Kinky History

In Girl World, Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it... And as it turns out, there’s actual academic research (and a long and kinky history) to back that up!
In this episode of Kinky History, sex historian Dr Esmé Louise James investigates the surprisingly complicated history of Halloween, from the Gaelic festival of Samhain and its supernatural folklore to the Christian calendar, Victorian fancy dress and Hollywood’s glamorous Halloween starlets.
Raise your spirits, put on your best resting witch face, and join me for the horny history of Halloween.
You can find a written transcript of this episode on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DrEsmeLouiseJames
Instagram: @esme.louisee
TikTok: @dr.esme.louise
YouTube: @dr.esme.louise

Video edited by Connor Fantasia-Serve

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:20 Samhain
04:57 Spirits for Spirits
08:45 History is Kinky
12:51 Dress-up and Dating
16:16 How Did We Get Here?
17:42 Having a Ball20:31 Hollywood Gets Spooky
22:11 Putting the Queer into Fear
26:17 Conclusion

Reading list:
Hutton, Ronald. “The Celtic New Year and Feast of the Dead.” Folklore 135, no. 1 (2024): 69–86.
Rogers, Nicholas. Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. Oxford University Press, 2002.
Lennon, Sharron J., Zhiying Zheng, and Aziz Fatnassi. “Women’s Revealing Halloween Costumes: Other-Objectification and Sexualization.” Fashion and Textiles 3, article 21 (2016).
National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin. Dúchas: The Schools’ Collection.
Markale, Jean. The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween: Celebrating the Dark Half of the Year. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2001.
Keating, Geoffrey. Foras Feasa ar Éirinn (The History of Ireland). Written in the seventeenth century.
San Francisco Planning Department. Eureka Valley Historic Context Statement. 2017.

Did you miss me? Because I’ve certainly missed you. 💋
After ghosting you since 2023 (rude, I know), sex historian Dr Esmé Louise James is BACK with a bigger and decidedly bustier Kinky History.
Welcome back to the podcast where we uncover the dirty secrets they probably left out of your history books. And this time, we’re doing things a little differently...
Introducing the Double D’s: Deep-dives and Debriefs. We’ll be diving headfirst into the horny history you know and love, unpacking contemporary controversies and curious happenings, and welcoming a few Doctors and Deviants along the way: experts and some truly extraordinary characters,
Oh, and we’re now a vodcast! So whether you prefer getting it in your ears or getting an eyeful, you’re in the right place.
I’m so happy to be back. Thank you for being here, for being patient, and for being part of this wonderfully kinky community. I’ve missed you terribly.
Now, let’s get back into bed together. 🖤
🎧 Follow Kinky History on Spotify so you never miss an episode.
💋 Want to know why I disappeared? Find my more detailed explanation over on Patreon.

The World is Full of Sex Data and this week, for a special 'Sextistics' episode, Esme is joined by her equally nerdy (and brainy) mum - Dr Susan James. They unpack the changing definitions of sex over history, some very surprising sex statistics and why former US President Bill Clinton wasn't lying when he said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman".
Follow Kinky History on everything & contact Esme here
Subscribe to Kinky History Uncensored here
Follow Dr Susan James on IG here and on LinkedIn here
Produced by DM Podcasts
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Einstein, the genius that gave us the theory of relativity and so much more,  was the original fuck boy. Albert Einstein was married twice but had dozens of lovers in his lifetime. Join me this week as I uncover the polyamorous life of the world's most famous scientist, and his lesser known "theory of infidelity".
Follow Kinky History on everything & contact Esme here
Subscribe to Kinky History Uncensored here
Produced by DM Podcasts
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You've seen the Hollywood versions and probably heard the myths, but the real history of the vibrator is not what you think it is.  Join me today as we spread the good vibes and learn the truth about the origins of the world's most popular sex toys.
Follow Kinky History on everything & contact Esme here
Subscribe to Kinky History Uncensored here
Produced by DM Podcasts
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.