Hey, it's Brian, back with another episode for those of us getting an early start on the Christmas season.

Although at this point, it's not so early anymore.

If you're listening in real time, this episode arrives on Halloween.

The Hallmark Channel is already one week deep into its countdown to Christmas.

The Christmas decorations and eggnog have been on the store shelves for several weeks now,

and, hint, hint, your favorite podcaster's book releases tomorrow. The Christmas decorations and eggnog have been on the store shelves for several weeks now,

and, hint-hint, your favorite podcaster's book releases tomorrow.

But it is still October, and today is Halloween,

so let's have one last haunted hurrah for the spooky business.

And what better way to do that than to talk about a couple of Christmas monsters?

And better yet to talk about them with a renowned monster expert. Emily Zarka is a professor of English literature,

and the writer and host of two acclaimed series for PBS, Monstrum and Exhumed. I recently

spoke with Dr. Z, as she's often called, about two of our most famous Christmas creatures,

the Yule Cat and Crompice. And yes, you heard it here, it's Crompice, not Cranpice.

Christmas monsters are fun and sometimes a welcome diversion from the season's tendency toward the overly saccharine sweet and sentimental,

but they're also a fascinating glimpse into human nature. As Dr. Z

likes to say, monster history is human history. I'll come back at the end to wrap up and say goodbye.

And now, here's my discussion with Emily Zarca. When it comes to monsters as a topic, I think

the thing about them that I find most compelling isn't necessarily

any individual monster itself, but the fact that we create them, that every culture and every time

in history seems to come up with their own monsters and mythologies. And it seems to me that's

one of the most fundamental things about what it is to be human. We create creatures. Why do you think

...