Send us a text

In this episode of Let’s Talk Spooky, we journey across Alberta’s eeriest landscapes — from ancient stone guardians to the forgotten towns they watched over.

First, we explore the haunting Indigenous legends behind the Hoodoos of the Alberta badlands — towering rock formations believed to be petrified giants, guardians of sacred lands, and even cursed beings struck down by the spirits.

Then, we travel through time into four of Western Canada’s most chilling ghost towns:

• Anyox, BC – A lost copper town only accessible by boat, where lights still flicker in buildings with no power.
• Frank Slide, Alberta – The site of Canada’s deadliest landslide, where rock buried nearly a hundred souls — and some say, still holds them.
• Phoenix, BC – A once-bustling city now watched over by a woman in black, forever mourning a forgotten grave.
• Bankhead, Alberta – A mining town swallowed by silence, where voices still echo through ruined wash houses and unmarked graves.

We explore the tragic history, eerie encounters, and the folklore that lingers long after the last train left.

🔍 Referenced Legends & Lore:

• Hoodoo origin stories from Blackfoot and Cree traditions
• The 1903 Frank Slide disaster (Turtle Mountain)
• Reports from Phoenix Cemetery and the Woman in Black
• The ghost of Bankhead and the legend of the exhumed grave
• Urban explorer accounts from Anyox

📚 Sources & Further Reading:

• Parks Canada interpretive materials (Bankhead & Frank Slide)
• Canadian Encyclopedia – “Frank Slide”
• Mystery Weekly Magazine – “Haunted Canada: Ghost Towns”
• Medium: “The Ghost Towns of British Columbia”
• Puzzle Box Horror – “Legends of the Hoodoos”
• Indigenous oral storytelling traditions (Blackfoot, Stoney Nakoda references)
• Ron’s Amazing Stories: Canadian Ghost Towns Series
• Weird Canada Archives

📲 Stay Connected:

🔗 Website: letstalkspookypodcast.buzzsprout.com
📸 Instagram & TikTok: @LetsTalkSpookypod
💬 Got a local legend to share? Email us at letstalkspooky@gmail.com

Send us a text

In this episode, we buckle up for a journey through some of the world’s most haunted highways. These roads are more than just routes — they’re stitched with ghost stories, legends, and unexplained encounters that have left even seasoned drivers shaken.

Featured Locations & Legends:

• 🛣 Clinton Road (New Jersey, USA)
  Known for phantom trucks, time slips, and the tragic tale of a ghost boy at the bridge who returns tossed coins. A real-life murder case involving serial killer Richard Kuklinski adds chilling weight to the legend.
• 👰 Blue Bell Hill (Kent, England)
  Home of the Vanishing Bride. Drivers pick up a woman in a white dress—only to have her vanish from the backseat. Local legends tie her to a fatal 1965 car accident.
• 👹 Route 44 / La Mala Hora (New Mexico, USA)
  "The Evil Hour" apparition terrifies drivers at night — a dark-robed woman with red eyes said to foretell death or madness.
• 🏞 Ghost River Road (Alberta, Canada)
  Near Ghost Lake, Indigenous legends tell of lingering battle spirits. Campers report drumming, fog, and voices that rise from the river itself.

📚 Sources & References

• Weird NJ Magazine – Clinton Road legends & Richard Kuklinski case
• Atlas Obscura – Clinton Road hauntings
• Kent Live – Blue Bell Hill ghost bride
• Myths and Folklore Wiki – La Mala Hora
• [Reddit / r/NoSleep / r/Paranormal] – First-hand road horror stories
• Puzzle Box Horror – Vanishing hitchhiker lore
• [Tumblr Urban Legend Threads] – Ghost River folk stories & user encounters

Send us a text

Episode Summary:

They sound sweet, playful… harmless.
But behind the sing-song melodies of childhood lies something far older — and often far darker.

In this episode of Let’s Talk Spooky, we peel back the innocent surface of familiar nursery rhymes to uncover the bloody history, buried warnings, and folkloric origins they carry. From the burning martyrs behind “Three Blind Mice” to the sinister symbolism of “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” and the terrifying legend of “The Muffin Man,” we explore how these rhymes became time-traveling vessels for superstition, grief, and hidden truths.

🕯️ What You’ll Hear:

• 🎵 The Tudor executions encoded in Three Blind Mice
• 🪦 The hidden graveyard symbolism in Mary, Mary Quite Contrary
• 🧁 Whether The Muffin Man was a street vendor or a serial killer
• 🧺 How nursery rhymes may have acted as coded warnings in public
• 🕸️ Why folklore loves to dress darkness in rhyme
• 👶 Why children’s songs are perfect carriers for cultural memory

📚 Referenced Articles & Sources:

• BBC Culture – The Hidden Meaning of Nursery Rhymes
• History Extra – The Bloody Origins of Nursery Rhymes
• Smithsonian Magazine – “Mary, Mary Quite Contrary” and English Execution Folklore
• Oxford University Press – The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes by Iona and Peter Opie
• Folklore Society Archives – Songs as Oral History: Rhymes and Riddles as Codes
• “The Muffin Man” Creepypasta origins – Uncyclopedia (archival satire, not factual)
• JSTOR Daily – The Evolution of Folk Songs in Oral Tradition

🔮 Listener Note:

This episode includes references to historical violence, child death, and folklore with dark origins. Listener discretion is advised.

💀 Want More Spooky in Your Feed?

Be sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — and share the episode with your favorite folklore lover.

🌒 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @LetsTalkSpooky
🎧 All episodes: https://letstalkspookypodcast.buzzsprout.com