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Occult & Esoteric Culture

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Occult & Esoteric Culture4 entries

The Voynich Manuscript: A Book That Refuses to Become Plain

The Voynich Manuscript is a real medieval codex filled with undeciphered writing, strange plants and diagrams that keep attracting scholars, codebreakers and dreamers.

uncertainpublicBeinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale UniversityEarly 15th century manuscript; modern fame from 20th century

Occult & Esoteric Culture

The Fox Sisters: Rappings, Performance and the Sound of Belief

The Fox sisters' spirit raps helped launch modern Spiritualism, then became a lesson in performance, grief, confession and belief that survives exposure.

hoaxpublicHydesville and Rochester, New York1848 onward; public confession in 1888

Occult & Esoteric Culture

The Hope Diamond Curse: A Jewel, a Rumour and a Sales Pitch

The Hope Diamond is real, spectacular and historically traceable; the curse attached to it is better read as media folklore and gem-market theatre.

folklorepublicSmithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.Legend built especially in the 19th and 20th centuries

Occult & Esoteric Culture

Cursed Objects and the Stories We Attach to Things

Why ordinary objects can gather blame, awe and dread when misfortune needs a visible container.

folklorepublicMuseums, homes and auction roomsAncient to modern