History Fridge / AmericanGods

** Calling sun god Shadow. Shadows can't exist in complete darkness, you need a source of light for them to manifest.

** Hinzelmann was an ancient god long before he was kobold and he came into being when animal sacrifice was common. One of the reasons religion had lead to greater development of agriculture was rules for animal sacrifice. The animal to be sacrificed to the gods had to be the best (or second best) in the flock, unblemished, well fed, with no visible injury, like a missing limb or a cut. If a petitioner didn't obey those rules, a god could choose not to accept the sacrifice and thus petitioner's prayers would go unanswered. So, all those rules were made to give sacrifice to a god that said god would like. Hinzelmann chooses his own sacrifices and he (almost) always chooses good kids (members of his flock that he shepherds, if you will) that he actually likes. Those few times he sacrificed a child he didn't like? According to him, those exceptions were the bad troublemaking kids he absolutely hated and loathed, usually those that badmouthed him or broken his things. So they can be explained not as an animal sacrifice but as a divine punishment for a transgression against god. Hinzelmann gets to have his blood sacrifices either way.

** Hinzelmann was an ancient god long before he was kobold and he came into being when animal sacrifice was common. One of the reasons religion had lead to greater development of agriculture was rules for animal sacrifice. The animal to be sacrificed to the gods had to be the best (or second best) in the flock, unblemished, well fed, with no visible injury, like a missing limb or a cut. If a petitioner didn't obey those rules, a god could choose not to accept the sacrifice and thus petitioner's prayers would go unanswered. So, all those rules were made to give sacrifice to a god that said god would like. Hinzelmann chooses his own sacrifices and he (almost) always chooses good kids (members of his flock that he shepherds, if you will) that he actually likes. Those few times he sacrificed a child he didn't like? According to him, those exceptions were the bad troublemaking kids he absolutely hated and loathed, usually those that badmouthed him or broken his things. So they can be explained not as an animal sacrifice but as a divine punishment for a transgression against god. So Hinzelmann gets his sacrifices either way.

** ''Aunt Nancy'': Anansi I had to face-palm when I figured out who it was - ''duh''! Clever, Gaiman.
** Low-Key Lyesmith. Loki, the liar (ie, a smith of lies)

** Easter also mentions that she had brought people back before, a reference to Jesus
* Why would would [[LouisCypher Low Key Lyesmith]], aka the [[Myth/NorseMythology Norse trickster Loki]] be such a fan of Creator/{{Herodotus}}? Due to immense amount of creative license that Herodotus took with his history, he's known ruefully among historians as "the father of lies."

* Why do the Valkyries appear as helicopters? Because the gods are shaped by human belief and ''Music/RideOfTheValkyries'' has become so synonymous [[Film/ApocalypseNow with dramatic scenes involving helicopters]] that, to Americans, Valkyries and helicopters are one and the same.

** Hinzelmann's scheme is even deeper then just sacrificing a child. He makes their body an object of worship first! How? Remember what Media said when Shadow asked her what people sacrifice to her? Mostly their time and attention. By selling tickets for "clunker lottery" to the whole town, where you can bet on the time and day when the clunker will sink, Hinzelmann ensures that almost everybody who bought a ticket and sees a clunker in passing will think about it and say a silent prayer, if only "Sink at the time on my ticket, please (, and bring me luck and riches).", which only takes a few seconds but it adds up from multiple people. The clunker is like a prayer wheel, a focal point of low level hopes of the people in the town!
* Mad Sweeney ''was'' supposed to have given Shadow that special gold coin. Remember how it brought back Laura? That was to be Shadow's original ticket back from the dead after he did Mr. Wednesday's vigil, before he gave it away, as well as the Sun itself, belonging to Shadow as Balder by right. Zorya Polunochnaya explicitly says that her silver Liberty dollar (the Moon) can only give a much smaller protection, and indeed, it never brings anyone back from the dead, only keeps them alive and calls help if applicable.

* When Laura meets Loki, he says that he will kill Shadow by ramming mistletoe through his eye. This alludes to Shadow's true identity as Balder, a Norse god who is killed by Loki with a spear made of mistletoe.