Cursed...ish

Why can no Hogwarts professor survive more than one year teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts?In this very unofficial Harry Potter episode of Cursed...ish, Daniel and Angela return to Hogwarts to investigate one of the wizarding world’s most suspicious job openings: the cursed Defense Against the Dark Arts position. Across seven books, Hogwarts burns through professor after professor, from Quirrell and his deeply inadvisable Voldemort head-share to Gilderoy Lockhart’s fraudulent little memory-wiping empire, Remus Lupin’s tragic exit, Fake Mad-Eye Moody’s disturbingly committed lesson planning, Dolores Umbridge’s pink-cardigan fascism, Severus Snape finally getting the job he absolutely should have known better than to want, and the full Dark Arts nightmare of Voldemort’s Hogwarts.Along the way, we talk Dumbledore’s questionable hiring practices, Barty Crouch Jr.’s bizarre commitment to education, whether anyone at Hogwarts understood red flags, and why this revolving door of cursed professors became one of the most effective recurring patterns in the Harry Potter series.Was the Defense Against the Dark Arts job cursed because Voldemort hexed it after Dumbledore rejected him? Was it cursed because Hogwarts HR was apparently run by owls and vibes? Or was the real curse simply letting children attend a school where every year’s teacher came with a new trauma package?Maybe cursed. Maybe not. But this time, honestly, pretty cursed.Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

What happens when a cursed ghost ship becomes both victim and warning?In this episode of Cursed...ish, Daniel and Angela set sail into the foggy, storm-tossed legend of the Flying Dutchman, the doomed ship said to be cursed to sail the oceans forever, never reaching port and never finding peace. From eerie sightings by British sailors and royal witnesses to centuries of maritime folklore around the Cape of Good Hope, this episode explores why the Flying Dutchman became one of the most famous ghost ship legends in the world.Along the way, we dig into Dutch sea power, the dangerous trade routes of the Dutch East India Company, Captain Hendrik van der Decken, cursed letters from the dead, and the strange idea that simply seeing the Flying Dutchman could bring disaster. Then we look beneath the surface at possible real-world explanations, including St. Elmo’s fire, Fata Morgana mirages, stormy seas, sailor superstition, and the very human need to turn fear, loss, and uncertainty into a story.Was the Flying Dutchman a cursed ship doomed by hubris, a ghostly omen of death, or just a terrifying trick of light on the open ocean?Maybe cursed. Maybe not.Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

New Orleans has no shortage of haunted history, but the Superdome Curse is one of the city’s lesser-known legends hiding in plain sight. In this episode of Cursed...ish, Angela and Daniel head to the Big Easy to explore the eerie story connecting the New Orleans Saints, the Louisiana Superdome, and the old Girod Street Cemetery, a burial ground once overwhelmed by cholera, yellow fever, decay, and thousands of human remains.Was the Superdome really cursed because part of its parking structure was built over a former cemetery? Did the Saints spend decades as the “Aints” because of bad management, bad luck, or something a little more accursed? And what exactly happened when voodoo priestess Ava Kay Jones arrived at the 45-yard line with a boa constrictor, offerings for the ancestors, dancers, drums, and a mission to break the curse before the Saints faced the St. Louis Rams?From New Orleans cemetery lore and above-ground burials to sports curses, ghost tours, grigri bags, playoff heartbreak, and one very dramatic act of spiritual crowd participation, this episode asks whether the Curse of the Superdome was supernatural, symbolic, or just the perfect New Orleans story. Maybe cursed, maybe not.Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

Winning the lottery is supposed to change your life for the better, but for some jackpot winners, sudden wealth has brought bankruptcy, betrayal, addiction, lawsuits, murder, and the uncomfortable realization that money can solve plenty of problems while creating entirely new ones.In this episode of Cursed...ish, Daniel and Angela investigate the so-called lottery curse. From the British tabloid sensation who promised to “spend, spend, spend” to Powerball and lottery winners targeted by relatives, scammers, spouses, and strangers, they examine the true stories that turned instant millionaires into cautionary tales.But do most lottery winners really lose everything? Is the infamous claim that 70 percent of winners go bankrupt even true? The hosts explore hedonic adaptation, financial self-destruction, media selection bias, and research suggesting that most winners actually become more satisfied with their lives.Then Daniel unveils his extremely sensible and only mildly unhinged 13-step Lottery Curse Avoidance Plan, featuring lawyers, anonymity via Ghostface mask, and a Never-Be-Poor-Again Fund.Maybe winning the lottery is cursed. Maybe money simply amplifies whatever was already waiting underneath. Either way, check your numbers twice.Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

What happens when some of the most brilliant musicians in history all seem to meet the same tragic end?In this episode of Cursed...ish, Angela and Daniel dig into the legend of the 27 Club: the eerie cultural grouping of famous artists who died at just 27 years old. From Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones to Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse, the so-called “Big Six” of the 27 Club left behind music that changed the world, and deaths that made people wonder whether fame, addiction, tragedy, and coincidence had formed something darker.Along the way, we explore Woodstock, death by misadventure, the white lighter myth, the toxic machinery of celebrity, the haunting legacy of artists gone too soon, and why 27 became the age people started whispering about as cursed.Was the 27 Club really a supernatural pattern, or is the true curse something much more human, like fame, substance abuse, mental health struggles, and an industry that burns through young talent?We’re not here to tell you curses are real. But when Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse all wind up in the same tragic mythology, we are absolutely here to ask why the story still refuses to die.Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

For decades, American families gathered in their backyards to throw giant metal spikes through the air and called it wholesome fun. What could possibly go wrong?In this episode of Cursed...ish, Daniel and Angela trace the astonishing history of lawn darts, better known by the popular brand name Jarts. Beginning with a 1957 patent for a projectile that combined an indoor dart with a javelin, lawn darts were marketed as cheerful outdoor entertainment for the entire family. Millions of sets were sold, even as the supposedly harmless backyard game caused devastating head injuries, permanent disabilities, and the deaths of children.Along the way, they examine the classic Saturday Night Live “Bag O’ Glass” sketch, the cheerful vintage advertising that described Jarts as a “missile game,” early attempts by the FDA to regulate them, and the manufacturers who insisted that consumers simply needed to play more carefully. Then they tell the heartbreaking story of seven-year-old and her father whose tireless campaign finally pushed the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Congress to ban sharp-pointed lawn darts decades after they first landed on the market and began their reign of terror..Were lawn darts a cursed object, or simply the inevitable result of reckless design, corporate self-interest, weak regulation, and an American marketplace willing to sell almost anything?Maybe cursed. Maybe not. Definitely a terrible idea.Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii and Herculaneum beneath ash, pumice, and deadly pyroclastic flows, preserving the final moments of two ancient Roman cities in horrifying detail. But was that the end of Pompeii’s misfortune, or did something cursed remain beneath the ruins?Fresh from visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum, Angela takes Daniel through the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the remarkably preserved streets and homes of Pompeii, and the eyewitness account of Pliny the Younger. Along the way, they examine exploding skulls, plaster casts, ancient brothels, good-luck penises, and the surprisingly ordinary details of Roman life frozen in time.Then they uncover the modern Curse of Pompeii, an urban legend claiming that tourists who steal rocks, tiles, mosaics, and other artifacts from the archaeological site are rewarded with illness, financial ruin, and relentless bad luck. More than 100 visitors have reportedly returned stolen souvenirs, often accompanied by letters begging Pompeii, and perhaps its dead, for forgiveness.Is Pompeii truly cursed, or is the legend simply doing the useful work of frightening tourists into keeping their hands to themselves?Maybe cursed. Maybe not. Definitely cursed...ish.Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

Yosemite National Park is one of the most beautiful places in America, with towering granite cliffs, roaring waterfalls, Half Dome, El Capitan, and a valley so stunning it helped inspire the entire national park system. But tucked into that landscape is Tenaya Canyon, a dangerous stretch of wilderness sometimes called the “Bermuda Triangle of Yosemite,” where hikers, climbers, park employees, and even John Muir, America’s great wilderness evangelist and the man often called the father of the national parks himself, have been injured, stranded, or killed while exploring this infamous canyon. In this episode of Cursed...ish, Daniel and Angela investigate the alleged Curse of Tenaya Canyon: the story of Chief Tenaya, the Ahwahneechee people, the Mariposa Battalion, and the violent removal of Indigenous people from Yosemite Valley during the California Gold Rush. From the killing of Chief Tenaya’s son to the renaming of Tenaya Lake, Tenaya Creek, and Tenaya Canyon, we look at how a history of displacement became attached to one of Yosemite’s most dangerous landscapes.Along the way, we dig into deadly falls, flash floods, Half Dome lightning strikes, strange disappearances, rescue missions, and the unsettling question at the center of the legend: is Tenaya Canyon cursed, or is “the curse” a way of turning stolen land and human tragedy into spooky tourist folklore?This is a story about Yosemite, wilderness danger, Indigenous history, settler violence, respect for nature, and the uncomfortable line between a supernatural warning and a history that refuses to stay buried.https://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/origin_of_word_yosemite.htmlhttps://npshistory.com/nature_notes/yose/v20n7-1977.pdfhttps://www.gutenberg.org/files/56042/56042-h/56042-h.htm#i_236https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/tenaya-canyon-in-yosemites-cursed-history-18121807.phphttps://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/yosemite-hiking-accidents-kill-two-3136339.phphttps://tahoequarterly.com/best-of-tahoe-2017/tempting-curse-chief-tenayahttps://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/yosemite-hiking-accidents-kill-two-3136339.phphttps://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/746/Yosemite_rock_fall_database_narratives_1857-2011.pdfhttps://mymotherlode.com/news/local/106197/yosemite-officials-believe-body-may-be-that-of-missing-foreign-exchange-student.htmlhttps://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/stranded-hikers-rescued-from-tenaya-canyon.htmhttps://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/lost-and-unprepared-in-tenaya-canyon.htmQuestions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

The Hope Diamond is one of the most famous jewels in the world, but is it also one of the most cursed?In this episode of Cursed...ish, we follow the allegedly-cursed Hope Diamond from its origins as the Tavernier Blue to the French royal court, through revolution, scandal, suspiciously dramatic deaths, and eventually into its current home at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Along the way, we dig into the science behind the diamond’s impossible blue color, the legend that it was stolen from a Hindu idol, the French Blue’s connection to Louis XIV, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the chaos of the French Revolution, plus the tragic story of a Washington socialite who owned the diamond before it became a museum icon. We also ask the important questions. Did the Hope Diamond really leave ruin in its wake? Was Pierre Cartier helped by one of the greatest curse-marketing campaigns of all time? Did they tempt fate by mailing the diamond to the Smithsonian for $2.44 in postage? And most importantly, was this blue little menace actually cursed, or did centuries of wealth, power, colonial plunder, tabloid storytelling, and human disaster just happen to sparkle in the same direction?From royal necks to a Great Dane named Mike, from Versailles to the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum, this is the story of the Hope Diamond curse: part history, part folklore, part luxury-object crime scene.Maybe cursed. Maybe not. Definitely dramatic.Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

A warning for delicate ears: this episode contains explicit language. We hope you’ll pardon us; when the topic is cursed words, some of those words do insist on showing up and being heard.On the 13th episode of Cursed…ish, Daniel and Angela investigate curses of a more etymological persuasion: curse words. Why do certain sounds become dangerous, filthy, or forbidden? Why did ancient speakers stop saying the original word for the beast they feared the most out of a suspicion that uttering its name might summon one forth? How did damn go from a terrifying sentence of eternal condemnation to one of our mildest swear words? And where did the word fuck actually come from, and why has it become the undisputed king of English profanity?Along the way, we unpack the strange history of taboo language, from Bronze Age euphemisms and divine damnation to medieval court records featuring the curious case of Roger Fuck-By-The-Navel. Because curse words are more than just dirty language. They reveal what people fear, what they revere, what they repress, and why sometimes only a well-placed “fuck” will do.https://www.medievalists.net/2023/08/earliest-use-f-word/https://sslh.org.uk/2023/06/07/i-dont-know-where-he-gets-his-fucking-language-from/Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

Why do theater people refuse to say Macbeth inside a theater? This week on Cursed...ish, we step into the blood-soaked, witchy world of Shakespeare’s most allegedly-cursed play: Macbeth, also known by the superstitious as “The Scottish Play.”Angela takes Daniel through the strange history behind the curse of Macbeth, from one king's weird, misplaced obsession with witchcraft and Shakespeare’s suspiciously well-researched trio of iconic witches, to the chilling discovery that real incantations may have been written into the very play itself. Did Shakespeare accidentally, or maybe not so accidentally, put actual magic onstage?Then we follow the supposed victims of the Macbeth curse across centuries of theatrical disaster: an actor allegedly dying before opening night, the Great Storm of 1703, the deadly Astor Place Riot of 1849, falling stage weights, accidentally-sharp prop swords, mysterious production deaths, stage injuries, kerosene-soaked costumes, and one extremely unfortunate bike accident.But is Macbeth truly cursed? Or is one of the most-performed plays in the English language simply old enough, popular enough, and chaotic enough to collect a long list of theatrical disasters?This episode has witches, Shakespearean ass-kissing, toxic theater fandom, dead sheep carcasses, cursed stage traditions, and the eternal question: is it cursed, or just cursed...ish?Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

Is the Poltergeist curse real, or is it just one of Hollywood’s darkest tabloid legends? In this episode of Cursed...ish, we dig into the alleged Poltergeist movie curse, from Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper’s creation of the 1982 horror classic to the tragic deaths of Dominique Dunne and Heather O’Rourke, the eerie stories surrounding Poltergeist 2 and Poltergeist 3, and the infamous rumor that real human skeletons were used on set. Along the way, we trace how the “curse” narrative spread through tabloids, media frenzy, and horror lore, and ask the question at the heart of every Cursed...ish episode: is there really something supernatural going on here, or are people forcing a pattern onto tragedy? If you’ve ever wondered about the truth behind the Poltergeist curse, this is the story behind one of horror’s most infamous legends. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-03-21-ca-993-story.htmlhttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/poltergeist-movie-curse-documentary-explore-830368/https://www.avclub.com/a-new-documentary-about-the-poltergeist-curse-knows-w-1798285147https://bloodygoodhorror.com/bgh/interviews/bgh-investigates-the-poltergeist-curse-with-craig-reardonhttps://web.archive.org/web/20121105201058/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-02-03/news/mn-27226_1_poltergeist-iiihttps://allthatsinteresting.com/dominique-dunnehttps://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3555052/poltergeist-getting-remade-captain-america-avengers-directors/Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

In this episode of Cursed...ish, Angela and Daniel dig into the Curse of Cassandra, the Greek myth of a woman who could literally predict disaster and still got treated like she was being dramatic. From Apollo’s extremely petty curse of a punishment to the Trojan Horse, the fall of Troy, and the brutal aftermath of war, they trace how Cassandra became mythology’s patron saint of I told you so. Along the way, they unpack the tragedy, misogyny, and cultural staying power of her story, plus why the Cassandra archetype still shows up everywhere from horror movies to modern pop culture, including Taylor Swift’s “Cassandra.” Because sometimes the real curse is not just bad luck, it’s being right while everybody around you insists on acting like an idiot.Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

In Part II of Cursed...ish’s King Tutankhamun coverage, Daniel and Angela pick up where the tomb story turns ancient history to archaeology and legend. From Napoleon’s role in fueling Europe’s obsession with ancient Egypt to the Rosetta Stone, Howard Carter’s excavation, Lord Carnarvon’s mysterious death, and the media frenzy that helped create the so-called Pharaoh’s Curse, they trace how a buried king became one of history’s most famous supernatural stories. Along the way, they dig into protective funerary rituals, tabloid embellishments, supposed curse victims, mold and poison theories, and the uncomfortable question at the heart of the whole legend: was there ever really a curse at all, or was Tutankhamun the one who was truly wronged? https://time.com/archive/6862937/science-a-curse-on-a-curse/https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/ancient/were-getting-ancient-egypt-all-wrong-and-its-because-of-european-nationalism/https://www.auntminnieeurope.com/clinical-news/article/15654128/the-radiologist-and-the-curse-of-the-mummyhttps://www.mentalfloss.com/article/23321/victims-king-tuts-cursehttps://allthatsinteresting.com/king-tut-cursehttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-30-mn-3981-story.htmlhttps://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/tutankhamun-egypt-howard-carter-times-letter-m53zhbbps?utm_source=chatgpt.comhttps://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/aug/13/howard-carter-stole-tutankhamuns-treasure-new-evidence-suggestshttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-30-mn-3981-story.htmlhttps://time.com/3594676/king-tut/https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/were-six-bizarre-deaths-linked-to-curse-of-king-tut-actually-the-work-of-this-notorious-satanist-6365783.htmlQuestions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

Before Tutankhamun became the most famous mummy in the world, he was a teenage pharaoh buried in secrecy beneath the sands of ancient Egypt. In Part 1 of this story, the Cursed...ish hosts trace the origins of the Curse of King Tut by exploring the world that created him: the religious beliefs of ancient Egypt, mummification, tomb protection, funerary rituals, and the supernatural fear of disturbing the dead. Along the way, we dig into the meaning of curses in ancient Egyptian culture, the ancient Egyptian afterlife, the weighing of the heart, protective spells, burial practices, and the history surrounding Tutankhamun himself. Before the tomb is opened and the modern legend begins, this episode lays the foundation for one of history’s most famous alleged curses surrounding a tomb that did not want to be opened.Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

In this episode of Cursed...ish, Angela Mattes and Daniel Stevens investigate one of America’s most infamous allegedly-hexed families: the Kennedys. From the death of Joseph Kennedy Jr. in World War II to the tragedies of Rosemary Kennedy, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, the scandal of Chappaquiddick, and the plane crash that killed JFK Jr., the Kennedy family story is packed with a staggering pattern of death, disaster, scandal, and political fallout. As the hosts trace the rise of America’s closest thing to a royal dynasty, they ask whether the so-called Kennedy curse is truly supernatural, or just what it looks like when power, trauma, and tragedy collide across generations. If you’re fascinated by American history, political dynasties, JFK conspiracy-adjacent lore, true crime, plane crashes, assassinations, and famous family tragedies, this episode dives deep into the dark legacy of the Kennedys with the skeptical, curious, macabre tone of Cursed...ish.Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

In this episode of Cursed...ish, Angela Mattes and Daniel Stevens head into one of the darkest corners of the Harry Potter universe: the Unforgivable Curses. From Avada Kedavra to the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperius Curse, they unpack how the wizarding world casually hands children the power to torture, control minds, and kill instantly, then somehow treats that as normal school-adjacent information. Along the way, they dig into the horrifying implications of Hogwarts, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Mad-Eye Moody/Barty Crouch Jr.’s infamous classroom demonstration, and the moral chaos at the heart of this magical world. And then they ask the question that makes everything worse: if these curses are truly unforgivable, why does Harry Potter himself end up using them? Darkly funny, skeptical, and gloriously uncomfortable, this episode explores dark magic in Harry Potter, wizarding-world ethics, and why this beloved fantasy series gets much more disturbing the older you get.Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

The Dybbuk Box may be the perfect cursed object for the internet age: part ghost story, part folklore confusion, part viral marketing miracle, and part “sir, please stop gifting this to relatives.” In this episode of Cursed...ish, we trace the story of the haunted eBay cabinet said to unleash nightmares, misfortune, illness, and general psychic bad vibes on anyone unlucky enough to own it. From Holocaust-linked origin claims to ghost-hunter fame and the possibility that the whole thing began as an elaborate piece of interactive horror fiction, we ask whether the Dybbuk Box is actually cursed, or just unbelievably good at making people want it to be.Episode Sources:Moss, Charles. “Finally, the Truth Behind the ‘Haunted’ Dybbuk Box Can Be Revealed.” Inverse, July 8, 2021 https://www.inverse.com/input/features/dybbuk-box-dibbuk-kevin-mannis-zak-bagans-haunted-hoax-revealed Biddle, Kenny. “A Closer Look: The Dibbuk Box.” Skeptical Inquirer, January 14, 2019 https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-dibbuk-box/ Collis, Clark. “Little Box of Horrors.” Entertainment Weekly, July 27, 2012 https://ew.com/article/2012/07/27/little-box-horrors-2/ Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

The Curse of the Billy Goat is one of the most famous sports curse legends in American history. In 1945, Chicago Cubs fan and Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis was kicked out of Wrigley Field after trying to bring his pet goat to the World Series, and according to legend, he cursed the Cubs on the spot. What followed was decades of heartbreak, near-misses, black-cat omens, failed curse-breaking rituals, and one of the longest championship droughts in baseball history.In this episode of Cursed...ish, we dig into the full story of the Billy Goat Curse, from its origins at Wrigley Field to the Cubs’ dramatic 2016 World Series win. Along the way, we explore Chicago Cubs history, the folklore surrounding sports curses, and the media hysteria that helped turn a bitter moment in 1945 into a legendary baseball myth. Was the Cubs’ losing streak just bad luck, or was the Curse of the Billy Goat real or just cursed...ish?Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

Winning an Academy Award is supposed to be the greatest moment of an actor’s career. So why do so many winners say it ruined their lives? In this episode of Cursed...ish, Daniel and Angela investigate the long-rumored Oscar Curse: the idea that winning an Academy Award can derail careers, destroy relationships, or both. The story begins in 1985, when Sally Field won her second Oscar for Places in the Heart and delivered one of the most famous acceptance speeches in film history, often misquoted as “You like me, you really like me.” But for some actors, that moment of triumph is followed by a strange pattern: stalled careers, typecasting, industry backlash, and very public divorces. From early Hollywood to the modern film industry, the supposed victims of the Academy Awards curse include actors whose careers seemed to falter after winning the biggest prize in Hollywood. We look at the mysterious case of Luise Rainer, the first actor to win back-to-back Oscars in the 1930s, only to see her Hollywood career collapse almost immediately afterward. We also explore stories involving actors like Cuba Gooding Jr., Mira Sorvino, Halle Berry, Hilary Swank, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock, and Kate Winslet, whose careers or relationships reportedly changed dramatically after their Oscar wins. But is there really a supernatural curse tied to the gold statue? Or are the real forces behind the so-called Oscar Curse things like Hollywood power dynamics, sexism, typecasting, ego, and impossible expectations placed on award winners? Along the way, we examine the psychology of fame, the strange patterns people notice after big career milestones, and the darker side of Hollywood success. Because sometimes the moment you reach the top of the mountain… is the moment everything starts to fall apart. On Cursed...ish, we investigate the story behind the superstition and ask the question: Is the Oscar Curse real, or just cursed...ish?https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1749612https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/orsc.2014.0951Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

A diamond that promised invincibility… and left a trail of war, betrayal, and ruin across centuries of European history. In this episode of Cursed...ish, Daniel and Angela investigate the legend of one of the world’s most famous cursed diamonds: the Sancy Diamond. We begin in medieval Europe, where the stone, once known as the The Balle de Flandres, became associated with kings, warlords, and nobles convinced it would make them unstoppable. Instead, its owners seem to encounter a suspicious pattern of violent deaths, financial collapse, political disaster, and battlefield catastrophe. The story takes us through the chaotic life of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, whose obsession with power, and rumored possession of the diamond, ended in disaster at the Battle of Nancy in 1477, where his body was discovered half-frozen in a river after a brutal defeat. From there, the diamond’s history only gets stranger. The stone allegedly survives theft, murder, and political upheaval, including a bizarre story of a messenger who swallowed the gem to keep it from robbers. Over the following centuries, the Sancy Diamond passes through the hands of European royalty, financiers, and aristocrats, appearing among the French crown jewels, disappearing during the French Revolution, and eventually landing in the collection of the Astor family—whose connection to the Titanic disaster adds yet another eerie chapter to the diamond’s reputation. Today, the Sancy Diamond rests in the Louvre Museum in Paris, where it quietly sits in a display case… waiting. But does the stone actually carry a supernatural curse? Or is its dark reputation simply the result of powerful people making dangerous decisions in the pursuit of wealth, power, and conquest? As always on Cursed...ish, we follow the history, examine the legend, and ask the question: Is the Sancy Diamond truly cursed, or just cursed...ish? Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

Why do so many buildings skip the 13th floor? Why do airlines avoid row 13? And why does a single number carry so much cultural dread? In the first episode of Cursed...ish, Daniel and Angela dig into the long, strange history of the world’s most infamous number: 13. From Friday the 13th superstitions to the tongue-twisting fear known as triskaidekaphobia, we explore why the number 13 has been treated as unlucky across centuries of folklore, religion, and popular culture. Along the way, we look at everything from the Last Supper and Norse mythology to the arrest of the Knights Templar on October 13, 1307, plus eerie patterns people have noticed in shipwrecks, plane crashes, and even the near-disaster of Apollo 13. But is there anything truly sinister about the number itself? Or are we just very good at spotting patterns and telling ourselves stories when coincidence stops feeling random? Daniel breaks down the mathematics of prime numbers, the curious idea of “happy numbers,” and even a bizarre proposal for a 13-month calendar that would give us a Friday the 13th every single month. Meanwhile Angela brings the cultural perspective, from Taylor Swift’s lucky 13 to the psychological pull of superstition. Along the way, we ask the real question at the heart of every cursedish story: When bad things happen on a particular date… are we witnessing a curse, or just pattern recognition at work? Welcome to Cursed...ish. Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at [email protected] hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.