 Like vampires, werewolves have had a bit of a revolution, going from evil monster, to hunky heart throbs in paranormal romance novels. Here are thirteen facts about the werewolf that will make you howl under a full moon.
1: Norse Origins. Fenrir—son of Loki—was father of both wolves and werewolves. The gods bound him in a magical chain. When the chain was placed upon him, he bit off the hand of the god, Tyr. He was then gagged with a sword and destined to lie bound to a rock until Ragnarok (aka the end of the world.) 2: No, you’re not immortal. Some stories claim being a werewolf means you will live forever, but that’s not always the case. You will age much slower and heal from injury faster than a normal human. 3: How to kill a werewolf. You can’t wait for the werewolf to die. They age much slower than the average human, but they aren’t immortal. To kill a werewolf, you must destroy the heart or the brain. Decapitation also works well. 4: A werewolf epidemic. In 1700s, France fell under siege by werewolves. Over 100 people were killed by a pack known as the Beasts of Gevaudan. The French Army was even called to fight them and many believed the deaths were carried out by dog-wolf hybrids. 5: Are you a werewolf? If you suspect you are, then you probably are. Lycanthropy is the most well known name. It involves rapid hair growth, an insatiable hunger for raw meat, and turning into a full wolf. You might also get moody, have insomnia, and get violent. 6: No, seriously, are you a werewolf? There is an actual condition that afflicts people that makes them a werewolf. Hypertrichosis is a condition where hair sprouts all over the person’s body and face. Although, the full moon has no affect on the condition. 7: Proof isn’t required. Like the Salem witch trials, if someone was accused of being a werewolf, that was proof enough. Often the person accused would be sentenced to death. 8: Silver bullets? Modern folklore claims silver is the one metal strong enough to kill a werewolf, but the true element that works the best is quicksilver. Quicksilver is a liquid form of Mercury. Remember that next time you are stocking up for your werewolf hunt. 9: Howling under the full moon. Whether a werewolf is affected by the full moon depends on the story. Some claim a werewolf can only shift during the full moon, while others have their werewolves shape-shifting whenever they feel like it. No matter if the moon plays a roll or not, clothing never seems to survive the shifting. 10: Lucky number seven. In some folklore, to become a werewolf you have to be the seventh born son. This belief was so prevalent in Brazilian, Portuguese, and Galician communities that the seventh son would be adopted out or even killed by their own parents. 11: Born on Christmas Eve. On the flip side, in Russian lore, children born on Christmas Eve are destined to become werewolves. 12: The Sinful Women. Armenian folklore takes a different twist on who and how to become a werewolf. If a woman commits a deadly sin, she is condemned to spend seven years in wolf form. This often ends in her eating her children, relative’s children, and any other child she can lay her paws on. 13: The Good Werewolf. While the good werewolf is more popular in modern times, not all historic tales of werewolves painted them as evil. In Latvia and Lithuania, good werewolves were handy to have around for protection. And there you have 13 facts about werewolves to make you howl. I hope you enjoyed them. What fact was your favorite? (Source 1. Source 2)
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 We all know about vampires. Undead monsters who sleep in coffins and stalk unsuspecting victims to drain their blood. In the last few decades, they have had a make over and become the stars of many a paranormal romance novels. But the murderous vampire is still going strong. Here are 13 vampires you never heard about and want you dead.
1 The Leyak A vampire that hails from the island of Bali. A flying head with body organs hanging off its severed neck, it flies around and sucks blood from fetuses or newborn babies with it’s unnaturally long tongue. If it can’t find a baby, it will make do with a corpse from a local graveyard. Like many vampires, the Leyak is a shape shifter and can appear like an ordinary human or a flying pig. 2 The Ekimmu The ancient Mesopotamians believed in the Ekimmu or “evil wind gusts”. These were the souls of the dead who traveled in the breeze and sucked the life force our of their victims. According to legend, there are many ways to become one, such as dying in battle, were murdered, too young, starved, drowned, or didn’t respect the gods enough. There are still people who believe they exist today. 3 The Asema By day, the Asema appears human, but beware, as soon as the sun goes down, this Suriname demon sheds its skin and becomes a blue ball of light. It sneaks into people’s houses and drains their blood. They do share traits with a common vampire, such as aversion to garlic, but they also don’t like seeds and nails. 4 The Brahmaparusha Like many vampires, the Brahmaparusha likes to drink blood, but other than sucking on your neck, it will drain your blood into a skull to be consumed at a later date. It also will remove your brain to eat. The Brahmaparusha is a show-off and displays its murderous ways in the goriest way. Slasher films would be put to shame! It was a voracious appetite and will devour several people in one night. 5 The Soucouyant Hailing from the Caribbean, the Soucouyant is a vampire who looks like an innocent, old woman while the sun is up. Then, at night, it shows its true self and emerges from its human skin as a fireball much like the Asema. The Soucouyant can sneak through the smallest of spaces to get into your home. Unlike the Asema, though, it doesn’t normally kill. But if it does, the corpse will rise as another Soucouyant. 6 The Penanggal Another vampire who is just a head, the Penanggal is an attractive female who removes her head and lets it fly into the night in search of victims. Not all Penanggal are this way by force, some women choose to become this creature by using black magic to become as beautiful as possible. Turning into a vampire is just a minor side effect. 7 The Yara-Ma-Yha-Who Probably the strangest looking vampire of the bunch, the Yara-Ma-Yha-Who is an unusually short man with red skin, a huge head, and over-sized mouth. It doesn’t have teeth, but drains its victims blood via suckers in its fingers and toes. Afterward, it gobbles up the body whole. It likes to lurk in trees and ambush unsuspecting people who pass underneath. 8 Celtic Fairies Not all fairies are cute. On the Isle of Man, it was once a tradition to leave water out each night for the fairies. Because if you didn’t, they would drink your blood while you slept! Some even claimed the fairies would bake the blood into a blood cake and hide those in the house. If you didn’t find and consume the cake, you would wither away and die. 9 The Lamashtu Another Mesopotamian vampire, this demon goddess has the head of a lion, the body of a donkey, and an appetite for babies. She prefers newborns and will stalk the mother until she gives birth. The goddess swoops in and eats the baby’s flesh and drinks its blood. An ancient incantation about her reads: Great is the daughter of Heaven who tortures babies Her hand is a net, her embrace is death She is cruel, raging, angry, predatory A runner, a thief is the daughter of Heaven. 10 The Dearg-Due Her name is Gaelic for Red Blood Sucker and this vampire was once a beautiful young woman who was forced into an abusive marriage. She killed herself and then rose as a vampire. The first thing she did was killer her abusive husband and then her father. She didn’t stop there, though. To this day, she supposedly still kills and feeds on young men, luring them like a siren into the night. 11 The Aswang This Filipino vampire is another who appears as a normal—but incredibly attractive—woman by day. She may even be married and have a family. Then night falls and she becomes a demonic, blood sucking bird. A hallow tongue she slides through open windows or cracks allows her to suck the blood of sleeping victims. 12 Romani Vampires The Romani people have a twist on their vampire lore. For them, female vampires often return to married life after rising. They can be just as blood-thirsty as their male counterparts, but also have a sexual appetite that exhausts their human husbands. Male vampires are able to father children who are known as dhampirs. Those children often become vampire hunters in their adulthood due to their special senses that allow them to detect vampires easily. 13 The Bruxsa Bruxsa are female vampire spirits who were witches when they were alive. Their powers are claimed to have come from Satan himself. They can shape shift into many animals, such as wolves. Their favorite form is a bird of prey. They will swoop down on travelers and feed on the blood of small children. Which vampire was your favorite? Have you heard of any of them before? (Source 1. Source 2.)  Sleep is for the weak, right? It's not the first thing we look for in accommodations! Well, if you are a ghost hunter then probably not. From things that go bump in the night to ghostly apparitions, here are thirteen spooky places you can spend the night at. Sleep optional.
1: The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado Starting this list off with a bang is the hotel that was scary enough to creep out Stephen King and give him a nightmare that became The Shining. Rooms 217, 401, 417, and 428 all reported paranormal activity, such as children laughing or a tinkling piano. Ghost tours and seances are available to book if you really want to get in touch with the spirits lingering in this hotel. 2: Chillingham Castle, Northumberland, United Kingdom Is anyone surprised that a castle called Chillingham is touted as Britain’s most haunted historic castle? The name is just asking for ghosts to linger. You can stay overnight in this 12th century castle or take a ghost tour and search for the White Pantry Ghost. 3: Villisca Ax Murder House, Villisca, Iowa A brutal, unsolved murder involving an ax and a murderer that was never caught? That sounds like the perfect place to spend the night. Paranormal activity reported are moving objects, children laughing, and falling lamps. 4: Karosta Prison, Liepaja, Latvia Not only does this prison boast of ghosts, but guest staying there can have an “authentic Communist era treatment” and experience life as a prisoner. It’s only 17 Euros a night, so why not be forced to exercise by guards who will then lock you in your cell? Sounds like the ghosts are the least scariest part of this. 5: Farnsworth House Inn, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania The Farnsworth House Inn is one of the most well-known haunts of Gettysburg and has been featured on many ghost-hunting TV shows. Bullet holes pepper the house’s walls and previous visitors often leave with tales of ghosts still fighting the war. 6: The Queen Mary, Long Beach, California A luxury ocean liner from 1936, the Queen Mary is now a tourist attraction, restaurant, and hotel, staffed by workers who, after they died, never really left. Book a haunted history tour to learn about the lady in white or the children often spotted near the first-class pool. You may not even have to stray far from your room to find a ghost. They might visit you! 7: Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, Weston, West Virginia According to the website, thousands of mentally ill patents stayed here, and many died under poor conditions during the asylum’s long history. You can book an overnight stay, but you won’t get any sleep. Instead, all your time will be spent chasing the apparitions, voices, and other weird sounds known to occur. 8: Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast, Fall River, Massachusetts Everyone knows the rhyme: Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her mother forty wacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one. But did you know you can stay at the house? Overnight visitors get an in-depth tour of the house. If you’re really brave, you can sleep in the room where one of the murders took place. 9: Heceta Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast, Yachats, Oregon Is it the wind? The crash of water on rocks? Or Rue, the resident ghost of Heceta Lighthouse that you hear? She is morning the loss of her child and she may keep you up all night if you are a light sleeper. 10: Monte Cristo Homestead, New South Wales, Australia You have your choice of hauntings at Monte Cristo Homestead in Australia. Is the ghost the maid of fell from the upstairs balcony? A mentally ill man who was chained in the caretaker’s cottage? Or the stable boy who was killed in a fire? You may not get any sleep for all the ghosts roaming around. 11: San Francisco Dungeon, San Francisco, California If you want to take your haunting to the next level, forget a house and go with a dungeon. You can stay in an underground cell or sleep in the prison beds modeled after Alcatraz. Cozy up in dungeon-style pajamas as you gather around for a séance. 12: Dragsholm Castle, Zealand, Denmark This castle may be a luxury hotel now, but that doesn’t matter to the ghosts living within its walls. There is the Grey Lady, a former servant, and the ever popular White Lady. The Earl of Bothwell, who died a prisoner chained to a pillar might still be wearing a circular groove in the stone. 13: Washoe Club, Virginia City, Nevada The Washoe Club is another haunt made famous by ghost-hunting TV. You have three floors to explore and hunt for ghosts, such as the Lady in Blue. You can also sit down for a drink with the ghost of a whiskey-loving prospector. (Source)  So, you want to be a vampire hunter and you think it's just as easy as jamming a stake into the undead's heart while he's snoozing in his coffin. Think again. There's more than one way to stop the undead from rising again, and here are thirteen of them.
And now you know how to slay a vampire. You have officially graduated from Patricia's Vampire Slayer Academy.** **Disclaimer: Patricia is not responsible for any student's injury or bloody death. She makes no claims to the effectiveness of the above as she found this on the internet and figures if it's on the internet that means you can trust it as true. Hunt vampires at your discretion.
 Ghosts span the globe, haunting every corner. You can't travel anywhere and not find a tale about a misty spectral that died tragically. Here are 13 ghosts from around the globe to keep you up at night.
1 Slit-Mouthed Woman Usually seen wearing a mask over her lower jaw, this famous Japanese ghost targets children. Upon meeting a child, she removes the mask and reveals a sliced-up mouth. She then asks the child if they think she is beautiful. Say no, and she stabs the child. Say yes, and she slits their mouth just like hers. It’s a no win situation! 2 Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn was one of Henry VIII’s many wives. The king divorced and beheaded her for not giving him a male heir. A bit of an overreaction in my opinion! Anne’s ghost is said to haunt the Tower of London. She does have her head. She is said to frighten passersby as she wanders the halls. On occasion she is seen in other historic buildings. Seeking justice perhaps? 3 La Llorona La Llorona (Spanish for The Crying Woman) is always crying when you see her. Her tears are because she killed her children by drowning in a fit of rage because the man she loved would not have her. When he spurned her again, she realized the horrible thing she had done, so she subjected herself to the same fate as her children and drowned herself. Condemned to wander the world in perpetual grief, she is seen soaking wet, in all white, and crying. Some say she snatches young children as she walks, mistaking them for her own. 4 Kate Batts, the Bell Witch The year was 1817 and a man named John Bell and his family began experiences ghostly happenings in their Tennessee home. The terrifying activity was thought to be the cause of a witch named Kate Batts, but in reality, the daughter, Betsy, was the one most likely causing the activity. Despite that, the Bell Witch lives on and has been inspiration in many stories, including The Blair Witch Project. 5 Dolley Madison There have been many stories of ghosts in the White House. One such tale is that of First Lady Dolley Madison. She was known for her grace and charm, and she played a role in making the White House a social epicenter. After her death, it is said another First Lady attempted to dig up her beloved rose gardens. Dolley was having none of that and her ghost showed up to frighten the gardeners away. To this day, the roses are still there and blooming. 6 The Gray Man The Gray Man is a ghost of Pawleys Island in South Carolina. Sometimes he is described as having no legs along with no face. Whenever a hurricane or other sever is storm is about to hit and you see him, you will be protected from the storm. The story of his death is he was a guy traveling from Charleston to see a young lady. His horse got sucked into the mud of South Carolina’s marshes. Since then, he’s seen roaming the coastline, looking for love, and helping people avoid weather disasters. 7 Cottage City Poltergeist You may not know the name Cottage City Poltergeist, but you are familiar with it as it was the inspiration behind William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist. A real-life case from 1949, it centered around a 13-year-old-boy from Cottage City, Maryland. Shaking beds, weird noises, and sheets pulled off the mattress were just a few of the weird occurrences that happened after the boy played with an Ouija board. The boy was moved to a hospital in Saint Louis, where an exorcism was performed, and curing the boy. 8 Abraham Lincoln Since Lincoln’s death in 1865, his ghost has popped up in many different locations. He is most commonly spotted in the White House, including the Lincoln Bedroom. Numerous heads of states has be shocked by Abe, including the queen of the Netherlands. She opened a door to find Honest Abe standing there. It gave her such a scare she fainted! 9 The Buruburu Ghost A Japanese ghost that feeds on fear, the Buruburu gets its name from the sound you make when you shiver. It is created whenever someone acts like a coward, who it clings to by the collar of their shirt and lightly tickling the back of their neck. This causes a shiver to roll down the spine and goosebumps. The Buruburu feeds on the fear. 10 The Greenbrier Ghost Zona Heaster married a drifter in the late 1800s who killed her. At first, her death was attributed to natural causes after her husband, Shue, scared the doctor away. An autopsy was preformed and the truth reveal because Zona’s mother, Mary Jane claimed to have seen the ghost of her daughter. She said Zona’s ghost told her Shue had broken her neck and proved it by turning her ghostly head completely around! During the trial, the prosecutor tried to keep Zona’s ghost a secret but the defense asked about it in an attempt to undermine Mary Jane’s credibility. This strategy backfired and Shue went to jail. Zona’s ghost was never seen again. 11 The Madonna of Bachelor's Grove If you want to ensure you have a ghostly encounter then the place to visit is Bachelor’s Grove. Many report seeing featureless orbs, blogs of ectoplasm, as well as a spectral farmer and his horse. Other notable ghosts are a black dog and a ghost with two heads! The most famous ghost is call Madonna. On nights of the full moon, she can be seen wandering the graveyard and carrying a baby. On occasion, she is seen in full daylight. 12 & 13: The Girls In The Bathroom I don’t know what it is about Japan and bathrooms, but their ghosts seem to love them. In one tale, if you go into the girls bathroom on the third floor and walk to the third stall you will find a little girl with a bob haircut. Her name is Hanako-san and she wants to play. Or drag you to Hell. We’re not sure. Depending on what part of Japan you live in, she may have a bloody hand to grab you with or be a lizard that devours you. Hanako-san has become a fixture of Japanese urban folklore for over 70 years, but she is not the only schoolgirl haunting Japan’s bathrooms. Another young girl named Kashima Reiki was said to be cut in half by a train. Now, her disfigured spirit inhabits bathrooms, asking any who enter the stall where her legs are. If she doesn’t like your answer, she will rip your legs off! Answer wisely. (Source, Source, Source, Source) Which ghost was your favorite? Will you think twice about going to the bathroom in Japan? |
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