The Gods Below & The Boy Beyond

It’s time for another Freak Family Favorite, pulled from deep inside The Box of Oddities archives! First, Kat explores the surprisingly widespread history of dwarf mythology and reverence. From ancient Egypt, where people of short stature could hold prestigious positions and dwarf deities were associated with protection, childbirth, and regeneration, to Norse mythology and legends of mysterious underground craftsmen, the connection between dwarves, gods, magic, and folklore stretches across cultures and centuries. Then, Jethro revisits the deeply troubling disappearance of five-year-old Stephen McKernan. In 1988, Stephen vanished from a crowded Scottish holiday park after being out of his family’s sight for only seconds. Sixteen days later, his body was discovered six miles away—just beyond the area police had searched. Authorities concluded that Stephen wandered there on his own and died from exposure. But eyewitness reports, the brutal terrain, a six-foot fence, and one particularly strange detail involving Stephen’s shoes and socks raise questions that have never entirely gone away. Ancient gods, mysterious dwarves, a baffling disappearance, and a case officially considered solved that somehow still doesn’t feel solved. It’s another Freak Family Favorite from The Box of Oddities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices