Month: September 2018

Horror movies and urban legends always talk about haunted and cursed objects, from the Anguished Man painting — supposedly painted with the blood of the artist who committed suicide shortly after painting it — to the Busby Stoop Chair — which is currently mounted on the wall of the Thirsk Museum so that no one may sit in it and, according to legend, die.  But what about dolls? Haunted dolls have been a fascination of the public for years, and one of the most infamous haunted dolls out there is, of course, Robert the doll.

The story behind the doll is this: The Otto’s had a son named Gene who was given the straw-filled doll by the family maid.  Gene became attached to the doll, even naming it after himself: Robert. However, shortly after receiving the doll, the family would hear Gene in his bedroom, talking to himself, though there would be two entirely different voices speaking.  The doll began to becomes mischievous as the years passed, and the family would wake up due to hearing Gene screaming in the middle of the night. When they would go and check up on him, all of the furniture in the room would be overturned, the doll staring at him from the foot of the bed.

The mischief progressed.  Mutilated toys would be found throughout the house, and the sounds of giggling could be heard throughout the rooms.  People began seeing the doll moving from window to window as they passed by. Eventually, the doll was moved to the attic.

After Gene inherited his parents house, he moved back in with his wife, taking Robert out of the attic and putting him back into his old bedroom.  Of course, once Gene and his wife passed away, the doll was brought to the Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida. Though people claim that his hair color — and, in turn, his soul — are slowly fading, there are still mysterious happenings at the museum.  Lights flicker, cameras malfunction, and curators claim to hear giggling coming from the doll.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, there is a curse surrounding the doll.  According to many who have sent in photos accompanied by a letter of apology, anyone who takes a photo of Robert without asking for permission supposedly befalls terrible luck and tragedy.  In order to break the curse, they send back the photograph with a letter — these letters line the walls surrounding the doll at the museum in which people beg for Robert’s forgiveness and ask that the curse be lifted.

Maybe Chucky might not have existed, but Robert the doll is very much real.  If you wish to see him, the Museum still has him contained in his glass case.  Though, do err on the side of caution and ask the doll for his permission to snap a photo, lest the curse of Robert the doll befall you.

For more about Robert the doll (sources):

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/robert-doll

http://robertthedoll.org/

With autumn fastly approaching, and the trees losing their leaves, it is always important to remember the traditions that come along with this time of year.  Whether it’s pumpkin picking or visiting the graves of our ancestors, the autumnal equinox has become a center of tradition and folklore around the world. Instead of focusing on one, however, we will be taking a brief look at a few different cultures and how they celebrate the change of season.

Paganism has always had roots tied with the natural world, and the autumnal equinox is no exception.  This equinox, in the pagan tradition, is called Mabon — or Second Harvest. Mabon is a time in which pagans will give thanks to the summer and pay respects to the approaching darkness.  A few rituals that tend to be associated with Mabon include — but are certainly not limited to — the building of an altar with harvested fruits and vegetables, the gathering and feasting of apples, offering apples to the goddess, and sharing food with the community.

While pagan traditions tend to lean towards the harvest itself, Japanese tradition tends to focus inward towards their own family and ancestors.  However, it isn’t just the autumnal equinox but both, and these periods are called Ohigan. According to Japanese Buddhist beliefs, the land of the afterlife is due west, and during these times the sun sets directly west, causing these solstices to become symbolic of both the deceased and the transitions of life.  During the weeks surrounding the equinoxes, it is common to visit both your living relatives and the graves of one’s ancestors in order to both pay respect and clean the grave site, leaving flowers behind when you depart.

Of course, pagan tradition isn’t the only one that celebrates the equinox with community and harvests, and Japanese Buddhist beliefs aren’t the only ones who focus on their ancestors.  However, we should also take a moment to consider the complete opposite of rituals and folklore that have developed over time, and so we will also be taking a look at the Western traditions as well.  Celebrations that surround the time of the fall equinox tend to be less about some of our older traditions and more about different activities that are celebrated such as county fairs and festivals, apple and pumpkin picking, decorating with the images of fall from leaves to fruits and vegetables and blowing Halloween way out of proportion.  And though we do not celebrate some of our ancestors’ traditions, we do have a feast that finishes off the fall season.

So whether or not you still practice your own traditions or you are celebrating with festivals and decorating with pumpkins, each tradition surrounding the autumnal equinox is unique and centered around the cultural beliefs of the people.  One thing that remains the same, however, is the idea that the equinox brings along change.

For more about autumnal equinox traditions (sources):

http://mentalfloss.com/article/59049/autumnal-equinox-traditions

http://acad.depauw.edu/~mkfinney/teaching/Com227/culturalportfolios/japan/traditions.htm

https://wicca.com/celtic/akasha/mabon.htm

Ghost stories have always fascinated people, some flocking to distant locations just in hopes for a glimpse of an ethereal figure.  From the castles of Scotland to any major city, tours are always available for those who are curious about the other side. But what about the dead who walk?  What about processions of death walked by the souls of the departed? Every culture has some form of this, however today we will be looking at the Night Marchers of Hawaii.

Night Marchers, or Hukai’po, is the name of a group of ghostly beings who march to the beat of pounding drums.  It is believed that the Night Marchers are armed warriors — generally thought to be marching to or from battle — carrying weapons and wearing helmets and cloaks that are ancient in appearance.  Stories and speculations surround why the Night Marchers walk, including that they are looking for new members or for an entrance to the afterlife, and, of course, the most chilling possibility: they are looking for ways to avenge their deaths.  However, one historian — Nanette Napoleon — believes that these soldiers were just doing their job as it was believed that they escorted the ali’i, or rulers.

No matter their reasoning for walking the earth, it is said that the Night Marchers can often be recognized by their torches and chanting, sometimes even the blowing of conch shells as they march.  They tend to only appear at night, though there are stories of them showing themselves during the day. However, one thing that has been spoken about is the fact that after they pass through an area, footprints have been known to be spotted along their path.

Whether or not they appear during the night or day, one thing often remarked about is that their procession must not be interrupted. As well as not interrupting them, it is important to avert your eyes and never look at them directly as — according to legend — someone you know, or even you yourself, will befall a terrible fate soon after.  In fact, people are urged to “play dead” lest they attract the Night Marchers’ attentions.  The reason for this, according to story-teller Lopaka Kapanui, is that if we are to believe that the Night Marchers were escorts for the ali’i, then they would have proceeded someone who was considered to be sacred, almost godly.  Therefore, when they passed you would not be permitted to look at the ali’i they guarded, and if a commoner had glimpsed at or if the shadow of the ali’i they guarded fell on one of these commoners, they were to be put to death, which was why they tended to march at night.

The Night Marchers are still a group of ghastly spirits that can still be seen to this day.  Ghost tours are available in Hawaii to try to glimpse them, despite the terrible things that may happen if you do happen to see them.  Though not everyone has seen them, it is so common to glimpse the Night Marchers that a lot of locals report having seen or heard them at one point or another.  Either way, one thing is for certain: the Night Marchers remain a grim mystery.

For more reading on the Night Marchers (sources):

https://www.to-hawaii.com/legends/night-marchers.php

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/27171113/exploring-the-legend-of-the-night-marchers

Structures made of bones have been a topic of fascination for as long as they have been around.  From catacombs to religious structures to homes, bones have become a part of contstruction that we rarely hear about anymore, but still exist.

The idea that a church can be filled with folklore seems to be something overlooked and not commonly spoken of.  But, of course, there are always some interesting things to be found within.  In Poland, it is called Kaplica Czaszek.  However, this macabre place was originally based on Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins in Rome.  The one thing these, and several other churches around the world, have in common, of course, are that they are decorated in bones.

One of the most striking aspects of these bone churches are, of course their decor.  And, to look into the reasoning as to why, we can start with one of the first of them: Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins.  Of course, on the surface the church is quite normal, almost plain, however beneath the church lie five alcoves in which the skeletons of over 4,000 friars rest to this day.  What makes it even more interesting is that some of these bones are laid out still wearing their vestments.

In 1631 the Capuchin Friars arrived in Rome with the remains of their deceased.  They interred their brethren beneath the church and, as time went on, others were brought via pilgrimage and laid to rest within as well.  Of course, that’s when they exhumed the remains of their earlier-buried brethren in order to place them on display within the five alcoves.  While this may seem a bit morbid to some, it actually makes sense within Christianity to become fascinated by what we have left behind, especially since the belief in the Resurrection shows that our time on Earth is fleeting.  In fact, a sign now greets visitors who flock to the church doors to this day, reading, “As you are, we once were.  As we are, you shall one day be.”  Though this was supposed to be a reminder as to what we leave behind, it is quite a sight to see the monks still in their habits, their skeletal faces gleaming beneath their hoods.

Similar churches and catacombs have been built much like this one, such as the Capella dos Ossos in Portugal — which is actually based on a church in Italy that was constructed back in the thirteenth century.  Here, the cemeteries were filling with their dead — a common theme amongst the beginnings of these structures — and, instead of condemning the older bones, the monks brought them within the chapel.

The monks then decided that, rather than inter the bones, they would place them on display in order to give the people of the society at this time a place to reflect on their values; a reminder that material objects do not transcend death.  And, since the town of Évora was known for its wealth during this time, it was inscribed above the chapel door, as a reminder to those who came to meditate: “Nós ossos que aqui estamos, pelos vossos esperamos,” or: “We bones, are here, waiting for yours.”

Death seems to be a touchy subject with most, which is why many turn towards religion to look for answers or guidance.  Though, as we can see from these bone churches, death is also revered and respected, and should be talked about amongst the living rather than in hushed conversations and behind closed doors.  Whatever your beliefs, these places of death have been sought out by the living and are still open to the public to this day.

Some other places made of bones — though not necessarily human — include the catacombs in Paris (which houses the remains of over six million bodies), the prehistoric mammoth bone huts that were discovered near the Ukrainian village of Mezhyrich, cattle bone houses in Texas that have been constructed over the last fifteen years and are still being made (though not fully made of bones, they are used in the construction of homes), and the dinosaur bone house in Wyoming that was constructed in 1933 and made of 5,796 dinosaur bones (mortared together) in order to draw in business to the family’s gas station.

Bone structures in popular culture: We see many different ways in which structures are built using bones, from the movie As Above, So Below in which a group travels through the catacombs beneath Paris, all the way to the poem by Stephen King The Bone Church (which has actually just been picked up by Netflix for a mini-series).

For more about bone structures (sources):

https://inhabitat.com/6-creepy-churches-made-of-bones/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/san-bernardino-alle-ossa

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/portugals-chapel-bones

http://mentalfloss.com/article/55222/10-buildings-made-bones