Greeking Out Tales from the Underworld: Ghostly Myths from Around the Globe

Greeking Out

by Kenny Curtis, Jillian Hughes, Javier Espila (illustrator)

Hold on tight as Greeking Out goes to the dark side, bringing you scary (and surprisingly funny) tales of life, death, and everything in between!

Get ready for 20 bone-chilling stories of the Underworld—from ancient Greece and around the world—as told by the team behind the smash-hit podcast and New York Times best-selling book series.

Venture to the edge of life itself from the safety of your living room! In these stories, you’ll encounter a very ill-advised bid to kidnap the queen of the Underworld, an Egyptian god of death who weighs your heart against a feather, the treacherous and winding road to the Norse afterlife, and much more. Tales of fearsome gods, fantastical monsters, and literally death-defying heroes of the spirit world are told in the hilarious, kid-friendly voice that’s sent the Greeking Out podcast to the top of the charts.

As well as favorite frightening tales from Greek mythology, you’ll hear unforgettable stories from ancient Egypt, Scandinavia, Mesopotamia, the Philippines, China, Central America, and more.

Playful illustrations coupled with cheeky storytelling and real information about life (and death) in the ancient world—delivered by the all-knowing Oracle of Wi-Fi—make this collection of fabulous fables an essential addition to your library.

Complete your collection with Greeking Epic Retellings of Classic Greek Myths and Greeking Out Heroes and Olympians.

Genres: Childrens

192 pages, Hardcover

Published October 7, 2025

Reviews

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copy provided by the publisher

There is something appealing about Greek mythology in particular, and interest in this topic seems to peak in middle school, about the time that Ancient Greece and Rome are part of the social studies curriculum. Greeking Out does a great job of luring readers in with familiar stories about characters such as Theseus, Zeus, Odysseus, and Artemis, and interspersing their tales with less familiar ones. Loki from Norse mythology and Isis and Osiris from Egyptian mythology make appearances, as do Sidapa from Philippine traditions, Quetzalcoatl from Aztec stories, and even Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian character who is vastly underrated.

This is the third book in this National Geographic series that also includes retellings of Greek myths as well as a volume concentrating on heroes and Olympians. This starts with an explanatory notes about why we are drawn to stories of death, and even issues a warning to parents that because of themes and some gruesome details, more sensitive readers might require supervision. Middle school readers are definitely drawn to dark topics, because it makes their own lives seem less horrible. Mythology is often used to explain situations that didn't make sense to ancient people, and death is still a topic that makes little sense to many.

There is a lot of information on each page, and also a lot of illustrations and background pictures. Nationals Geographic has a huge library of quality images, so there are photographs along the Espila's comic style illustrations. There are some sidebars with additional information supporting the text, with definitions, historical context, and explanations of side characters. In between the stories there are some two page spreads about other related topics, like the process of mummification or an article on "Putting the FUN Back in Funeral". This is rather text dense, so more suited to slightly older readers than early elementary ones.

The inclusion of a glossary of terms, world map, and an index is much appreciated.

There are lots of options for mythology books, but this would be at the top of my list, given the vast array of information presented. Add this to your scroll of ancient mythology related titles that includes the Greenbergs' Athena: Goddess of Wisdom and War, Cooke, Fitzpatrick, and Moon's Oh My Gods! graphic novels, Sekaninova's Magical Museum: Ancient Egypt, Marx and Prabhat's Hide and Seek History: Ancient Greece, and Napoli's Tales from the Arabian Nights

[Mark Buxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What worked:
The opening pages present a warning to parents that this book has “heavy themes” and stories that may be “… gruesome (or just plain gross)”. Okay, some young readers may be leery after reading these words, but most will be excited to read a book that might be edgy or bothersome to their parents. In reality, there’s nothing inappropriate or descriptive that might upset readers. The narrator shares the collection of stories with a playful voice, using a blend of informal dialogue with the “facts” from ancient tales. Many of the characters will be familiar to middle-grade readers, but the stories will be fresh. The first few tales come from Greek, Norse, and Egyptian folklore, but later myths and stories come from South America, the Philippines, and West Africa. Vividly colorful, comic-like illustrations fill the book’s pages and add to the appeal for young readers. A glossary is included at the back of the book along with a world map. The map helps young readers locate the various settings around the world.
Each chapter begins with a light-hearted teaser of what’s to come. One chapter opens with, “This tale features a jealous brother, a party game with a casket, the OG mummy, and a scavenger hunt for body parts.” Jealousy, love, revenge, and trickery are major topics and themes throughout the book. The Oracle of Wi-Fi appears throughout the book and provides additional information or explanations of story details and related topics. A frequent subject in the stories involves death, and the book shares how that facet of life is viewed in different cultures. The Aztecs’ Culture and people living in Madagascar, Ghana, and even New Orleans have found ways to honor and celebrate the dead. On another page, the oracle describes the different steps of mummification.
The final verdict:
Most young readers will love this book! Even reluctant readers will feel satisfaction in frequently completing the short stories. The informal language and humor blend well with information from a wide variety of folktales to create the overall positive experience. I highly recommend you give this book a shot.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greeking Out: Tales from the Underworld: Ghostly Myths from Around the Globe is the 3rd book in the Greeking Out series, which is based on a podcast of the same name. It might be the last book, too, but I'm not entirely sure, because I think I said the same thing after the 2nd book, Greeking Out: Heroes and Olymians. Then this book came as something as a surprise.

The name of the books and the podcast, Greeking Out, comes from how the show started out doing family-friendly adaptations of classic stories from Greek Mythology. That was surely 2 for the previous 2 books. But for Greeking Out: Tales from the Underworld: Ghostly Myths from Around the Globe, things go international. Because the podcast has also being doing this recently. (Side note: I actually haven't been keeping up with the show, because newer seasons are now only available in video form on YouTube. And I'm not crazy about watching podcasts. I prefer to keep things audio-only.) In this book, on top of Greek Myths, there are also stories that originate from Norse Mythology, Egyptian Mythology. Maya and Aztec Mythologies, Hinduism, Japanese Mythology, Chinese Mythology, Philippine Mythology and Irish Mythology, among others. Even though I haven't heard the Greeking Out versions of some of these stories until I read this book, I was had prior knowledge of most of them. And for the ones that were new to me, it was very interesting to learn about them. I rated this book 5 stars, which I also did for the previous 2 books. But actually, I think this was the best of the bunch. It was spectacular! Lastly, the book came out in October of 2025, just before Halloween. I got it for Christmas, and now read it at the end of January. This was by far the spookiest Greeking Out book. I mean Underworld is literally in the title. All the stories deal with death and ghosts and monsters. That already put in a Spooky Season mood, even though it's only January. And I think that's really cool.

[Benjamin Bookman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the mix of Greek and Global tales, the sidebars and historical additions were a real highlight, and the modern-but-ancient mix made it very readable while maintaining the essence of the stories. The illustration style is the only negative for me, but that is a style choice and is a personal preference, so it won't lose a star for that. I do think, as with other books in this series, that the audio podcast version is necessary to go with the text, as it makes much more sense that way. But there is enough here to intrigue someone to go learn more.

[Olivia Ambrose]

(I'm just too old for this. Would have loved it as a kid)