The air is getting crisper, the days are becoming shorter, and Halloween is right around the corner. We are about halfway through the semester, which means you’ve probably received a few grades by now. You’ll be seeing your family soon, and they’ll probably ask how your semester has been going.
Sorry, did I scare you? I’m just trying to get you in the Halloween spirit! Get your cough drops out because this nightmare fuel will have you screaming. Or grab a paper bag, because you might get queasy. But if you’re super into horror, have a bite of your favorite candy and enjoy these spooky facts:
1. If you somehow didn’t already know, Emory’s unofficial mascot, Dooley, is a skeleton. She’s perched right next to the Anthropology building, always watching. Although Dooley is a really unique, quirky mascot, you have to admit that she’s a little scary.
2. Emory University must really be a skeptic of the supernatural because there is a cemetery on the Clairmont campus. Clairmont residents, do you ever feel strange presences?
3. Speaking of cemeteries, the remains of over 6 million people lie underneath the streets of Paris in the “Catacombs” (you can read about its history here). The whole thing is about 200 miles long, but only a little over a mile of it is open to tourists. The tunnel walls are ~decoratively~ lined with bones and skulls (I don’t even want to know who did it and why). If the proximity of a graveyard to Emory didn’t freak you out, think about how much ghostly activity is happening in Paris!
4. Have you ever gotten the chills even when you weren’t cold? Some people say this happens when your spirit guides are trying to send you a message. Other people say it’s when a ghost has touched or moved through you. Personally, I don’t like the idea of any incorporeal entity contacting me like that.
5. In 1911, a factory in New York City caught fire and killed 145 workers, an event that became known as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. The building is now owned by NYU, and many science classes are held there. I can’t imagine having to take class in a haunted building, let alone be in the presence of spirits who were never properly put to rest. Think about all the chills you’d get from the wandering ghosts!
6. Is being buried alive a fear of yours? The millenium-old remains of a man were once found inside a statue.
Apparently, self-mummification rituals were sometimes performed by ancient Buddhist monks in the hopes of becoming a Buddha. The monks would then meditate inside a tomb until they died. But this guy was found inside a statue. Also, his organs had been removed and replaced by scrolls, and I’m pretty sure you can’t do that to yourself without dying in the process. So what I’m saying is, there’s a chance that this guy didn’t end up in here by choice.
You know, maybe I’ll skip out on yoga class this week…I don’t want to accidentally meditate to death.
7. The Simpsons very accurately predicted the future 18 times according to this article. That many instances can’t possibly be a coincidence. Are the show writers just really smart, or is there something the writers of the show aren’t telling us?
8. It took three whole swings to behead Mary Queen of Scots in 1587. Three. Whole. Swings. For the first one, the executioner missed and hit her head. For the second one, the dude didn’t completely sever her neck. Mary finally died after the third swing, but she had to suffer through the first two! So much for “royal treatment”.