Every Halloween, black cats, bats, and spiders take center stage as symbols of all things spooky—but how did these animals earn their eerie reputations, and which creatures deserve a little more Halloween spotlight? In this Barking Mad Halloween special, hosts Jordan Tyler and Dr. Stephanie Clark are joined by David Perez and Kait Wright to unravel the myths, folklore, and surprising facts behind nature’s creepiest (and most misunderstood) species. From toads with hallucinogenic toxins to beetles that bury the dead, discover how science, superstition, and pop culture turned these seemingly ordinary animals into Halloween legends.
Helpful Links
🎃 Learn more about:
- Why are Bats, Owls, Toads, and Crows Associated with Halloween? (National Wildlife Federation)
- Why Black Cats Are Associated With Halloween and Bad Luck (History)
- The Sydney funnel-web spider (The Australian Museum)
- Daddy long-legs—an Opiliones, not a spider! (The University of California-Riverside)
- Truth & Myth: Crows & Ravens in The Game of Thrones (AvesNoir)
- Huginn and Muninn: The Backstory of Odin's Ravens (Birds of Valhalla)
- Horned Lizards, AKA Horned Toads (University of Texas at Austin)
- Animals that are sanguivores (Animalia)
- Death’s-head hawkmoth (Butterfly Conservation)
- The American burying beetle (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
- Ticks (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Tardigrades (LiveScience by Future US)
🦇 Find the full blog post, “Nine animals begging for more Halloween representation.”
Show Notes
00:20 – Inside the Episode
02:27 – Spooky Cinema: Animals in Horror
04:43 – Halloween’s Most Iconic Animals
05:47 – The Black Cat’s Curse and Comeback
07:26 – Toads, Witches, and Ancient Symbolism
09:32 – Debunking Spider Myths
15:02 – Bats, Vampires, and the Birth of Dracula
16:32 – Draculin and Other Bloody Facts
17:15 – Ravens, Crows, and Ominous Intelligence
20:00 – Owls: From Omens of Death to Symbols of Wisdom
22:41 – Halloween’s Most Underrated Creeps
23:15 – Centipedes: The Nightmare Pest You Shouldn’t Kill
24:46 – The Death’s-Head Hawkmoth Has a Screaming Sweet Tooth
26:45 – The Burying Beetle: A True Gothic Homemaker
28:24 – Ticks: Nature’s True Vampires
32:03 –...
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