The Kraken belongs to a 600-year tradition of Scandinavian sea monsters; creatures so vast that medieval sailors mistook their backs for islands and landed on them.

The word itself is said to have first appeared in a Norwegian glossary in 1646, but by the 1750s, Erik Pontoppidan was cataloguing fishermen's accounts in his ‘Natural History of Norway’, treating the creature not as folklore but as a species awaiting classification.

But what were these sailors actually seeing? Was it mass hysteria? Mistranslated whale sightings? Or genuine encounters with something the world hadn't named yet?

In this chapter, I trace the Kraken from 13th-century Norwegian texts to the harpoon scars left on dying sperm whales and to 2004, when researchers finally photographed a living giant squid in its natural habitat for the first time in human history.

This is Urban Legends.

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In this chapter, we delves deep into the urban legend of the 'Jersey Devil'. From its roots in the Pine Barrens and the Leeds family story into the 1909 wave of sightings, when strange tracks, alleged attacks, and public fear spread across South Jersey and beyond.

Join us as we examine what was actually reported, how the story travelled, and what the panic reveals about rumour, media, and the human need to give a name and a shape to the unknown.

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Some stories are kept secret for a reason, and among the Diné, the figures outsiders call 'skinwalkers' is one of them.

In this chapter, we examine how this subject sits within Diné teachings about witchcraft rather than monsters, why many details are not shared publicly, and how 19th-century accusations, modern reporting, and internet mythmaking reshaped the idea for the rest of the world.

We separate community perspectives and documented history from hearsay and pop-culture distortion. To many, the Skinwalker is another Urban Legend, but to those who know its secrets, it is far more than that.

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This week’s mid-roll ad features 'Out There: A Cryptid Podcast', a show that follows Josh and his team as they dive into the world of cryptids, paranormal encounters, and unexplained phenomena. Each week, Josh takes you on an adventure beyond the edges of reality - uncovering strange stories, exploring eerie legends, and asking the big questions about what might really be... out there.

Find them by searching 'Out There: A Cryptid Podcast' in your podcast app.

Support the show

Contact me at: luke@lukemordue.com

Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/lukemordue

Everything else: lukemordue.com/podcast