''Lore'' is a documentary

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

on topics such as folklore, legends, and historical events, often with a focus on the macabre. Each episode examines historical events or ancient/urban legends that show the dark side of human nature, and is presented in a style that has been compared to a campfire experience. The series was created in 2015 by Aaron Mahnke as a marketing experiment and received the iTunes "Best of 2015" Award. The podcast was also given the award for the "Best History Podcast" by the Academy of Podcasters in July 2016. At the end of 2016, the podcast was included in the top lists by ''

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'' and ''

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''. As of October 2017, the series has 5 million monthly listeners. The podcast airs on a bi-weekly basis, and is usually released on a Monday. The podcast is recorded in a studio in Mahnke's home office. Mahnke's voice in the podcast is described as "coolly mesmeric".

Content

Each podcast episode features various stories bound together by a common theme. Mahnke spends an average of 20 hours a week researching the folkloric tales and has stated, "All of the material is from documented stories or historical events. Some are ancient and some are modern, but they are all factual in the sense that people reported these things and believed they were true."

Awards

TV adaptation

''Lore'' has been adapted for television with the help of

Gale Anne Hurd Gale Anne Hurd (born October 25, 1955) is an American film and television producer, the founder of Valhalla Entertainment (formerly Pacific Western Productions), and a former recording secretary for the Producers Guild of America. Early life Hu ...

of the hit television series '' The Walking Dead''.

Glen Morgan Glen Morgan (born July 12, 1961) is an American television producer, writer and director. He is best known for co-writing episodes of the Fox science fiction supernatural drama series ''The X-Files'' with his partner, James Wong. He served as ...

of ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'' was announced as the showrunner, and the show was made in partnership with Valhalla Entertainment and Propagate Content. The series aired on

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followed the podcast's anthology format, with each episode featuring a new story and Mahnke remaining the narrator. The show premiered on 13 October 2017, and aired for two seasons before being cancelled in 2019. The show has been praised by ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' as "good viewing" that manages "to shock and surprise"; however, adding that "it falls short as a television show in its own right." In another review, ''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...

'' said, "the show is able to turn the inherent creepiness of Mahnke's podcast into original stories that are even more unnerving and resonant."

Book adaptations

Aaron Mahnke has authored a trilogy of books based on the ''Lore'' podcast. The first volume, ''The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures'', was published in 2017 and the second and third volumes, ''The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals'' and ''The World of Lore: Dreadful Places'', were published in 2018.

Related podcasts

Twice weekly, Mahnke also narrates a short podcast about weird events called Cabinet of Curiosities. He has a longform podcast called Unobscured which covers one subject per season, its first four seasons focusing on the

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom w ...

Spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...

, and

Grigori Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus g ...

References

External links

* {{Podcast platform links Horror podcasts 2015 podcast debuts Audio podcasts History podcasts Podcasts adapted for other media Monologue podcasts