Helen Duncan: The Last Witch of Britain
Though we think of witch hunts as something that occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries, the UK convicted its last witch in 1944.
During...
The Boy Who Cried “Action!”
The Mirror shares the tale of Oklahoma boy Ryan Hammond, who believes he is the reincarnation of 1940s era Hollywood agent Marty Martyn. Ryan...
Who Was Jesus’s Grandma?
Who was Mary's mother and Jesus' grandmother? You'd be hard-pressed to find a reference to any of Mary and Joseph's lineage in common texts,...
The Gilded Age Murderer’s Best Friends
In New York, in the latter half of the 19th century, attorneys William Howe and Abraham Hummel were the most successful criminal defense lawyers...
The Master of Nauscopy
The Estoterx blog shares the tale of Étienne Bottineau of Île de France, a master of "nauscopy," the ability to detect ships over the...
Weimar Germany’s Pioneer of Punk
In 1920s Germany, audiences were entranced by Valeska Gert, a tiny, raven-haired dancer and actress who inspired generations of creatives, from German Expressionists to...
Ancient Veterinary Magic
In an article for The Smithsonian, John Last examines veterinary care of the middle ages, which relied on superstition and magic as much as...
The First Named Author is a Woman
The first author to be named in all recorded history is a woman: Enheduanna, a Mesopotamian poet, princess, and priestess. Enheduanna is relatively unknown,...
Mr. Trick and Mrs. Treat
What could you conjure with characters named Mr. Trick and Mrs. Treat?
In April 1849, Mr. Trick and his family emigrated from England to the...
Do Good Deeds Outweigh Any Bad?
As writers, we want to ensure that our characters are not one-sided. Even fantasy villains and horror monsters have some redeeming quality tucked away...
