Category:
Curses
Curses
Cursed Rocks
The legend that if you remove a rock from a National Park, you'll bring bad luck upon yourself. Explored in a book.
From the publisher's blurb:
The Petrified Forest National Park in Northeast Arizona protects one of the largest deposits of petrified wood in the world. Despite stern warnings, visitors remove several tons of petrified wood from the park each year, often returning these rocks by mail (sometimes years later), accompanied by a “conscience letter.” These letters often include stories of misfortune attributed directly to their theft: car troubles, cats with cancer, deaths of family members, etc. Some writers hope that by returning these stolen rocks, good fortune will return to their lives, while others simply apologize or ask forgiveness. “They are beautiful,” reads one letter, “but I can’t enjoy them. They weigh like a ton of bricks on my conscience. Sorry…” Bad Luck, Hot Rocks documents this ongoing phenomenon, combining a series of original photographs of these otherworldly “bad luck rocks” with dozens of facsimiles of intimate, oddly entertaining letters from the Park’s archives.
I've never taken anything from a National Park, so my conscience is clean.
The book is available from Amazon. The authors also have a website you can check out.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 23, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Curses
Blasphemy Day
Today is Blasphemy Day! %&#&^%%$#%^&%^$*$#!!!!!
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 30, 2013 -
Comments (6)
Category: Curses
Hot Stuff and Old Forky
As we observed in this prior post on Harvey Comics, the stories told about Richie Rich, Casper and the gang were frequently weirder than any Grant Morrison or Warren Ellis tale. Here's one from Devil Kids Starring Hot Stuff, Volume 1, Number 6, May 1963, that illustrates my point. You can read the entire five-page story at the end, but I've included some single panels to make my points.
They just don't write 'em like this any more.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 02, 2010 -
Comments (2)
Category: Sexuality, Comics, Fantasy, Writers, 1960s, LGBT, Curses
Satanism is Rampant!
NOTE: loud pop soundtrack: adjust your volume!
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 06, 2010 -
Comments (3)
Category: Horror, Politics, Myths and Fairytales, Curses, Conspiracy Theories and Theorists
The Hope Diamond
But you don't seem to hear about it so much anymore.
For a quick rundown of the tale, visit this site, or check out the Wikipedia entry.
But surely one of the weirdest facts connected with the gem is that it was once sent through the US Mail!
Henry “Harry” Winston, a leading American jeweler and gem dealer, bought the diamond from Mrs. McLean’s estate in 1949. In November 1958 Winston donated the diamond to the Smithsonian Institution, intending it to be the foundation for a National Jewel Collection. With his years of experience in shipping jewelry all over the world, Winston chose to have the diamond delivered by registered mail. He told a reporter for the Washington Post that “ . . . [registered mail is] the safest way to ship gems. . . . I’ve sent gems all over the world that way.”
Just a thought about that curse: since 1958, the Hope Diamond has been owned, in a manner of speaking, by the whole nation. If one chooses to date America's hard times--the end of some mythical Golden Age--from roughly that period, could it be said that the curse is still operative?
Why not sell the Hope Diamond to a rich oil shiek, use the money to help relieve the deficit, and see what happens?
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 12, 2008 -
Comments (1)
Category: Museums, 1950s, Natural Wonders, Curses, Postal Services
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |