Underground Echo in October: Mystery, memory, magic

Presenter: Echo and co-hosts on their KEPW program Underground Echo discuss the tricks and treats coming up every Wednesday in October at 6.

Echo (Underground Echo): I’m Echo. And tonight, before we drift into the treasures and mysteries of October, I want to welcome some very special people back to this microphone: My co-hosts and companions, Terrapin and Fortune, are returning to the studio.

So, October, guys: The month when the air sharpens, when shadows stretch longer and settle over us like a blanket of forgotten tales. The month when we gather stories like crows gather along the branches of memory, and the line between trick or treat blurs into something altogether magical.

[00:00:46] This year we’ve designed a journey that mirrors the season itself. Four main episodes split between trick and treat, and then a grand finale, a harvest of shadows and delights—a Great Pumpkin finale, if you will. Each Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m., we’ll walk this path together. Let me give you a taste of what awaits.

[00:01:08] Our first ‘trick’ episode steps into the darker corners of human experience. We’ll begin with the psychology of serial killers, examining the minds that have drawn patterns of violence across history. What drives someone to take a life over and over? What fears, obsessions, or traumas ripple behind those actions?

[00:01:26] Terrapin (Underground Echo): And from there we bring focus closer to home, examining the Northwest’s own shadowed figures. We’ll discuss the infamous, the overlooked, and even those whose stories have been almost erased. It’s not about fascination with violence. It’s about understanding the ripples these lives leave, the communities they haunt, and the echoes of fear that linger long after the headlines fade.

[00:01:50] Echo: And because October is not only about darkness, but also about the light that follows, we’ll close this episode with the journey through grief rituals across cultures from candlelight vigils to water burials, from communal songs to silent fasts. We’ll explore how humans create meaning, find beauty and cultivate resilience even in the face of death.

[00:02:12] There’s comfort in understanding the ways others honor loss, and a reminder that ritual can be a bridge between sorrow and memory.

[00:02:20] Our first ‘treat’ episode, it takes a different turn into the reflective and the mysterious. We’ll step into the world of tarot cards, these ancient mirrors of human experience. Each card in the major arcana—The Fool, The Magician, The Lovers, Death, The Star, The World— tells the story, invites the question, and holds a mirror to our lives.

[00:02:42] Terrapin: We’ll put the cards into action with a live reading here on air. No scripts, no predictions waiting in the wings, just the unfolding story card by card right in front of you and with you.

[00:02:54] Echo: And because stories are best savored with nourishment, we’ll finish this episode with the segment blending folklore with food. And Terrapin, you remember how I get with food?

[00:03:04] Terrapin: Oh, yeah.

[00:03:09] Echo: In this holiday season, I prepared a script that’s quite sumptuous.

[00:03:10] Terrapin: We’re back in October!

[00:03:11] Echo: Back in October! Imagine tales whispered over steaming pots of pumpkin stew, spiced cider swirling like mist, roasted squash and autumn fruits carried to the table. I’m always hungry when I’m writing these, guys. We’ll share recipes, ritual-inspired bites and ideas to bring folklore into your own kitchens. This is the Oracle episode where flexion meets magic and nourishment meets narrative.

[00:03:38] In our second ‘trick’ episode, we root ourselves in the soil and shadow of the Pacific Northwest. First, we explore the history of witches here, the healers, the herbalists, the women and men who were feared simply for knowing the Earth, for speaking with spirits or for existing outside the prescribed norm.

[00:03:57] Terrapin: Next we will retell three dark fairy tales, not the softened sanitized bedtime stories, but the tales closer to their bones that breathe, organs that cut deep, endings that are unsettling, but revealing. These stories teach and remember.

[00:04:12] Echo: We’ll then examine the burning times, centuries when fear, suspicion, and fire claimed countless lives. We honor them not only with remembrance, but with truth, not just the flames, but the voices behind them, the lives extinguished. The stories almost lost.

[00:04:31] Terrapin: And finally, we’ll wander the forest one last time, this time meeting poisonous mushrooms, nature’s warnings, and lessons in beauty and danger intertwined. Not every radiant color is safe. Not every alluring smell is kind. The forest teaches through risk.

[00:04:49] Echo: Our second ‘treat’ episode will be a festival of culture, story, and joy. We’ll explore real traditions of witches across the world, from African healers to Japanese priestesses to European cunning folk. We’ll see how magic, ritual, and reverence have threaded through countless generations.

[00:05:07] Terrapin: Then a historical Halloween journey. Where do our modern tricks and treats come from? Why pumpkins, why ancient rites echo in our costumes, in our lanterns, and in the candies we share.

[00:05:20] Echo: And we’ll finish with harvest party ideas, poetry-reading rituals under lantern light, folklore-inspired games for families, celebrations that root us in community, and joy that carries the season’s warmth into our home.

[00:05:34] And then the Great Pumpkin finale! A weaving together of shadows and light memory and renewal. The first half will celebrate Día de los Muertos, the Mexican tradition of honoring ancestors through altars, music, marigolds, and food. Its history is vibrant, its rituals tender, and its heart beats with remembrance.

[00:05:56] Terrapin: The second half embraces Samhain, the Celtic turning of the year, a festival where the veil thins and the ancient fires of harvest and remembrance burn once again.

[00:06:06] Echo: Together these traditions remind us that the season is more than about fear. It is about memory, honoring those who came before and weaving ourselves into the eternal cycle of life, death, and renewal.

[00:06:19] Terrapin: So there it is. Our map for October: four weeks of tricks and treats, each layered with shadow, story and delight culminating in a finale that binds them together.

[00:06:29] Echo: We invite you all to walk this path with us— to enter the stories, the shadows, and the joys of the season. Tune in every Wednesday, 6 to 7 p.m. right here on KEPW 97.3 FM to witness Underground Echo, your midweek lantern in the dark, your Wednesday passage through folklore, shadow, and wonder.

[00:06:51] Presenter: This October, embrace the mystery, the memory, and the magic with Underground Echo, Wednesdays at 6 on KEPW 97.3, Eugene’s PeaceWorks Community Radio.