Adventures with the other side

Friday the 13 th is my favorite day, but some consider it most unlucky.   When I asked people why they think of it as an unlucky day many didn’t really know, but this fear is common enough that we have a name for it paraskevidekatriaphobia, the fear of Friday the 13 th . We do not know exactly how this day came to be considered unlucky, but there are a few theories. Biblical tradition tells us that there were 12 apostles and Jesus at the last supper, so 13 people sat down together.   Judas then betrayed Jesus and Jesus was crucified on what is believed to be a Friday ( some religions believe it was actually Friday the 13 th ). Interestingly Vikings told a similar story of 12 Gods eating together at a great feast in Valhalla when Loki the God of Mischief arrived uninvited. He proceeded to encourage Hod the God of darkness to shoot Baldur the God of Joy with mistletoe tipped arrow, this caused the earth to fall into darkness. On Friday October 13, 1...

What is left of original London Wall In the Victorian age Whitechapel was an area in the East End of London that stood outside the city walls. An influx of Jewish, German, Irish and other immigrants had moved to London looking for work, they found it in dark, cramped shops doing work such as match making or leather work. They made little money and there was a lack of suitable housing. Entire families might share one small room with each other and sometimes with strangers; some took daily earning just to buy a bed for the night, having no permanent place to live. Prostitution was high with many women forced into selling their bodies just to survive. Diseases were rampant and doctors almost nonexistent, overcrowding and crime took over the area and many people died, from sickness, disease and from murder. The area is  famous for the Jack the Ripper murders that took place here between August and November 1888. While in London last September we took a “ Jack the R...

I was recently in New Orleans for a visit and had the opportunity to explore many “haunted places”. One of the houses I saw on multiple tours was the LaLaurie mansion, said to be the most haunted house in New Orleans. That is an impressive claim as the whole city boasts haunted spots. From the outside the mansion is rather plain looking, it takes  up one corner of Royal street and is large but if I did not know what it was I likely would not have thought much about the home. It is said that the inside courtyard and home are rather elaborate. As the home is privately owned no tours are offered of the inside, but a quick internet search will pull up photos of several of the interior rooms and an elaborate staircase that is certainly beautiful.   Haunted tours tell the tale of the torture and murder of slaves inside these walls at the hand of the owners Louis and Delphine LaLaurie, of a fire that finally shed light on the horr...

As someone who has a fascination with old historic cemeteries, New Orleans was a phenomenal place to visit. I could have spent days just wandering the dozens of old cemeteries in the area. As it was I enjoyed two of them and learned a bit about the history of above ground tombs.   The first cemetery in New Orleans Saint Peters was established in 1721 in the French Quarter, it began with above ground graves. However it did not take long to discover that the high water table, heavy rains, and flooding lead to caskets making their way to the surface. Numerous tricks were tried to keep the caskets underground, to include drilling holes and placing heavy rocks but none kept  all of the dead buried. In the 1780’s the Spanish government decided it was time to start another burial ground and the cities   first above ground cemetery St. Louis   Cemetery 1 was created, bearing a strong resemblance to Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris France . By this time...

If you want to feel like you are walking through a real life fairy tale, there is no place quite like Schloss Neuschwanstein as the German’s call it or Sleeping Beauty’s castle as so many Americans think of it. Located in the Bavarian Alps it is one of the most visited castles in the world. I have been lucky enough to visit it twice and both times, I saw and learned something new. Neuschwanstein Castle   was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria the name translates to New Swan Castle; this castle was originally called New Hohenschwangau Castle. It was meant to be a grand recreation of Hohenschwangau Castle where King Ludwig II spent his childhood years.   The new name is in reference to Richard Wagner’s opera character the Swan Knight and was not used until after King Ludwig’s mysterious death.   King Ludwig was a great admirer of Wagner and Wagner’s characters inspired many of the rooms within the castle. Hohenschwangau Castle Neuschwanstein...

I am sure it is no surprise to most people that I love Friday the 13 th , I love it even more on the rare occasion that there is also a full moon (not this year) Many people however do not share my love of the day. In fact, there is a name for people who suffer from a phobia of Friday the 13 th it is called friggatriskaidekaphobia, and it is fairly common. This name originates from Frigg, the Norse goddess who was named for Friday and triskaidekaphobia the phobia of the number 13. This year we have had two Friday the 13 th ’s so I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the history behind this day. It is unclear exactly where the fear of Friday the 13 th started but there is a myth that states if 13 people dine together one of the 13 will die within a year. This myth is a combination of both Christian and Norse mythology origins. During the last supper, Jesus dined with his 12 Apostles, Judas being the 13 th guest and, as we know Jesus was crucified shortly aft...

Richard and I spent our first anniversary in the San Francisco Bay area many moons ago. Alcatraz had long been on my bucket list, so of course we took the ferry and went for an afternoon visit. Alcatraz Island received its name in 1175   from   Juan Manuel de Ayala a Spanish explorer, the name translates to “ Island of the Pelicans, it has since then earned the name of “ The Rock” due to its rocky terrain.   In 1853, the U.S. Army began constructing a military fortress on the island and later it became a military prison. In 1861 Civil War prisoners were brought to the island and in 1898 prisoners from the Spanish-American war were added bringing the prison population from 26 to 450. After the earthquake of 1906 hundreds, more civilian prisoners were brought to the island. During its time as a military prison the island functioned as a minimum-security facility with the inmates working at various jobs to include working for the families who lived on th...