He turned to the monkey. “And who exactly are you?” “I’m a monkey from the hills. We heard about your expedition to Devil Island and I decided to come and help. I really want to go with you. Please?” “Are you sure you want to come to Devil Island and fight the demons with me?” “Yes sir, I surely do.” “Alright then. I admire your courage. You’re in the party. Here’s a piece of rice cake for the road.”
And so the monkey did indeed join them on the road. Just because they were travel companions though didn’t mean they were friends. The dog and the monkey continually sniped at each other as they went, each daring the other to start the fight they both wanted to have. They were both just awed enough by Momotaro to avoid coming to blows, but just barely. This bullshit got on the peach boy’s nerves though, so he was in something of a foul mood as they went. At last he could stand it no more, so he sent the dog ahead with a flag to announce their approach (no idea where the flag came from either); the monkey, he sent to the rear with his sword to watch their backs. Momotaro himself carried that war fan I mentioned, which was made of iron, and walked between them to keep the peace.
They traveled in this awkward but workable configuration for some time until they came to a large field. As they approached, a gorgeous bird alighted from the sky and landed in front of the little group. It was the most beautiful thing Momotaro had ever seen with five different brilliant colors on its body and a brilliant scarlet head. The dog did what dogs do and charged the bird barking madly as he tried to play with it to death. Rather than fleeing, the bird dove at the dog’s tail, claws out, and fought back. Momotaro admired the little bird’s moxy and warrior spirit – it was holding its own with the dog, which was impressive. He might make a good addition to their band of fighters.
Thus decided, Momotaro rushed forward and seized the dog to stop the fight before addressing the bird. “Surrender at once, you miscreant. Don’t you know who I am? I am Momotaro, off to fight the demons of Devil Island and you are standing in our way. You can come with us or I can let this dog bite your head off and kill you. Your choice.” That doesn’t seem like a very polite way to address someone you admire, especially since the dog totally started this. The bird was appropriately cowed by Momotaro’s reputation and surrendered immediately. “I’m so sorry, Momotaro. I know it’s no excuse for quarreling with your canine servant but I didn’t know he was with you. I’m just a miserable pheasant, so it’s very generous of you to accept my surrender. I beg you to allow me to follow behind your procession. Please, I’ll stay at the back behind the dog.”
“Very wise of you to surrender so quickly. I accept your offer. You seem like one hell of a fighter, so I think we could use you on Devil Island.” The dog whined. “You’re not seriously bringing that tiny ass bird too, are you?” “What a ridiculous and needless question, dog. I already said he could come with us and I don’t like repeating myself.” “Hmmph,” complained the dog but they all knew that Momotaro had the final say. “Okay, now that that’s settled, listen up everyone. We’re becoming a little army here and the most important thing in an army is harmony. We have to work together. As they say, ‘advantage on earth is better than advantage in heaven’. Whatever that means. ‘If we don’t have esprit de corp, how are we supposed to overcome our enemies? It’s time for the three of you to become friends. The first one of you to start some shit gets kicked out of the party, understood? Good. Let’s go.” The animals all agreed and the pheasant got the usual half a rice cake before heading out.
They hurried on for many more days. Their friendship was feigned at first for the sake of Momotaro but his personality was so forceful that before long they were actually good friends. At last they came to the shore of the North-Eastern Sea. The rolling waves extended out to the horizon without any sign of land as far as the eye could see. All was still and silent except for the waves alone. The three beasties had come along on this journey with a lot of courage in their hearts but none of them had ever seen the ocean before. They all gazed out over the endless blue with awe and wonder and more than a tinge of fear. How in the hell were they supposed to cross that to reach Devil Island?
Momotaro saw their hesitation and discomfort and he decided to step up as a leader once again (though his brand of leadership is a bit rough). “Really? You’re all scared of a little water? Are you warriors or are you cowards? If you’re all this weak, then stay behind. You’re worthless to me. I’ll be better off on my own. You’re all fired. Go home.” The three animals were understandably taken aback at Momotaro’s sharp words. They were shocked out of staring at the ocean and instead flung themselves at Momotaro’s feet. They clung to his sleeves and begged him to reconsider. “Please, Momotaro!” whined the dog. “We’ve come too far to leave us behind now,” moaned the monkey. “It’s inhumane to leave us behind now,” squawked the pheasant. Momotaro saw that his gambit had worked – the three animals had found their courage again. “Very well. Since you ask so nicely and you seem much braver, you can come with me but be very careful.”
Momatora had never seen the ocean before either, but he was comfortable on the water and he had a plan. He acquired a small boat from…somewhere and they all boarded. I guess he was able to handle it all by himself since the animals had never been on a boat before. It helped that the wind and weather were fair, so the ship was able to fly across the ocean like an arrow. They had never been on the ocean (of course) and the motion of the waves was unnerving at first but they soon got used to it. Days passed with everyone looking out across the water for Demon Island.
They quickly grew bored of looking for something that wasn’t there and started playing games to pass the time. Momotaro was often too busy running the boat to take part but watching the animals play and get into hilarious antics was entertaining enough to take his mind off things. He too was tired of doing nothing and felt bored by the inactivity, so he needed the diversion. He longed to finally come to blows with the demons he sought.
Fortunately, the wind stayed with them and they met no other vessels on the high seas, so it was a fairly quick and uneventful voyage. At last, the four watchers finally spied land on the horizon off the bow. Momotaro knew in his heart that they had reached Devil Island. As they got closer, his instinct was confirmed by the sight of a towering castle set high on a sheer cliff overlooking the sea. From that vantage point, the demons would be able to see the whole island and, more importantly, any would-be heroes. This assault might prove trickier than he’d originally thought.
Momotaro sat for a while with his head in his hands as he thought deeply about the situation. At last, he stood up again and faced his three companions. He had a plan. “Pheasant, it seems that we are very lucky that you decided to come with us. I have need of your wings. Fly up to the castle and harry our foes to distract them so that the rest of us can charge the castle by land.” The pheasant obeyed at once, launching himself into the air and soaring over the castle. He landed on the tallest roof inside the castle walls and cleared his throat. “Listen up you devils! The great general Momotaro has come to overthrow your evil castle and wipe your blight off the face of Japan. Surrender now if you wish to live and break off your horns as a token of your submission. If you wish to stand and fight, then know that we – the monkey, the dog, and myself – will tear you to bloody shreds and leave you writhing in agony!”
The horned demons looked up at this audacious bird and laughed. “Look at that, boys! A fucking pheasant thinks he’s big and bad and tough. What a fucking joke he is. Come here, pheasant, and get a taste of our iron clubs!” The pheasant squawked his defiance, which pissed off the devils. They shook their shocks of bright red hair about their wickedly sharp horns and rushed to don their tiger skin pants to looks more fierce and terrible. Because everyone knows that cool fashion accessories are more important than looking around and seeing if the obvious distraction is, you know, a distraction, especially when he straight up told you he wasn’t alone.
Snazzy pants on, they grabbed the aforementioned iron clubs and then raced to the pheasant’s perch. Swinging wildly above their heads, they tried to knock the bird out of the sky. The pheasant was too quick for them and took to the air, dodging each blow before raking the faces and eyes of one demon after another with his talons. He was so quick and vicious that the demons finally began to wonder if they would have to fight more of these horrible birds. While the demons were thus distracted, Momotaro, the dog, and the monkey had landed on the beach.
The castle sat high on a cliff over the beach with a long path leading up to stout iron gates set in thick stone walls. The whole thing was exactly as strongly fortified as you would expect an evil castle lair to be. With the hope of finding another way in, Momotaro followed the dog and monkey up the path. They soon came upon a pair of damsels washing clothes in a stream. Momotaro’s sharp eyes spied that these outfits were all blood-stained and that, as the two maidens scrubbed, tears were flowing freely down their cheeks.
“Excuse me, fair maidens – who might you be and why are you weeping?” They looked up in surprise at the stranger. “We are captives of the Devil King, who kidnapped us from our distant homes. We are both daughters of Daimos (a type of lord) in our own lands but here we are servants, forced to slave away for the demon who will one day kill us and eat us. We are trapped here with no hope of escape or rescue.” They held up the bloodstained clothes and burst into fresh weeping. This is not the Demon King from Episode 112 who fell to Raiko, but he’s definitely a spiritual cousin.
Momotaro smiled. “Fear not, fair maidens, for we are here to rescue you. What I need from you is to show us a way into the castle past the walls. We’ll do the rest.” Knowing that this was the only chance they were ever going to get, the maidens immediately set aside their washing and showed the band of warriors to a tiny door. It was set in the lowest part of the wall at the back of the castle, and so small that Momotaro had to literally crawl to get through and even that was a struggle. The two animals had less trouble and so all three were now inside the defenses.
Up in the sky above, the pheasant saw them charging the demons from the back. He squawked and renewed the fury of his attack just as the squad crashed into the enemy’s rear. This unexpected assault caught the demons very by surprise and they crumbled despite having literally 25 times as many warriors. Some of the demons were driven over the walls to crash to the rocks below. Others fell into the sea and drowned beneath the suddenly violent waves. Most of the rest of the hundred devils were beaten, bitten, clawed, and pecked to death by the band of adventurers.
The Devil King was the last demon standing. He could see that he was beaten by Momotaro and his animal companions so he made up his mind to surrender. This was clearly no mortal man. He threw down his iron club at Momotaro’s feet, knelt down, and broke off his horns in submission. They were signs of his strength and power, so this was a big deal. “You are the victor. I fear your strength and I cannot stand against you. Spare my life and I will give you all the treasure stored in this castle.” Momotaro looked down on his defeated foe and laughed.
“So the big bad devil cowers meekly at my feet and begs? That’s new. Did you really think that would work? Some measly treasure? Dude, you’ve raped, murdered, tortured, kidnapped, and eaten way, way too many people all across Japan for me to let you live.” Before the demon could seize his weapon and make a last stand, Momotaro bound him in stout rope and handed him over to the monkey. With the captive thus taken care of, Momotaro made a search of the castle for the treasure he was now pretty sure was hidden there and for all the captives he knew for sure were there.
The dog and the pheasant carried home all of the plunder he found and Momotaro and the monkey escorted the Devil King as their captive back to Japan. The human victims, including the two brave maidens, were also ferried back home to their overjoyed families. I assume that the captured demon was eventually publicly executed, but the story doesn’t say what happened to him after being pulled away from his lair. The whole country rejoiced as Momotaro traveled through it proclaiming the end of the terrible devil marauders that had plagued them for so long. The elderly couple was even more overjoyed by their son’s triumphant return. The treasure he brought, which allowed them to live in comfort for the rest of their lives, was just icing on the cake.
As I mentioned, there are a lot of minor variations to this story over the centuries. The order that Momotaro meets the animals in varies, though they are almost always a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant. Sometimes all three come willingly and sometimes it happens the way we saw here. In most of the books from the Edo period, Momotaro isn’t born from the peach but from the old woman after she eats the peach and begins to grow younger in age due to its magic.
The Peach Boy’s age also varies, with him growing progressively younger as the story gets older. He was probably in his 30s until the early 1700s and in his mid 20s until the end of the Edo period though this isn’t specified in the text but inferred from the painted illustrations. In a few versions written near the end of the Edo period, he reaches the 15 years we find him at in this version. In some of the Meji period versions, Momotaro fights ogres instead of demons or devils and added the explicit explanation of the crimes they had committed. Older versions assumed you knew what oni were and could infer what they had done. The story was even used as anti-American and anti-Ally propaganda during World War 2. And so, with the demons defeated and safety restored, it’s time for Gods and Monsters. This is a segment where I get into a little more detail about the personalities and history of one of the gods or monsters from this week’s pantheon that was not discussed in the main story. This week’s monster is the abura-akago.
With a name that literally means ‘oil baby’, you know this is gonna be a weird one. The abura-akago is a yokai (a type of spirit or supernatural entity) that was cataloged in Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki or The Illustrated One Hundred Demons from the Present and the Past by Japanese artist Toriyama Sekien in 1779. Long ago in the village of Shiga in the Omi Provence, there was an oil merchant. Every night, he would sneak out and steal oil from the Jizo (a statue of a Buddhist bodhisattva who is the guardian of children and the patron deity of dead children) that stood at the Otsu crossroads. He would then resell the stolen holy oil for a profit, pocketing his ill-gotten gains. When he died, his soul turned into a ball of flame that thereafter wandered the countryside.
This tale was interpreted from earlier Edo period books about a mysterious fire known as abura-nusumi no hi, or the oil-stealing fire. The modern yokai interpretation is that this ball of fire sneaks into people’s homes, shapeshifts into a ghost baby (probably because of the Jizo statue, which is the patron guardian of dead babies) and licks the lanterns. Presumably, it drinks the oil from the lanterns before turning back into the ball of fire and floating on. One theory behind this yokai is that, long ago, people would use fish oil to light their lanterns and the local cats would sneak up to lap the oil. Shrouded behind the light of the lantern, they might have looked like strange shadow babies that would vanish (since cats are very sneaky). The story of this yokai may have also persisted as a warning against wasting the precious resource of oil.
That’s it for this episode of Myths Your Teacher Hated. Keep up with new episodes on our Facebook page, on iTunes, on TuneIn, on Vurbl, and on Spotify, or you can follow us on Twitter as @HardcoreMyth, on Instagram as Myths Your Teacher Hated Pod, and on Tumblr as MythsYourTeacherHated. You can also find news and episodes on our website at myths your teacher hated dot com. If you have any questions, any gods or monsters you’d want to learn about, or any ideas for future stories that you’d like to hear, feel free to drop me a line. I’m trying to pull as much material from as many different cultures as possible, but there are all sorts of stories I’ve never heard, so suggestions are appreciated. The theme music is by Tiny Cheese Puff.
Next time, we’re headed to Hungary and Romania for our annual Halloween special. You’ll discover that godmothers are often witches, that you should be careful about casting magic you don’t understand, and that you can talk gravediggers into doing some pretty weird favors. Then, in Gods and Monsters, what happens when your dead father knocks on your door demanding dinner? Probably murder. That’s all for now. Thanks for listening.