21/01: Spring Heeled Jack


Many theories have been proposed to ascertain the nature and identity of Spring Heeled Jack. The urban legend of Spring Heeled Jack gained immense popularity in its time due to the tales of his bizarre appearance and ability to make extraordinary leaps, to the point where he became the topic of several works of fiction.
Spring Heeled Jack was described by people claiming to have seen him as having a terrifying and frightful appearance, with diabolical physiognomy that included clawed hands and eyes that "resembled red balls of fire". One report claimed that, beneath a black cloak, he wore a helmet and a tight-fitting white garment like an "oilskin". Many stories also mention a "Devil-like" aspect. Spring Heeled Jack was said to be tall and thin, with the appearance of a gentleman, and capable of making great leaps. Several reports mention that he could breathe out blue and white flames and that he wore sharp metallic claws at his fingertips. At least two people claimed that he was able to speak comprehensible English."
- Wikipedia

- anonymous citizen's complaint addressed to Sir John Cowan, Lord Mayor of London, dated January 9, 1838.
"My Lord,

The villain mentioned in it as appearing in the guise of a ghost, bear or devil, has been within the last week or two repeatedly seen at Lewisham and Blackheath. So much, indeed, has he frightened the inhabitants of those peaceful districts that women and children durst not stir out of their houses after dark.
There ought to be a stop put to this, but the police, I am afraid, are frightened of him also. I have the honour to be your Lordship's most obedient servant
JC"
Letter to Lord Mayor, published in The Times Jan 11 1838.

"A gentleman stated to his Lordship that the servant girls about Kensington, and Hammersmith, and Ealing, told dreadful stories of a ghost, or devil, who, on one occasion, was said to have beaten a blacksmith, and torn his flesh with iron claws , and in others to tear clothes from the backs of females . Not one of the injured people had been known to tell the story; perhaps they didn't like to tell it. The Lord Major believed that one of the ladies who had lost their seven senses was his correspondent. He hoped she would do him the favour of a call, and he would have the opportunity of getting from her such a description of the demon as would enable him to catch him, in spite of the paid press and public."
- The Times, January 9, 1838

- The Morning Chronicle, January 10 1838

- West Kent Guardian, January 13 1838


- The Times, February 22 1838


del.icio.us tags: spring-heeled-jack, monster
20/01: Goblin

"In European folklore this is a grotesque, diminutive and generally malicious earth spirit or sprite. Goblins may be known by the alternative spellings of the name: Gobblin, Gobelin, Gobeline, Gobling, and Goblyn. Goblins are said to be about the height of a man's knee and have gray hair and beards. Like the more friendly brownie, Goblins inhabit the homes of humans, where they indulge in tricks and make noises much as poltergeist does. The Goblin does have the endearing trait of likeing children and bringing them little gifts when they are well-behaved. For the adults, however, a resident Goblin can become a nuisance with upset kitchens and furniture and horses ridden to a lather in the stables at night."
- "Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia" by Carol Rose


Tells how the drudging goblin sweat,
To earn his cream-bowl duly set,
When in one night, ere glimpse of morn,
His shadowy flail hath thresh'd the corn,
That ten day-lab'rers could not end.
- Milton


- The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

- The goblin and the huckster by Hans Christian Andersen

"Laughed every goblin
When they spied her peeping:
Came towards her hobbling,
Flying, running, leaping,
Puffing and blowing,

Chuckling, clapping, crowing,
Clucking and gobbling,
Mopping and mowing,
Full of airs and graces,
Pulling wry faces,
Demure grimaces,
Cat-like and rat-like,
Ratel- and wombat-like,
Snail-paced in a hurry,
Parrot-voiced and whistler,
Helter skelter, hurry skurry,
Chattering like magpies,
Fluttering like pigeons,
Gliding like fishes,--
Hugged her and kissed her:
Squeezed and caressed her:
Stretched up their dishes,
Panniers, and plates:
'Look at our apples
Russet and dun,
Bob at our cherries,
Bite at our peaches,
Citrons and dates,
Grapes for the asking,
Pears red with basking
Out in the sun,
Plums on their twigs;
Pluck them and suck them,
Pomegranates, figs.'--

'Good folk,' said Lizzie,
Mindful of Jeanie:
'Give me much and many:'--
Held out her apron,
Tossed them her penny.
'Nay, take a seat with us,
Honour and eat with us,'
They answered grinning:
'Our feast is but beginning.
Night yet is early,
Warm and dew-pearly,
Wakeful and starry:
Such fruits as these
No man can carry;
Half their bloom would fly,
Half their dew would dry,
Half their flavour would pass by.
Sit down and feast with us,
Be welcome guest with us,
Cheer you and rest with us.'--
'Thank you,' said Lizzie: 'But one waits
At home alone for me:
So without further parleying,
If you will not sell me any
Of your fruits though much and many,
Give me back my silver penny
I tossed you for a fee.'--
They began to scratch their pates,
No longer wagging, purring,

But visibly demurring,
Grunting and snarling.
One called her proud,
Cross-grained, uncivil;
Their tones waxed loud,
Their looks were evil.
Lashing their tails
They trod and hustled her,
Elbowed and jostled her,
Clawed with their nails,
Barking, mewing, hissing, mocking,
Tore her gown and soiled her stocking,
Twitched her hair out by the roots,
Stamped upon her tender feet,
Held her hands and squeezed their fruits
Against her mouth to make her eat."
- The Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti

Pox: [to Blix] You only got the shot in 'cause the Princess was there! Wrong! 'Twas Beauty led the Beast to bay!
Blunder: She was so sweet, I could eat her brains like jam!
Pox: I could suck her bones...
Blix: Enough! Better hurry. Dark Lord, he don't like to wait.
- Legend

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby. And the baby was a spoiled child, and wanted everything for himself, and the young girl was practically a slave. But what no one knew is that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl, and he had given her certain powers. So one night, when the baby had been particularly cruel to her, she called on the goblins for help!"
- Labyrinth


del.icio.us tags: goblin, monster, creepbox
22/12: Behemoth

"Behemoth is a biblical creature mentioned in the Book of Job, 40:15-24. The word is most likely a plural form of behemah, meaning beast or large animal. It may be an example of pluralis excellentiae, a Hebrew method of expressing greatness by pluralizing a noun; it thus indicates that Behemoth is the largest and most powerful animal ever to exist. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful entity."
- Wikipedia

16 Behold now his strength is in his loins and his power is in the navel of his belly.
17 His tail hardens like a cedar; the sinews of his tendons are knit together.
18 His limbs are as strong as copper, his bones as a load of iron.
19 His is the first of God's ways; [only] his Maker can draw His sword [against him].
20 For the mountains bear food for him, and all the beasts of the field play there.
21 Does he lie under the shadows, in the covert of the reeds and the swamp?
22 Do the shadows cover him as his shadow? Do the willows of the brook surround him?
23 Behold, he plunders the river, and [he] does not harden; he trusts that he will draw the Jordan into his mouth.
24 With His eyes He will take him; with snares He will puncture his nostrils."
- Book of Job, 40:15-24

"Then you kept in existence two living creatures; the name of one you called Behemoth and the name of the other Leviathan. And you separated one from the other, for the seventh part where the water had been gathered together could not hold them both. And you gave Behemoth one of the parts which had been dried up on the third day, to live in it, where there are a thousand mountains; but to Leviathan you have the seventh part, the watery part; and you have kept them to be eaten by whom you wish, and when you wish"
- 4Edras 6:49-52


Opening her fertile womb teemed at a birth
Innumerous living creatures, perfect forms,
Limbed and full grown: Out of the ground up rose,
As from his lair, the wild beast where he wons
In forest wild, in thicket, brake, or den;
Among the trees in pairs they rose, they walked:
The cattle in the fields and meadows green:
Those rare and solitary, these in flocks
Pasturing at once, and in broad herds upsprung.
The grassy clods now calved; now half appeared
The tawny lion, pawing to get free
His hinder parts, then springs as broke from bonds,
And rampant shakes his brinded mane; the ounce,
The libbard, and the tiger, as the mole
Rising, the crumbled earth above them threw
In hillocks: The swift stag from under ground
Bore up his branching head: Scarce from his mould
Behemoth biggest born of earth upheaved
His vastness: Fleeced the flocks and bleating rose,
As plants: Ambiguous between sea and land
The river-horse, and scaly crocodile."
- Paradise Lost - Book VII 453-474


If Wierus, our oracle on all that concerns demons, does not admit Behemoth to his inventory of the infernal monarchy, he says, in his first book, des Prestiges des demons, ch. XXI, that Behemoth or the elephant could well be Satan himself, of whom one also grants vast power.

Finally, because one reads, in Ch. 40 of Job, that Behemoth eats as much hay as a beef, the rabbis will make of him a marvelous roast reserved for the festival of their Messiah. This beef is so enormous, they say, that he gobbles up every day the hay of a thousand huge mountains, which he has grazed since the beginning of the world. He never leaves his thousand mountains, or the grass that he had eaten that day would push back the night into the next day. They swear that God killed the female of the species in the beginning; since one could not let such a race multiply. The Jews promise well of the joy at the festival where he will be the piece de resistance. They swear on their side by the flesh of Behemoth."
- Dictionnaire Infernal by Collin de Plancy (1863)



del.icio.us tags: behemoth, monster, creepbox
24/11: Zombie

"A zombie is a reanimated human corpse. Stories of zombies originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of Vodou, which told of the people being controlled as workers by a powerful sorcerer. Zombies became a popular device in modern horror fiction, largely because of the success of George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead.

There are several possible etymologies of the word zombie. One possible origin is jumbie, the West Indian term for "ghost". Another is nzambi, the Kongo word meaning "spirit of a dead person." According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the etymology is from the Louisiana Creole or Haitian Creole zonbi, of Bantu origin. A zonbi is a person who is believed to have died and been brought back to life without speech or free will. It is akin to the Kimbundu nzúmbe ghost. These words are approximately from 1871."
- Wikipedia

"I will knock down the Gates of the Netherworld,
I will smash the door posts, and leave the doors flat down,
And will let the dead go up to eat the living!
And the dead will outnumber the living!"
- Epic of Gilgamesh

- "Herbert West: Reanimator" by H.P. Lovecraft

"The dead walk among us. Zombies, ghouls-no matter what their label-these somnambulists are the greatest threat to humanity, other than humanity itself. To call them predators and us prey would he inaccurate. They are a plague, and the human race their host. The lucky victims are devoured, their bones scraped clean, their flesh consumed. Those not so fortunate join the ranks of their attackers, transformed into putrid, carnivorous monsters. Conventional warfare is useless against these creatures, as is conventional thought. The science of ending life, developed and perfected since the beginning of our existence, cannot protect us from an enemy that has no "life" to end. Does this mean the living dead are invincible? No. Can these creatures be stopped? Yes. Ignorance is the undead's strongest ally, knowledge their deadliest enemy. That is why this book was written: to provide the knowledge necessary for survival against these subhuman beasts. Survival is the key word to remember-not victory, not conquest, just survival."
- The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

"The Vaudoux priests gave out, that although the deity would permit the execution, he would only do it to prove to his votaries his power by raising them all again from the dead. To prevent their bodies being arried away during the night (they had been buried near the place of execution), picquets of troops were placed round the spot; but in the morning three of the graves were found empty, and the bodies of the two priests and the priestess had disappeared. Superstitious fear had probably prevented the soldiers from staying where they had been posted, and as most [206] of the troops belonged to the sect of the Vaudoux, they probably connived at, rather than prevented, the exhumation."
- The Black Republic by Sir Spenser St John (1884)

"Now he beheld a Departed One, of terrible appearance, humpbacked and fleshless, with hair erect, dirty, and with senses discomposed by hunger and thirst."
- Garuda Purana

"...the resurrection of dead game may have its inconveniences, and accordingly some hunters take steps to prevent it by hamstringing the animal so as to prevent it or its ghost from getting up and running away. This is the motive alleged for the practice by Koui hunters in Laos; they think that the spells which they utter in the chase may lose their magical virtue, and that the slaughtered animal may consequently come to life again and escape. To prevent that catastrophe they therefore hamstring the beast as soon as they have butchered it. When an Esquimau of Alaska has killed a fox, he carefully cuts the tendons of all the animal's legs in order to prevent the ghost from reanimating the body and walking about."
- The Golden Bough, by Sir James George Frazer


The malady of which he died, according to the attending physician, a man of good intentions and of undoubted probity, at least, was not an unusual one, and it ran a normal course. There was, indeed, not a suggestion or even thought of foul play, until two days later, when the bereaved widow went to the cemetery only to find that the grave had been opened, and to see the empty coffin lying beside it. The stricken woman rushed to the nearest police office and there was promised a thorough investigation. In return for this promise and the apparent activity of the police in her behalf, the unfortunate woman acquiesced in the policy of secrecy and silence which they imposed upon her.

As it subsequently transpired, this was the only step which the authorities took in the matter, and it was well in accord with the invariable governmental attitude of suppression or denial in the presence of all Voodoo crimes. This, however, was to be one of the comparatively few instances which, owing to a fortunate accident, escaped the systematic stifling process. On the day after the widow's discovery the mail rider between Jacmel and the capital arrived several hours late, but with a story which could not be otherwise than accepted as a valid excuse. His was indeed an astonishing tale, and it is not remarkable that at first many were disinclined to believe it.


At last, snatching up a burning cedar branch from the fire, he looked all about him, and the mystery of the moans at last was quickly explained. Not twenty feet from the fire and facing it, he saw a man dressed in the garments of the grave, who, though tied to a tree and gagged, was still faintly moaning and still weakly struggling to be free. The mail rider, after a moment's hesitation, getting the better of his fears, freed the poor wretch, who soon recovered his speech but not his mind. He could give no coherent account of how he had come into this strange plight, and finally the mail rider mounted him on his horse, tied him to the saddle, and led the way to the nearest military post on the road.

- THE American Mediterranean by Stephen Bonsal (1912)

Zombie
* 1 oz light rum
* 1/2 oz creme de noyaux
* 1/2 oz triple sec
* 1 1/2 oz sour mix
* 1 1/2 oz orange juice
* 1/2 oz 151 proof rum
Directions
* Fill mixing glass with ice
* Add light rum, creme de noyaux, triple sec, sour mix and orange juice
* Strain into a collins glass filled with ice
* Top with 151 proof rum
* Garnish with a cherry
- The Bartenders Database


del.icio.us tags: creepbox, monster, zombie
03/11: Harpy


The harpy could also bring life. A harpy was the mother by the West Wind Zephyros of the horses of Achilles (Iliad xvi. 150). In this context Jane Harrison adduced the notion in Virgil's Georgics that mares became gravid by the wind alone, marvelous to say (iii.274).
Though Hesiod (Theogony) calls them two "lovely-haired" creatures, harpies as beautiful winged bird-women are a late development, in parallel with the transformation of the siren, a "creature malign though seductive in Homer, but gradually softened by the Athenian imagination into a sorrowful death angel". On a vase in the Berlin Museum, a harpy has a small figure of a hero in each claw, but her head is recognizably a Gorgon, with goggling eyes, protruding tongue, and tusks."
- Wikipedia


"And Thaumas wedded Electra the daughter of deep- flowing Ocean, and she bare him swift Iris and the long-haired Harpies, Aello (Storm-swift) and Ocypetes (Swift-flier) who on their swift wings keep pace with the blasts of the winds and the birds; for quick as time they dart along."
- The Theogony of Hesiod

- THE Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius (3rd Century B.C.)

"By men with plough and harrow, none infests
Thickets that are as rough or dense as this.
Here the repellent Harpies make their nests,
Who drove the Trojans from the Strophades
With dire announcements of the coming woe.
They have broad wings, a human neck and face,
Clawed feet and swollen, feathered bellies; they caw
Their lamentations in the eerie trees.
Here the good master began, "Before you go
Farther, be aware that now you are in this,
The second ring, and so you shall be until
The horrible sand. Look well, for here one sees"
Thickets that are as rough or dense as this.
Here the repellent Harpies make their nests,
Who drove the Trojans from the Strophades
With dire announcements of the coming woe.
They have broad wings, a human neck and face,
Clawed feet and swollen, feathered bellies; they caw
Their lamentations in the eerie trees.
Here the good master began, "Before you go
Farther, be aware that now you are in this,
The second ring, and so you shall be until
The horrible sand. Look well, for here one sees"
- Dante's Inferno; Canto XIII


- World of Warcraft


Safe from the danger of the stormy seas.
Those isles are compassed by the Ionian main,
The dire abode where the foul Harpies reign,
Forced by the winged warriors to repair
To their old homes, and leave their costly fare.
Monsters more fierce offended Heaven ne'er sent
From hell's abyss, for human punishment:
With virgin faces, but with wombs obscene,
Foul paunches, and with ordure still unclean;
With claws for hands, and looks for ever lean.
"We landed at the port, and soon beheld
Fat herds of oxen graze the flowery field,
And wanton goats without a keeper strayed.
With weapons we the welcome prey invade,
Then call the gods for partners of our feast,
And Jove himself, the chief invited guest.
We spread the tables on the greensward ground;
We feed with hunger, and the bowls go round;
When from the mountain-tops, with hideous cry,
And clattering wings, the hungry Harpies fly;
They snatch the meat, defiling all they find,
And, parting, leave a loathsome stench behind.
Close by a hollow rock, again we sit,
New dress the dinner, and the beds refit,

Where tufted trees a native arbor made.
Again the holy fires on altars burn;
And once again the ravenous birds return,
Or from the dark recesses where they lie,
Or from another quarter of the sky;
With filthy claws their odious meal repeat,
And mix their loathsome ordures with their meat.
I bid my friends for vengeance then prepare,
And with the hellish nation wage the war.
They, as commanded, for the fight provide,
And in the grass their glittering weapons hide;
Then, when along the crooked shore we hear
Their clattering wings, and saw the foes appear,
Misenus sounds a charge: we take the alarm,
And our strong hands with swords and bucklers arm.
In this new kind of combat all employ
Their utmost force, the monsters to destroy.
In vain- the fated skin is proof to wounds;
And from their plumes the shining sword rebounds.
At length rebuffed, they leave their mangled prey,

Yet one remained- the messenger of Fate:
High on a craggy cliff Celaeno sate,
And thus her dismal errand did relate:
'What! not contented with our oxen slain,
Dare you with Heaven an impious war maintain,
And drive the Harpies from their native reign?
Heed therefore what I say; and keep in mind
What Jove decrees, what Phoebus has designed,
And I, the Furies' queen, from both relate-
You seek the Italian shores, foredoomed by fate:
The Italian shores are granted you to find,
And a safe passage to the port assigned.
But know, that ere your promised walls you build,
My curses shall severely be fulfilled.
Fierce famine is your lot for this misdeed,
Reduced to grind the plates on which you feed.'
She said, and to the neighbering forest flew.
Our courage fails us, and our fears renew.
Hopeless to win by war, to prayers we fall,
And on the offended Harpies humbly call,
And whether gods or birds obscene they were,
Our vows for pardon and for peace prefer.
- The Aeneid by Virgil

"Like the Sphinx, the Gorgon, and the Sirens, who also have bird attributes, the Harpies bring death and destruction. They are psychopomps who carry off the soul to the underworld, the personification of human guilt and fundamental fears. At the same time, like Medusa and even Demeter herself, they give birth to horses, and this equine association points clearly to their extraordinary sexual potency. But while these creatures embody a double conception, being the givers of life as well as of death, their destructive capacity is emphasized and they represent the most terrifying aspects of Mother Goddess."
- Beryl Rowland


del.icio.us tags: harpy, creepbox, monster

