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@$&! It - Curse Words · Journey to the Fringe

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From the unexplained to the mundane, join us
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on our journey to the fringe. Hello and welcome
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to Journey to the Fringe. Now, don't worry about
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the Halloween episodes at least. We got tons
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of ideas, so many ideas. You don't need to give
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us anything. Now, those Christmas episodes, why
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do we need your help with those? We're open to
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suggestions. But tonight, we descend into the
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shadowy realm of language, and we're going to
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explore the uncanny, mysterious, and sometimes
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dangerous history of what we call curse words.
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I love curse words. I use them all the time,
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and I'm frankly kind of odd why we call them
1:02
that. Are they about to get better? Are they
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simply forbidden utterances, or do they truly
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carry the power to summon misfortune or even
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protect evil? Let's begin our dive into this
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with a simple, but unsettling question. Chelsea,
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why do we call swear words curse words? I don't
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know, because they're fun. You would think, but
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it's just kind of funny that it's one of the
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few places where curses still come up in modern
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society. The phrase carries more weight than
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its everyday use might suggest. When you stub
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your toe, or when traffic cuts you off, and an
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expletive bursts forth, you're likely not thinking
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about summoning ancient spirits. Yet the language
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we use for these verboten utterances is a relic
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of more superstitious times, when words themselves
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spoken aloud were believed to possess a real,
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perhaps dangerous power. The word curse emerges
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from Late Old English curse, meaning a prayer
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cursed without an E. I should say, because it
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sounds the same. But you know what? Now that
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you're saying that, there are things where I
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do say, like, I will say, curse this. Curse this
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whatever I'm working on. Like, I have said it.
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Like, is that weird of me? This damn thing or
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whatever. Yeah. Damn you straight to hell. Something
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like that. Curse you, you son of a bitch. Okay,
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you get my drift, got it. We actually do that
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to Craig quite a bit. Yes, we're constantly cursing
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Craig. Maybe that's why he doesn't work. The
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word in Old English, curse, meaning a prayer
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that evil or harm befalls someone. The act of
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cursing someone then was a literal invocation,
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a spoken desire for another's misfortune, sometimes
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believed to bring down divine or superhuman glass.
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Later, by the 13th century, to curse had morphed
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into the use of profane or blasphemous language,
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words thought too potent or dangerous for polite
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society. And in American English, cuss is just
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a dialectical variation of the word. So cussing
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is the exact same thing, which blew my mind.
3:25
This is all blowing my mind. But what connects
3:28
blasphemy magic in the four -letter words we
3:30
know today? To explore this is to journey into
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older primal layers of culture. where language
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was an act of magic, binding, casting, a summoning.
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The spoken word and the magical spell, the curse
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and the cusk were once the same ritual. Now long
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before, wizards and witches haunted the imagination.
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the human fear of languages, power, was shaping
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our vocabularies. One of the most striking examples
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of this lies hidden in the seemingly innocuous
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name of bears. Which sounds weird, but picture
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yourself walking in the wild forests of ancient
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Europe. To the early Indo -Europeans who hunted,
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worshipped, and feared this formidable animal,
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the bear was more than a beast. was a living
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threat, and it was believed to utter its real
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name was to summit, risking attack or misfortune.
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So as a result of this, in Germanic languages,
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which includes English, the word bear doesn't
4:27
mean the animal bear. What does it mean? It means
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brown. It literally translates to the brown one.
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What? A way to reference the animal without calling
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its name directly. What's his real name? We don't
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know. Well, it had to have had a name at some
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point. Yeah, but it was before written language
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and they stopped using the name. Oh my god. It's
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not just Germanic languages either. Similarly,
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Slavic medved, which means honey eater, and Baltic
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languages call them loki, meaning the hairy ones.
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And even the real Proto -Indo -European term
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for bear survives somewhat in Greek with arktos.
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but that means arctic and it's latin which means
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arctic now i am so impressed that they're so
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scary we literally still do not call them by
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their name this is like where the term curse
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comes from is words could summon they had this
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power back in the day so it would actually shape
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language through it The Taboo Superstition is
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more than a linguistic game, it's a window into
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the world where speaking the truth, the secret
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name of a thing, a bear, a demon, even a deity,
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was fraught with peril. If a name can summon,
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in danger. I will say, I still believe that words
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have power. Cause even at work, like you can't
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say out loud on a slow day that it's a slow day.
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You can't say it. Yeah. You jinxed us or something
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like that. Don't jinx it. Yeah. Like you don't,
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you don't say it. Somebody said it the other
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day and I was like, you can't just say that.
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And then they jinxed us and then it got busy.
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Yeah. I find that so crazy that like throughout
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most of Europe, we have no idea for bear because
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it just stopped being used. That's crazy. My
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mind is totally blown by that one. We'll get
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busy if you say it's quiet. So you can't say
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bear. Exactly. Exactly. That's crazy. My mind
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is blown. Don't say bear. No, but we're saying
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bear. You can't say the name that we don't even
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know anymore. It's gotten so out of hand. Successful
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campaign that we don't know it. That's so crazy.
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Okay, okay. So I guess we've never said bear.
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We still don't. I have to assume bear attacks
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are way down from that time. You gotta imagine
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they would be. Wow, that's crazy. Is this the
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end of the episode? Yeah. Bye. But this isn't
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just a northern European superstition. Across
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ancient societies, the prohibition on using real
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names or speaking without careful indirection
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was a survival tactic. Such superstitions have
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left their mark in toponyms, folklore, and even
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in the way we refer to certain animals, like
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the example we gave there. Now what happens when
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a word is believed not just to reference an object,
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but to actively shape, bind, or destroy reality?
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Here we step into the world of curses as magic.
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We're going to talk about defixio. I really like
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this thing, Chelsea. I feel like people who work
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in customer -facing jobs should bring back this
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idea. Okay, I'll bring it back. Basically, they're
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little pieces of bronze that you Curse isn't
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due for people. So these curses would be shockingly
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specific or entirely formulaic, invoking infernal
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deities or liminal gods, Hecate, Pluto, Persephone,
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or simply naming the victim, binding them with
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a string of gibberish or a list of the body parts
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to be afflicted. A few examples. This was found
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at a Roman bath. Dosemedes has lost two gloves
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and asks that the thief responsible should lose
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their minds and eyes in the goddess's temple.
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A curse from Germany. The human who stole Berio's
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cloak made the worms, cancer, and maggots penetrate
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his hands, head, feet, as well as his limbs and
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marrows. What do you think he did? Wow, that's
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pretty harsh. He stole Berio's cloak. Wow, that's
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quite the curse for stealing a cloak. I mean,
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cloaks were pretty valuable back in the day,
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and it could have been a really nice cloak. It
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might have been his life savings on that cloak.
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And a spell that found in Egypt, wrapped in a
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lock of hair and lead. I bind you, Athanodoros,
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daughter of Theodora, so that you cannot sleep
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or eat or find peace until you come to me." So
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very weird. That one seemed like a love spell.
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Gotta get your feelings out there. It was a love
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spell, but also it's a curse still, nonetheless.
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Yeah, love spells are curses. I feel like that
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should make a comeback, just as like something
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that you do to get your stress out from a hard
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day of talking to customers. I hope nobody looks
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in my desk at work. Chelsea, why do you have
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all of these binded? Just a desk full of them.
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Why is there so much bronze in your desk? Don't
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ask, okay? Just glare at them and start chiseling.
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There's another one in. Now sometimes the words
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themselves inscribed on these were nonsensical,
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mystic voices basically, or palindromes like
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the Satyr Square. These were thought to be understood
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only by spirits or demons lending supernatural
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efficacy to even the most -interesting of vengeance,
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which is actually where we derive some of our
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magic words like abracadabra. Really? We'll get
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into that later. These spells and curses were
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not only for enemies, some were inscriptions
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for love, courtroom victories, sports competitions,
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or to right perceived injustices. Often the act
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of writing itself for the proper recitation by
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a ritual professional was thought to guarantee
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the outcome. Oh so it's like um uh like you need
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to get your feelings out it's not just getting
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your feelings out you can do that oh god i can't
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remember though of course it is you put me on
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the spot for trying to remember something i was
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just watching a paulie shore and he was talking
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about his journaling where he writes about what
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he wants to happen like uh i can't remember what
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is called a promise Is that what it's called?
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No, it's not a promise. I can't remember what
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the fuck it's called But you talk about what
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you want to happen as if it's already happened
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so that it happened. That's still a thing. Oh,
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positive information, yeah. Yeah, I mean essentially,
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yeah. But you know with make it's burrowing into
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people's eyes Yeah, but they were using it for
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positive like court outcomes and stuff like that.
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You said yeah They could but it was kind of like
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making sure the words would bring it out. Yeah,
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like manifesting. That's the word manifesting
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and that's the whole idea of the curse is words
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have power both good and bad like when it first
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comes out yeah we of curse is like bringing about
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a bear but it's anything it can bring about anything
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not just the negative that makes sense if they
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have power like to manifest something good in
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your life it would mean the same thing to manifest
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something bad so I guess it makes sense it's
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all very logical it's still belief Now? Yeah,
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we've said it several times now with examples.
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Yeah, we still do these things. We still don't
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say bear. We say bear, not the other one. We
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dare not speak its name. Hey, neither of us have
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been attacked by bears. As we're going through
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the history, you can see that there's a deep
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theme here that the words have power, and particularly
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names have power too. In folklore, you see this
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a lot of place to invoke a name, especially of
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a super supernatural being, say, a Rumpelstiltskin
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from Germanic legend. Oh shit. So we banish it
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or banish it, but knowing and speaking a name
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could also bring doom. Cultures the world over
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are filled with name taboo. Such as Ashkenazi
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Jews, apotropaic names were given to sick children
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to confuse the angel of death. Altar, meaning
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old, or necros, meaning not handsome, were given
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to these people to avoid the angel. Dear God.
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And across many societies, saying the name of
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a demon or the dead was forbidden lest it draw
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their presence. Huh. Even today superstitions
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persist around unlucky name with entire family
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lines burdened by cursed roots in the very act
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of naming like the Kennedy curse or the avoidance
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of the name like Adolf throughout Europe. Do
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you think that's cursed or just bad stigma around
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the name? Is there really a difference? Yeah,
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that's true. This is all very philosophical.
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There was an entire era in feudal Japan where
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they gave people names that were terrible. like
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smells of rotting shit or something along those
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lines. Just because they thought that the gods
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wouldn't be as interested in them if they had
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terrible names. Interesting. By the Middle Ages
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and Renaissance, the belief in magical potency
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of words had been systematized in grimoires,
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texts devoted to the practices of magic spells.
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These books, from the Key of Solomon to the Lesser
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Key of Solomon and the notorious Grimorium Verum,
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often contained long lists of invocations, arcane
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spells, and rituals intended to summon a supernatural
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entity. Some grimoires wandered between prayers,
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oaths, and outright maledictions. The ritual
13:40
cursings in the name of angels, demons, The lines
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blur between the sacred and the profane. Christianity
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itself, in the Old Testament, cursing was a forbidden
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but recognized act. and in other traditions,
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the right spell could both protect and destroy.
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As we keep going forward, we get to reference
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from last week, Chelsea, if there's a cursed
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word lurking in Western culture, it's surely
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the name of Shakespeare's play Macbeth. Oh, yeah.
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For centuries, actors and theater practitioners
14:07
have refused to utter the play's name indoor,
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except within the script, opting instead for
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euphemisms like the Scottish play. Why do they
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do this? According to theatrical superstition,
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speaking Macbeth in a theater is believed to
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bring catastrophe. Accidents, ghostly mishaps,
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injuries, even death. Legends tell of a coven
14:25
of witches placing a curse upon the script because
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it used real incantation. Lines like double,
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double toil and trouble forever doomed those
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who invoked it carelessly. Historical records
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fuel the legend. The original actor playing Lady
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Macbeth is said to have died suddenly before
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opening night. Shakespeare himself allegedly
14:43
had to step in. Throughout the centuries, productions
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of Macbeth have seen falls from the stage, flying
14:49
props, fires, and even riots, most infamously
14:52
the Dead Aster Place riot in 1849. How deep does
14:56
this belief run? Even today, if an actor accidentally
14:58
lets slip Macbeth in a theatre, a ritual must
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be performed to dispel the curse. These rituals
15:03
are almost magical indentations themselves. You
15:06
have to step outside the theatre. turn around
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three times, spit over your left shoulder, swear
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or recite a cleansing line from another Shakespeare
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play, knock and wait for readmitting. This tradition
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embodies the persistence of magic thinking, the
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legacy of cursed words and the theater's enduring
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enchantment with the power of language itself.
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Spoken curses are not the only province of Shakespearean
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actors. The magical force of malevolent blessings,
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their positive counterpart, runs like a dark
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thread through global folklore. Some of the most
15:38
notorious curses include the curse of - Pharaoh
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the ancient Egyptian inscribed warning on tombs
15:43
anyone who disturbed the eternal rest of king
15:45
would be beset by misfortune illness or death
15:48
legend reached fear pitch after the discovery
15:50
of king toton commons tomb when mysterious deaths
15:53
among archaeologists fueled media hysteria i
15:55
believe we did an i think we did too yeah actually
15:58
it might be a halloween episode i think it was
16:00
a halloween episode actually again we're good
16:03
on halloween episodes don't worry the bell witch
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the 19th century tennessee bell family was ties
16:08
by a supernatural singing, cursing, even alleged
16:11
poisoning the patriarch, the bellwitch's threats,
16:14
and curses became a regional legend speaking
16:16
to American anxieties about evil gender. own,
16:20
the Hope Diamond. This stunning blue gem is said
16:22
to doom its owners to death and disaster, another
16:26
echo of the ancient belief that objects too can
16:28
chant powers of word, a curse, a wish, and familial
16:31
curses. Many cultures hold stories of lineages
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blighted by ancient words of wrath cursed for
16:37
seven generations by the indiscretion's real
16:40
or imagined ancestor. In these tales, the act
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of uttering, inscribing, or merely believing
16:46
in a curse can reshape reality, misfortune explained,
16:50
tragedy given meaning, and chaos rendered understandable
16:53
through the conduit of language. Of course, where
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there are words believed to wound, there are
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also words used to heal, to defend, to protect.
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Enter the realm of apotropaic magic, from the
17:05
Greek meaning to turn away, the tradition of
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using words, charms, or rituals to ward off evil
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or supernatural attacks. Some of the most enduring
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apotropaic words and symbols include the term
17:16
abracadabra. Known today as the magician's stage
17:19
word, its origins are far older. In ancient Rome,
17:22
it was prescribed as an amulet against fever
17:25
and harm. Written in diminishing triangle, the
17:28
word itself was thought to funnel the illness
17:30
away and And satyr square. This five -word palindrome
17:34
was inscribed on walls, amulets, and tablets
17:37
across Europe as a guardian charm to reverse
17:40
curses or repel evil spirits. Charms, gestures,
17:43
and folklore rituals. Spitting over your shoulder,
17:46
knocking on wood, sweeping negative energy with
17:48
a broom, wearing a hamsa or evil eye bead. Buildings,
17:53
too, are often inscribed with a symbolic witch
17:55
mark or daisy wheel. Written prayer and protective
17:58
sigils. Testimonies of the faith. place in the
18:01
written or spoken words ability to shape destiny.
18:04
Now can you break or neutralize a curse with
18:07
ancient and modern rituals? Curses and curse
18:09
words are ancient, so too are practices of neutralizing.
18:13
Diverse cultures developed entire systems, rituals,
18:16
spells, and psychological strategies to defang
18:18
the melodictions woven by word will or envy.
18:22
I got one. Knock on wood. I think that's an incredibly
18:25
common one in European background. I do it all
18:29
the time. Common ones are cleansing rituals.
18:32
A couple are bathing in salt water using sacred
18:35
herbs and smudging with smoke features in many
18:38
traditions to purify a space a person believed
18:41
to be cursed. Breaking the cursed object. If
18:44
a curse is tied to an object, destroying it,
18:46
often with fire, water, or burial, is thought
18:48
to end its power. Protective amulets and talismans.
18:51
Wearing a cross, very Christian way, the nazar
18:54
or evil eye. That's to break curses? Oh yeah,
18:58
the evil eye. Wearing a cross. Yeah, well, the
19:00
cross protects you. Oh, I wear, I wear, I have
19:04
an evil eye that I wear. And I always love the
19:06
evil eyes to protect it. These are believed to
19:18
create a shield against malevolent energies.
19:21
Rituals to reflect or return the curse. Mirror
19:23
boxes or return to center spells are common in
19:26
both folk magic and modern witchcraft. Positive
19:28
affirmations and support. Psychology tells us
19:31
that belief in curses can cause anxiety, stress,
19:34
and self -affirmation. Prophecies, so rituals
19:36
of self -empowerment, support circles, and education
19:38
can help break the hold of such curses. Repentance
19:41
and forgiveness. Religious traditions often describe
19:44
confessions to a null self -spoken curse as words
19:47
of hate or ancestral maledictions. Or community
19:51
rituals, incantations, prayers, or cleansing
19:53
ceremonies done by groups are thought to generate
19:56
stronger protection. An echo of how curses themselves
19:58
once operated as social From breaking eggs to
20:02
breaking chains from ritual baths to modern therapy
20:05
the quest to neutralize the power of the curse
20:07
word continues And I just love, like, you can
20:11
see in those, like, seven different categories
20:14
of Breaking Curses, multiple different parts
20:16
of Christianity. Which is interesting. Yeah,
20:19
there's a lot of heavily Christian stuff that
20:21
is Breaking Curses. Like, it's so... But... You
20:25
don't think of it as a superstitious religion,
20:27
but it's, like, it's building on what came before
20:29
it, which everything does. And here's the thing,
20:32
and maybe it does tie a little bit back to our
20:34
previous episode, because King James I, you said...
20:37
King James Bible, yeah. Like, and he was heavily
20:40
into the, like, witchcraft stuff, so maybe that
20:45
might get - had a crossover episode or something,
20:48
you know what I mean? It is weird how close these
20:50
two episodes actually are. Yeah, yeah, and like
20:54
you look at the crosses and stuff and this is
20:57
very like religion heavy, a lot of breaking,
21:00
like confession and stuff like that. Oh yeah,
21:03
confession, rosary beads, repenting, and they
21:06
do have, I forget what they call it, but basically
21:08
smudge going in the church. That's true too.
21:11
Yeah, that's like, it's all about keeping the
21:15
curses away. really is what it is all about comes
21:18
down to. We can't leave the world of curse words
21:21
behind without acknowledging their everyday magic,
21:24
the psychological, social, and emotional power.
21:26
Why do people swear? Today's science suggests
21:29
reasons both primal and profound. Pain relief.
21:32
Swearing does actually activate response, releasing
21:35
endorphins, and temporarily raising pain tolerance.
21:38
In experiments, volunteers who cursed endured
21:41
cold water pain longer than those who remained
21:43
polite. For emotional catharsis and defiance,
21:46
curse words function as a pressure valve, letting
21:49
out frustration, anger, or fear in a burst of
21:52
ritualized transgression. Mark Twain. No stranger
21:55
to colorful language. No Quote, when angry, count
21:57
to four. When very angry, swear. End quote. Group
22:03
bonding and identity. Among friends or within
22:05
social group. Shared bad language can signal
22:08
camaraderie and group membership and honest self
22:11
-expression. And power control and humor. Swearing
22:13
can assert dominance or flip social hierarchies,
22:16
converting potential violence into manageable
22:18
controlled aggression. Profanity, well -timed,
22:21
can also be a source of humor or satire. But
22:23
science also supports centuries -old wisdom.
22:26
There's a double edge to the curse word sword.
22:28
Swearing too often may blunt its power, emotionally
22:31
and socially, and in every society, certain words
22:34
retain their ability to shock, offend, provoke,
22:37
rooted in specific historical taboos. So we've
22:40
seen that not all curse words are created equal
22:43
and not all cultures banish the same taboos.
22:46
Across the globe, what is profane or powerful
22:48
in one language may be trivial in another. In
22:52
Spanish and Italian, profanity often draws sexual
22:55
terminology or blasphemies. In Japanese, words
22:58
associated with death or misfortune are taboo
23:00
and certain numbers or syllables are avoided.
23:03
In some African and indigenous societies, curses
23:05
focus on social and familial order and slurs
23:09
may be used as healing or balancing tools under
23:11
controlled circumstances. Religion, politics,
23:15
and historical trauma shaped the landscape of
23:17
bad words. From the French Revolution, where
23:20
profanity was used as rebellion, to strict censorship
23:23
of blasphemy in the Islamic world. The functions
23:26
are nonetheless universal, expressing emotion,
23:29
forging group identity, policing boundaries,
23:32
and sometimes channeling the uncanny sense that
23:34
words themselves can summon bless. Now tonight,
23:37
I'm just gonna go to, I decided, despite it not
23:40
really matching up with everything in the theme
23:43
here, we're just gonna read some cursed stories
23:45
from Reddit that I found. I like that. Cuz I
23:49
just feel like when we have an opportunity to
23:51
go to reddit you go. Oh, yeah, it's the best
23:53
now This was posted seven years ago by the leaded
23:57
on the witchcraft subreddit Then the specific
24:00
question was were you cursed and this person
24:03
broke I believe I was when I was a much younger
24:05
witch with more curiosity than practice under
24:08
my magical belt I was fooling around with this
24:10
super hot guy who was a practitioner of voodoo
24:13
and who referred to himself as Bokor I didn't
24:15
want anything serious, but he did eventually
24:18
I called things off I left as I felt he was getting
24:20
too pushy and I didn't want to lead him on if
24:23
things weren't going anywhere. Shortly after
24:25
that my life started going seriously haywire.
24:28
My work situation took a nosedive, my bathroom
24:30
flooded, my refrigerator broke, my dog got in
24:33
a terrible fight where I ended up pretty torn
24:35
up myself. It felt like every aspect of my life
24:38
was suffering. It took me a while to get suspicious
24:40
because bad things happen, right? But this all
24:43
just seemed ridiculous. My fling did have access
24:45
to plenty of my personal effects, after all,
24:47
and I knew enough about that world to know how
24:50
things worked. I started to entertain the idea
24:52
that he'd thrown a love me or die my way, but
24:55
I still wasn't taking it entirely seriously.
24:58
That changed when I was driving home from work
25:00
behind a dump truck. When a rock flew out of
25:03
the back of the truck and slammed into my windshield,
25:05
right in front of my face. Fortunately it didn't
25:08
shatter the window completely, but it was bad
25:10
enough I had to pull over and have Toad to a
25:12
repair shop. Oh yeah she's pissed. No joke, three
25:15
days after it was repaired a freaking turkey
25:17
flew directly into my windshield and shattered
25:19
the window right in front of my face again. Oh
25:22
my god. After that I was like okay I think I
25:25
get it. A reading from a friend seemed to confirm
25:27
what I thought. I will credit this experience
25:29
with igniting my interest in practice and magic
25:31
however I managed to personal effect of my flings,
25:35
did a mirror spell, engaged in a serious 13 day
25:37
cleansing bath, swept out and washed down my
25:40
house from attic to basement, the works. Happily,
25:43
everything noticeably calmed down a hell of a
25:45
lot after I completely blocked said fling from
25:47
my life. That was a lot going wrong. Yeah, it
25:50
was. It doesn't seem like a coincidence at that
25:53
point. And then Zelda Alleri right below this
25:56
said, that's intense. My friend and I suspected
25:58
something similar happened with him. He was dating
26:00
a guy. who was also in Davudu and really just
26:04
conjuring some dark -ish that neither my friend
26:07
or I interested in experimenting with. I remember
26:10
when my friend called it off with the guy, he
26:12
did not take it well. all. We actually came home
26:14
one night a couple of days after they broke up
26:17
and had this really eerie feeling someone was
26:19
watching us in our home but thought not much
26:21
of it. We actually cast a little protection spell
26:23
on our home and ourselves hoping it would ease
26:25
the tension felt in the air. I don't know if
26:27
tension is even the right word it was just heavy
26:30
like I remember it actually stopped us both in
26:32
the doorway and had us wondering if someone had
26:34
been in. A couple of days later we gone out for
26:37
the evening and when we returned we noticed things
26:38
in our house were off like someone had been there.
26:41
Things didn't appear to be moved, but like there
26:44
had been touched. It felt like someone was recently
26:47
there and they left quickly. Our doors were locked
26:50
and our security system was still set but we
26:52
also noticed the heavy watching feeling wasn't
26:55
there anymore. We chalked it up to our spell
26:57
working and maybe we were just paranoid. Well
26:59
not even 24 hours later my friend life literally
27:02
started falling apart. Everything from work to
27:04
his health was affected and we were just at the
27:07
loss. He got into a fight with his boss which
27:09
came out of nowhere. He broke his wrist and then
27:12
sprained his ankle. It was a disaster. We called
27:14
it reinforcements and went to someone we knew
27:17
through other witches who is far more experienced
27:19
in their craft than either of us. She agreed
27:22
he was cursed or that some sort of hex was placed
27:25
on him. I mean that's easy enough to do. Yeah,
27:28
you're cursed. Just looking at you, you're cursed.
27:31
And agreed to assist him. She removed the hex
27:33
and told us to get in touch should anything further
27:35
happen. Everything seemed to clear up and things
27:37
went back to normal. But about two, maybe three
27:40
weeks later, that woman called my friend and
27:42
asked that neither of us get in touch with her
27:44
again. This next post written by a girl has no
27:54
name 17 written and edited seven years ago My
27:57
story is that I got a highly graphic death vision
28:00
a few months prior to the events the vision didn't
28:03
make any sense So I filed this under some random
28:06
weird shit then I started being ill a lot the
28:09
symptoms were vague enough to be Undiagnosable
28:11
but nasty enough to keep me nearly bedridden
28:13
for weeks. I was lethargic week My mom actually
28:16
said that I seemed to lose my spark that I used
28:19
to be a fairly vivid A couple months later, I
28:23
was at my partner's place, I drank some whiskey,
28:26
took a big ass knife and cut off my arm. I don't
28:30
understand that. Then I just sat there calmly
28:32
and watched the blood drip until my partner saw
28:34
what was happening. I have no explanation for
28:36
that. There was no real trigger. I don't have
28:39
any major psychiatric conditions and it's as
28:41
if I was in a trance. I still have three scars
28:44
on my arm. The next day I sustained a major bodily
28:47
injury out of the blue. The next day I was found
28:48
unconscious. This was pretty much the exact same
28:51
thing I saw in my vision. My hands started shaking,
28:53
realized which took a while. Another week later,
28:55
I developed a new set of genuine LAR symptoms.
28:58
Screaming in my sleep, laughing, hallucinating.
29:01
My mom rushed me to the ER again. Believe it
29:03
or not, I was still in denial. I am not suggestible.
29:05
I am very strong -willed. I am tough and very
29:08
resilient. I trust my instincts. I am very self
29:10
-aware. I have wards in my apartment. I didn't
29:12
think I'd truly wronged anyone. Another week,
29:15
I came down with severe abdominal pain in 24
29:18
-7, not the kind of pain I ever experienced before.
29:21
At the point, I was seeking mystical help. An
29:23
experienced shaman did a depossession ritual
29:26
and said that my stomach was stuffed with snakes.
29:29
The pain disappeared. literally within an hour.
29:31
I had a few decent days, but not so fast. Another
29:34
few days later, I developed constant pain in
29:37
my back which spread like wildfire. Suffice to
29:39
say, I spent the next two months wanting to climb
29:41
up the wall from pain despite already being on
29:44
opioids. The heavy duty painkillers were not
29:47
working. The ultrasound I insisted on showed
29:49
nothing. I actually asked my best friend to look
29:51
after my mom because I was pretty certain I was
29:53
going to die very soon. As what I was feeling
29:55
was very much it came to gradual. I gave her
29:59
instructions as to what to do with my few possessions
30:01
of sentimental value. I was exhausted from pain,
30:04
barely able to sit up, unable to find a pain
30:06
-free position even in bed. But that time I felt
30:09
like my life turned into an actual horror movie,
30:11
since as soon as one problem got cleared, something
30:14
new and medically inexplicable popped up another
30:16
friend whose powerful energy worker got involved.
30:19
The first time she did some work on me, she said
30:22
my natural light energy. She kept working on
30:24
it over the span of several weeks and things
30:26
gradually stabilized. I'm finally feeling like
30:29
myself again. Who did this? I'll never know.
30:31
Sure, but my main suspect is an egomaniacal occult
30:35
practitioner who pursued me last year since he
30:38
tried to break up me and my partner. I did not
30:41
take kindly to that. I rejected him. Then I kind
30:43
of forgot about him, but I guess he did not.
30:46
That would probably be the person who did it,
30:48
I would suspect. I found this one really interesting
30:50
posted by Lord Voldy -O six years ago. Sorry,
30:54
it's not me, but curses are a cultural thing
30:57
in the poorest part. Serbia. So I have tons of
30:59
family stories. So let's go back to the 80s.
31:02
My grandma, who helps Serbian immigrants get
31:04
settled in France, is helping this young woman.
31:06
Her name is Anna. She's in her 20s, polyglot.
31:09
I don't know what that means. Amazingly smart
31:11
and goddamn gorgeous. She came to France to study
31:13
languages but didn't know anyone so people sent
31:17
her to my grandma. My grand does her job. She
31:19
found her a nice job as an au pair for rich kids
31:21
in the richest part of Paris where she'll get
31:24
free food and accommodations with a pay every
31:26
month. So So for years, everything's perfect.
31:28
She gets her diploma in languages, gets a great
31:30
job as a translator in the government, has friends,
31:33
a boyfriend, all the stuff successful people
31:35
have. Here's another detail I have to add. There
31:37
was a little community of Serb immigrants in
31:39
Paris. People started to talk and some of these
31:42
people got really jealous and suddenly Anna went
31:44
from a healthy, successful woman to the shadow
31:47
of a human being in less than three months. Three
31:49
months of hell, where she couldn't sleep. She
31:51
was disgusted by food, couldn't think properly,
31:54
and became antisocial. Of course, at first, nobody
31:56
thought of witchcraft. They all told her to go
31:58
to a psychiatrist and see what was wrong, so
32:01
she went, and nothing. She had no mental issue.
32:04
Once everyone learned of the news, maybe it was
32:06
not her mind but her body, so she went, and still
32:08
nothing. She was fine. After months and months,
32:11
her health in mind and body deteriorate. She
32:14
wouldn't get out of her flat even to go to work.
32:17
She would only speak Serb even though she used
32:20
to only speak it when she really had to. She
32:22
got thinner and thinner even if my gran monitored
32:25
every meal and made sure she ate enough. Anyway...
32:28
Things were not improving in the slightest and
32:30
people started to link witchcraft to poor Anna.
32:33
Those were just rumors, but my grandma was sure
32:35
it was witchcraft. She saw it before and she
32:38
knew the results of a curse. So she started searching
32:41
Anna's flat. She inspected every inch of the
32:43
place, nothing. But the only place she had not
32:46
inspected was the bedroom. So she searched the
32:49
bedroom and guess what? She found a little pouch
32:51
with chicken bones in it. That was the proof.
32:54
Chicken bones are used for rituals and curses.
32:56
Anna was cursed and the worst thing about it
32:58
is that nobody could stop it, only the caster
33:00
can stop hers. Of course my gran tried to find
33:04
who was the sick fuck who enjoyed destroying
33:06
the life of a young woman. But she never found
33:09
who did it. Very often, my gran went to Anna's
33:11
flat to inspect it, and more than once found
33:13
chicken bones. Under the carpet, under the mattress,
33:15
Anna moved, but it just followed her no matter
33:18
what. She tried everything to get rid of the
33:20
curse, but nothing worked, so she gave up and
33:22
kicked herself from the world completely. After
33:24
years and years, Anna's health got worse and
33:26
worse, and she finally died at 32. In a tiny
33:28
flat in the poorest part of Paris, I know so
33:31
much more stories about lives being destroyed
33:34
by petty revenge curses that I can only recommend
33:36
some more bathed in wishcraft. Now tonight, as
33:40
we near Halloween and the boundaries of the world's
33:43
blur, remember in every curse word, in every
33:46
whispered taboo, in every name spoken with fear
33:49
or awe, we glimpse the ancient magic. Words can
33:52
hurt, heal, curse, charm, or conjure, and sometimes
33:56
just release the pressure of a stubbed toe. But
33:59
beneath the veneer of modern profanity and comedy,
34:02
beneath the theatre rituals and inscribed tablets,
34:04
we still carry old primal beliefs that speech
34:07
is an act of power, that names and words have
34:10
consequences, and that to break a taboo is to
34:13
enter the realm of risk, change, and transformation.
34:16
The ancient Cast your words wisely, whether a
34:20
shout, a whisper, a curse, or a blessing, for
34:23
on this night, perhaps more than any other, who
34:26
knows what might be listening. Chelsea, that
34:30
is the episode. I learned a lot, and now I will
34:35
curse with pride as it is not only releasing
34:40
the emotional baggage that comes with life, but
34:44
it'll keep me clean from curses. and it most
34:47
importantly links us to our ancestors. Exactly.
34:49
There's all kinds of good and cursing I found
34:52
out in this episode. I have nothing to add because,
34:55
wow, my mind is blown from most of that, but
34:58
that was a great episode. I quite enjoyed that.
35:01
I learned a lot of new things that I didn't know.
35:04
And it's always the fun things that you do in
35:07
everyday life. that is like you never think of
35:10
why you do it it's just as it is and it's just
35:14
another it has shaped so much of society that
35:17
like yeah you can't even begin to characterize
35:20
every little aspect of it. All we can really
35:22
look at is ritual, but that's not where it's
35:24
going to be limited to. My mind is constantly
35:27
blown in which the most mundane things in our
35:31
life that you do without thinking is tied back
35:33
to something that happened like hundreds of years
35:36
ago. And we just like even the fact that we don't
35:40
say bear, like that's insane. And it's from so
35:44
fucking long ago. You can't even imagine that
35:47
just blows my mind yet. Here we are doing it
35:51
every single day because that was a belief that
35:54
was held so long ago. So those are my thoughts.
35:58
I quite like that. That was a very nice Halloween
36:00
episode. Glad you liked it. And with that, I
36:02
have been Taylor, here with Chelsea. We are Journey
36:05
to the Fringe. Thank you all for listening. We'll
36:06
see you next week. Fuck. That's a good way to
36:12
end it.