S4.E3: Newfoundland Death Omens
Season 4, Episode 3
Title: Newfoundland Death Omens
Time: 16:50
Locations: St. Lawrence
Stories: Jacob and the Corpse Candle
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About The Episode:
It’s October — the month when the veil thins, the fog rolls in over the harbour, and the old stories feel just a little too close for comfort.
In this haunting Halloween episode, Robert digs into Newfoundland’s eerie world of death omens — the strange signs and superstitions that once foretold disaster, sickness… and death.
From flickering corpse candles and spectral fetches to howling dogs and loaves of bread that spelled doom, these stories offer a chilling glimpse into how Newfoundlanders once understood death — and how they tried to see it coming.
The episode begins with an original retelling of an old Burin Peninsula legend — The Tale of Jacob and the Corpse Candle — a ghostly light that drifts from the graveyard to claim the living.
So dim the lights, pour yourself a strong cup of tea, and listen close…
Because in Newfoundland, the signs of your own demise might be closer than you think.
Check Out
As discussed in the episode Tom Dawe’s An Old Man’s Winter Night is available from Running the Goat Books & Broadsides.
Listening Options
You can listen to the episode here or on your favourite platform.
Sources & Further Reading
Jacob and the Corpse Candle, Product of Newfoundland
Newfoundland Bread Lore, Product of Newfoundland
After years of illness, a Newfoundland nun left the island praying for a miracle. She returned convinced her prayers had been answered.
Something was killing sheep near Little St. Lawrence in 1958. Then a strange, five-foot-long animal was captured. Its skull was sent to St. John’s for identification…
Old Newfoundland newspapers have given me many things: fascinating stories, strange history—and an unreasonable fear of thunderstorms.
I was supposed to be researching murder, superstition and heroic deeds. Instead, a mysterious 19th-century soft drink sent me down a rabbit hole. What exactly was Newfoundland Nectar?
A battered schooner discovered off Newfoundland’s west coast seems to have no one aboard. When rescuers bring her ashore, they discover a tragedy that began weeks earlier.
When a strange nose poked through the snow, two boys made a terrible mistake. What followed was a tale of terror and tragedy.