Myths & mysteries
Discover facts about myths & mysteries. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Myths & mysteries
Amateur archaeologist Alfred Watkins proposed the concept of ley lines in the nineteen twenties, suggesting that ancient monuments across Britain were intentionally built along…
Amateur archaeologist Alfred Watkins proposed the concept of ley lines in the nineteen twenties, suggesting that ancient monuments across Britain were…
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Medieval herbalists believed that the mandrake root contained a powerful magical spirit because the plant occasionally grew into a shape vaguely resembling a screaming naked human.
Medieval herbalists believed that the mandrake root contained a powerful magical spirit because the plant occasionally grew into a shape vaguely resembling a…
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Saint Francis of Assisi is widely credited as the first person in Christian history to exhibit the stigmata, a mystical phenomenon where an intensely devoted person spontaneously…
Saint Francis of Assisi is widely credited as the first person in Christian history to exhibit the stigmata, a mystical phenomenon where an intensely devoted…
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Victorian pseudo-scientists hypothesized that intense mystical rage or excessive alcoholism could cause a human body to undergo spontaneous combustion, literally bursting into…
Victorian pseudo-scientists hypothesized that intense mystical rage or excessive alcoholism could cause a human body to undergo spontaneous combustion,…
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Medieval architects slapped terrifying demonic gargoyles on the sides of sacred cathedrals under the mystical guise that these horrifying stone monsters would frighten away evil spirits and protect the holy grounds.
Medieval architects slapped terrifying demonic gargoyles on the sides of sacred cathedrals under the mystical guise that these horrifying stone monsters would…
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Clairvoyance and mediumship became so insanely popular during the 1920s that Scientific American magazine actually offered a massive cash prize to anyone who could produce…
Clairvoyance and mediumship became so insanely popular during the 1920s that Scientific American magazine actually offered a massive cash prize to anyone who…
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Automatic writing became such a massive fad in the early twentieth century that a housewife named Pearl Curran famously wrote several critically acclaimed novels supposedly dictated by a ghost named Patience Worth.
Automatic writing became such a massive fad in the early twentieth century that a housewife named Pearl Curran famously wrote several critically acclaimed…
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Gilles de Rais was a heroic medieval knight who fought alongside Joan of Arc before suddenly retiring to his massive castle to try and summon demons using alchemy and terrifyingly dark magic.
Gilles de Rais was a heroic medieval knight who fought alongside Joan of Arc before suddenly retiring to his massive castle to try and summon demons using…
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Crystal gazing was actually a highly respected and lucrative profession in Elizabethan England, mostly utilized to locate stolen laundry, missing farm animals, or hidden buried treasure.
Crystal gazing was actually a highly respected and lucrative profession in Elizabethan England, mostly utilized to locate stolen laundry, missing farm…
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Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa was a famous Renaissance occultist rumored to be accompanied everywhere by a terrifying demonic familiar disguised as a massive black dog.
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa was a famous Renaissance occultist rumored to be accompanied everywhere by a terrifying demonic familiar disguised as a massive…
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Pyramid power was a massive pseudoscientific fad in the nineteen seventies where people genuinely believed that placing food, razor blades, or their own heads inside a cardboard…
Pyramid power was a massive pseudoscientific fad in the nineteen seventies where people genuinely believed that placing food, razor blades, or their own heads…
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Numerologists believe that numbers carry deep mystical vibrations that influence the fabric of reality, and no number has caused more unhinged obsession than twenty-three.
Numerologists believe that numbers carry deep mystical vibrations that influence the fabric of reality, and no number has caused more unhinged obsession than…
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Zener cards were developed in the 1930s by perceptual psychologist Karl Zener to conduct rigorous, scientific testing for extrasensory perception and clairvoyance at Duke University.
Zener cards were developed in the 1930s by perceptual psychologist Karl Zener to conduct rigorous, scientific testing for extrasensory perception and…
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Catholic mystics have long venerated the Shroud of Turin as the authentic burial cloth of Jesus Christ, claiming the faint image of a bearded man miraculously scorched into the…
Catholic mystics have long venerated the Shroud of Turin as the authentic burial cloth of Jesus Christ, claiming the faint image of a bearded man miraculously…
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Gematria is a traditional mystical system where alphabetical letters are assigned numerical values, allowing practitioners to find hidden connections between words that happen to add up to the exact same number.
Gematria is a traditional mystical system where alphabetical letters are assigned numerical values, allowing practitioners to find hidden connections between…
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Voodoo dolls are widely recognized in pop culture as terrifying tools of revenge where a mystical practitioner sticks pins into a little cloth effigy to inflict excruciating physical pain on their enemies.
Voodoo dolls are widely recognized in pop culture as terrifying tools of revenge where a mystical practitioner sticks pins into a little cloth effigy to…
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Belief in the Evil Eye dates back to classical antiquity, operating on the premise that certain people can cause injury or bad luck simply by looking at you with envy or malice.
Belief in the Evil Eye dates back to classical antiquity, operating on the premise that certain people can cause injury or bad luck simply by looking at you…
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Astral projection is an esoteric belief claiming your soul can intentionally leave your physical body and travel the universe while you lie completely motionless in bed.
Astral projection is an esoteric belief claiming your soul can intentionally leave your physical body and travel the universe while you lie completely…
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Hermeticism is built on the writings of Hermes Trismegistus, a supposed ancient prophet who combined the wisdom of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth.
Hermeticism is built on the writings of Hermes Trismegistus, a supposed ancient prophet who combined the wisdom of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god…
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I Ching, or the Book of Changes, is an ancient Chinese divination text that uses the casting of yarrow stalks or coins to generate hexagrams that supposedly answer your deepest life questions.
I Ching, or the Book of Changes, is an ancient Chinese divination text that uses the casting of yarrow stalks or coins to generate hexagrams that supposedly…
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Necromancy wasn't originally about raising an army of decaying zombies to attack fantasy villages; it was an ancient divinatory practice focused on summoning the spirits of the dead to ask them about the future.
Necromancy wasn't originally about raising an army of decaying zombies to attack fantasy villages; it was an ancient divinatory practice focused on summoning…
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Chiromancy, or palm reading, originated in ancient India and spread across Eurasia, operating on the premise that the creases on your hand map out your personality and your entire future.
Chiromancy, or palm reading, originated in ancient India and spread across Eurasia, operating on the premise that the creases on your hand map out your…
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Runes were simply the letters of the alphabets used by various Germanic peoples before the adoption of the Latin alphabet, primarily meant for carving boring trade records and basic memorials into stone.
Runes were simply the letters of the alphabets used by various Germanic peoples before the adoption of the Latin alphabet, primarily meant for carving boring…
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Kabbalah is an ancient, highly complex tradition of Jewish mysticism that historically required decades of intense Torah study to even begin to understand.
Kabbalah is an ancient, highly complex tradition of Jewish mysticism that historically required decades of intense Torah study to even begin to understand. In…
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