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A 1906 biopic of a famous Australian outlaw was controversial among some politicians, who claimed it glorified criminal acts. But despite attempts to ban it, the film was highly successful. #FlashbackFriday discover.hubpages.com/entertainmen...

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Several countries with fascist governments have banned a certain film made in 1966, out of fear that it would inspire rebellion and uprisings. #FlashbackFriday discover.hubpages.com/entertainmen...

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In the 1920s, the work of Italy's first female filmmaker became heavily censored under Italy’s fascist regime. #FlashbackFriday discover.hubpages.com/entertainmen...

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The Cactus Cat is a bobcat-like creature covered in long spines & thorns with a branching, armored tail. According to legends from the American Southwest, they're nocturnal creatures that slash open cacti at night to drink the fermented sap. #FolkyFriday

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Beware of harvesting your fields on a hot day. Lady Midday will emerge from whirling dust clouds in the form of an old hag, a lovely woman, or a young girl, carrying a scythe. If you can't answer her riddles, she'll kill you by beheading or heat stroke. #FolkyFriday

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In Aztec myth, the goddess Chantico ("she who dwells in the house") reigns over the fires in the family hearth. She guards homes from thieves & brings wealth & stability to families. She also wears a crown of poisoned cactus spines & can turn into a red serpent. #FolkyFriday

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"I was approaching a planet which I had from the first seen directly before me... [It] grew larger and larger, when, penetrating the thick atmosphere which surrounded it, I plainly saw seas, mountains and dales on its surface." —Niels Klim's Underground Travels, Ludvig Holberg #BookologyThursday

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"I must have got into the subterranean firmament. This conclusion decided the opinion of those, who insist that the earth is hollow, and that within its shell there is another, lesser world... to be well-grounded." —Niels Klim's Underground Travels, Ludvig Holberg #BookologyThursday

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"I shall proceed with all diligence until I reach the Western Heaven. If I do not attain my goal, or the true scriptures, I shall not return to our land even if I have to die. I would rather fall into eternal perdition in Hell." —Journey to the West, Wu Cheng'en #BookologyThursday

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"We must be cloaked by the stars and wrapped by the moon; we must dine on the winds and rest by the waters. We move on if there’s a road, and we stop only when we come to its end." —Journey to the West, Wu Cheng'en #BookologyThursday

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When the wise giant Mimir gets beheaded, the Norse god Odin places his head at the roots of Yggdrasill, the World Tree. From there springs a well that grants knowledge of past, present, & future events. Odin trades an eye so Mimir will let him drink from it. #LegendaryWednesday

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In the tale "The Third Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor," Sinbad lands on an island where he & his crew are taken hostage by a man-eating giant. The giant roasts the crew members on iron spits over fire. Sinbad steals the spits & plunges them into the giant's eyes. #LegendaryWednesday

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The Maori people of New Zealand believe Lake Wakatipu contains the beating heart of the giant Matau. For kidnapping a chief's daughter, Matau was set on fire as he slept. The fire burned a hole in the ground that filled with melted ice & snow, forming the lake. #LegendaryWednesday

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Sweeney Todd—the famous fictional barber who murders his customers & has his partner in crime bake them into pies—first appeared in the penny dreadful The String of Pearls, which ran from 1846 to 1847. His story has been retold on stage, screen, & other forms of media. #WyrdWednesday

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Varney the Vampire was a penny dreadful that ran from 1845 to 1847. The character Sir Francis Varney introduced many key tropes of vampire lore, such as fangs, puncture wounds in victims' neck, hypnotic powers, & superhuman strength. He also inspired the Marvel character Varnae. #WyrdWednesday

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Spring-Heeled Jack was a clawed, fire-breathing, roof-leaping demon who terrorized Victorian London, with sightings reported from 1837 to 1904. He became a popular penny dreadful character, & has appeared in plays, books, comics, TV shows, & video games. #WyrdWednesday

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Before video games, violent acts were blamed on penny dreadfuls: serialized illustrated magazines that were popular in the Victorian Era. These Gothic thrillers contained subject matter such as serial killers & vampires, & were precursors to today's comic books. #WyrdWednesday

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In the English tale "The Snow-Daughter & the Fire-Son," a woman longing for children swallows an icicle. She gives birth to a girl white as snow & cold as ice. Then a spark from the fireplace lands on the woman's lap. She gives birth to a boy red as fire & hot to the touch. #FairyTaleTuesday

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In the Slovak tale "The Twelve Months," a girl is sent out in a blizzard to find violets, strawberries, & apples for her stepsister's birthday. Luckily she meets the twelve spirits of the months gathered around a fire. March gives her violets, June strawberries, & September apples. #FairyTaleTuesday

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In the Abenaki tale "Glooscap & the Ghost," the titular folk hero & his friend are sitting at a campfire when a group of ghosts pin them down & compete to see who can frighten them the most. Glooscap pretends to be afraid of a ghost child, who then steals his prized pipe. #FairyTaleTuesday

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Seeking divine knowledge, a boy named Nachiketa travels to the kingdom of Yama, Hindu god of death. As Yama is not present at the time, Nachiketa waits at the gate for three days & three nights. When Yama returns, he's remorseful for making him wait, so he grants him three boons. #MythologyMonday

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The Hawaiian volcano goddess Pele tests the generosity of humans by shapeshifting into an old beggar woman or a beautiful young hitchhiker. Those kind enough to help a stranger are rewarded, while those who aren't get their homes or possessions destroyed. #MythologyMonday

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In revenge for Odysseus blinding his son, the sea god Poseidon creates a storm to destroy his raft. Odysseus washes up on the shore of Scheria, where Princess Nausicaa & her maids are washing clothes. Guided by the goddess Athena, Nausicaa shows him hospitality. #MythologyMonday

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"I know I am but summer to your heart, And not the full four seasons of the year... Wherefore I say: O love, as summer goes, I must be gone... That you may hail anew the bird and rose When I come back to you, as summer comes." —Edna St. Vincent Millay, Sonnet XXVII #BookWormSat

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"I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days—three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain." —John Keats's Letter to Fanny Brawne, July 1819

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"O light! This is the cry of all the characters of ancient drama brought face to face with their fate. This last resort was ours, too, and I knew it now. In the middle of winter I at last discovered that there was in me an invincible summer." —Return to Tipasa, Albert Camus #BookWormSat

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"And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." —The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald #BookWormSat

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Sake, the national beverage of Japan, is important to the Shinto faith. It's given out at shrine festivals, as it's believed to purify those who drink it & bring them closer to gods. Brides & grooms serve each other sake at weddings to symbolize their vows. #FolkyFriday

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The yearly Mooncake Festival dedicated to Chang'e, the Chinese moon goddess, involves baking & eating mooncakes. As Chang'e separated from her mortal husband when she became a goddess, sharing mooncakes with relatives represents unity & completion. #FolkyFriday

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One of many once-common Beltane traditions was building two bonfires & driving herds of cows between them to bring good luck. Flowers would also be tied to the cows' horns & tails to protect them from supernatural milk thieves, like fairies & witches. #FolkyFriday

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The first film adaptation of "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Andersen was praised for its special effects, which were innovative in 1902. #FlashbackFriday discover.hubpages.com/entertainmen...

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The film The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914) was loosely based on a book by L. Frank Baum entitled Queen Zixi of Ix, which was actually not part of his Oz series. #FlashbackFriday discover.hubpages.com/entertainmen...

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The very first Alice in Wonderland film was 12 minutes long, which made it the longest film produced in Britain at the time. #FlashbackFriday discover.hubpages.com/entertainmen...

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"He would never love me because of Rebecca. She was in the house still... Her footsteps sounded in the corridors, her scent lingered on the stairs. The servants obeyed her orders still... Her favourite flowers filled the rooms." —Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier #BookologyThursday

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"A process in the weather of the world Turns ghost to ghost ... A process blows the moon into the sun, Pulls down the shabby curtains of the skin; And the heart gives up its dead." —A Process in the Weather of the Heart, Dylan Thomas #BookologyThursday

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"Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace." —The Canterville Ghost, Oscar Wilde #BookologyThursday

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There's an old Midsummer's Eve tradition of young women scattering petals while reciting this poem: "Rose leaves, rose leaves, Rose leaves I strew. He that will love me Come after me now." It was believed their true love would visit them the next day. #WyrdWednesday

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In 1959, Czech puppet-maker, animator, & filmmaker Jiří Trnka, released a claymation, stop-motion film adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It played at the Cannes Film Festival & the Venice International Film Festival. #WyrdWednesday youtu.be/h9-_9rTbvpI?...

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It was once a Midsummer's Eve custom to mix lavender, mugwort, chamomile, & rose, as this aromatic blend was believed to attract elves & fairies. The longest stems of lavender were used to make wands, while the rest would be dried in bundles & hung to dry. #WyrdWednesday

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Väinämöinen, a heroic demigod in Finnish myth, appears in the 19th-century epic poem The Kalevala. On his instrument, the kantele, he plays music so beautiful that all the world's creatures weep. He also weeps, & his tears become giant blue pearls. #LegendaryWednesday

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Hårgalåten (The Hårga Song) is a Swedish folk song based on a myth of the Devil entering the mountain village of Hårga. While in disguise as a musician, he plays a song on his fiddle that hypnotizes the villagers & forces them to dance until they drop dead. #LegendaryWednesday

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Gilgamesh, king of the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, gets a magic drum from the goddess Ishtar, carved from her sacred tree. He uses it to summon soldiers for battle, drawing the ire of both Uruk's citizens & the gods, who throw the drum into the Underworld. #LegendaryWednesday

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For the film A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), cinematographer Hal Mohr had the trees in the enchanted forest sprayed with orange paint so they'd give off an eerie glow when filmed in black and white, enhancing the fairy tale atmosphere. #FairyTaleTuesday youtu.be/l4S-eNAWitE?...

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The Russian tale "St. John's Eve" is about a poor man, Petro, who falls for his employer's daughter. He seeks help from the Devil, who instructs him to pluck a flower that only blooms on Kupala Night, a Slavic summer holiday. This leads him to buried treasure. #FairyTaleTuesday

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The Estonian folktale "Dawn & Dusk" is about two lovers blessed with eternal youth: Dawn, who lights up the sun in the morning, & Dusk, who douses the sun at night. The two look forward to summer solstice, when they can spend the most time together. #FairyTaleTuesday

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