The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

ELYRIA, Ohio—

A highly intoxicated man who was arrested over the weekend for allegedly attempting to break into a Lorain County drug store claimed he was a blood-sucking vampire while threatening authorities, Fox 8 News reports.

A report from the Lorain County Sheriff's Office says that deputies responded to the Drug Mart on State Route 58 in New Russia Township at approximately 3:19 a.m. Saturday. There, they talked with a witness who explained that an extremely intoxicated man was attempting to break into the business.



The witness said that the man in question was pulling on the exterior doors and kicking the steel door frames. The drunken man told the witness that his goal was to get some money.



The deputies then made contact with the man, later identified as Andrew Whiteman, 21, of Royal Oak, Mich. They observed that he has slurred speech, blood-shot eyes and a strong odor of alcohol.



Glenn Stump, who was picking up newspapers for delivery at Drug Mart, encountered Whiteman that morning.



"First I had to put him out of my van because when I was getting my bundles together he walked up and got right in my van like he was going somewhere, then he went and started shaking the door to the store, I told him he couldn't get in because they were closed," Stump said.



Lorain County deputies arrived in the parking lot shortly after. Police reports indicate Whiteman lives in Michigan and was in Oberlin to enroll in fall classes at Oberlin College.



After questioning Whiteman, who was muddy and completely soaked, deputies placed him under arrest for attempted breaking and entering. As they were transporting the suspect to the Lorain County Jail, Whiteman became verbally combative, threatening to kill one of the deputies and the deputy's family, including his children.



Whiteman told the deputy that he is a vampire who is more than 100 years old, and that he could smell the deputy's blood from the rear seat of the patrol car. He added that he desired to suck the aforementioned blood.



Once at the jail, Whiteman was forcibly removed from the vehicle and taken into the booking area. That's where he threatened a female adviser, saying that he wanted to eat her kidney. Due to his aggressive behavior, Whiteman was placed into a four-point restraint chair.



In addition to attempted breaking and entering, Whiteman was charged with intimidation and disorderly conduct while being voluntarily intoxicated. He made an initial appearance at the Oberlin Municipal Court on Monday, pleading not guilty.

COMMENTS

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NocturnalMistress
09:08 Mar 30 2011

THAT made me laugh.



:)

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POST COMMENT

Inspiration of the Bram Stoker's 1897 Tale of Count Dracula



Vlad III, or Vlad the Impaler, is one this world's more intriguing and brutal tyrant rulers. He ruled mainly from 1456 to 1462.



There are many versions of Vlad III's life story, and yet there are no truly accurate ones. He is probably best known for his inspiration of the Bram Stoker's 1897 tale of Count Dracula. I mean his father's surname just happened to be Vlad Dracul, or Vlad the devil, which he received once he was made a member of The Order of the Dragon.



Historically speaking, Vlad the Impaler is probably best known for the cruel methods of execution and punishments that he dispatched upon his enemies. These included impalement, torture, roasting, skinning, burning, and boiling people, and drowning, if he liked you.



Vlad III was born in the winter of 1431 in the Transylvanian city of Sighisoara. At the time his father was living in exile there. To this day, the house he was born in is still standing.



At the age of 11, he and his younger brother, Radu the Handsome, were traded to the Turks by his father as a tribute for Ottoman support of his throne. There they were imprisoned and held hostage by the Turks.



While imprisoned Vlad III was often beaten and whipped because of how he verbally abused his captors for trying to force the brothers into the life of the Islam faith. Radu was easy to control and convert, but Vlad was very stubborn and ultimately pretended to convert to secure his release.



The time spent in prison getting beat and dwelling on his father's betrayal had great influence in developing Vlad's psychotic character.



Vlad the Impaler is estimated to have caused more rivers to flow with blood than any other tyrant in the history of the world. He killed just to see and hear the suffering of his numerous victims, so he could bask in his own power and sheer pleasure that it brought him.



He would take dull, oiled stakes, half the circumference of a telephone pole, and ram them through the buttocks of a person out through the mouth. He made shish kabobs out of mothers and their children. Death by impalement was the worst. It was slow and agonizing, and it could be endured for hours or even days.



He would cut off limbs and feed people the flesh of their friends and relatives. Atrocities such as these seemed to provide sick delight for him, and at the same time help to keep his enemies afraid. It was nothing for him to kill tens of thousands at a time by forcing them over cliffs where he had spears below to impale them.



At the end of his era in 1462, Vlad The Impaler was forced to flee, overthrown, and imprisoned for 12 years. His wife jumped from the Vlad castle towers and commited suicide, rather than to be taken hostage.



During his time in prison, he somehow managed to sire two sons. He was also able to continue his favorite horrific hobby of torture. He caught birds and mice and they were either tortured and mutilated or impaled and beheaded.



He, himself, was finally beheaded in 1478 after a short two year stint back in his position as ruler.



It is easy to see how this sadistic ruler could be confused with an immortal creature of the night that has to feed on someone else's life force to survive.



In comparison Dracula is probably the lesser of the two evils. You can also reason that all of Dracula's actions were motivated by his basic survival need to feed, and Vlad was just a cruel murderer for pleasure. Either way you look at it, both of their notoriety will continue to be remembered from generation to generation.

Confirming this line of thinking, if you ask any person on the street the first word that comes to mind when you mention history of vampires. Most adults would say, Dracula. Adolescent girls might say, Edward Cullen or Robert Pattinson.



Vampires are the most well-known and even envied of all supernatural creatures due to this modern concept. This modern concept has also been copied and adapted by other cultures to the point of obscuring their own vampiric legends. Most of the world’s population is unaware of the true history of vampires.



Vampire History BD (Before Dracula)



Basically, a vampire is defined as a supernatural creature that feeds on the life essence of living beings to survive or maintain its existence.



Life essence can either be the person’s soul, heart, brain; and according to many cultures, blood. The term vampire thus takes on a broader meaning and thus includes many supernatural creatures from Western and non-Western cultures.



The history of vampires goes back several thousands of years in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East, the jungles of Asia and Africa and the wilderness of Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean.



Back then, the term ‘vampire’ wasn’t invented yet but creatures that follow the definition of a vampire have been around since ancient times.



Persians and Babylonians have legends of a blood-drinking demoness called Lilitu. The more familiar Hebrew name for Lilitu is Lilith, known as a night demon of the desert who feasts on the blood of newborns but also of the blood of men.



The Romans and Greeks have the Lamia, another creature that preys on children and men often described as a woman with a serpentine lower half. Both lamia and Lilith have seductive, sexual natures that may have influenced more recent folklore regarding vampiric sexuality.



Before the Victorian era, ancient vampires were regarded as hideous, grotesque blood-sucking, entrail- eating monsters with deformed bodies, many pointed teeth, claws and even wings.



Medieval Europe has many stories of revenants, deceased persons who have come back to life to feed on the blood of the living.



These revenants were grotesque in appearance having bloated bodies, discolored eyes and skin, long nails and exposed teeth--a far cry from Angel, the Vampire Lestat and Count Dracula.



Modern vampiric concepts like garlic, decapitation and dismemberment, sleeping in graves are derived from Medieval European beliefs but many authors familiar with the true history of vampires managed to include characteristics of other vampiric creatures.



Vampire History AD (After Dracula)



The history of vampires we are most familiar with started in the 19th century. It all started in the 1819 novel The Vampyre by John Polidori featuring a vampire disguised as a sophisticated nobleman.



Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula came much later in 1897. Such stories have humanized the formerly grotesque, demonic creatures and turned them into tragic, romantic and intriguing humanlike beings that walk among the people possessing the concept of immortality that most people crave for.



But it was the story of Count Dracula that ultimately changed and influenced the history of vampires until now.



Bram Stoker’s novel became a sensation because of its great, unique storytelling, the title itself was catchy, it clearly described the era’s atmosphere and it integrated many vampire superstitions.



Later in the 20th century, Dracula’s influence only increased because of its theatrical adaptations and the image of the vampire was forever changed.



The history of vampires continues into the 21st century and the popularity of vampire-related media has only increased. People continue to thirst for vampire-related comics, novels, movies and television shows.



Notable modern works include:



* The 1992 adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula



* The movie adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire



* The television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel



* Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles



* Marvel’s Blade movie series



* The Underworld movie series



* And more recently, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga in both theater and print

The trickster is an alchemist, a magician, creating realities in the duality of time and illusion.



The trickster deity breaks the rules of the gods or nature, sometimes maliciously (for example, Loki) but usually with ultimately positive effects. Often, the rule-breaking takes the form of tricks (eg. Eris) or thievery. Tricksters can be cunning or foolish or both; they are often very funny even when considered sacred or performing important cultural tasks. In many cultures, (as may be seen in Greek, Norse or Slavic folktales, along with Native American/First Nations lore), the trickster and the culture hero are often combined. To illustrate: Prometheus, in Greek mythology, stole fire from the gods to give it to humans.



He is more of a culture hero than a trickster. In many Native American and First Nations mythologies, the coyote (Southwestern United States) or raven (Pacific Northwest and coastal British Columbia) stole fire from the gods (stars or sun) and are more tricksters than culture heroes. This is primarily because of other stories involving these spirits: Prometheus was a Titan, whereas coyote and raven are usually seen as jokesters and pranksters.



Frequently the Trickster figure exhibits gender variability, changing gender roles and engaging in same-sex practices. Such figures appear in Native American and First Nations mythologies, where they are said to have a two-spirit nature. Loki, the Norse trickster, also exhibits gender variability, in one case even becoming pregnant; interestingly, he shares the ability to change genders with Odin, who despite being nominally the chief Norse deity also possesses many characteristics of the Trickster.



The Trickster is an example of a Jungian Archetype. The Fool survives in modern playing cards as the Joker. In modern literature the trickster survivors as a character archetype, not necessarily supernatural or divine, therefore better described as a stock character.



In later folklore, the trickster is incarnated as a clever, mischievous man or creature, who tries to survive the dangers and challenges of the world using trickery and deceit as a defense. For example many typical fairy tales have the King who wants to find the best groom for his daughter by ordering several trials. No brave and valiant prince or knight manages to win them, until a poor and simple peasant comes. With the help of his wits and cleverness, instead of fighting, he evades or fools monsters and villains and dangers with unorthodox manners. Therefore the most unlikely candidate passes the trials receives the reward. More modern and obvious examples of that type are Bugs Bunny and The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin).



The trickster is an important archetype in the history of man. He is a god, yet he is not. He is the wise-fool. It is he, through his creations that destroy, points out the flaws in carefully constructed societies of man. He rebels against authority, pokes fun at the overly serious, creates convoluted schemes, that may or may not work, plays with the Laws of the Universe and is sometimes his own worst enemy. He exists to question, to cause us to question not accept things blindly. He appears when a way of thinking becomes outmoded needs to be torn down built anew. He is the Destroyer of Worlds at the same time the savior of us all.



The Trickster lives inside and outside of Time. He is of our world, yet not of our world, so our laws will not always apply. Other symbols, associated with him include keys, clock, masks, infinity among other mythological images



Trickster is a creator, a joker, a truth teller, a story teller, a transformer linked to the spiritual frequency changes humanity is experiencing at this time.



We seem most accessible to the synchronistic gifts of the Trickster when we ourselves are at or near boundaries or are experiencing transition states, periods of major life transitions seem to be occasioned by an abundance of meaningful coincidence. Personal growth sees not only to facilitate synchronicity, but in turn to be facilitated by it. As an archetype, the Trickster, the boundary dweller, finds expression through human imagination and experience.

We live in a dual reality, opposite polarities, yin /yang, male/female, good/ evil, God/Devil or Trickster. Our reality is created by electromagnetic energy fields, the poles (North and South), positive and negative energy. This is much like a game. In order to win the game you must create balance. You can beat the trickster if you ignore that which he brings as challenges.



Our soul spirals its consciousness into a physical body to experience different roles and emotions. The trickster 'stirs the pot' and creates the drama, to that end.



When you abuse someone, that is the trickster in you, showing itself. When you allow yourself to be abused, playing the victim, and remain stagnant in your life, the trickster aspect of you is in control.



The trickster seems to have supernatural powers which help him perform his tricks. He lives, dies, comes back, shape shifts, all sorts of magic as our reality is nothing more than an illusion. It is the mythology of our reality, birth, death, and rebirth from the ashes, the flame of creation.



There are times the Trickster brings lessons that we came into this experience. Trickster is almost always portrayed as male. In the duality he represents the lower emotions, lower chakras, that which gets us into mischief. This represents the aggressive side that deals with the lower frequency emotions, fate, jealousy, anger, self destruction, rage, depression and goes to mental illness.



Trickster is the emotional body, our Inner Child or wounded soul, who evolves in our lifetimes as it spirals back to higher light.



The concept of the Trickster is as much a part of humanity's history as the concept of God. All creational myths deal with polarity, good god vs. bad god, the duality of our nature and with each of us. To be emotionally challenged, is to listen to the voice of the trickster and live in a space of drama and negative emotions. To create balance is to live in the so-called 'god aspect' of who we are.



Physical reality is a game in which the Trickster challenges us at every turn. That is his role in the duality of this bio-genetic experiment in liner tome and emotion.



Trickster is the teacher, when you attract lessons into one's life. With his lessons, he awakens us to who we are and allows us to explore the true purpose of our soul's journey in the holographic experience through which we experience consciously at this level of awareness.



His energy allows us to break out of old stereotypes, whether they've been imposed by ourselves, our families, our culture, or circumstance. This is the energy that opens the world of limitless possibilities and it behooves us all to work with it before it destroys us, to touch the Trickster as he touches us.



Trickster is a teacher, survivor, hero, always traveling, outrageous and cunning, foolish and wise, mischievous and often doing good despite himself. He is a metaphor for the evolution of consciousness in the alchemy of time.

A doppelganger is the ghostly or in some cases, a physical double of a living person. The word doppelganger is a loanword from German, written there (as any noun) with an initial capital letter Doppelganger, composed from doppel, meaning "double", and ganger, as "walker". In English, the word is conventionally not capitalized, and it is also common to drop the German diacritic umlaut on the letter "a" and write "doppelganger", although the correct spelling without umlaut would be "doppelgaenger".



The term has, in the vernacular, come to refer to any double or look-alike of a person, most commonly in reference to a so-called evil twin, or to bilocation. Alternatively, the word is used to describe a phenomenon where you catch your own image out of the corner of your eye. In some traditions, seeing one's own doppelganger is an omen of death. A doppelganger seen by friends or relatives of a person may sometimes bring bad luck, or indicate an approaching illness or health problem.



The doppelgangers of folklore cast no shadow, and have no reflection in a mirror or in water. They are supposed to provide advice to the person they shadow, but this advice can be misleading or malicious. They can also, in rare instances, plant ideas in their victim's mind or appear before friends and relatives, causing confusion. In many cases once someone has viewed his own doppelganger he is doomed to be haunted by images of his ghostly counter-part. Other folklore says that when a person's doppleganger is seen, the person him/herself will die shortly. It is considered unlucky to try to communicate with such a doppleganger.



Famous Reports of the Doppelganger Phenomenon



* Emilie Sagee was a schoolteacher in the nineteenth century whose doppelganger's public appearances were recorded by Robert Dale Owen after being reported to him by Julie von Guldenstubbe.

* Guy de Maupassant recorded his own doppelganger experiences in his story Lui ( The light continent). It is sometimes claimed that Percy Bysshe Shelley, English atheist and poet, met his doppelganger foreboding his own death. However, Shelley met this "doppelganger" in a dream, not in real life.

* John Donne, the English metaphysical poet, apparently met his wife's doppelganger in Paris, foreboding the death of his yet unborn daughter.

* Abraham Lincoln told his wife that he saw two faces of himself in a mirror soon after being elected president, one deathly pale. His wife believed this to mean he would be elected to a second term but would not survive (Sandburg, 195).

* Rosalyn Greene claims that the doppelganger phenomenon, via bilocation, is responsible for reports of werewolves and other shapeshifters.

* Richard Rossi, the maverick minister and Hollywood filmmaker, allegedly told police a man who resembled him attacked his wife. According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, he allegedly speculated the mysterious incident was a Satanic counterattack because of his work as an exorcist. Rossi stood trial for the assault, resulting in a hung jury, partially because both Rossi's wife and an eyewitness named John Fair confirmed the story.

* Gustav Weler was a double of Adolf Hitler



Doppelgangers appear in a variety of science fiction and fantasy works, in which they are a type of shapeshifter that mimics a particular person or species for some typically nefarious reason.



A temporal doppelganger is any version of oneself one may meet during time travel. It is an exact likeness of one at a specific time in one's history (or future). Meetings with oneself may occur when one version of oneself travels backwards through the timestream and encounters a younger version of oneself, or when two or more of the same person from different timestreams travel to the same moment in their futures.

The evil eye is a widely distributed element of folklore, in which it is believed that the envy elicited by the good luck of fortunate people may result in their misfortune, whether it is envy of material possessions including livestock, or of beauty, health, or offspring. The perception of the nature of the phenomenon, its causes, and possible protective measures, varies between different cultures. In some forms, it is the belief that some people can bestow a curse on victims by the malevolent gaze of their magical eye.



The most common form, however, attributes the cause to envy, with the envious person casting the evil eye doing so unintentionally. Also the effects on victims vary. Some cultures report afflictions with bad luck; others believe the evil eye can cause disease, wasting away, and even death. In most cultures, the primary victims are thought to be babies and young children, because they are so often praised and commented upon by strangers or by childless women. The late UC Berkeley professor of folklore Alan Dundes has explored the beliefs of many cultures and found a commonality that the evil caused by the gaze is specifically connected to symptoms of drying, desiccation, withering, and dehydration, that its cure is related to moistness, and that the immunity from the evil eye that fishes have in some cultures is related to the fact that they are always wet. His essay "Wet and Dry: The Evil Eye" is a standard text on the subject.



In many forms of the evil eye belief, a person - otherwise not malefic in any way - can harm adults, children, livestock, or a possession, simply by looking at them with envy. The word "evil" can be seen as somewhat misleading in this context, because it suggests that someone has intentionally "cursed" the victim. A better understanding of the term "evil eye" can be gained from the old English word for casting the evil eye, namely "overlooking," implying that the gaze has remained focused on the coveted object, person, or animal for too long.



While some cultures hold that the evil eye is an involuntary jinx cast unintentionally by people unlucky enough to be cursed with the power to bestow it by their gaze, others hold that, while perhaps not strictly voluntary, the power is called forth by the sin of envy. In Jewish religious thought, it is sometimes asserted that the one who looks upon another with envy is not always at fault, but that the envy may be perceived by God, who then may redress the balance between two people by bringing the higher one low. It has been suggested that the term covet (to eye enviously) in the tenth Commandment refers to casting the evil eye, rather than to simple desire or envy.



Distribution of the Belief



Belief in the evil eye is strongest in the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia (Turkic Languages Speaking People) and Europe, especially the Mediterranean region; it has also spread to other areas, including northern Europe, particularly in the Celtic regions, and the Americas, where it was brought by European colonists and Middle Eastern immigrants.



Although the concept of cursing by staring or gazing is largely absent in East Asian and Southeast Asian societies, the usog curse is an exception.



Belief in the evil eye features in Islamic mythology; it is not a part of Islamic doctrine, however, and is more a feature of folk religion. The practice of warding the evil eye is also common within Muslims (though once again without evidence from an Islamic doctrine). Muslims claim the Qu'ran states to seek refuge from the "mischief of the envious," but seeing as how that is closest quote from the Qu'ran supporting the evil eye, it is plausible to negate or deny this belief, simply because the Qu'ran does not clarify. In the Islamic areas of the Middle East, rather than directly expressing appreciation of, for example, a child's beauty, it is customary to say Masha'Allah, that is, "God has willed it".



In Greece and Turkey, evil eye jewelry and trinkets are particularly common. Colourful beads, bracelets, necklaces, anklets, and all manner of decoration may be adorned by this particularly popular symbol, and it is common to see it on almost anything, from babies, horses, doors to cars, cell phones and even airplanes.



In Latin, the evil eye was fascinum, the origin of the English word "to fascinate".



In Italian the evil is called jettatura or mal' occhio, in Greek baskania or matiasma. The evil eye belief also spread to northern Europe, especially the Celtic regions.



The evil eye is equally significant in Jewish folklore. Ashkenazi Jews in Europe and the Americas routinely exclaim Keyn aynhoreh! (also spelled Kein ayin hara!), meaning "No evil eye!" in Yiddish, to ward off a jinx after something or someone has been rashly praised or good news has been spoken aloud. In the Aegean region and other areas where light-colored eyes are relatively rare, people with green eyes are thought to bestow the curse, intentionally or unintentionally. This belief may have arisen because people from cultures unused to the evil eye, such as Northern Europe, are likely to transgress local customs against staring or praising the beauty of children. Thus, in Greece and Turkey amulets against the evil eye take the form of blue eyes, and in the painting by John Phillip, above, we witness the culture-clash experienced by a woman who suspects that the artist's gaze implies that he is looking at her with the evil eye.



Among those who do not take the evil eye literally, either by reason of the culture in which they were raised or because they simply do not believe in such things, the phrase, "to give someone the evil eye" usually means simply to glare at the person in anger or disgust.



Talismans Offering Protection



Attempts to ward off the curse of the evil eye have resulted in a number of talismans in many cultures. As a class, they are called "apotropaic" (prophylactic or "protective") talismans, meaning that they turn away or turn back harm.



Disks or balls, consisting of concentric blue and white circles (usually, from inside to outside, dark blue, light blue, white, dark blue) representing an evil eye are common apotropaic talismans in the Middle East, found on the prows of Mediterranean boats and elsewhere; in some forms of the folklore, the staring eyes are supposed to bend the malicious gaze back to the sorcerer.



Known as nazar (Turkish: nazar boncugu or nazarlžk), this talisman is particularly common in Turkey, found in or on houses and vehicles or worn as beads.



A blue eye can also be found on some forms of the hamsa hand, an apotropaic hand-shaped amulet against the evil eye found in the Middle East. The word hamsa, also spelled khamsa, and spelled as hamesh, means "five" referring to the fingers of the hand. In Jewish culture, the hamsa is called the Hand of Miriam; in Muslim culture, the Hand of Fatima.



Among Jews, fish are considered to be immune to the evil eye, so their images are often found on hamsa hand amulets. A red thread is also said to protect babies against the evil eye, and according to folkloric custom it is placed on the pillow upon which a newborn baby is presented for the first time at a viewing by family and friends. In the late 20th century it became the custom to wind a red string around the tomb of the great Matriarch, Rachel, located near Bethlehem, in the West Bank, then to cut the string into pieces and give them out to be worn on the left wrist as an effective protection against the evil eye. According to this custom, the left hand is considered to be the receiving side for the body and soul, and by wearing the red string on the left wrist, believers receive a vital connection to the protective energies surrounding the tomb of Rachel, carrying her protective energy with them and drawing from it any time there is need. The Kabbalah Centre puts much emphasis on this custom, which is virtually unknown in classical Kabbalah.



In ancient Rome, people believed that phallic charms and ornaments offered proof against the evil eye. Such a charm was called fascinum in Latin, from the verb fascinare (the origin of the English word "to fascinate"), "to cast a spell", such as that of the evil eye.



One such charm is the cornicello, which literally translates to "little horn". In modern Italian language, they are called Cornetti, with the same meaning. Sometimes referred to as the cornuto (horned) or the corno (horn), it is a long, gently twisted horn-shaped amulet. Cornicelli are usually carved out of red coral or made from gold or silver. The type of horn they are intended to copy is not a curled-over sheep horn or goat horn but rather like the twisted horn of an African eland or something similar.



Some theorists endorse the idea that the ribald suggestions made by sexual symbols would distract the witch from the mental effort needed to successfully bestow the curse. Others hold that since the effect of the eye was to dry up liquids, the drying of the phallus (resulting in male impotence) would be averted by seeking refuge in the moist female genitals. The fact that the hamsa hand, a non-phallic apotropaic amulet, is seen as the hand of a woman (Miriam by Jews and Fatima by Muslims) reinforces the idea that protection comes from the feminine element.



Among the Romans and their cultural descendants in the Mediterranean nations, those who were not fortified with phallic charms had to make use of sexual gestures to avoid the eye. This is one of the uses of the mano cornuto (a fist with the index and little finger extended, the heavy metal or "Hook 'em Horns" gesture) and the mano fico (a fist with the thumb pressed between the index and middle fingers, representing the phallus within the vagina). In addition to the phallic talismans, statues of hands in these gestures, or covered with magical symbols, were carried by the Romans as talismans. In Latin America, carvings of the mano fico continue to be carried as good luck charms.



In Greece, the evil eye is cast away though the process of xematiasma, whereby the "healer" silently recites a secret prayer passed over from an older relative of the opposite sex, usually a grandparent. Such prayers are revealed only under specific circumstances, for according to superstition those who reveal them indiscriminately lose their ability to cast off the evil eye. There are several regional versions of the prayer in question, a common one being: "Holy Virgin, Our Lady, if so and so is suffering of the evil eye release him/her of it" repeated thrice. According to custom, if one is indeed afflicted with the evil eye, both victim and "healer" then start yawning profusely. The "healer" then performs the sign of the cross three times, and spits in the air three times.



In India the evil eye, called "drishti" (literally view) or "nazar", is removed through "Aarthi". The actual removal involves different means as per the subject involved. In case of removing human evil eye, a traditional Hindu ritual of holy flame (on a plate) is rotated around the person's face so as to absorb the evil effects. Sometimes people will also be asked to spit into a handful of chillies kept in that plate, which are then thrown into fire. For vehicles too, this process is followed with limes or lemons being used instead of chillies. These lemons are crushed by the vehicle and another new lemon is hung with chillies in a bead to ward off any future evil eyes. The use of kumkum on cheeks of newly weds or babies is also a method of thwarting the "evil eye". Toddlers and young children are traditionally regarded as perfect so especially likely to attract the evil eye. Often mothers will apply kohl around their children's eyes to make their beauty imperfect and thus reduce their susceptibility to the evil eye. In Bangladesh young children often have large black dots drawn onto their foreheads in order to counter the evil eye.



In Iran, Iraq, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the seeds of Aspand (Peganum harmala, also called Esfand, Espand, Esphand, and Harmal) are burned on charcoal, where they explode with little popping noises, releasing a fragrant smoke that is wafted around the head of those afflicted by or exposed to the gaze of strangers.



As this is done, an ancient Zoroastrian prayer is recited against Bla Band. This prayer is said by Muslims as well as by Zoroastrians in the region where Aspand is utilized against the evil eye. Some sources say that the popping of the seeds relates to the breaking of the curse or the popping of the evil eye itself (although this is not consistent with the idea that a particular person is casting the spell, since no one's eyes are expected to explode as a result of this ritual). In Iran at least, this ritual is sometimes performed in traditional restaurants, where customers are exposed to the eyes of strangers. Dried aspand capsules are also used for protection against the evil eye in parts of Turkey



. In Mexico and Central America, infants are considered at special risk for evil eye (see mal de ojo, above) and are often given an amulet bracelet as protection, typically with an eye-like spot painted on the amulet. Another preventive measure is allowing admirers to touch the infant or child; in a similar manner, a person wearing an item of clothing that might induce envy may suggest to others that they touch it or some other way dispel envy. One traditional cure in rural Mexico involves a curandero (folk healer) sweeping a raw chicken egg over the body of a victim to absorb the power of the person with the evil eye. The egg is later broken into a glass and examined. (The shape of the yolk is thought to indicate whether the aggressor was a man or a woman.) In the traditional Hispanic culture of the Southwestern United States and some parts of Mexico, an egg is passed over the patient and then broken into a bowl of water. This is then covered with a straw or palm cross and placed under the patient's head while he or she sleeps; alternatively, the egg may be passed over the patient in a cross-shaped pattern. The shape of the egg in the bowl is examined in the morning to assess success.



In 1946, the American magician Henri Gamache published a text called Protection against Evil, also called Terrors of the Evil Eye Exposed! which offers directions to defend oneself against the evil eye. Gamache's work brought evil eye beliefs to the attention of hoodoo practitioners in the southern United States.



Nowadays, giving another person the "evil eye" usually means glaring at the person in anger or disgust.



The Eye of Horus is an Ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and power. The Eye was a symbol that signified royal power. The ancients believed this symbol of indestructibility would assist in rebirth, due to their beliefs about the soul. The more recent tradition of freemasonry adopted the symbol and as such it has survived to this day, and appears as the Eye of Providence on the recto of the Great Seal of the United States. The Eye of Horus (flanked by Nekhbet and Wadjet) was found under the 12th layer of bandages on Tutankhamun's mummy.



Horus was an ancient god in Egyptian mythology who dramatically evolved over the whole of Egyptian history. Early on, he became identified as a sky god, where one of his eyes was the sun, and the other the moon. His weaker eye later became less important in his mythology, and he became more strongly aligned with the sun, particularly when the cult of Thoth, a moon god, arose. As the sun, or rather, with his eye as the sun, his eye had a special meaning, and became a symbol of power. Originally, Ra held this position, but as Horus gradually became more important, he transformed into a sun god, so Horus became thought of as Ra, or rather Ra-Herakhty ("Ra, who is Horus of the two horizons").



The Eye of Horus is commonly used in modern times. One example is the Rx symbol used in medicine and pharmaceuticals. Though, the Rx really is an abbreviation of the Latin word for "recipe" however other texts conclude that it is an invocation to the God Jupiter and that the symbol is a corruption of the symbol for Jupiter. In its original use, the Rx was drawn as an eye with a leg, or the Eye of Horus.

Some people are born with a veil, caul, or hood, over their face. Perhaps you are one of these people, or know someone who was born this way.



Many belief systems hold that being born with a veil is a sign of special destiny and psychic abilities, or good luck

Most are female and believe themselves to be psychically gifted, while others show no advanced abilities nor interest.

To be born with a caul, may go more to being Born with a Calling and where that takes a soul.



A caul or veil (Latin: Caput galeatum) is a thin, filmy membrane, the remnants of the amniotic sac, that covers or partly covers the newborn mammal immediately after birth. It is also the membrane enclosing the paunch of mammals, particularly as in pork and mutton butchery.



In childbirth it is seen as a shimmery coating of the head and face. The caul is harmless and it is easily removed by the doctor, midwife, or person(s) performing the childbirth. The appearance of a caul over a newborn baby's head is occasional; not all children have one, though they are not especially rare. A child born in this way is known as a caulbearer.



In medieval times the appearance of a caul on a newborn baby was seen as a sign of good luck. It was considered an omen that the child was destined for greatness. Gathering the caul onto paper was considered an important tradition of childbirth: the midwife would rub a sheet of paper across the baby's head and face, pressing the material of the caul onto the paper. The caul would then be presented to the mother, to be kept as an heirloom.



Over the course of European history, a popular legend developed suggesting that possession of a baby's caul would give its bearer good luck and protect that person from death by drowning. Cauls were therefore highly prized by sailors. Medieval women often sold their cauls to sailors for large sums of money; a caul was regarded as a valuable talisman. In butchery the caul is used as 'offal.'



Alexander the Great was allegedly born with a caul and he certainly had an interesting and powerful life, though short lived.

The organ that circulates our blood still retains rich emotional and cultural significance.



Five hundred years ago the Aztecs of Mexico 'fed' their gods with human hearts, which a priest cut, still beating, from the living chest of captives held down on a stone slab by other priests. Once the heart had been cut out, it was placed in a bowl held by a statue of the god who was to receive it, and the victim's body was thrown down the temple steps. Some estimates suggest around 20 000 humans - usually captives from surrounding states - were sacrificed in this way every year.



Contrast this to events in 2007, when over 200 visitors attended the very first interactive broadcasts of live open-heart surgery at Wellcome Collection. Television cameras and a two-way radio link meant the viewers in London could watch whilst a world-leading cardiologist mended a patient's mitral valve at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire. They asked him questions about what he was doing, and he replied in real time, as if the viewers were actually there in the operating theatre with him. The popularity of the event reflects the important place that organ holds in both our bodies and culture.



Indeed, back in antiquity, philosophers had already identified the heart as not only critical to our physical survival, but also as having profound emotional significance. Aristotle noted that it was the first organ to form in chick embryos - and believed it was the centre of vitality and intelligence - while Galen stated that the brain, not the heart, was the centre of consciousness and reason. However, he agreed with the prevailing idea that the heart was the source of the body's heat.



Over a thousand years later, Leonardo da Vinci also believed that the heart generated heat. Like Galen he was prohibited by law from dissecting human cadavers, so he used oxen and other animals instead produced his anatomical drawings of animal organs in an attempt to determine the structure and function of human organs.



It was the English physician, William Harvey, personal physician to Charles I from 1618, who is credited with being the first to correctly describe the properties of blood being pumped around the body by the heart. In one of his experiments, he 'milked the vein downward' to demonstrate its one-way action.



Four hundred years on, and technology has advanced dramatically. Not only have we the ability to perform open-heart surgery and broadcast it to viewers in another town or country, but today - thanks to Wilson Greatback who invented the first implantable cardiac pacemaker - over 20 000 people receive artificial pacemakers to regulate their heartbeats each year in the UK.



Although we now know that the brain is the seat of our intelligence and emotions, the heart remains the compelling metaphor for feeling - especially for love, or the end of love. Words and phrases such as 'heartfelt', 'with all my heart' and 'broken hearted' are still prevalent in literature and popular culture, while a heart is still the predominant symbol on Valentine's cards. Poignantly, during the 19th century, mothers who had to give their children up to foundling hospitals, used to leave half a hearts playing card with their baby, keeping the other half themselves, so that they could, if possible, claim the child back in the future. The torn heart represented the heartbreak of having to abandon the child - as well as the lifelong love the mother would feel for that child.



The heart has a moral significance too. The ancient Egyptians believed that once they died their hearts would be weighed against 'the feather of truth' to determine whether the deceased had lived nobly and truthfully, and could therefore participate in the afterlife. A heavy heart indicated a heart weighed down by a badly lived life, and was passed to the 'devourer of souls'. A light heart indicated a good person, who was then led to enjoy eternity in the 'happy fields'.



It is in our chests and stomachs that we feel both emotional pain and the glow of happiness - although we know these feelings stem from chemical changes in the brain - which perhaps is why the heart remains such an important symbol to us, despite everything science has taught us.

dreaming is characterized as a form of mental activity that takes place during the act of sleep. Dreams invoke strong emotions within the dreamer, such as ecstasy, joy and terror. Dreams dredge up these deep emotions and premonitions that reflect tellingly upon the dreamer, what one might conceal during waking hours but what emerges in sleep to haunt and arouse the dreamer. It is most likely due to this heightened emotional state that dreams are used so often within Gothic Literature. For by invoking dream states within their characters, authors are able to illustrate emotions on a more unmediated and, oftentimes, terrifying level. Dreams reveal to the reader what the character is often too afraid to realize about himself or herself. Dreaming also has an ancient relation with the act of foretelling wherein the future is glimpsed in the dream state.

The actual term nightmare seems to be a bastardization of the Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon term mara. A mara is defined as a demon which sits upon the chests of sleepers and brings bad dreams.Most cultures seemed to characterize nightmares as being caused by demons; for example, in Germany the demon is known as an Alp, in relation to elf. Etymological confusion led English writers and painters to portray graphically the nightmare as a night + horse (mare):

A cemetery defines a place which is used for the burial of the dead. This term koimeterion (" place of rest") was primarily applied by early Christains to the Roman catacombs--a subterranean labyrinth of galleries with recesses for tombs orignally used by the city's Jewish population--and became widely used within the 15th century. All cultures seem to have participated in the idea of a cemetery in a form at some time. Paleolithic caves, temples, sanctuaries, grave mounds and necropolii are just a few different types differentiated cemeteries. Christian belief formed the idea of the cemetery as a churchyard or crypt, but we must remember that a cemetery is any place which is used to house the dead.Cemeteries are widely used in Gothic Literature as oftentimes frightening places where revenance can occur. Catacombs are especially evocative Gothic spaces because they enable the living to enter below ground a dark labyrinth resonating with the presences and mysteries of the dead.

Body-snatching is the act of stealing corpses from graves, tombs or morgues. This act was quite prominent during the period of time wherein cadavers were unavailable for dissection and scientific study (early 18th century to middle 19th century). Body-snatching came to represent a particularly horrid instance of sacrilege, an invasion of religious space by an aggressive and often commercially motivated science. Knowledge of this act resulted in mass riots and even the ransacking of medical dormitories.

Example: R. L. Stevenson's "The Body-Snatcher" employs the grisly profession of corpse stealing to weave a tale in which two grave robbers are horrified to find in their latest disinterred coffin the body of a man they had previously killed and served up to the medical profession. The most famous example of a Gothic story which involves the theft of a corpse in order to bring it back to some form of life is Frankenstein: Victor frequents "the dissecting room and the slaughter-house" for his "workshop of filthy creation"--apparently his monster comes from some kind of assemblage.

A more recent example of body-snatching comes from Stephen King's Pet Semetary (actually spelled this way). In the novel, the father of a newly dead boy digs up the body hours after burial. The father proceeds to re-bury the boy, Gavin, in a place known as Pet Semetary in hopes that the child will come back to life. Although the corpse of the boy does in fact re-animate, it is controlled by an evil demon bent upon the murder of surrounding mortals.