Title: Drop Bear- Why it Scares Tourists

 Author: Rachael Gilmore

Imagine being in an Australian forrest, then suddenly an animal is falling from the treetops attacking you. You try to run and knock it off you, but its razor-sharp teeth have sunk into the pink, tender flesh on your neck. You later die from blood loss due to an animal you never knew existed. In Australia, there is an animal that is rumored to be between the size of a leopard and a very large dog called the Drop Bear.

Drop Bear

According to the Australian Museum, the drop bear is around the size of a leopard or a very large dog with coarse orange fur and some darker mottled patterning. They supposedly hunt by ambushing ground-dwelling animals from above, waiting to make a surprise kill. 

Many sources have said that the only way to protect yourself is to slather yourself with Vegemite and speak in an Australian accent. National Geographic claims otherwise, though. “This is all nonsense, of course. There are no carnivorous koalas with a taste for tourists hanging around the eucalyptus trees of Australia” (National Geographic). 

National Geographic has suggested a similar species "prowled Australia during the last Ice Age." They believe that the ancient Thylacoleo animals were the ancestors of this animal.There are many similarities between the Thylacoleo and the Drop Bear. According to NatGeo, they both look very similar in the patterning of the fur, the size, and the size of their teeth. 

Dr. Volker Janssen, a research associate at the University of Tasmania, led a team of researchers into Morton National Park, right outside of Sydney, searching for drop bears. Previous studies conducted show that drop bears hunt by ambushing ground-dwelling animals from above in treetops. Once prey is within their striking range, he says, the drop bear will plummet several meters out of the tree, skilfully latching onto the neck of its victim.

Works Cited: 

Middleton, Amy. “Drop Bears Target Tourists, Study Says.” Australian Geographic, 9 Dec. 2021, https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2021/04/drop-bears-target-tourists-study-says/.

“Drop Bear.” The Australian Museum, NSW Government, 2022, https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/drop-bear/.

Westcott, Ben. “The True and Unadulterated History of the Drop Bear, Australia's Most Deadly -- and Most Fake -- Predator.” CNN, Cable News Network, 18 Dec. 2020, https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/australia-drop-bears-history-intl-hnk/index.html. CNN provides live coverage and analysis of breaking news, as well as a full range of international, political, business, entertainment, sports, health, science, and weather coverage, and topical, in-depth interviews. This article aims to inform its reader that no Australian believes the Drop Bear exists. The main purpose of the myth is to scare foreign visitors. This source is unique because CNN describes the true reaction visitors get when locals tell them about the myth and how the story of the Drop Bear was created to scare Australian children into being good. This article was very helpful because this was the only article that had the origin and use of this myth. This article intended to reach people researching what they should know before going to Australia.

Links for Further Research: 

Arman, S., Prideaux, G. 2016. Behaviour of the Pleistocene marsupial lion deduced from claw marks in a southwestern Australian cave. Scientific Reports. doi: 10.1038/srep21372

The Boggy Creek Monster

Author: Koko :3 

The Legend of the Boggy Creek Monster begins in Fouke, Arkansas. The nearly 8 foot creature is said to have been first sighted in 1908. The Boggy Creek Monster is a hairy beast who crept around the small town of Fouke. There had been sightings here and there until early 1970 when an attack was reported. 

During May of 1971 Bobby Ford, a twenty five year old man, reported that he was attacked in his home near U.S. Highway 71. He reported the creature's appearance and how he though it was a bear at first however when it ran upright he knew it could not be a bear, the eyes on this creature were red, and it had very heavy fur. . He detailed  how he just barely managed to get away before getting treatment at the hospital. After the story got out about the attack more sightings started to be reported. 

From the 1970s till now the Boggy Creek Monster has gained more and more popularity. Even in the town of Fouke, Arkansas where the sightings and attack happened has embraced the cryptid and built a “monster mart” that carries Boggy Creek Monster memorabilia. Also there has been about five different movies made about this monster. Also on FoukeMonster.net there is a sightings log that was active up until 2021. 

Works Cited: 

Jackson, Nicholas. “Boggy Creek Monster.” Atlas Obscura. 20 Oct 2022. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/boggy-creek-monster. 

Powell, Jim.” The Fouke Monster: A look at how the media recorded the reports of the 1971 alleged sighting of a large creature in rural Miller County,Ark.” 20 Oct 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20030803214623/http://texarkanagazette.com/articles/2001/06/24/export15694.txt.

Links for further research:

1.Fouke Monster http://www.foukemonster.net/. This website gives a profile of the cryptid and includes information about sightings. 

2. Cryptidz Fandom cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Boggy_Creek_Monster. This website gives fans of the cryptid a space to talk about the creature and articles around the page give more info about the creature.  

3. Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1IahPyZW3U. This video is a documentary about the Fouke Monster and how the history still follows them.  

Gravity Hills: Optical Illusions? Or Urban Legends?

 Author: Anonymous

Around the world there seem to be these types of hills that you can drive down to the bottom, put your car in neutral, and then your car will slowly seem to move backwards. As Elizabeth Borne said on (“What are Gravity Hills?”) “A gravity hill is a place where gravity seems to be working against itself; where gravity seems to temporarily not work as it should”

There are reported dozens of gravity hills around the world including in the US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Ireland, and Italy (“These Gravity Defying Hills Are One of The Strangest Natural Phenomena We’ve Seen.”) Gravity Hills are optical illusions. These hills are optical illusions, the illusion is that there is no horizon to been seen due the landscape. This illusion confuses the brain to make us think that the slope is going a different way than it is (“These Gravity Defying Hills Are One of The Strangest Natural Phenomena We’ve Seen.”)

Some people believe that these hills could work because of the urban legend that surround them. One of these hills in Lake Wales, Florida there is an urban legend of a huge alligator was harassing a native tribe. The tribe sent out their great warrior chief to kill the alligator. Following the chief’s death in battle, he was buried on the north side of the hill. Years later pioneers noticed while they were hauling goods for the army trail, they noticed the horses strained at the foot of the hill, even though it appeared to be going downhill. (“The Legend of Spook Hill”) 

Another legend that is said about these gravity hills is, a hill located in Arcadia, Michigan. The legend says that it is an old church “pulling sinners in” to explain the way the cars are being pulled uphill towards the buildings. (“Gravity Hills: Spooky Optical Illusions of Roads”) 

There is another legend of these gravity hills. This one is located in Altadena, CA, the legend says that many years ago a bus broke down trying to go up the hill, the bus driver was seeing what was wrong with the bus and the kids inside got bored. The kids started exiting the bus, the started playing outside not realizing what was coming next. The bus driver was distracted, and a car comes speeding up the hill, the car goes through the crowd of children, killing the majority of them on impact. Legend says that the kids bunch together and push cars up the hill because they think they are scary. (“The Ghostly Tragedy of the Altadena Gravity Hill”) 

Gravity hills are an optical illusion. That makes people wonder “did I really just go up a hill backwards?”. Either using ghost stories or the way there is no horizon this make you wonder, Ghost Story? Or Optical Illusion?”

Works Cited:

Borneman, Elizabeth. “What are Gravity Hills?” Geography Realm, 12 March 2016. https://www.geographyrealm.com/what-are-gravity-hills/

Bec, Crew. “These Gravity Defying Hills Are One of The Strangest Natural Phenomena We’ve Seen.” Science Alert, 6 March 2017. https://www.sciencealert.com/gravity-hills-physics-defying-optical-illusion-car-drifts-uphill

Palo, Peyten. “The Legend of Spook Hill” Visit Central Florida, Accessed 25 October 2022. https://visitcentralflorida.org/blog/the-legend-of-spook-hill/

Smith, Lauren. “Gravity Hills: A Spooky Optical Illusion of the Roads” Jerry, 27 April 2022. https://getjerry.com/insights/gravity-hills-optical-illusion

“The Ghostly Tragedy of the Altadena Gravity Hill” Backpackerverse, Accessed 25 October 2022. https://backpackerverse.com/altadena-gravity-hill/

Links for Further Research: 

https://getjerry.com/insights/gravity-hills-optical-illusion

https://urbanlegendsonline.com/gravity-hill-spook-hill/

https://exemplore.com/paranormal/Urban-Legends-And-Haunted-Places-the-series-Washington-Edition

Doppelgangers: Is There a Replica of You?

Author: Mary Carter

According to a New York Times article written by Kate Golembiewski, Charlie Chasen and Michael Malone met in Atlanta in 1997. Ironically, Mr. Malone starred as a guest singer in Chasen’s band. They quickly became friends due to all their shared interests, and compatible personality. The two men were completely ignorant to the fact that they looked like twins until people started making comments and asking if they were brothers.

Malone and Chasen are doppelgängers. They look remarkably similar, but they are not related. They grew up in complete different parts of the country, and their immediate ancestors aren’t even from the same parts of the world. Chasen’s relatives stem from Lithuania and Scotland, while Malone’s parents are from the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. Completely different parts of the world, yet they look identical but share no relation!

Francois Brunelle’s famous photography shoot of Doppelgangers contains several images of doppelganger pairs with uncanny resemblance. These photographs truly capture the extreme similarities of these people who have never met before this, but could definitely pass as identical twins. 

Charlie Chasen and Michael Malone

In published research into Dr. Estelle’s Cell reports, thirty-two pairs of doppelgängers were recruited by Dr. Manal Estelle and his team. (Christensen) These individuals were selected from photographs taken by Mr. Francois Brunelle and were later instructed to take quizzes about their lifestyles and a DNA test. The similar qualities of each of the duo’s faces were simulated inside of facial recognition software. Roughly one half of the original thirty-two achieved similarity scores that two actual genetic twins would have achieved using the same technology. 

This DNA test formulated by Dr. Estelle gave results that showed that the one half who were “more similar” look-a-likes, had genes that paired greatly with each other when compared to the other half who did not have as “complete” of similarities. With these results Dr. Estelle states that “These people really look alike because they share important parts of the genome, or the DNA sequence.” The theory that those who look alike likely share genes was stated to seem like “common sense, but never had been shown before” he stated. (Golembiewski)

DNA itself, while being our theoretical building blocks, does not contain the entire layout of our construction. The events we and our ancestors have experienced directly link to specific genes being turned on or off. This medical phenomenon has been named an epigenome. The epigenomes we all contain are not the only parts affected by our environment as bacteria, fungi, and viruses that make up our microbiome are also affected. Studying these two Dr. Estelle found that in Doppelgängers, they often have almost exact genomes while also having contrasting epigenomes. (Golembiewski) Clarifying this Dr. Estelle said, “Genetics put them together, and epigenetics and microbiome pull them apart.” 

Works cited: 

Golembiewski, Kate. “Your Doppelganger is Out There and You Probably Share DNA With Them.” New York Times, August 23, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/23/science/doppelgangers-twins-dna.html

Accessed October 20, 2022

Christensen, Jen. “Your Have a Doppelganger and Probably Share DNA With Them, New Study Suggests.” CNN, August 25, 2022, https://stao.ca/you-have-a-doppelganger-and-probably-share-dna-with-them-new-study-suggests/

Accessed October 20, 2022

Brunelle, Francois. “Michael Malone and Charles Hall Chasen.” Stao Apso, August 25, 2022, https://stao.ca/you-have-a-doppelganger-and-probably-share-dna-with-them-new-study-suggests/

Accessed October 20, 2022

Links for further research:

1. “Doppelgangers Don’t Just Look Alike – They Also Share DNA.” Smithsonian Magazine, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/doppelgangers-dont-just-look-alike-they-also-share-dna-180980635/. This article published on the Smithsonian Magazine discusses doppelgangers and how new studies have shown that they share DNA. This source includes multiple pictures of different pairs of doppelgangers and contains information from new studies explaining evidence of shared DNA between doppelgangers.

2. “Doppelgangers Don’t Just Look Alike, They Act Alike and Share DNA.” Peta Pixel, https://petapixel.com/2022/09/01/doppelgangers-dont-just-look-alike-they-act-alike-and-share-dna/. This article by Matt Growcoot provides information explaining the similar lifestyles of doppelgangers, while also including images and facts from genetic studies performed on pairs of doppelgangers. 

3. “Doppelgangers: Evil Twins.” The Westport Library, https://westportlibrary.libguides.com/Doppelgangers. Unlike the previous ones, this article is focused more on the supernatural and evil perspective of doppelgangers. This article discusses doppelgangers to be the evil twin of a person who is an unlucky sign of fortune and bad karma, such as an evil entity impersonating a human and sabotaging their life. 

The Goatman’s Bridge

 Author: Sonya Villarreal

In 1887, Old Alton’s Bridge was built in the city of Denton, Texas. Shortly after, there were strange encounters within the bridge that raised the question of Old Alton’s Bridge being haunted. Since then, there have been exchanges of different versions of how the paranormal activity came to be. Shaun Jex, frequent guest author of The Moonlit Road, depicts the life of Oscar Washburn, the suspected ghost. Jex claims that Washburn, an African American farmer, was attacked by Klu Klux Klan members because they were jealous of a black man maintaining a successful farming business. The Klansman began their scheme by aggressively beating Washburn’s goats, knowing that he would immediately react by coming out of his home in an attempt to save his animals. With a successful distraction, the Klansman attacked the farmer and hung him over the side of Old Alton’s Bridge. Since then, Old Alton’s Bridge was newly introduced as The Goatman’s Bridge because of the possible ghost encounters. As said by Caroline Thrift of Atlas Obscura, “Some locals have claimed to see glowing eyes staring at them on the bridge, while others have claimed to hear splashing in the creek directly below, followed by unsettling laughter.” 

Goatman’s Bridge - Denton, TX 
(Angelo State University Advance Video Production class 2013)

Becky Vickers, a respected paranormal investigator, had a fond interest in traveling to the Goatman’s Bridge. She shares her experience through her written novel, “The Secret’s of Goatman’s Bridge”, where Vickers states Goatman’s Bridge to be “one of the most haunted places I have ever investigated.” Additionally, on the website, Vickers shares a trailer in the name of  “The Secrets of Goatman’s Bridge - The Trailer '' where she showcases her real life encounters. She provides many intriguing photos that leave ghost enthusiasts wondering what they can discover themselves at the Goatman’s Bridge. 

The story behind the background of Goatman’s Bridge still remains a mystery. Darcie Nadel writes  “The Goatman: Maryland’s Axe-Wielding Monster” on Exemplore where she expresses her input on the different origins of the Goatman. Nadel’s article states “the experimental myth is the most persuasive of them all” and “resembling a Bigfoot creature.” In other words, it still remains in question how the Goatman’s Bridge came to be. 

Works Cited:

  “Goatman’s Bridge - Denton, TX.” YouTube, uploaded by Advance Video Production class at Angelo State University, 5 Dec 2013,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwMTGmZTIfA&t=288s. Accessed on 25 Oct. 2022.

 Vickers, Becky. “The Secrets of Goatman's Bridge: True Tales of Chilling Paranormal Encounters at One of the Most Haunted Bridges in America.” Bowker, 12 Dec. 2018. https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Goatmans-Bridge-Paranormal-Encounters/dp/0692185216#detailBullets_feature_div

 “Old Alton Bridge.” Wikipedia, 24 Sep 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Alton_Bridge#/media/File:Altonbridge3.JPG. Accessed on 25 Oct. 2022.

 Thrift, Caroline. “Goatman’s Bridge.” Atlas Obscura, 11 June 2018. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/goatmans-bridge

Jex, Shaun. “The Goatman’s Bridge of Denton, Texas.” The Moonlit Road, 2017. https://www.themoonlitroad.com/goatmans-bridge-denton-texas-ghost-story/

Nadel, Darcie. “The Goatman: Maryland's Axe-Wielding Monster.” Exemplore, 31 July 2022. https://exemplore.com/cryptids/The-Goatman-Marylands-Axe-Wielding-Monster

 

Links for Further Research:

●       “Alton, Texas and the Haunted Goatman’s Bridge.” Legends of America, June 2021. https://www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-alton/

This article written by Kathy Weiser-Alexander, a lover of creativity, serves as an in depth glance at the background of the haunted Goatman’s bridge. In addition, being that the last edit of the article was June of 2021, it has very recent details of how the bridge has developed overtime.

●      Thrift, Caroline. “Goatman’s Bridge.” Atlas Obscura, 11 June 2018. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/goatmans-bridge

This article is written by Caroline Thrift who appears to be deeply involved in  traveling the world to find unique experiences she can write about on the popular website Atlas Obscura. In this article, Thrift summarizes basic information on the historic landmark of Goatman’s Bridge in Alton, Texas.

●      Jex, Shaun. “The Goatman’s Bridge of Denton, Texas.” The Moonlit Road, 2017. https://www.themoonlitroad.com/goatmans-bridge-denton-texas-ghost-story/ This short story written by Shaun Jex, frequent guest author for The Moonlit Road, digs deep into the background of the death of the Goatman and its significance in 1930’s racial violence. Jex depicts the life of Oscar Washburn, an African American farmer, and how his success through a small farming business threatened the ego of the Klu Klux Klan society.

The Most Haunted Forest

 Author: L.K. Leaphart

The Hoia-Baciu Forest is in the heart of Transylvania. The Forest spans for 792 acres and is deemed the most haunted forest in the world. The Hoia-Baciu Forest has many legends and unsolved mysteries dating back to Neolithic times. Many people visit the Hoia-Baciu Forest in hopes of gaining answers of the mysterious legends and experiences. 

The legends of the Hoia-Baciu Forest started to become popular after a little girl went missing. She was five years old when she went missing. A search party was organized but she was never found. Until five years later, she reappeared. She was wearing the same clothes when she went missing. The little girl had not aged and had absolutely no recollection of what happened. She was untouched. Another legend is the disappearance of a Sheppard and his 200 sheep. The remains have yet to be found after all these years. People have also reported UFO sightings frequently in the 1970s. This happened more after a military technician was able to capture a photo of a UFO. 

The Hoia-Baciu Forest is very popular for the strange vegetation. The trees assume unnatural positions like being bent and curved. In the middle of the Forest is Poiana Rotunda. Poiana Rotunda is a huge circle in the middle of the forest where nothing grows. Scientist have studied the soil and have not found any evidence as to why nothing grows. The locals refuse to go to this area of the forest because it is where the most paranormal and strange activity happens in the forest. 

Many people who’ve entered the forest never leave the same. The Hoia-Baciu Forest is known for inducing anxiety and making visitors of the forest feel as if they are being watched. People also leave the forest feeling unwell. It has also been documented that people will develop random rashes, bruises, and scratches after leaving the Hoia-Baciu Forest. People are also more prone to lose track of time. Many people have left also with very little memories from the Hoia-Baciu Forest due to forgetting after leaving the Forest

The Hoia-Baciu Forest remains a mystery to this day. The Forest remains a tourist attraction today and is visited by many excluding the locals of Romania. Is it possible for the mystery to be solved in the Bermuda Triangle of Romania?

Works Cited: 

The Curious World, director. Romania's Haunted Forest . YouTube, YouTube, 31 Aug. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D00MgX-WtNY. Accessed 24 Oct. 2022.

Doucette, David. “Meet Hoia Baciu Forest, the Bermuda Triangle of Romania.” TravelAwaits, 17 May 2022, https://www.travelawaits.com/2478360/hoia-baciu-forest-bermuda-triangle-romania/.

SirCodyBuffinton, director. World's Most Haunted Forest. YouTube, YouTube, 28 Oct. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1I4OWBmju0. Accessed 24 Oct. 2022.

Sonja. “The Hoia Baciu Forest .” The Little House of Horrors, 7 Oct. 2020, https://thelittlehouseofhorrors.com/the-hoia-baciu-forest/.

“Stories from the Hoia-Baciu Forest .” Guided Tours in Romania, 25 July 2021, https://tourinromania.com/reasons-to-visit-romania/stories-from-the-hoia-baciu-forest/.

The Spooky Scary Stanley

 Author: GrimDank

One would think, when looking at this image, that they were looking at a normal, historic, high-class hotel or mountain resort. Well, in some ways, that person is right. This is the Stanley Hotel, located in the beautiful Estes Park in the foothills of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. According to Kathy Weiser-Alexander in her article "The Haunted Stanley Park Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado”  the Stanley Hotel was built and named after Freelan Oscar Stanley after he stayed a summer in Estes Park. For you see, Mister Stanley suffered from a painful diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, which at the time could only be treated with rest in a warm, dry environment. Upon his recovery, he had the hotel built in 1909, where it remains operational to this day.

However, not all is as it seems, for the hotel houses many otherworldly guests as well as the living. Indeed, many guests over the years have claimed to have had their own paranormal experiences while enjoying their stay at the Stanley. In fact, one of the most influential horror writers of all time, Stephen King, was apparently moved to write the plot of “The Shining” due to a nightmare he had during his stay.  The writer and owner of the blog Amy’s Crypt, who goes by the simple pen name of Amy, recounts the imagery present in King’s dream in her article entitled “Ghosts of the Stanley Hotel and a Night in Room 217.” King claims that after retiring from a night of  exploring, he dreamt that the fire hose in hallway came to life and strangled his young son. Upon waking in a cold sweat, he got up for a cigarette, and when said cigarette was naught but ashes, the beginnings of the plot for one of the greatest horror stories of all time had rooted itself in his mind.

Of course, spooky happenings are not exclusive to horror novelists. According to a Fox News Report  by Sky McCarthy, a hotel guest managed to capture a frighteningly clear image of what appears to be a woman standing at the top of the stairs.

The man also claimed he felt strangely ill for the rest of the night. An interview with the man in question, named Henry Yau, can be found here.

While it certainly doesn’t hold a candle to Luigi’s Mansion, it is evident enough that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to the Stanley hotel. And there are plenty of spooks to be had, be they ghost maids who do your laundry, incorporeal cowboys who watch you sleep, or even the faint scent of baked goods as you wander the old employee tunnels beneath the hotel itself (Amy).

Works Cited:

Amy. “Ghosts of the Stanley Hotel and a Night in Room 217.” Amy’s Crypt. 20 Oct 2022. https://amyscrypt.com/stanley-hotel-room-217/

McCarthy, Sky. “Stanley Hotel Guest Captures Creepy Figure in Lobby.” Fox News. 20 Oct 2022. https://www.foxnews.com/travel/stanley-hotel-guest-captures-creepy-figure-in-lobby.amp

“Q&A With Man Who Took Viral Stanley Hotel ‘Ghost’ Photo.” YouTube, uploaded by 9NEWS, 18 Apr 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aflFMkFi4TQ accessed 24 Oct 2022

Weiser-Alexander, Kathy. “The Haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.” Legends of America. 17 Oct 2022. https://www.legendsofamerica.com/stanley-hotel-colorado/

Links for Further Research: 

“The Stanley Hotel’s Haunted History.” Uncover Colorado.  https://www.uncovercolorado.com/stanley-hotel-haunted-history/ This article written by Patrick McGuire, a freelance writer who posts informative articles of some of the most popular locations in Colorado, gives the reader a general overview of the history of the hotel and examples of some of the paranormal activity that occurs within the hotel’s many rooms.

“6 Things I Saw During My Stay at the ‘Haunted’ Stanley Hotel.” The Points Guy. https://thepointsguy.com/news/haunted-stanley-hotel-stay/amp/ In this article Ashley Kosciolek, a travel blogger with ten years of writing experience with travel, recounts her overwhelmingly normal stay at the Stanley Hotel.

“Welcome to the Stanley Hotel.” The Stanley. https://www.stanleyhotel.com/ The official website of the Hotel contains an ‘About’ page with some history of the hotel, as well as listings for booking a room and touring the hotel.

Madam Koi Koi

 Author: Nakya Jenkins 

In Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa, there was a beautiful school teacher by the name of Madam Chloe. Even though she was beautiful she was known for her rudeness and abusiveness towards her students. She was called Madam Koi Koi because of the sound her heels made while walking. As one of the main versions of the story goes according to UniqueGracee (a self media writer) in an article titled “LEGEND: The History of Madam KoiKoi in Nigeria and Ghana” Madam Koi Koi slapped a student and injured her ear. After this, the students decided to take matters into their own hands. One night the students cornered Madam Koi Koi and beat her to death, then threw her body overboard. Madam koi Koi swore revenge and slowly the students involved in her murder started disappearing one by one.When the last murder accomplice was beaten to the death the schools shut down and split the students into different schools which is how the tale of Madam Koi Koi spreaded. 

Madam Koi Koi

There are many different versions of Madam Koi Koi, even some personal journal entries of students who were involved in her murder. Madam Koi Koi is said to haunt bathrooms and haunt the halls at night especially after lights out. Many have seen the ghosts and the version derived from her, one known as Pinky Pinky. Pinky Pinky is known to be half human, half beast. A hermaphrodite to be exact.  It has pink translucent skin and is stuck in between worlds inside bathroom stalls. It’s jealous of girls who have their whole life afraid of them and want revenge on them. This creature preys on young girls who use the bathroom alone. Especially girls that wear pink panties. This creature has been said to murder, harm and even rape these young girls. This has gotten so serious the schools have gotten shut down before, people have seen them and police have been involved. 

“South African Urban Legend-Death by Pinky Pinky”

A short horror story story recited by Steffany Strange for Snarled 

In South Africa, there are many versions of Madam Koi Koi. One known as Madam Tokoloshe or Tokoloshe. A water spirit who becomes invisible by drinking water. They’re known to be small and mischievous. This demon was created by a witch doctor to harm its enemies, also known to bite off sleeping people's toes. It’s said that people have to put bricks underneath their bed to keep the Tokoloshe away. 

These different versions of the same evil spirit mainly target young children. For many versions of the evil spirits, its main agenda is for revenge. Many of its victims are found beaten to death. For Madam Koi Koi, she haunts her victims, makes them feel safe after a few years, then suddenly, the victim is found beaten to death. For Pinky Pinky. This hermaphrodite, half beast creature only preys on young girls and often harms them. Known to be found where young girls are known to be alone. A savage, murderous, rapist. The Tokoloshe, a water spirit. This demon is created by a jealous person, who goes to a witch doctor in wish to take vengeance on someone in which the client promises a soul of a loved one (a soul not of their choice).

Work Cited:

UniqueGracee. “LEGEND: The History of Madam Koi Koi in Nigeria and Ghana” N Opera News Oct. 2021. https://ng.opera.news/ng/en/culture/8fe78741e8b47badb3573b68fe49ac80 

Snarled. “South African Urban Legend- Death by Pinky Pinky//Something Scary'' Youtube 6 Sept. 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMESvCPbIyk 

“Tokoloshe” Wikipedia Oct. 2022 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikoloshe

Blogspot. Madam Koi Koi. 2021  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1FI6MJ3tiWu8-MimpQ490_2YB4wgsI92vJ9YvlNhXVYblazutxyipIcWpbHgyt8Ca1D7Cl4ViHA41rShn2PBwE0XaXLxJxxSSKuyyDS7w-rgXXz4RqdrgkjEnPd88FI2LmZghhTthGs/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/godwin-akpan-madam-koikoi.jpg

Links for Further Research: 

UniqueGracee. “LEGEND: The History of Madam Koi Koi in Nigeria and Ghana” N Opera News Oct. 2021 https://ng.opera.news/ng/en/culture/8fe78741e8b47badb3573b68fe49ac80 Accessed on Oct. 20 2022. This article by UniqueeGracee is explaining the well known version as well as a few alternatives about who Madam Koi Koi was. How she was beautiful but cruel to the students. The students beated her to death and she swore she would get revenge and everyone involved in  her murder started disappearing one by one. 

“Tokoloshe” Wikipedia July 2020 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikoloshe Accessed on Oct. 20 2022 This Wikipedia article describes the Tokoloshe, and how it was created as well as the many agenda of these demons.These demon are created by a witch doctor for revenge at the stake of a loves persons soul on which they prey of for days, weeks, months, and even years. They can get rid of by a pastor. 

“What the heck is a Pinky Pinky?” Imperidox. https://www.imperidox.com/pinky-pinky/  Accessed on Oct 20 2022. This Imperidox article goes into an extremely deep dive into what the Pinky Pinky is. Known for their wispy white hair, and milky skin. Somehow, these creatures come from albinism and prey on prepubescent and pubescent girls. Its murders, and molests young girls when they’re by themselves. It got so bad, police were involved, and schools were shut down.

The Knights Templar

 Author: Penname McAnonymous

The Knights Templar, a monastic military order of warriors sworn to uphold the catholic faith and defend its pilgrims in the Holy Land, inspires some of us today with fantastic imagery of swords, chivalry, the Crusades, and perhaps the allure of being a part of something bigger than oneself. Dan Jones, in his interview with Simon Worral, says that Pope Clement V disbanded the Knights Templar in 1307 because he was controlled by King Philip IV of France, who owed large debts to the Templars and thusly motivated to remove the order entirely.

“Mystery & History: Knights Templar” (Lecture by Kevin K. Main uploaded on 20 May 2016)

 Modern depictions of the Templars continue to draw from this idyllic view of the order as a fierce, honorable mantle held by the members of the order. Today, modern Templars exist as live-action roleplaying groups, fraternities, and secret societies such as the Freemasons, although they are not nearly as inspiring as the original namesake.

The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ of the Temple of Solomon, as they were originally called, were established in Jerusalem by King Baldwin II in 1119. The order was created as a solution to combat the bandits and highwaymen that preyed upon catholic pilgrims making their journeys in the Holy Land. The Templars proved effective enough, surviving on donations to supply and maintain their order, that they began to attract donations large enough to expand their order. At their peak, the order of the Knights Templar operated as far as England, across Europe and the Mediterranean, to the Middle East.

The order was proficient at manipulating assets and funding and is believed to have conceptualized banking through credit notes and loans. Their large accumulation and efficient transfers of wealth over the better part of two centuries indicates that the order was the first corporation on the planet that operated across multiple countries. There are speculations today that there remain hidden Templar treasure hoards across Europe yet to be discovered. The most famous of these tales being the hidden location of the Holy Grail, a mythical christian relic rumored to have entered the Templars’ possession during their height.

Today, they exist only in the mind, truly. Videogames and films make up a large part of their romanticization, relying heavily on the legends of unfound wealth and relics. Patrick Masters, in his article, “The Knights Templar had actually been mythologised in popular culture as early as the 13th century in the Grail epic Parzival by German knight and poet Wolfram von Eschenbach.” Of course, the attraction of mystery and fantasizing of what once was is enough to hook anyone.

Works Cited:

Worrall, Simon. “Book Talk: The Templars Got Rich Fighting for God – Then Lost It All.” 23 Sept. 2017. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/knights-templar-crusades-dan-jones. Accessed on 18 Oct. 2022.

Main, Kevin K. “Mystery and History: Knights Templar,” YouTube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ghOx_MYBYw. Accessed 19 Oct. 2022.

Masters, Patrick. “Knights Templar Still Loved by Conspiracy Theorists 900 Years On.” 7 Jan. 2020. https://www.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/news/knights-templar-still-loved-by-conspiracy-theorists-900-years-on. Accessed On 18 Oct. 2022.

Links for further research:

“Knights Templar: Rise and Fall.” Directed by Philip Gardner

https://youtu.be/4TZkBTDuCz8 In this documentary, Philip Gardner presents the mysteries and conspiracies surrounding the Poor Fellow Soldiers of the Temple of Solomon. Specific religious myths are presented to provide context to the Knights Templar legend.

“Buried: Knights Templar and the Holy Grail” History Channel

https://youtu.be/CMJY4kmVKgY This 4-part documentary series follows historians Garth Baldwin and Mikey Kay across Europe as they explain what happened to the Knights Templar. This series features many historians familiar with the Knights Templar and takes the hosts to many different sites where the Templars operated and fled from their persecution in the early 1300s.

The Ghost of Alice Riley

Who was Alice Riley? She was an indentured servant who made the journey over to America in 1733 (Ghost City Tours). Alice Riley ventured to America with her husband, Richard White, along with 38 other servants from Ireland (Ghost City Tours). They made the move to America in the hopes of finding something better, but what they found wasn’t what they were looking for. Some could say they even regretted making the move over to America. 

According to Ghost City Tours, William Wise had a reputation for being untrustworthy and sketchy. This caused him to initially be declined permission to make the move to Savannah. However, this didn’t stop Wise from achieving what he wanted. He made the decision to sail from England to Savannah, and James Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia, didn’t want to punish England by sending him back, so they approved him to work on a cattle farm (Ghost City Tours). Alice Riley and her husband, Richard White were both placed with a man named William Wise who became their master.

Eventually, William Wise’s health started to deteriorate, and he needed to be taken care of, which became Alice Riley’s job. Wise took advantage of the situation and of Alice Riley. William Wise would beat Alice Riley physically as well as emotionally almost daily (Crabb). One night Richard White heard his wife’s screams and ran to her rescue. Alice could no longer handle the abuse she received from Wise. Therefore, together Richard and Alice murdered their master, William Wise on March 1, 1734 (Harris). The body of William Wise was found in his home on his bed (Harris). However, his head was detached from his body. The head of William Wise was later found in a pail of water (Harris). The cause of death for Wise was asphyxiation. The death of William Wise was the very first death in Savannah, Georgia (Harris). 

Richard White and Alice Riley ran away together, but were later found and the town of Savannah found them guilty for the murder of William Wise. The punishment for murder at the time was to be hung. Richard White was immediately hanged after he had been caught, however, before they could hang Alice Riley, they found out that she was pregnant. Of course, the people of Savannah weren’t going to hang a pregnant woman (Crabb). They allowed her enough time to give birth to her son, but right after she was hanged for the murder that she committed on January 19, 1735 (Crabb). Both of them were hung in Wright Square a located in Savannah, Georgia. This later became known as the “hanging square” (Harris). Riley became the first woman to be hung in the state of Georgia. The body of Alice Riley was left in Wright Square for a total of three days before it disappeared. Two weeks after the hanging of Alice Riley, her baby also passed. 

George R. Hicks “The Hanging of Alice Riley”

Many people believe that when Alice Riley’s body disappeared, she turned into a ghost. Her ghost appears in Wright Square wearing tattered 18th-century style clothing (Southern Gothic Media). The ghost of Alice Riley is attracted to pregnant women and women who have infants with them (Harris). It has been said that her ghost follows them to try and steal their babies to make up for what she lost (Harris). 

Works Cited:

George R. Hicks. “The Hanging of Alice Riley.” Murder & Lies: The Ghost of Savannah’s Wright Square, 30 October 2014, https://www.google.com/search?q=the+hanging+of+alice+riley&rlz=1CAVNCX_enUS1017&sxsrf=ALiCzsYM7sBnsxeM12YWZ-wvvgv4DkSG2w:1666487479217&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjOkeLRlfX6AhUgmYQIHW3xCvUQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=1366&bih=649&dpr=1#imgrc=G9z8jgGTf6uYaM. Accessed on 25 October 2022.

Harris, Michael. “Murder & Lies: The Ghost of Savannah’s Wright Square.” Savannah’s Morning News, 30 October 2014. https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/2014/10/31/murder-lies-ghost-savannahs-wright-square/13526612007/ Accessed on 18 October 2022.

“Savannah’s Most Famous Ghost Story: The Ghost of Alice Riley.” Ghost City Tours, https://ghostcitytours.com/savannah/ghost-stories/alice-riley/ Accessed on 18 October 2022.

“The Ghost of Alice Riley.” Southern Gothic Media, 19 August 2022. https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/blog/sg088-ghost-of-alice-riley Accessed on 18 October 2022.

“The Hanging of Alice Riley.” YouTube, uploaded by Brittney Crabb, 19 September 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY1HGK9E9ho Accessed on 18 October 2022.

Links for Further Research:

“Ghost of Alice Riley.” YouTube, uploaded by Janie Mucciolo, 14 July 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KFViqfrw6E Accessed on 18 October 2022. This video is narrated by a woman named Joan who is a licensed tour guide in Savannah, Georgia. The video focuses more on the historical aspect of this story. Alice Riley was one of Savannah’s earliest colonists that came over to the United States when Savannah was in its’ infancy in 1734.

“Wright Square (Savannah, Georgia).” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Square_(Savannah,_Georgia) Accessed on 22 October 2022. This article provides the history of Wright Square that is located in Savannah, Georgia. According to Wikipedia, Wright Square is named after the man James Wright who was the last British Royal Governor for the Province of Georgia. It also provides pictures that relate to the place.

“Ghost.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost Accessed on 22 October 2022. This article defines what a ghost is. Wikipedia defines ghosts as the soul/spirit of a dead person/animal that appears to the living.

Healthcare and the Legend of Julia Legare

On one tragic day the Legare family’s daughter Julia Legare came down with a case of diphtheria, after a serious battle with this illness Julia fell into a coma. With regards to this illness her family had the family physician come and examine her. It is believed that Julia’s heartbeat and respiratory rate were so low that the family physician failed to detect them, and thus she was declared dead. The family grieved and mourned the loss of her poor daughter and subsequently unsealed the family mausoleum or tomb. The family held a standard funeral for their daughter and had her sealed up in the mausoleum that day. 

The Legare family later had to reopen the mausoleum grieving the death of another family member who died in the civil war. . The family in a time of great grief realized something horrific, the remains of Julia Legare were found at the front of the mausoleum beside the door, she had been buried alive.

Ever since this tragic day the Legare family’s tomb has mysteriously remained open. Locks and chains could not keep the door closed, nor could a solid, hundred pound, marble door. But what might have kept the door closed is a more apt physician, or even a vaccine. In modern times comas’ induced by diphtheria are extraordinarily rare due to the illness being preventable via vaccine, and treatable by medical professionals. Not only this, but it is likely that her illness would not have brought about her tragic burial alive, as modern technology and properly educated physicians would have easily and promptly declared Julia to be in a coma, rather than dead. The practice of medicine has long since been improved, but there are ways it could’ve improved faster, and individuals who prompted such a slow development in medicine, encouraging practices like packing wounds with mud, or the infamous Chinese surgeon who was ousted for stating that wounds should be covered and cleaned in order to heal properly. Early medicinal practices include a variety of procedures and processes that we today know to be all but useless, and some that were even counterproductive. These early medicinal process include tobacco based enemas, cocaine, and even chloroform to treat asthma. 

To conclude, whether the ghost of Julia Legare truly haunts the J.B. Legare mausoleum is unknown, but what is known is that the whole ordeal could have been preventable. What we know now in medicine could have easily brought an end to her suffering in a manner that didn’t involve her death. If medicine was not stunted by a number of factors, including but not limited to: religious movements, incorrect scholars, and a lack of accurate research in the general medicinal field, then Julia Legare might have gotten to live out the remainder of her life in peace.

Works Cited: 

S, Leo. “Buried Alive: The Creepy True Legend of Julia Legare.” RANDOM Times, 28 Sept. 2020, https://random-times.com/2020/09/28/buried-alive-the-creepy-true-legend-of-julia-legare/.

Hart, Bob. “The Legend of Juila Legare.” EdistoBeach.com, 21 July 2018, https://www.edistobeach.com/the-legend-of-julia-legare/.

“Diphtheria.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diphtheria.

For Further Research:

Beheler, Thomas. “10 Strange Medical Practices from History.” 10 Strange Medical Practices from History  Headlines and Heroes, 27 Apr. 2022, https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2022/04/10-strange-medical-practices-from-history/.

Bhattacharya, Surajit. “Wound Healing through the Ages.” Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery : Official Publication of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India, Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd, May 2012, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3495363/.

“Confirmed Haunted Cemeteries across South Carolina.” South Carolina Haunted Houses, https://www.southcarolinahauntedhouses.com/real-haunts/cemeteries.aspx.

UFO Welcome Center (SC)

 Author: Doug

In Bowman, South Carolina there is a tourist attraction called the UFO Welcome Center. It was a place created by a man name Jody Pendarvis. Pendarvis built it in 1994. UFO Welcome Center is made of wood, fiberglass and plastic. Some people may think he is crazy for the fact that he built it on his suspicions that aliens are real. He made the UFO Welcome Center in hopes that if the aliens comes that they will take him with them. 

Sightings of UFOs all over the world help the UFO Welcome Center get visitors. The people that see UFOs have a place to go to find information. Because of sightings there are lots of people that believe that aliens and UFOs are real. The UFO Welcome Center is exactly like what Jody Pendarvis thinks a UFO would look like from the inside to the outside. Even how cold he thinks it get form the inside. He Pendarvis keeps a lot of old junk like old TVs and computers to attract more people to come there.

The UFO Welcome Center also help people understand more about UFOs and Aliens. Pendarvis said that this is just a hobby that he loves, and he talks about how much money he spends on his hobby. The amount he spends twenty-two thousand dollars. The UFO Welcome Center isn’t talked about much since its in the small state of South Carolina, so most people don’t know about it or have never even heard of it. But the people that have heard of it have done research and know about aliens and UFOs.

There is a National UFO website and South Carolina is a hotspot for UFO sightings, so it makes sense to why the UFO Welcome Center is in South Carolina. So the knowledge that people have about aliens would lead them to South Carolina to get a real look on what a UFO might look like so they would know if they saw one. Also for the people who claimed they have seen one can head there and do some research to see if it was really a UFO and aliens. Pendarvis is still alive today and the UFO Welcome Center is still up in running for anyone who would be interested in aliens and UFOs. Even thought it is a mess around the area it’s a historically safe place to go and visit.

Pendarvis has so much more knowledge on UFOs and aliens then the average person. He’s spent the last Twenty-Eight years of his life on building and learning about UFOs.

Works cited:

Whitney8258. UFO Welcome Center, 2014. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ufo-welcome-center

Marcus Lowth, Best UFO Sighting Videos and Encounters of 2022, September 2022. https://www.ufoinsight.com/ufos/sightings/best-ufo-sightings-videos-encounters-of-2022

Josie Griffiths, Life On Mars Are aliens real? Sightings and conspiracy theories explained, advertised on “The U.S Sun” October 13 2021. https://www.the-sun.com/news/science/3336771/aliens-real-ufo-sightings-evidence/

Robin Jarvis, The Mysterious Hidden Gem Attraction In South Carolina You Never Even Knew Existed, November 8, 2018. https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/south-carolina/ufo-welcome-center/

Meryl Conant, The South Carolina UFO Welcome Center, 2007 https://www.ufocasebook.com/welcomecenter.html

J Tyson, OnlyInYourState, Article. https://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/700x/cdn.onlyinyourstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/z5-700x430.jpg

UFO Welcome Center, March 3, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_Welcome_Center

Links for Further Research: 

Whitney8258. UFO Welcome Center, 2014 https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ufo-welcome-center. The article is about how the Welcome Center is built and it is built out of. It also gives bunch of facts like the tempter and where it is located. The purpose of this article is to teach people and let them know stuff about the Welcome Center that people may not know. This source is unique because it shows where the place is located on a map and has other important information that other articles don’t. This source is useful because it give information that other websites left out. This source is good for anyone that wants to learn about aliens and other fun facts.

Marcus Lowth, Best UFO Sighting Videos and Encounters of 2022, September 2022  https://www.ufoinsight.com/ufos/sightings/best-ufo-sightings-videos-encounters-of-2022. The article is about UFOs being seen and people experience. It has multiple videos of peoples proof. The purpose of the article is to show peoples experience with UFOs. The source is unique because most don’t have videos and picture proof of people encounters. This source is useful cause it shows multiple picture which seem to be real UFOs. This written is intended to show people that there is proof of aliens and UFOs.

Josie Griffiths, Life On Mars Are aliens real? Sightings and conspiracy theories explained, advertised on “The U.S Sun” October 13 2021 https://www.the-sun.com/news/science/3336771/aliens-real-ufo-sightings-evidence/. The website talks about the last sighting that they can confirm. It shows that there have been real sighting and that there were probably more that were not recorded. The purpose of this website is to prove that UFOs have been seen before. The source is unique because it’s a big website posting about aliens. The source is useful because its posted by a big known website that has lots of credibility. This source is intended for people that are looking for proof that UFOs are real.

The Flannan Isles Lighthouse

Lighthouse in stormy landscape, Shuttershock

On December 15th, 1990, a ship named Archtor set sail on a voyage to Leith from Philadelphia when noticing something was wrong. The Archtor passed the lighthouse on the Flannan Isles and noticed the light was off. After docking in Leith three days later, the news passed on the Northern Lighthouse Board that something was amiss in Flannan. 

The Board dispatched the lighthouse relief tender ship Hesperus to investigate. Arriving at the island, the ship's captain, Jim Harvie, sounded his horn and sent up a flare, hoping to alert the three lighthouse keepers. There was no response to the sound or flare. When they disembarked from the ship, relief lighthouse keeper Joseph Moore set off up to the lighthouse. When he reached the living quarters, Moore noticed that the clock on the kitchen wall had stopped, the table was set for a meal that had never been eaten and a chair had been toppled over. The canary in a cage was the only sign of life. When he returned, he returned his findings to the captain. After this they did thorough searches to try and find any signs of life. There were no signs of the three keepers throughout the whole search and no one knows where or what happened to the keepers.

“The Flannan Isles Lighthouse Mystery” By Horror Stories. 
A video going in detail and describing the mysteries surrounding the lighthouse.

With the disappearance of the keepers being a mystery, there are bound to be many theories and rumors of what people have happened to the keepers. Flannan Isles Lighthouse - Wikipedia. On the wiki there is an article describing these disappearances. Over time a story has developed of the existence of unusual logbook entrees. They supposedly have Marshall saying on the 12th of December that were “severe winds the like of which I have never seen in twenty years”. With this theory being in place this caused many people to believe they were swept away from the winds or possibly pulled underwater and drowned in the storm.

Flannan Islands - Northern Lighthouse Board (nlb.org.uk) This article will go in debt describing the history of the lighthouse outside of the mystery and how the disappearance affected the lighthouse and what tourists think of it. It says how the lighthouse was in service and how it became forgotten and left alone after the disappearance. 

Works Cited: 

Munroe R.W “Flannan Isles Lighthouse” Oct. 23, 2022. Flannan Isles Lighthouse - Wikipedia. 

Horror Stories “The Flannan Isles Lighthouse Mystery. July 16, 2018. (62) The Flannan Isles Lighthouse Mystery - YouTube 

Northern Lighthouse Board “Flannan isles” Flannan Islands - Northern Lighthouse Board (nlb.org.uk)

Links for Further Research: 

Lucy Davidson. “Flannan Isle Mystery: when 3 lighthouse keepers vanished forever.” April 1st, 2022 Flannan Isle Mystery: When Three Lighthouse Keepers Vanished Forever | History Hit Accessed Oct. 24, 2022. This article by Lucy Davidson discusses a thorough investigation into the lighthouse and how the disappearance first began and the events leading up to the disappearance, along with the damage to the lighthouse's reputation.

Vertigo22. “Mystery: The Flannan Isles Lighthouse.” Oct. 9th, 2020. Limitless Possibilities: Mystery: The Flannan Isles Lighthouse (vertigo22.com) Accessed Oct. 24th, 2022. This article was made by a user named Vertigo22 on the platform “Limitless Possibilities.”. Their article goes into detail of what a lighthouse is and how the Flannan Isles lighthouse differs from any other lighthouse and how it isn’t ordinary from others.

Wilfred William Gibson. “Flannan Isle.” 11 years ago. Flannan Isle by Wilfrid Wilson Gibson - Famous poems, famous poets. - All Poetry  Accessed Oct. 24th, 2022. This author, known as Wilfred William Gibson, describes the Flannan Isles lighthouse in a short poem he writes as he goes into details of the mystery and disappearances brought by the lighthouse. This is an incredibly unique way of describing events.

Sedlec Ossuary

 Author: Anna Mervine

In Kutna Hora, there is a place called the Sedlec Ossuary. People can take trips and visit the church that has over 35,000 bones in it. The exact number of bones the church has is 40,000. According to the author Michael Turtle, in an article entitled “Visiting the Sedlec Ossuary in Kutna Hora.” The bones are real, and they come from bodies that were buried in the cemetery around the church in the 14th and 15th century. After that, they were moved into the ossuary after they were dug up so the cemetery's size could be reduced. This church has been around for years, and to this day it still fascinates people enough to go out of their way to explore it.

Bone Church

You can visit the Sedlec Ossuary in Prague. The author, Stephanie Hubka, of the article “Sedlec Ossuary: Visiting the Bone Church of Kutna Hora” states that she had to take an organized tour to get there because they did not have a rental car and there is not a direct form of transportation option. “Trains and buses will extend your journey from one hour to almost three hours.” She states. Around Sedlec Ossuary, there are places you can stay if you would rather stay overnight in Kutna Hora. Unless you can get a rental, there is not a formal form of transportation, so if you visit then you would most likely be better off taking a day trip to Prague. If you want to visit, tickets are available on their website. The ossuary is open from 10AM – 6PM between April and September. The Ossuary is open from 10AM – 4PM between October and March. In the article "Czech Republic’s notorious Sedlec Ossuary to ban selfies.” it states that as of 2020 “visitors will need to ask for permission from the parish three days in advance if they wish to take pictures in the ossuary.” Meaning, unless given permission, no photography is allowed inside the building while visiting. Kutna Hora. 
The Ossuary was built during the time of the Plague. People would come to the Sedlec before their death. When they died, they would have been buried in the Sedlec. After that had stopped, the task of creating the Ossuary was given to a half blind monk named Frantisek Rindt who arranged the bones to remember the people who had died during the Plague. Now, in 2022, people can visit the Sedlec Ossuary to view the beauty of the Ossuary and have a tragically gruesome dedication to the dead. Their lives still live on and will always be remembered.

Works cited:
Turtle, Michael. “Kutna Horas Church of Bones.” Time Travel Turtle. 22 September. 2022. https://www.timetravelturtle.com/sedlec-ossuary-bone-church-kutna-hora-czech-republic/. Accessed 23 October. 2022.

Hubka, Stephanie. “Sedlec Ossuary: Visiting the Bone Church of Kutna Hora.” Road Unraveled. 20 March. 2018. https://www.roadunraveled.com/blog/bone-church-sedlec-ossuary-kutna-hora/. Accessed 24 October. 2022.

Prague, Kafkadesk. “Czech Republic’s notorious Sedlec Ossuary to ban selfies.” Kafkadesk. 22 October. 2019. https://kafkadesk.org/2019/10/22/czech-republics-notorious-sedlec-ossuary-to-ban-selfies/. Accessed 24 October. 2022.

Links for Further Reference:
So, Haley. “Sedlec Ossuary – The Creepy Church that Decorated with Thousands of Bones.” The Value. 3 Jan. 2019. https://en.thevalue.com/articles/sedlec-ossuary-church-of-bones. Accessed 25 October. 2022. This article provides information about how the Sedlec Ossuary is decorated and why it is how it is.

Tripadvisor. “Sedlec Ossuary (Kostnice Sedlec).” Viator. https://www.viator.com/Prague-attractions/Sedlec-Ossuary/overview/d462-a22657. Accessed 25 October. 2022. This article, from a trip advisor website, shares need to know information before going to the Sedlec Ossuary. Like how to get there and where you would go.

Lovejoy, Jess. “7 Amazing Facts about the Sedlec Ossuary.” Mental Floss. 27 Feb. 2019. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/575129/sedlec-ossuary-facts. Accessed 18 Oct. 2022. Jess writes an article and in every paragraph, she shares a different fact about the Sedlec Ossuary.