Halloween 365
Here Lies E. Coli: Dead Bodies Aren’t the Only Gross Things Hiding Under Cemeteries
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...
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World Goth Day: Celebrating the Joys of Melancholia
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 black. Yet...
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But Where are the Sexy Nurses? 25 Creepy Old-Timey Halloween Costume Photos
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 fruits, nuts, or...
read moreYou’re Toast! Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Getting Burned at the Stake
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 Middle Ages were a truly...
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Witches Get Stitches: A Look Inside the Witch Hunter’s Handbook
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...
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Still Unsolved: New Jack the Ripper DNA Evidence Debunked!
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...
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Beyond the Leprechaun: The Scariest Monsters of Irish Mythology
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 much more,...
read moreBeware of Spring-Heeled Jack!
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 "Jack" of his...
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The Show Must Go On – Haunted Theaters Around the World
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 associated with...
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Rust in Peace: What Happens to Hearses When They Retire?
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...
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