Myths & mysteries
Discover facts about myths & mysteries. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Myths & mysteries
Grimoires were mostly copied from bad translations
Most of the terrifying, ancient spell books of the Middle Ages are just historically awful games of telephone. Grimoires were repeatedly copied by…
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Levitation tricks relied on really strong corsets
The incredible photos of Victorian mediums hovering in mid-air had less to do with telekinesis and more to do with heavy-duty tailoring. Fraudulent psychics…
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Members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn threw literal magical temper tantrums at each other when they weren't busy trying to decode the secrets of the universe.
Members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn threw literal magical temper tantrums at each other when they weren't busy trying to decode the secrets of…
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John Dee served as Queen Elizabeth I’s personal astrologer and spent his later years trying to chat with angels using a shiny piece of black stone.
John Dee served as Queen Elizabeth I’s personal astrologer and spent his later years trying to chat with angels using a shiny piece of black stone. This…
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Aleister Crowley dubbed himself the Great Beast 666 and became the most notorious occultist of the twentieth century, but his mystical career was mostly defined by him being an absolutely unbearable houseguest.
Aleister Crowley dubbed himself the Great Beast 666 and became the most notorious occultist of the twentieth century, but his mystical career was mostly…
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Heinrich Himmler built a Nazi witch research division
Because orchestrating a global war wasn't evil enough, the architect of the SS decided he also needed to dabble in the dark arts. Heinrich Himmler established…
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Seventeenth-century alchemist Hennig Brand was so convinced he could create the Philosopher's Stone to turn lead into gold that he boiled down 1,500 gallons of human urine in his basement.
Seventeenth-century alchemist Hennig Brand was so convinced he could create the Philosopher's Stone to turn lead into gold that he boiled down 1,500 gallons…
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Mystics spent decades claiming that thirteen ancient Mesoamerican crystal skulls held massive psychic energy, could cure cancer, and were possibly dropped off by hyper-advanced alien tourists.
Mystics spent decades claiming that thirteen ancient Mesoamerican crystal skulls held massive psychic energy, could cure cancer, and were possibly dropped off…
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Sixteenth-century French astrologer Nostradamus is world-famous for writing vague, mystical quatrains that conspiracy theorists constantly twist to predict modern historical disasters.
Sixteenth-century French astrologer Nostradamus is world-famous for writing vague, mystical quatrains that conspiracy theorists constantly twist to predict…
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Aleister Crowley wrote a mystical poem to summon the god Pan that required a participant to have asthma
Nothing screams 'master of the dark arts' quite like weaponizing an asthma attack. The self-proclaimed 'Great Beast 666' wrote a chaotic ritual to summon Pan,…
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Mormonism founder Joseph Smith translated mystical golden plates by staring intensely at a rock inside his hat
The cornerstone text of a massive modern religion was translated using the exact same method a street magician uses to hide a coin. Before founding Mormonism,…
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Initiates of the Eleusinian Mysteries participated in the most famous secret religious rites of ancient Greece by drinking a barley beverage called kykeon that was likely contaminated with psychoactive ergot.
Initiates of the Eleusinian Mysteries participated in the most famous secret religious rites of ancient Greece by drinking a barley beverage called kykeon…
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Freemasons based their rituals on medieval guilds
People love to imagine Masons are worshipping ancient Egyptian demons, but their secret rituals are literally just cosplay based on medieval stone-cutting…
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Plato believed souls picked their next life
The foundational philosopher of Western thought literally wrote a myth claiming souls pull a lottery ticket to choose their next reincarnation. If you picked…
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Palm readers insist that having a clear letter M on your palm indicates you are a psychic master with deep intuition
Discovering you have profound psychic powers is surprisingly easy when the required physical trait is present in roughly half the human population. Palm…
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Roman physicians instructed patients to wear amulets carved with the word abracadabra to magically cure lethal malaria
The classic magic word you shout before pulling a rabbit out of a hat used to be serious pharmaceutical advice. In the second century, the Roman physician…
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Onychomancy predicts your doomed future via fingernails
Forget the stars; some mystics stared intensely at how the sun reflected off an oiled fingernail to determine if you were going to die in a plague. It's…
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Book of Soyga supposedly kills anyone who reads it
John Dee’s legendary occult text was filled with encrypted magical tables. The myth goes that anyone who decrypts it will die within two and a half years. So…
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Gef the talking mongoose was an infamous 1930s poltergeist
A family on the Isle of Man convinced the British press they were haunted by an extra-dimensional spirit that took the form of a hyper-intelligent, gossiping…
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Ancient Egyptian amulets featured magic pillows for the dead
Mummies were packed with dozens of mystical trinkets, including tiny, magical 'headrest' amulets. The logic was that even in the infinite expanse of the…
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Margaretta and Kate Fox inadvertently launched the massive Modern Spiritualism movement in 1848 by claiming they were communicating with a murdered peddler's ghost through mysterious knocking sounds in their farmhouse.
Margaretta and Kate Fox inadvertently launched the massive Modern Spiritualism movement in 1848 by claiming they were communicating with a murdered peddler's…
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Helena Blavatsky co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 by claiming she received telepathic messages from secret Mahatmas living in Tibet who were guiding the spiritual evolution of humanity.
Helena Blavatsky co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 by claiming she received telepathic messages from secret Mahatmas living in Tibet who were…
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Heinrich Kramer wrote the Malleus Maleficarum in 1486 as a comprehensive guidebook for identifying, torturing, and executing witches, heavily focusing on the supposed ability of witches to magically steal men's genitals.
Heinrich Kramer wrote the Malleus Maleficarum in 1486 as a comprehensive guidebook for identifying, torturing, and executing witches, heavily focusing on the…
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Grigori Rasputin gained immense political power in the Russian Empire by convincing Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra that his mystical prayers could cure their son's hemophilia.
Grigori Rasputin gained immense political power in the Russian Empire by convincing Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra that his mystical prayers could…
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