Rissa Miller is a folklorist, author, herbalist, and speaker whose work explores the intersection of history, ritual tradition, and the unseen. Her research and storytelling draw from esoteric history, including ghost tales, witchcraft, cryptids, and folklore, and invite audiences to examine how the stories of the past shape their present beliefs and experience.
An herbalist by practice and study, Rissa holds a deep reverence for plants and their cultural, medicinal, and symbolic roles. Tea is both companion and medium in her work. Whether interpreted as tasseographs in a cup, observed as smoke in the air, prepared as healing salve, or grown on a windowsill, her relationship to plants informs both her scholarship and her divination practice.
Through public history talks and tours, and educational workshops, she brings dark culture and regional legend into thoughtful contemporary conversation.
In addition to her speaking and teaching, Rissa is a published author and poet whose work spans nonfiction and creative writing. She has worked for multiple publications and studied writing at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and photojournalism at Western Kentucky University.
Based in the Mid-Atlantic region, Rissa works with audiences and clients nationally through live events and remote sessions.