Halloween 365
Here Lies E. Coli: Dead Bodies Aren’t the Only Gross Things Hiding Under Cemeteries
by Maledicta | Jun 5, 2019 | Categories: Halloween 365.
Throughout human history, people have set aside special final resting places for their dead. But as population density (including deceased cemetery residents) increased, the byproducts of decomposition were concentrated in such quantities that it became a...
World Goth Day: Celebrating the Joys of Melancholia
by Maledicta | Jun 5, 2019 | Categories: Halloween 365. Tags: Bauhaus, melancholy, Poe, Tim Burton, and World Goth Day.
I recently started a new job, so that’s my excuse for overlooking the observance of World Goth Day on May 22nd. Heaven forbid I should miss an opportunity to celebrate the only holiday devoted to those of us who are pale, morbid, and favor the color...
But Where are the Sexy Nurses? 25 Creepy Old-Timey Halloween Costume Photos
by Maledicta | May 23, 2019 | Categories: Costumes & Couture and Halloween 365. Tags: homemade costumes, old school Halloween, and vintage costumes.
Before Halloween became a cultural phenomenon, it was a simpler affair. Halloween used to be a homemade holiday. For instance, no one debated the merits of giving out “Fun Size” vs “Full Size” candy bars. Halloween treats were usually simple...
You’re Toast! Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Getting Burned at the Stake
by Maledicta | May 5, 2019 | Categories: Halloween 365. Tags: auto da fe, burning, inquisition, stake, and witchcraft.
Hey Torquemada, whaddaya say? I just got back from the auto-da-fé! Auto-da-fé, what’s an auto-da-fé? It’s what you oughtn’t to do but you do anyway! – Mel Brooks, History of the World Part I “The Inquisition” The...
Witches Get Stitches: A Look Inside the Witch Hunter’s Handbook
by Maledicta | Apr 22, 2019 | Categories: Halloween 365. Tags: dunking, witch finders, witch hunters, witch mark, and witches.
Throughout history, witch hunters have relied upon a number of bizarre and often astonishingly cruel ways of identifying witches and testing them to make absolutely sure (more or less) that they were dealing with an actual minion of Satan. One of the main...
Still Unsolved: New Jack the Ripper DNA Evidence Debunked!
by Maledicta | Apr 7, 2019 | Categories: Halloween 365 and In the News. Tags: Catherine Eddowes, DNA, Jack the Ripper, London, and shawl.
There’s been a lot of buzz in the news lately about using DNA matching to solve cold murder cases. So it definitely made headlines when it was recently announced that the Jack the Ripper case, one of history’s great unsolved mysteries, has been solved once and...
Beyond the Leprechaun: The Scariest Monsters of Irish Mythology
by Maledicta | Mar 15, 2019 | Categories: Halloween 365. Tags: banshee, fairies, leprechaun, and St Patrick's Day.
In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is an actual religious holiday. But many here in the States, St. Patrick’s Day is basically an excuse to dress in green, drink green beer, and maybe an evening of Darby O’Gill and the Little People and chill. There’s...
Beware of Spring-Heeled Jack!
by Maledicta | Mar 11, 2019 | Categories: Halloween 365. Tags: demon, devil, London, Spring-Heeled Jack, and Steampunk.
If you think this is about “The Ripper,” you don’t know Jack… When you think of a scary dude named Jack from Victorian England, “Jack the Ripper” is probably the first one who comes to mind. Of course, the Ripper may have been the most notorious...
The Show Must Go On – Haunted Theaters Around the World
by Maledicta | Feb 21, 2019 | Categories: Halloween 365. Tags: haunted theater, iroquois, new amsterdam, oriental, palace theatre, palais garnier, and theatre royal.
Whether they’re in London or Paris, New York or New Zealand, other than mausoleums and drafty old castles, theaters seem to be more prone to paranormal activity than other types of buildings. Considering the level of drama, superstition, and ego...
Rust in Peace: What Happens to Hearses When They Retire?
by Maledicta | Feb 21, 2019 | Categories: Halloween 365. Tags: collector, funeral, hearse, museum, and restoration.
Once upon a time, when you died, your simple pine coffin was carried to the graveyard on a basic no-frills horse-drawn cart. But as the American funeral industry evolved, so did the art of corpse transportation. Changing attitudes toward death in the Victorian...