Eccentricities, true crime, macabre, lore

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The Great Moon Hoax

Since this is Facebook, I’m sure you’ve all seen all these hoaxes that are posted from time to time, which usually spread like wild fire. Hell, you might have even fallen for a couple of them. Miraculous cures for cancer, various fake news reports, conspiracy theories, fake contests, and so on. Some are harmless, some are extremely dangerous, and although there are people and sites who dedicate their time debunking them, there are always people who will believe everything that’s being served to them, as long as it is done in a seemingly professional manner. The intent of those spreading these hoaxes can vary, from clickbaits for financial gain, to outright spreading chaos and pushing agendas. Is this phenomenon new though? Nope!

The year is 1835, and the place is New York city. In the headquarters of the newspaper “New York Sun”, someone came up with an ingenious idea.. an idea that would not only increase the paper’s circulation, but an idea that could potentially cause a world wide sensation.

The Collyer brothers

I did some cleaning up in my flat these days. Cleaning up is always a good time for random thoughts, until you pull back a table, or look under the couch, see the huge pile of dust bunnies and think to yourself, “Thank Goodness no one saw that!”. It was at a time like that when I remembered a documentary I had once seen. This is the story of the Collyer brothers, a story of brotherly love, mental disorders, and more dust bunnies that you could ever imagine.

The Collyer brothers, Homer and Langley, were born in New York, in1881 and 1885 respectively. They were the sons of an upper-class family, owning a four-story brownstone in Harlem. Their father was a doctor, and their mother an opera singer. Homer studied law, and Langley engineering. Both of them had an interest in music, but Langley mastered the piano so much, he actually performed in Carnegie Hall.

Alfonso Constanzo

Usually I take pride in my general knowledge about true crime, but there’s always a serial killer that can skip one’s radar. This is one of them. His existence eluded me, and it’s a shame, since he combines all the traits of a serial killer, with ancient religions, drugs, and exotic landscapes… Ladies and gentlemen, this is the story of Alfonso Constanzo.

Alfonso was born in 1962, in Miami, Florida. His mother was an immigrant from Cuba who married three different men, and had one child with each one of them, Alfonso being the oldest. I’m not being judgmental, on the contrary. The problem was that each of those men, added a huge piece to the jigsaw of Alfonso’s troubling life. Let me get into the details…

Tuesday the 13th

Today it is Tuesday the 13th, and although this means nothing to most of you, the Greeks, or at least the superstitious ones, are keeping an extra eye out today. Nope, Friday the 13th means nothing to us. It’s Tuesday that sends shivers down our spines.

Of course, there’s an interesting story of how this came to be, there always is. There is also a very interesting story for Friday the 13th, but I’m saving that for the right day. So…

Hu Wanlin

Hello my dear readers, and please excuse the delay, but this writer has been hit hard by Spring! Fear not though; birds may be chirping, trees may be blooming, and the sun may be shining, but the list of weird people and bizarre stories is endless…

I’ve always been fascinated by serial killers. It’s an endless topic, which, although macabre, offers a real insight into the people’s psyche. There are all sorts of killers out there, psychotic, cold-blooded, sociopaths, and so on, and there’s another category that rarely makes the headlines; the medical ones. Introducing Hu Wanlin, and be warned – this text contains human stupidity.

A most unfortunate name

Imagine you have done something bad, I bet it’s not that difficult, we’ve all been there. Now imagine that what you did was so bad, that people turned your last name into a verb, immortalizing you and your act. That’s taking it a bit over the top, right? Well, this is what happened to Charles, whose last name I will reveal at the end of the text. Hey, no scrolling! Play fair because your name might have a similar fate.

Charles was born in England in 1832. There’s nothing particularly interesting about his life, only that his service in the army brought him to Ireland and gave him the nickname “Captain”. After retiring from the army, he remained in Ireland and became a land agent.

Saint Walburga

Now to the Brocken the witches hie,
The stubble is yellow, the corn is green;
Thither the gathering legions fly,
And sitting aloft is Sir Uriaii seen:
O’er stick and o’er stone they go whirling along,
Witches and he-goats, a motley throng.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Faust”

Oh yes, friends of the occult… tonight’s the night, where the witches gather in Brocken for their feast. Tonight is the night where the veil between the spiritual realm and our world is at its thinnest. Tonight is Walpurgisnacht, or Walpurgis Night.

The simplest research on the topic will tell you all about Saint Walburga, and how she helped spreading the word of Jesus in the pagan Saxon population, and although this indeed happened, the truth of this celebration lies way before the Christian times, as it is almost always the case.

Hermann Steinschneider

Once upon a time in Vienna, around 1889, there was a poor Jewish boy who claimed he had psychic super powers. His name was Hermann Steinschneider. He was able to convince his parents of his abilities, and he also managed to convince many others, including some very powerful people… No spoilers! Keep on reading.

So, after feeling that his abilities needed a larger audience than his parents, Hermann ran away from home and joined a circus. There he was able to learn more and add more skill to his performances, excuse me, I meant “readings”.

Titanic or Olympic?

These days mark the anniversary of the biggest naval disaster of the last century, and yes, I’m talking about the sinking of the Titanic. Well, I don’t know if it was the biggest, and considering that two World Wars followed it, chances are it wasn’t. Still, it was a disaster that had an enormous social impact. It was only logical, that something of this magnitude, would inspire legends, legacies, and of course conspiracy theories.

There are so many interesting stories out there that it is hard to focus on only one. One I really loved was the story of the psychic William Thomas Stead, who predicted the sinking of a huge vessel, that would hit an iceberg, yet he boarded the Titanic and sank with it. I guess prophesying the name of said vessel was beyond his psychic abilities, unless the conspiracy theory I will analyze for you, is indeed true…

Princess Olga of Kiev

Shhhh….shhhh….I know I’m late.
In order to make it up to you, I have prepared one of my favorite stories, one I’ve always wanted to do. So, with no further delay, here’s what happens to you if you mess with the wrong woman…

We don’t really know when Princess Olga of Kiev was born, and it’s not really important, although astrologers will insist she must have been a Scorpio. What we do know, is that roughly around 910 she married Prince Igor, the ruler of Kiev. Now, those were weird, violent times, and three years after the birth of their only son, Igor was betrayed and killed by an opponent tribe, the Drevlians. Since her son was not of age, Olga became the regent ruler. This wasn’t an easy task back there and then, but Olga had somehow gained the support of her people.

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