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As Autumn rolls in and brings colder weather, we throw on our sweaters and look for quieter, comfier pastimes. Many turn toward the season’s spooky side, and while there’s always fun in that, it’s also a season that brings the winds of reflective attitudes. And, as we know, the past can also be scary. Spoke Media‘s podcast Family Ghosts is the perfect bridge between creepy and cozy. In each episode, they dive into the unknown phantoms that loom in family histories. As host, Sam Dingman says, “Every house is haunted.”
The Bones Of Family Ghosts
Family Ghosts is a documentary-style storytelling podcast. Each episode has the team investigating a “ghost” of a family. The ghost could be a grandmother who was secretly a jewel thief, a beloved pet, or even a legend passed down through the ages. The podcast breathes life into the people, places, and things that were left unspoken or unexplained and now have descendants searching for answers.
We are all formed in part by our familial collections of secrets, intrigues, and myths. By engaging with each other’s’ legends, perhaps we can see each other’s realities more clearly.
Sam Dingman, familyghosts.com
Family Ghosts is predominately hosted by journalist and NPR Moth Radio Grand Slam winner Sam Dingman, but features episodes narrated by various members of the Family Ghost production team. You are in the skillful hands of people who know how to tell a captivating story.
Episodes To Start With
Although you could honestly jump into any episode and leave utterly dazzled, what makes Family Ghosts so unique as a podcast is their full exploration of storytelling as a medium. Every season includes at least one curveball episode like a musical or theatrical rendition that showcases the oral tradition variation. These are some great ones to start with.
Season 1, Episode 1: “The Family Jewels”
Again, you could hop into any episode, but trust me when I say they did a heck of a job reeling you in on the first one. Sam starts the series off by talking about his own family’s dynamic, a mysterious, mythical grandmother, and snippets of his mother’s childhood that help him understand her a little bit better.
It’s an excellent introduction to the show’s general format: story building through narration interspliced with conversations pulled from interviews. By the end, the episode begs you to start questioning the things you know, which makes its execution so striking.
Season 2, Episode 16 (A & B): “Bone Hill Acts 1 & 2”
Just as the series came in with a pow, it knows how to leave on a bang. Season two ended with a musical retelling of Martha Redbone’s lineage, narrated by Martha herself. This episode is cinematic, thoughtfully transporting you through each scene. The Bone Hill episodes exemplify the power of oral storytelling and the music alone is breathtaking. If anything, pull this one up to hear some gorgeous voices.
Season 3, Episode 28: “The Faith Exam”
Season three is choc-full of gems, my particular favorite involving a boy and a dog, but it left on a heartbreaking, somewhat chilling note that makes “The Faith Exam” unforgettable. The episode includes a dramatization based on a series of captured events on tape and left untouched for years. It’s the first time that part of the story given is somewhat fictionalized, and that may be why it’s so unnerving.
Family Ghosts: Eerie And Endearing
Sam Dingman says he likes to switch up their storytelling methods because, “just like no two families are the same, no two episodes of our podcast should sound the same.” Like a home, a story invites you into the lives of people and the world they inhabit. Therefore Family Ghosts celebrates and respects these stories by giving them a home that fits, and I, as a listener, love them for that.
Season four of Family Ghosts will be out this fall, available wherever you find your podcasts. I also highly suggest following their Instagram and Twitter for more sneak peeks into their reporting journeys. Become part of the Ghost Family and look forward to questioning everything your family has ever told you.
