The

The Welcome the spirits podcast to boosy dive into mythology, legends, and folklore.

Every week we pour a drink and learn about a new story from around the world.

I'm Amanda.

And I'm Julia. And I'm

Julia. And Amanda, you are probably familiar with the song, Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

Yeah. Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Now, Amanda, who is his man? Oh. Why is he being so intimate

with me? It's a great question, Julia. I imagine a sort of like, you know, like adult to an infant leaning down and being like, boop, boop, got your nose. Oh, I don't like him as an infant. That scares me for some reason. No, he's the adult. We're the infant. Oh. And I am picturing an anthropomorphic snowman, and I don't know where that comes from.

I'm almost certain I can tell you where that comes from, Amanda, and it's that in 1998,

there was a family comedy movie starring Michael Keaton, in which he is a sort of like absent father who dies in a car crash during a snowstorm and then is reincarnated as a snowman.

What bills did Michael Keaton have in the mid-90s that led to this catastrophe?

There's no good reason. He was Batman only a few years before this.

That's a great point. Damn. Okay. That's probably why you're picturing an anthropomorphic snowman. But yes, that's all I got. I don't know why he's in my house. I don't know why he's fascinated with my nose, and I would love to know more. Yes. So if you are listening to this episode, you almost certainly have heard the name Jack Frost, and I'm sure there is a variety of different images

that are popping into your head when you hear that name. For Amanda, it's an anthropomorphic

snowman. For a lot of Tumblr folks, I'm sure you're thinking of that horny version from Rise of

the Guardians, don't even play with me. But it's a character that has become a bit of an icon

for the winter season, from the Rankin' Bass TV specials to Martin Short in wild makeup during the Santa Claus 3.

He has appeared in comics, in novels, even horror movies, which I just said there's a 1998 movie called Jack Frost.

There's also a 1997 movie called Jack Frost, which is wild because it's a 1998 movie called Jack Frost. There's also a 1997 movie called Jack Frost,

which is wild because it's a horror movie. It's about a serial killer who gets turned into a

snowman and just keeps killing people as a snowman. There's a lot here, Julia. I'm excited to get into it.

But Amanda, where, as we always ask, did this personification of the freezing cold come from?

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