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Category / Obscure history

Dollhouses of Death that trained America’s Detectives

I always found the game of Cluedo fell a bit flat. I wanted more from the murder mansion’s one-dimensional floor plan, and really, how were we ever supposed to solve crime with a cast of suspects crafted into tiny plastic tokens? But it turns out, around the very same time that the iconic American board game was being developed in…

The French Cliff carved into Legends of Old by One Mute Abbot

Finding shapes in the clouds, strange noises in your house at night from the monster under the bed, the Virgin Mary appearing on a piece of toast; some things aren’t always as they seem– like the cliffs on the coast of Brittany near Saint-Malo. There’s this one that looks like it has a bunch of faces carved…

Nature’s Humble Gold: The Unexpected Elegance of Straw Craft

And now, for a DIY project at the intersection of spooky and cozy: the corn doll – which isn’t always in the form of a doll, mind you. That term is shorthand for any kind of straw artwork, be it a horseshoe or a crown, a dog or a pentagram. We love it because it’s…

All the Different Ouija Boards you Never Knew Existed

We all had a Ouija phase, didn’t we? Or at least most of us saw The Exorcist and know what can happen if you don’t say “Goodbye” to the spirit world before putting away the board. But did you know there are hundreds, maybe thousands of different talking boards out there? And not all talking boards…

The Ghostly Paris Nightclubs of the Belle Epoque

The decade is the 1890s, the height of La Belle Epoque in Paris; the ‘beautiful era’. But by night, the City of Light knew a much darker string of establishments to entertain its night owls. We’re outside the Cabaret du Néant, translation: the Cabaret of Nothingness, but originally known as the ‘Cabaret of Death‘ before authorities…

The Buried African Folklore behind the Pop Culture Zombie

There is a law still in effect in the Haitian criminal code that dates back to 1883, making it illegal to try to turn someone into a zombie. The word “zombie” in fact, comes from “nzambi,” a word that means “spirit” in the voodou religions of Haiti and the African diaspora, but the Haitian zombie…

A New York City Misfit Museum, like No Other

Woody Allen pulls off one of Groucho Marx’s best lines in Annie Hall — you know, the one that goes, “I wouldn’t want belong to any sort of club that would have me as a member”. He’s kidding, of course, but the line perfectly reflects that charming New York brand of pessimism, and because it…

Misadventures of the Psychedelic Rock Queen Who Tried to Spike Nixon’s Drink

Grace Slick is the the psychedelic queen who didn’t give a f**k– literally, she was the first to say the word on American television when she sang it in a song with her rock band, Jefferson Airplane. She was Janis Joplin’s drinking buddy, a talented songwriter with a wicked sense of humour, and the woman who plotted…

Nazi Summer Camp, Long Island, USA

Camp Siegfried was forcibly shut down by the US government when Germany declared war on the United States. It had been protected by the 1st Amendment until that time, when it became illegal for US citizens to swear allegiance to Germany. Founded in 1935, it was operated by the German American Bund, an American Nazi…

When Seashells Were Money

Some of us might recall that day in school when the teacher dumped a bag of cowrie shells on their desk, and decreed, “See this? This used to be money!” Seashells were used as money across the world well into the 20th century, from West Africa to California. And in some parts of the world,…

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