From the crushed remains of the Spanish Fly (Blister Beetle) to the spleen and bone marrow of a murdered boy, people have been seeking for centuries the perfect Love Potion to ensnare an unwitting victim into a web of their personal twisted love design. Poisonous plants and herbs such as the datura plant and the Mandrake root were mixed with …
Valentine’s Day Origin: Dead Dogs and A Flog
Dead dogs and a flog… For years I’ve jokingly offered friends a slightly cynical, abbreviated “Happy VD!” greeting on that special annual holiday expressly designated to celebrate romantic and passionate lovers. However, after delving into the origins of Valentine’s Day, my barb doesn’t seem too far fetched when you consider the original holiday was centered around a pagan ritual that …
The Culture Club of No Return
(Editorial by Christine McKellar) Subcultures and trends There are cultures and subcultures within any society. There are trends and fashions that flit and flutter in and out of generation after generation. There is also a fabric that adheres to each generation and its culture. A definitive, and yes, historic testament as to what defined that era and the collective consciousness …
A Vampire in Vegas Part III “It’s Lonely Out There”
(Each week in October as a “treat” I post a segment of this four-part “fictional” short story. Happy Halloween!) Since my original self died and I became a new and revised entity on October 1, does that mean I am no longer an impulsive, optimistic, happy-go-lucky Aries? Am I now becoming more of a moderate, well-balanced and inanimate Libra? This could actually …