[ from the video’s creator ] Neil Gaiman ‘s highly acclaimed novel, American Gods has finally been adapted into a TV series by the Starz Network.

With the first episode having premiered in late April 2017, I thought this might be a good time to go over the mythology behind some of the gods, spirits, mythical creatures and deities who appear in the show.

The Norse God, Wednesday, the Leprechaun, Mad Sweeney, The Spider Spirit, Mr Nancy, The Slavic Demon, Chernobog, and the others, all have fascinating backstories and mythologies, from a number of different cultures around the world.

And yet, they all ended up in the good old U. S. of A.

So, Let’s take a look at the myths and stories that inspired Neil Gaiman’s novel.