Category: supernatural

  • A forbidden shortcut for medieval scholars

    A forbidden shortcut for medieval scholars

    Did anyone use Coles Notes, or CliffsNotes in the U.S.? Here in Canada, they’re still available through Indigo. When I was in high school, if you were of the mind to skip reading a required book, you could try to get away with basing your book report on the plot…

  • Fae-ry Tales, Not so nice

    Fae-ry Tales, Not so nice

    But the old woman had only pretended to be friendly. She was a wicked witch who was lying in wait there for children. She had built her house of bread only in order to lure them to her, and if she captured one, she would kill him, cook him, and…

  • Are mirrors dangerous?

    Are mirrors dangerous?

    I busted a mirror and got seven years bad luck, but my lawyer thinks he can get me five. Steven Wright Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody… How do you feel about mirrors? Are they annoying…weird…creepy? We’re in the final week of Halfoween. It’s also Folk Horror Week, something celebrated on…

  • Creating cursed places – inspiration from Dark Shadows

    Creating cursed places – inspiration from Dark Shadows

    “If I could speak the language of rabbits, they would be amazed, and I would be their king. I would be kind to my rabbit subjects. At first.” Rajesh Koothrappali, Big Bang Theory Have you ever played a Simulator game? One where you create a community, placing homes, stores, a…

  • The Lovecraft Legacy

    The Lovecraft Legacy

    “…he had had an unprecedented dream of great Cyclopean cities of Titan blocks and sky-flung monoliths, all dripping with green ooze and sinister with latent horror.” The Call of Cthulhu, H.P. Lovecraft We’re going to begin April/Halfoween with a creeping whisper rather than a bang. There are authors who’ve created…

  • Curses! It’s a Mummy!

    Curses! It’s a Mummy!

    Death will come on swift wings to whomsoever opens this chest.“It’s the curse! It’s the curse! Beware of the curse!” Beni.“Stupid, superstitious bastard.” Daniels.The Mummy, 1999 “CARNARVON’S DEATH SPREADS THEORIES ABOUT VENGEANCE; In Egypt, England, France and Here, Occultists Advance Stories of Angered Gods.LONDON, April 5.—Genuine regret is expressed here…

  • The Hidden

    The Hidden

    A spooky theme in November? What the heck? Well, today is Occult Day, a day for us to indulge curiosity about what lies beyond. A lot of people believe that there’s more to our world than meets the everyday eye. We want to believe that there’s something beyond being born,…

  • New and revisited horror trends – Happy Halloween

    New and revisited horror trends – Happy Halloween

    The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. H.P. Lovecraft The Horror genre is having a moment – or several, if you consider its split personality. Some of it is old, a lot new, but all…

  • Vampires in the family

    Vampires in the family

    There is no passion so contagious as that of fear. Michel de Montaigne It’s 1891. Mists creep between the grave markers in the cemetery in Exeter, Rhode Island. Men, grimly determined, dig up the resting place of Mercy Brown. Her coffin is lifted and set onto the ground beside the…

  • Ghost Hunting – Do you believe?

    Ghost Hunting – Do you believe?

    “At first cock-crow the ghosts must go Back to their quiet graves below”  Theodosia Garrison Ghost-hunting, aka paranormal investigation, is big business these days. There have been a variety of these engagements filmed for television – I’ll even admit to watching a handful myself. I’m not sure what it is that…