† It is a northern country; they have cold weather, they have cold hearts. Angela Carter, "The Werewolf" †

On this tumblelog you are most likely to find an assortment of spooks, personal demons, some muses and a pick'n'mix of subversive facts and myths. I try to credit wherever possible.

[Encyclopaedia Vantitatum † my personal blog, where you will generally find a wide range of the uncanny and the curious, from reviews of German Expressionist and Surrealist films, to reviews of marginally obscure but not less delightful books, to random thoughts and some creative writing]

Read the Printed Word!



archive ask me random credit

♥ Dec 27th, 2011
areoccuringnightmare: “19th century coal miners would traditionally take canaries in cages down into the mine with them. The birds would act as an early warning system for carbon monoxide gas. When the canary stopped singing the miner would know that he had to escape the chamber he was in.” “This particular yellow canary was obviously a favoured pet as well as a working bird. Inscribed with the legend : ‘In Memory of Little Joe. Died November 3rd 1875. Aged 3 Years’”
♥ Aug 28th, 2011
A hopscotch game in Boston, USA
♥ May 16th, 2011
you-need-satan: vonamor: Edward Mordrake was a 19th century English nobleman who had an extra face on the back of his head. According to the story, the extra face could neither eat nor speak, but it could laugh and cry. Edward begged doctors to have his ‘devil twin’ removed, because, supposedly, it whispered horrible things to him at night, but no doctor would attempt it. He committed suicide at the age of 23 by poisoning himself because he could no longer stand having to live with the face on the back of his head. (via tamburina)
♥ May 11th, 2011
amoelbarroco: From Voyages made in the years 1788 and 1789 from China to the northwest coast of America. Italian. Via Peacay
♥ Apr 19th, 2011
theloudestvoice: From an article on the possibilities of color films, Popular Science magazine, 1923 “How Constance Talmadge Would Make Up for Color MoviesOn the right side of this popular star’s portrait are indicated the points in her make-up for black-and-white movies. See how entirely different is the make-up she will be likely to use in color movies, indicated on the left side of the picture. This probable make-up is based on results of recent experiment.”
♥ Mar 30th, 2011
thefirstwaltz: Queen Marie of Romania.  Very talented lady, with a very sad life…
♥ Mar 25th, 2011
Vintage Rouen, France
♥ Mar 25th, 2011
♥ Mar 19th, 2011
feedergoldfish: Victorian Teen with Sausage Curls Closeup (Image is by Anson of New Yor via Mirror Image Gallery) Daguerreotype of a girl with amazing curls.
♥ Mar 15th, 2011
arsvitaest: Agnes Richter, held in an asylum for the insane in the 1890’s, embroidered text on her jacket, which was part of the uniform given to patients at the time. from the Prinzhorn Collection Just amazing…
♥ Mar 11th, 2011
vintage mug shot via
♥ Dec 29th, 2010
coronach: vanyum: March 7th, 1908. Taken behind an orphanage in Brooklyn 4 hours before a fire burned the place down. Only 14 of the children’s bodies were found, 21 remained unaccounted for.
♥ Dec 16th, 2010
POLAND. 1948. Teresa, a child in a residence for disturbed children, grew up in a concentration camp. She drew a picture of “home” on the blackboard.
♥ Nov 27th, 2010
omgitsdenise: In Chihuahua, Mexico, local rumor has it that this mannequin, known as “Pascualita,” is actually an embalmed body. According to legend, a lady named Pascuala Esparza owned a wedding boutique in the city, making dresses for soon-to-be brides. Her own daughter, Pascualita, was engaged to be married, so Pascuala set about to make her a special dress. Everything was planned when, on the day of the wedding, tragedy struck. Supposedly, Pascualita was bitten by a poisonous insect and later died. Distressed by the death of her daughter, Pascuala set out to immortalize her. She embalmed the body, dressed it in her wedding gown, and propped it up in the window of her boutique, for all to see. Today, Pascualita remains standing in the window of “La Popular” in downtown Chihuahua. Although commonly regarded to as a myth, the details in the mannequin (especially in the hands) keep onlookers wondering. 
♥ Nov 9th, 2010
snowce: A rosary from 1500-25. Each bead of the rosary represents the bust of a well-fed burgher or maiden on one side, and a skeleton on the other. The terminals, even more graphically, show the head of a deceased man, with half the image eaten away from decay. Such images served as reminders that life is fleeting and that leading a virtuous life as a faithful Christian is key to salvation.source