Ghoul On Ghoul

Amanda and Sarah head to Italy to dance with the puppets and cry blood with the saints. Amanda becomes a real girl with a dive into the disturbing, cautionary, pre-Disney origins of Pinocchio. Sarah prays to St. Lucy/Lucia, whose reputation for gouging out her own eyes has inspired traditions and desserts in Italy and Sweden. Other subjects covered include never buying a new car, making up Olivia Newton-John lore, and hating Elf on the Shelf.  Recommendations: Sarah recommends (so far) the Netflix show 1889. Amanda recommends (kinda) the Amazon Prime series Three Pines.  Sources: Norwegian American (On the darkest day, a tale of two “Lucys”) Wyrd Designs (Glad Lussinatt) Tradition in Action (The Feast of St. Lucy Inspires Charming Customs) Slow Italy (Santa Lucia celebration in Italy) Wikipedia/Saint Lucy NBC News (Pinocchio's Real Roots Mapped) Smithsonian Magazine (The Real Story of Pinocchio Tells No Lies) The New Yorker (What the Original “Pinocchio” Really Says About Lying/The Transformations of Pinocc