History is full of stories about curses spoken by prisoners, either rightfully or wrongfully convicted, on the way to their execution. The hexes were a prisoner’s supernatural retribution for perceived wrongs that the court dealt them. This cosmic vengeance… Read More ›
History
Saint Catherine of Siena’s divine head
One of the most captivating displays of saintly relics is at the Basilica Cateriniana di San Domenico in Siena, Italy, a town about 45 miles (72km) south of Tuscany. Worshippers and tourists who visit this search can see the mummified head of… Read More ›
Beauty to die for: How vanity killed an 18th century celebutante
Between the 15th and 18th centuries, many people applied cosmetics that contained deadly toxins to achieve the look of a flawless complexion. This harmful makeup often worsened the wearer’s skin, caused physical discomfort, and, in at least one case, death. An 18th… Read More ›
The Roman empress who used forensic science to identify her rival’s head
In 49 AD, a Roman soldier carried a decaying human head into Rome to present it to the wife of Emperor Claudius, Julia Agrippina. Julia Agrippina, also known as Agrippina the Younger, had ordered the suicide of Lollia Paulina, her formal… Read More ›
The traveling corpses of the medieval prince-bishops of Würzburg
While doing some research on heart burials, the ritual internment of the heart separate from the rest of the corpse, I came across an account of the odd and days-long funeral of the prince-bishops of Würzburg in an article by… Read More ›
The camel-riding corpse that killed a woman
In the spring of 1883, a coroner was dispatched to investigate the gruesome death of a woman on a sheep ranch in eastern Arizona. The only witness to the killing was a woman who barricaded herself inside a ranch house… Read More ›
Lord Byron’s skull cup
Lord Byron (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824), née George Gordon Byron (I love that his middle name is Gordon), was a leading poet of the Romantic movement and a good friend of fellow writers Mary and Percy Bysshe… Read More ›
Re-animating a Murderer: The Corpse Experiment that Inspired Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
George Forster was hanged at Newgate Prison on January 18, 1803 for murdering his wife and daughter. After the execution, Forster’s (also spelled Foster in The Newgate Calendar) body was carried to a nearby house so that Giovanni Aldini (April… Read More ›
George Washington, zombie-in-chief
George Washington (1732-1799) was many things: Founding Father, Commander-In-Chief, and the First President of the United States. He was also almost America’s first zombie. Washington became seriously sick after he got caught in a rainstorm in 1799. His doctors tried… Read More ›
Forensic Science and the Creepy Legend of the Ourang Medan
According to legend, some time in the 1940’s a ship named the S.S. Ourang Medan sent a distress signal as it traveled through the South Pacific. The S.O.S. said that the officers aboard were dead and rest of the crew were dying…. Read More ›
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