In speculative fiction, H.P. Lovecraft’s name elicits fanaticism second only to Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker. But not for surpassing the bar set by these undisputed giants of the dark and macabre but for the sub-genre he carved out for himself. Credited with creating “cosmic” horror, Lovecraft shifted the genre from stories that reflect […]
H.P. Lovecraft: Tales From the Edge of Darkness Read More »
When you close your eyes and imagine Jesus, what comes to mind? Most likely, it’s a white man with long brown hair, a beard, and bright blue eyes. Maybe his arms are outstretched with the sleeves of his white robe hanging down. Maybe there’s a halo around his head. This is more or less the
What did Jesus Really Look Like? Read More »
Gilles de Rais was a French nobleman who murdered over 100 children before being imprisoned and executed on October 26, 1440. His evil deeds made him the inspiration for the dark French fairytale Bluebeard, a story about a nobleman who uses his power and privilege to seduce and kill a series of wives. In the fairytale,
Gilles de Rais, the serial killer who inspired Bluebeard Read More »
Marilyn Vos Savant may be the world’s smartest person. With an IQ of 228, she remains the Guinness world record-holder for the highest score ever. She’s led an extraordinary life, worked at an investment business, written screenplays, and married a world-famous inventor and surgeon. But her extremely high IQ has also made her the target
Marilyn Vos Savant, The “World’s Smartest Woman” with a 228 IQ Read More »
Nikola Tesla may not have gained the wealth and recognition of Thomas Edison, but his work on alternating current technology has earned him a spot among America’s most renowned inventors. Near the end of his life, he began working on a project that came to be known as the “death ray.” He claimed it was
The True Story of Nikola Tesla’s Death Ray Read More »
For well over a century now, Kellogg’s Toasted Cornflakes, featuring Cornelius “Corny” Rooster on the box, has been a mainstay of households across America. Prototype for the hundreds of other dry breakfast cereals to follow, Toasted Cornflakes effectively put dry cereals on the breakfast menu—and Battle Creek, Michigan, on the map. But few know the story of John Harvey
The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Corn Flake King: John Harvey Kellogg Read More »
Inside the Third Reich’s concentration camps were scores of evil guards capable of committing horrible and sadistic acts. When the Allies tried the perpetrators of the Holocaust after the end of the war, the public was surprised by the beastly behavior of female guards like Irma Grese and Elisabeth Volkenrath, who often committed worse acts
Jenny Barkmann: The “Beautiful Spectre” of Stutthof Read More »
As famous as Edgar Allan Poe is, the mysterious circumstances surrounding his passing have never been solved. As for Poe’s young wife, Virginia, there is no doubt about how she passed. What’s less well known is what her tragically short life was really like. Virginia married Edgar Allan Poe, her first cousin when she was
Who Was Virginia Clemm, the Wife of Edgar Allan Poe? Read More »
Over 55,000 prisoners of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp never made it out alive. Buchenwald was one of the Third Reich’s largest camps, with over 280,000 prisoners serving time there. Death lurked around every corner, and many killings were never recorded in the camp’s books. Walter Gerhard Mart Sommer, who earned the title “The Hangman of
Martin Sommer: The guard too cruel for even the Nazis Read More »
Following the Second World War, war crimes trials were held to bring the architects of WW2 and the Holocaust to justice. Inside a courtroom in Luneburg, the Belsen Trials took place that sought to deal with the SS men and women of the Belsen concentration camp. Many of these guards had committed horrendous crimes, but
Irma Grese: The Hyena of Auschwitz Read More »
