Askia sits down with Natasha Mikles, professor of religious studies, to break down Buddhist hell realms, the origins of Christian hell, Tibetan sky burials, and why death might actually be your friend. This one goes deep, weird, and uncomfortable in the best possible way.
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Dr. Natasha Mikles specializes in Tibetan and Chinese religions, Buddhist studies, comparative hells across cultures, and the spirituality of death and grief. In this episode, she pulls back the curtain on how different civilizations have imagined judgment, punishment, and what happens after you die.
Want terrifying cold hell imagery? Buddhist tradition delivers: blisters that freeze solid and burst into shapes resembling blue lotuses across your entire body. Want karmic justice? There is a hell specifically for sexual misconduct involving trees made of razor blades. Want historical context? Christian hell traces back to Gehenna, a smoldering garbage dump outside Jerusalem where criminal bodies were burned to prevent resurrection.
They also dig into the origins of christian hell, Zoroastrianism view of hell and its massive influence on Judaism and early Christianity, the moral socialization horror films provide, 1990s evangelical Hell Houses designed to scare teenagers straight, and the films that portray death not as a villain but as a cosmic necessity.
Natasha shares a firsthand account of the Tibetan sky burial ritual she witnessed in 2010: bone breakers, over a hundred descending vultures, and a moment she describes as the ultimate act of spiritual generosity. She also recounts a paranormal experience after setting up a Day of the Dead altar for her late father and a deceased colleague.
The views and opinions expressed by the guests of this show do not necessarily reflect the views of the HORRORble Podcast.
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Introducing Natasha Mikles
01:29 - What they don't tell you about Buddhism
03:00 - Choosing to work with death
07:15 - Do we exist after we die?
11:20 - Real life zombies
14:29 - Why Buddhist hell is so horrifying
24:10 - Why we need hell
29:37 - More absolutely brutal hells
34:02 - Is hell made to control people?
40:19 - Is hell permanent?
43:32 - Where does Christian hell come from?
47:48 - Was the Bible altered?
49:56 - Where does the devil come from?
56:18 - The ghosts of Death
1:02:12 - The demon slayers of Buddhism
1:05:50 - Can spirit possession be a good thing?
1:13:13 - Religious horror
1:23:17 - Is karma real?
1:28:22 - Human sacrifice in religion
1:32:16 - Human sky burials
1:43:11 - Natasha's paranormal experiences
1:46:04 - What is the purpose of dying?
