Warrior Women – WW2
War is always an interesting time for the world. The World Wars were major turning points in history, culture and technology and there are some people who stand out above the crowd in terms of their contributions. With that in mind I want to introduce you to some female warriors from World War II that […]
History and Culture – The Slava
I learned about the tradition of the slava just recently from the illustrator of my next children’s book, Julijana. She lives in Serbia where the practice of the slava originates. It is essentially a feast day, but is unique to each family, in celebration of their patron saint. The tradition is patrilineal, moved through families […]
Happy Halloween – Hocus Pocus
Happy Halloween! Today’s post will be short because I’m going to enjoy my favourite Halloween tradition tonight. HOCUS POCUS! If you have not seen this magnificent piece of 1993 cinema, you are missing out. It’s a horror-comedy and filled with ridiculousness, but is a fun time all around. It’s obviously going to be dated since […]
Freaky Fridays – Europe
Europe has no shortage of haunted locations and I’ve probably been to more of the well known ones across the pond than at home. This is partly because of my love for haunted walks and tours. One of the reasons that I almost prefer them over normal city tours is because they’re not afraid to […]
The Blood Countess – Elizabeth Bathory
The crimes: murder, torture, cannibalism The perpetrator: Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed The accomplices: Family, friends, husband The victims: up to 650 women, low and noble birth Mythos: Vampire If ever there was a woman in history who fit the topic of Halloween so perfectly, it would be the Blood Countess. Elizabeth Bathory is, no […]
WTF Monsters
For your Halloween week pleasure, I have scoured the internet for some WTF Monsters. People in the days of old came up with some pretty interesting things and definitely had some pretty active imaginations. Some of the creatures on this list are still a part of modern culture in some areas. Wendigo From Algonquin tradition, […]
The Winchester Mystery House
To kick off our week coming up to Halloween, I thought we’d start with an interesting real life example of ghosts and paranoia in someone with enough money to do something about it. That someone is Sarah Winchester who was convinced that the ghosts of people murdered by Winchester rifles were out to get her. […]
Freaky Friday – Canada
Continuing on with our October Freaky Fridays I’m expanding my list to all of Canada this time. I haven’t been to most of the sites on the common lists, but I definitely want to, not only for the haunted aspect, but because of their historical significance. There are five specific locations that I’ve been to […]
Freaky Fridays – Alberta Hauntings
Since it’s coming up on Halloween soon, I thought it would be fun to explore of the interesting legends around some of our haunted spots. The Canadian prairies, like pretty much everywhere in the world, have bleak moments in their history. Most hauntings are associated with murders, suicides and other unpleasant deaths. There are quite […]
The Day Persephone Returns to Hades
Today is the Autumnal Equinox and the official end of summer in the northern hemisphere. In many traditions this is the time of year in mythologies where the light starts to lose its sway over the darkness. In terms of Greek Mythology, this would be the day that Persephone descends into the Underworld to spend […]