In Mexico and the Southwestern U.S.  parents warn their children not to misbehave or wander off because La Llorona (Spanish for crying woman) will mistake them for her own children and snatch them up. 

One version of the story tells of a young woman who wants to attract the man of her dreams but can’t because she has children. To solve her problem she drowns her children.  After she goes to these extreme lengths the man rejects her anyway. Horrified by what she has done, La Llorona kills herself. She spends the rest of eternity searching the river for her kids.

People tell many variations of the story. In one, the man is the children’s father who leaves La Llorona for a rich woman. In a rage La Llorona kills his children. She immediately regrets her actions and kills herself.

In the version told in Honduras, the children drown when the woman is doing laundry and not paying attention to her kids. While this is horrible and a fear shared by many parents, it’s perhaps a little less romantic.

Sleep takes us to a strange and mysterious land. Throughout history, the imagery and twisted story lines of the dream scape have fascinated people.

In contemporary times, many mental health professionals believe, to some degree, that dreams offer keys to understanding the subconscious. Ever since Sigmund Freud published “The Interpretation of Dreams” in 1899, dream interpretation has been one of the gadgets in the toolbox of psychologists.

The prevailing belief in the ancient world was that dreams were messages from the netherworld. In 626 BC, the library of Assyrian king Assurbanipal contained clay tablets which told of the importance of dreams in the life of kings and commoners. The king compiled his dream book from sources that may have reached back as far as 5000 BC. The ancient world revered dream interpreters. The “Oneirocritica” by Artemidorus of Daldis was one of the first and most famous books on dream interpretation. Thousands of books followed.

Whether you want to unlock the secrets of your subconscious mind in the modern tradition, or follow the old ways and decipher messages from the spirit world, the lexicography is much the same. Dream symbolism has remained remarkably consistent down through the centuries. Dream interpretation is a subtle art. The meanings of the symbols are open to … interpretation. A cigar isn’t always a cigar, but sometimes it is.

Resources for dream interpretation

I believe that at some point in my lifetime I will experience a post-apocalyptic world. So far humans have been remarkably resourceful in thwarting my dream. But I’m not dead yet, so there is still a chance. The one concern I have about post-apocalyptic living is that I have theoretical knowledge of many things but fairly limited practical experience. For example I know how an internal combustion engine works but I’ve never actually built one. The same is true for many other things – radios, brain surgery, microwaves, printing presses, irrigation ditches and many more. In preparation for a post-apocalyptic living, I thought it might be a good idea to brush up on a few skills.

 

Today’s lesson: How to make fuel from pig poo. (with graphs and diagrams)

Thank you to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for this helpful information. I do have one more question, however. The instructions say collect methane gas and compress it to use as vehicle fuel. I would like to know the particulars of this process. If anyone knows, please share.

The draug of Norse folklore is, perhaps, one of the most intractable monsters in the whole history of folklore. This creature has superhuman strength and reeks with the stench of the decay. He can rise from the grave as a wisp of smoke and transform into a:

• Seal
• Flayed bull
• Gray horse without ears or a tail and a broken spine
• Cat

Not only can the draug transform, he can also super-size and crush his victim. A special twist to the powers of the draug is that he is invisible to everyone except his future victims. So if you see him, you’re in big trouble.

If all this wasn’t enough, the draug can also drive animals mad, change the weather, and see the future. And he has the ability to enter the dream world and destroy his victims from inside their heads.

The draug kills his victims by crushing them when he is in his super-sized form. This is especially effective when he assumes the shape of a cat. As a cat he sits on the chest of the sleeping victim and grows heavier until the victim suffocates.

Killing a draug is a complicated process. A hero who is pure of heart must wrestle the creature with his bare hands. When the draug is down, the hero must decapitate him with the draug’s own weapon. Once decapitated, a wooden stake goes through the heart then the whole thing body and head must be burned until nothing is left but ash. If any of these steps aren’t followed exactly the draug comes back to life.

In order to avoid the creation of the troublesome draug in the first place, the Norse
bury the dead with a pair of open iron scissors on their chest. (hmmm) Straws or twigs are hidden in their clothes and the big toes are tied together. As an added precaution needles are driven through the soles of the feet to keep the dead from being able to walk.

Once the body is prepared, the coffin is lifted and lowered in three different directions to confuse the draug’s sense of direction.

A special corpse door is built in the tomb. As the body is carried in (feet first) the mourners gather around the door so the corpse won’t know where he’s going. The door is then bricked up for safety.

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No one has won the “Guess Kate’s Background Contest.” You can find out all about it here

 

Jeremy C Shipp at Slices of Weirdo Pie- Has an astonishing ability to bring the strange to life and his fiction is really good too.

SS Michaels at Slush Pile Hero - Keeps a watchful eye on her readers. She doesn’t hesitate to point out the suspicious ones.

Tanya Moore at Misadventurous – Mixes science fiction with urban fantasy with erotica with…

Richard Cody at Notes From a Life in Progress - Writes lyrical prose and exceptional poetry. He is also a 4th level Psychonaut.

John Claude Smith, a member of The Hive Mind – Writes disturbingly strange stories. And his eye for art provides hours and hours of strange viewing pleasure.

Avery Edison at Avery Edison’s Internet Website – Check out Avery’s about page where she has links to her novel in progress. And remember don’t scratch – you’ll only make it worse.

According to Romanian folklore the Earth is a disc. Humans live on one side and the other side is a mirror image of our world populated by the Blajini. The Blajini (gentle ones) are small creatures with heads like rats who don’t understand the ways of human beings. They live peacefully in paradise on the other side of the disc. They once lived alongside humans but somehow when Moses parted the Red Sea they ended up on the wrong side of the returning water.

Throughout the year, the Blajini fast, which frees up resources for humans. Each Spring, to thank the Blajini, Romanians throw red Easter egg shells into streams. The egg shells are carried on the current through the Apa Sambetei (World Ocean) to the river along which the Blajini’s live. When the Blajini see the red egg shells they know it’s time for their annual feast.

 

Doppelgangers occasionally set off to seek their own fortunes. When doubles are spotted miles, or even continents away from the person they belong to, they are called ‘wraiths.’ Wraiths are far more dangerous than an ordinary doppelganger. Some believe they materialize in the world because they want to displace the original person.

Many famous people throughout history have reported seeing doppelgangers.

 

• Guy de Maupassant, the French novelist and short story writer, was haunted by his doppelganger near the end of his life. He reported that his double entered his room, took a seat opposite him and began to dictate what he should write. The short story “Lui.” describes his experience.
• John Donne, the 16th century English poet was visited by his wife’s doppelganger while he was away from home on a trip to Paris. She appeared to him holding a newborn baby. When he returned home he discovered his pregnant wife had delivered a stillborn child.
• Percy Bysshe Shelley ran into his doppelganger in Italy. The vision pointed toward the Mediterranean Sea. Just before turning 30 Shelley died in a sailing accident in the Mediterranean Sea.
• Queen Elizabeth I of England was horrified to see her doppelganger laid out on her bed. The queen died within a short time of seeing the vision..
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the 18th century German poet, saw his doppelganger while riding down a  road. His double, travelling toward him, wore a gray suit trimmed in gold. Eight years later, Goethe was traveling the same road in the opposite direction. He was surprised to look down and realize he was wearing a gray suit with gold trim.

Find my Doppelganger