Favorite Non-DC/Marvel, Comic Book Adaptations:

Everyone knows about the Salem Witch Trials, but have you ever heard of the European werewolf trials?

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, individuals across Europe, including countries like Switzerland, Germany and France were accused of lycanthropy, wolf-riding and wolf-charming (wolf-charming meaning they used magic to summon a pack of wolves to attack someone).

The most famous case of someone being charged with lycanthropy took place in 1598. German farmer Peter Stumpp was accused of using witchcraft to turn himself into a wolf and go on a killing spree that led to the deaths of two pregnant women and 14 children. The worst part is they said he ate his victims while in his wolf form. After being stretched out on the rack, Peter admitted to all of the accusations, said he'd been practicing magic since he was 12 years old and that he used a magical belt the devil gave him to take his wolf shape. After his admission, Peter was executed on the wheel where he was skinned alive, had his limbs broken, his head chopped off and his body burned.

Some of my favorite Ghost Stories on film.

1) Casper

2) Personal Shopper

3) The Innocents (1961)

4) The Uninvited (1944)

5) Ringu (リング, "Ring")

6) The Haunting (1963)

7) The Stone Tape

8 ) The Shining (1980)

9) The Others (Spanish: Los otros)

10) The Sixth Sense

11) Kuroneko (藪の中の黒猫, "A Black Cat in a Bamboo Grove"; or simply "The Black Cat")

12) The Woman in Black (1989)

13) Any episode of BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas

14) Kwaidan (怪談, "Ghost Stories")

15) David Lowery's A Ghost Story (Masterpiece.)

16) The Changeling

17) Hasta el viento tiene miedo (known in English as "Even the Wind is Afraid" and "The Wind of Fear")

18) Stir Of Echoes

Our tour begins before we even enter the Mansion itself in the Magic Kingdom, where you can see some of our guests in their corruptible...mortal...busts.

Pictured here, we have the Dread Family. Uncle Jacob Dread, Bertie Dread, Aunt Florence McGriffin Dread, Wellington and Forsythia Dread, and Cousin Maude (Dread, I'm assuming).

They were a family of six who once inhabited the manor before one day they all met their gruesome fate at each other's hands. Uncle Jacob was poisoned by Bertie for his wealth. Who was then shot dead by Florence as an act of revenge. Who was then smothered by bird seed by Forsythia and Wellington, who were then killed in their sleep with a mallet…by Cousin Maude. Who, as the sole surviving member of the Dread Family, burned to death because she liked to use matches in her hair instead of hairpins (really amazing thinking there Cousin Maude…🙄). And now, the Dread Family is no more and haunt the halls of the esteemed mansion.

Fun Fact:

As much as I admire the legends of merfolk and swan maidens, we ought to give some spotlight to the selkies.

Selkie folk, also known as "seal folk", come from Norse and Celtic folklore. They're what's known as "therianthropes", meaning they can transform from human to animal at will. In the case of the selkie, this is done by shedding their seal skin. When in their human form, selkies are super attractive. Both males and females have humans chasing after them, if they're lucky enough to see them naked on the beach.

The stories about male selkies are pretty hilarious and usually entail them being the object of desire for bored housewives (they were essentially medieval pool boys), but the female selkies always had it rougher. Men would steal their seal skin so they couldn't change back to their natural form, then coerce them into marriage. And what's really tragic is that even if the selkie does marry the thief, falls in love with him and has his children, the moment that she rediscovers her hidden selkie skin, she abandons her family and makes her escape back to the ocean, because that is where she's truly meant to be.

Most monsters in this day and age are impeccably tailored and well-coiffed.

Not to mention, they smile on TV.

Fun Fact:

Humans have been astral planing a LOT longer than we thought.

Researchers analyzed hair strands from a burial site in Menorca and detected scopolamine, ephedrine and atropine. Atropine and scopolamine are naturally occurring substances in the nightshade plant family that cause hallucinations and altered sensory perception, while ephedrine is a stimulant taken from certain shrubs and pines that boosts excitement and physical activity. Before this discovery, we'd only found indirect evidence of psychedelic use in ancient cultures. The cave that the analyzed hair strands were taken from was first occupied around 1600 BCE and featured a chamber that was used as a funeral space until around 800 BCE. It's estimated that 210 individuals were laid to rest here, but only certain people had their hair dyed red, placed in containers and sealed in a chamber further back in the cave. We don't know what made these individuals so special that their hair had to be preserved but we are certain that a major psychedelic discovery was just made in Spain.

Dark City (1998) by Alex Proyas.

A beautiful, sleek, lucid nightmare.

Filled with unforgettable, overwhelming images.

Highly influential.

It's hard to believe it, but Hades (the Greek god of the Underworld) had 3 encounters with his nephew Heracles (Hercules) and was left humiliated. Each. Time.

The most well-known encounter is when Heracles travelled to the Underworld to capture the three-headed hound Cerberus for his 12th and final labor. Hades told his nephew that he could only take Cerberus if he could subdue him without using any weapons. But clever Heracles used the impenetrable Nemean Lion skin he wore as a makeshift muzzle and wrestled Cerberus until he was worn out.

The second time, Hades came to the surface to collect the soul of Queen Alcestis, who agreed to die in place of her husband King Admetus. But Heracles didn't like the idea of the happy couple's love being cut short and wrestled Hades into submission, just like he did his dog.

The third instance is the strangest though. When Heracles attacks the city of Pylos after its king refuses to purify him of his sins, Hades arrives to either collect the dead from the battlefield or defend the city (depending on the version). Either way, when Heracles sees his uncle, he shoots him in the shoulder with an arrow and Hades retreats to Olympus where Apollo heals his wound.

Corto Stop Motion "Jaulas."

"Cigarettes and chocolate milk These are just a couple of my cravings Everything it seems I like’s a little bit stronger A little bit thicker, a little bit harmful for me." —Rufus Wainwright, "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk"