The Curio

We got plenty of ghosts in the UK. And now, there’s the Penguin Book of Ghosts. Sounds like a good read.

Most haunted places revealed | UK | Reuters:

“From screaming skulls and headless horsemen to murdered brides and phantom farmers, English folklore is full of spine-tingling ghost stories. Terrified witnesses speak of seeing ghostly armies marching through the fog, spirits searching for hidden treasure and bells ringing from ruined churches.”

Probably one of the less convincing paranormal cases around. Play the video, you’ll see what I mean. All parents think their kids are special. Doesn’t mean they are.

What Are Indigo Children?:

“Indigo children refers to a New Age belief that some children, especially those born after the late 1970s, represent a higher state of human evolution.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZwyiy90X2I

Maybe there’s a tiny, tiny grain of truth in the reptilian humanoid conspiracy?

Gooey Origin of Human Placenta Revealed:

“Someone seeing for the first time a placenta spill out of a woman’s body after childbirth is likely surprised at how large it is and might wonder where it really came from. Scientists have no clue, either, at least insofar as evolution is concerned.”

Nick Redfern has a new blog, MAN-BEAST U.K - subtitled “In Search of the British Bigfoot”. Also available is his book “Man Monkey” with the same subtitle.

Check out the blog here, and read more about his book here.

The Science of Fairy Tales | LiveScience:

“But are the most magical moments from some of our favorite stories actually possible? Basic physical principles and recent scientific research suggest that what readers might mistake for fantasies and exaggeration could be rooted in reality.”

A cosy fireside journey through Christmases Past, Present and Yet To Come. Aided and abetted by a rather nice bottle of malt. Yes - I’m drunk in charge of a podcast.

Show links:

• A very British Christmas
• Mr Dickens’ engaging stories

Music from the Podshow Podsafe Music Network is Cat Jahnke, with “Gloria”.

And yes, I missed out show #18. Which is why you shouldn’t podcast and drink scotch at the same time.

Merry Christmas!

 

 Standard Podcast [34:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

Darklore: A journal of exceptional observations, hidden history, the paranormal and esoteric science:

“Welcome to the premiere release of Darklore, a journal of exceptional observations, hidden history, the paranormal and esoteric science.”

There is some suggestion that Lewis Caroll could have been infamous Victorian serial killer, Jack the Ripper. This is based upon anagrams supposedly found in Caroll’s work. I think these links are tenuous, at best. “Anagrams” are easily constructed in the mind of the reader.

Of course, we’ll probably never know for sure who Jack was. But the enigma surrounding the killer, along with the visceral nature of the murders will undoubtedly continue to attract speculation.

Get all the Ripper info you can handle here, and a poem entitled “Street Walkers of Whitechapel” by J.E. Remy here.

Curious Expeditions » Blog Archive » Red Skeletons:

“Housed in the Dominican Monastery in Dubrovnik, Croatia, is a fantastic coral reliquary. The polished red coral branches delicately hold up a fragment of saintly arm bone.”

An opinion peice for you to digest. Are we witnessing the end of the Democratic Age? Are we on the edge of a return to a Divine Age?

Now if that isn’t food for a Friday night discussion over a beer or three, I don’t know what is.

nthposition online magazine: The Theocratic Age; or, The last days of the American Republic:

“Fascism today, theocracy tomorrow, according to many skeptics of the Enlightenment that produced today’s waning democracy. It seems we must lose our empire and save our democracy like Britain, or keep our empire and lose our democracy like Rome. Professor Johnson must have been reading Giovanni Vico.”