Revenant A revenant is a visible ghost or animated corpse that was believed to return from the grave to terrorize the living.[1] The word "revenant" is derived from the Latin word, reveniens, "returning" (see also the related French verb "revenir", meaning "to come back"). Vivid stories of revenants arose in Western Europe (especially Great Britain, and were later carried by Anglo-Norman invaders to Ireland) during the High Middle Ages. Though later legend and folklore depicts revenants as returning for a specific purpose (e.g., revenge against the deceased's killer), in most Medieval accounts they return to harass their surviving families and neighbours. Revenants share a number of characteristics with folkloric vampires. Many stories were documented by English historians in the Middle Ages. Analysis[edit] Medieval stories of revenants have common features. Comparison to other folkloristic and mythological undead[edit] Selected stories[edit] William of Newburgh[edit] William of Newburgh (1136?
Draugr "Sea-troll" of modern Scandinavian folklore as depicted by the Norwegian painter Theodor Kittelsen The draugr or draug (Old Norse: draugr, plural draugar; modern Icelandic: draugur, Faroese: dreygur and Norwegian, Swedish and Danish draugen), also called aptrganga, literally "again-walker" (Icelandic: afturganga) is an undead creature from Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology. The Old Norse meaning of the word is a revenant. "The will appears to be strong, strong enough to draw the hugr [animate will] back to one's body. Draugar live in their graves, often guarding treasure buried with them in their burial mound. A cognate is Old English: dréag "apparition, ghost".[2] Irish: dréag or driug, meaning "portent, meteor", is borrowed from either Old English or the Old Norse.[3] Traits[edit] Draugar possess superhuman strength, can increase their size at will, and carry the unmistakable stench of decay. The draugr's victims were not limited to trespassers in its howe. Folklore[edit]
Zombies and Tetrodotoxin Follow-up Terence Hines Volume 32.3, May / June 2008 In the July/August 2007 issue of Skeptical Inquirer, Costas J. Efthimiou and Sohang Gandhi (2007a) argued that Haitian voodoo witch doctors create real zombies by using preparations containing the poison tetrodotoxin (TTX). I will address several problems with the Efthimiou and Gandhi paper and then discuss the wider issue of whether TTX is a valid explanation for Haitian zombies, an argument first made in 1983 by Wade Davis, an ethnobotonist with a PhD from Harvard. Efthimiou and Gandhi describe a zombified patient who had been studied by a Haitian doctor. Also on page 33, they state that the body of someone suffering from TTX poisoning will “show signs of rigor mortis and even produce the odor of rot.” The claim that TTX produces the “odor of rot” is one I have not come across before. Wade Davis and the Zombies of Haiti Davis reports that the zombie state can be made to last for long periods of time. References Anderson, W.H. 1988.
James Spader Prepares for ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Continue reading the main story Video One overcast spring afternoon, was lurking in plain sight, standing on the stoop of the Greenwich Village townhouse where he lives, wearing a sport coat, a fedora and a bright purple scarf, smoking a cigarette and talking on a cellphone with the producers of his NBC series, “The Blacklist.” “Come, come in,” Mr. Spader said with eerie alacrity. Up a few flights of creaky stairs to the home of this mercurial 55-year-old actor, who has played many alluring characters over a four-decade span: the manipulative preppies of “Pretty in Pink” and “Less Than Zero”; the sexual misfits of “White Palace,” “Crash” and “Secretary”; the flat-out kooks of “Lincoln” and “The Office.” Like the man who inhabits it, Mr. Photo Yet even at a moment of maximum popularity for Mr. It is a weirdness manifest whenever Mr. When he discusses the narrative challenges of “The Blacklist,” on which he plays the reformed criminal mastermind Raymond (Red) Reddington, Mr. But, as Mr.
Vampire Vampires are mythical beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures In folkloric tales, undead vampires often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods they inhabited when they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, markedly different from today's gaunt, pale vampire which dates from the early 1800s. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in most cultures, the term vampire was not popularised until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe,[1] although local variants were also known by different names, such as vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. Etymology Folk beliefs Description and common attributes Creating vampires The causes of vampiric generation were many and varied in original folklore.
Glámr Glámr The following story is found in the Gretla, an Icelandic Saga, composed in the thirteenth century, or that comes to us in the form then given to it; but it is a redaction of a Saga of much earlier date. Most of it is thoroughly historical, and its statements are corroborated by other Sagas. The following incident was introduced to account for the fact that the outlaw Gretter would run any risk rather than spend the long winter nights alone in the dark. At the beginning of the eleventh century there stood, a little way up the Valley of Shadows in the north of Iceland, a small farm, occupied by a worthy bonder, named Thorhall, and his wife. Not a herdsman would remain with him; he bribed, he threatened, entreated, all to no purpose; one shepherd after another left his service, and things came to such a pass that he determined on asking advice at the next annual council. “I do not care about his wits so long as he can look after sheep,” answered Thorhall. “Will you come with me?”
The Zombification Family Tree: Legacy of the Living Dead They're (Still) Coming to Get You... As if 1988 wasn’t already filled to the rim with Zombie Kin, it’s notable that this was the also the year of the first sequel to Return of the Living Dead, aptly titled Return of the Living Dead Part II. While billed as a sequel to the film that followed the original Night of the Living Dead, Return of the Living Dead Part II was more of a remake of Return part 1 (including the same two lead actors experiencing the same events again for the first time) than it was a valid continuation of any storyline. The Return of the Living Dead (1985) In 1990 the first official remake of Night of the Living Dead was brought to screens by writer/ producer Romero himself and director Tom Savini (famed makeup artist and frequent Romero collaborator). With the exception of 1993’s Return of the Living Dead 3 which furthered that series’ storyline and went in a new direction, the ‘90s were the beginning of a large drought in the ‘Dead’ series (official or not).
Three Myths About the Brain Photo Gray Matter By GREGORY HICKOK IN the early 19th century, a French neurophysiologist named Pierre Flourens conducted a series of innovative experiments. He successively removed larger and larger portions of brain tissue from a range of animals, including pigeons, chickens and frogs, and observed how their behavior was affected. His findings were clear and reasonably consistent. Thus the foundation was laid for a popular myth: that we use only a small portion — 10 percent is the figure most often cited — of our brain. But Flourens was wrong, in part because his methods for assessing mental capacity were crude and his animal subjects were poor models for human brain function. The myth persists, however. Myths about the brain typically arise in this fashion: An intriguing experimental result generates a plausible if speculative interpretation (a small part of the lobe seems sufficient) that is later overextended or distorted (we use only 10 percent of our brain). So please, take heed.
Ghoul A ghoul is a folkloric monster or spirit associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh, often classified as undead. The oldest surviving literature that mention ghouls is likely One Thousand and One Nights.[1] The term was first used in English literature in 1786, in William Beckford's Orientalist novel Vathek,[2] which describes the ghūl of Arabian folklore. By extension, the word ghoul is also used in a derogatory sense to refer to a person who delights in the macabre, or whose profession is linked directly to death, such as a gravedigger ("graverobber"). Early etymology[edit] Ghoul is from the Arabic الغول ghul, from ghala "to seize".[3] The term is etymologically related to Gallu, a Mesopotamian demon.[4][5] In Arabian folklore[edit] In ancient Arabian folklore, the ghūl (Arabic: literally demon)[6] dwells in burial grounds and other uninhabited places. A ghul is also a desert-dwelling, shapeshifting, evil demon that can assume the guise of an animal, especially a hyena.
Almas (cryptozoology) The Almas (Mongolian: Алмас/Almas, Bulgarian: Алмас, Chechen: Алмазы, Turkish: Albıs), Mongolian for "wild man", is a purported hominid cryptozoological species reputed to inhabit the Caucasus and Pamir Mountains of central Asia, and the Altai Mountains of southern Mongolia.[1] The creature is not currently recognized or cataloged by science. Furthermore, scientists generally reject the possibility that such mega-fauna cryptids exist, because of the improbably large numbers necessary to maintain a breeding population,[2] and because climate and food supply issues make their survival in reported habitats unlikely.[3] Almas is a singular word in Mongolian; the properly formed Turkic plural would be 'almaslar'.[4] As is typical of similar legendary creatures throughout Central Asia, Russia, Pakistan and the Caucasus, the Almas is generally considered to be more akin to "wild people" in appearance and habits than to apes (in contrast to the Yeti of the Himalayas). Tjutjuna Notes
The CDC want you to prepare for the zombie apocalypse - The Source - Latest news and updates from Boston.com If the world ends tomorrow, as some have predicted, could it come in the form of the living dead? Well, for those of you who have long been planning your zombie apocalypse survival strategies, Saturday, May 21 could be the day that you finally get to put them to use. And if you don't have a plan to battle the hoards of undead, the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has you covered. The CDC released a list of must-have survival items should the dead come back to life, including: Water (1 gallon per person per day) Food (stock up on non-perishable items that you eat regularly) Medications (this includes prescription and non-prescription meds) Tools and Supplies (utility knife, duct tape, battery powered radio, etc.) The CDC has even gone so far as to create a bunch of handy-dandy zombie-related widgets, such as the one below, that you can plop onto your website. 1.
I Was the Sick Passenger Private Lives: Personal essays on the news of the world and the news of our lives. I was the sick passenger on the No. 2 train, the one responsible for the line’s delay. It was I who kept New Yorkers from their destinations, and prompted the notice that thanked them for a quality they’re not known to have. It was a recent Tuesday evening, at the tail end of rush hour. In spite of the announcement advising otherwise, I was leaning against the subway doors. I pulled out Susannah Cahalan’s memoir about mental illness, “Brain on Fire,” and picked up where I’d left off that morning, Chapter 27: “Brain Biopsy.” The next stop was Wall Street. While we approached Borough Hall the doctor made an S-shaped incision with a scalpel. Lightheaded, I scanned the train for an empty seat. By the time I get there it will be taken, I reasoned. I went back to the book; the author was in the recovery room now. I thought, we’re going down. Photo A lady fanned me and asked, “Are you hot?”
Skeleton (undead) A CG art skeleton, as commonly found in modern fantasy-theme games Figurines and images of skeletons doing routine things are common in Mexico's Day of the Dead celebration, where skulls symbolize life and their familiar circumstances invite levity. "The Boy Who Wanted the Willies" is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale in which a boy named Hans joins a circle of dancing skeletons. Mekurabe are rolling skulls with eyeballs who menace Taira no Kiyomori in Japanese folklore. The animated skeleton features in some Gothic fiction. One example is in the short story "Thurnley Abbey" (1908) by Perceval Landon, originally published in his collection Raw Edges. They have also been used and portrayed in fantasy role-playing games or adventure games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Minecraft.
List of legendary creatures This is a list of legendary creatures from various historical mythologies. Entries include species of legendary creature and unique creatures, but not individuals of a particular species. A[edit] B[edit] C[edit] D[edit] E[edit] F[edit] G[edit] H[edit] I[edit] J[edit] K[edit] L[edit] M[edit] N[edit] O[edit] P[edit] Q[edit] R[edit] S[edit] T[edit] U[edit] V[edit] W[edit] X[edit] Y[edit] Z[edit] See also[edit]