Halloween

Body Parts and Body Farms: Where Science and Spookiness Meet

Cat Wang, B.Sc. — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 21:03:34 +0000

Seeing Halloween decorations has been a highlight of an otherwise hectic month. While spider webs and ghosts send shivers down my spine, skeletons and the occasional amputated limb don’t rank high on the spooky scale for me. That is because I teach in ��ϲ��’s cadaver lab where amputated limbs and human bones are just another day at work.

A Houdini Low Point

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 13:53:20 +0000

National Magic Day is celebrated annually on October 31st in memory of Harry Houdini who passed away on that day in 1926.

Remembering Houdini

Joe Schwarcz Phd — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 10:00:00 +0000

For many years members of the American Society of Magicians gathered on October 31 at Machpelah Cemetery in New York to break a magic wand over the grave of the man whose name is synonymous with magic. They came to pay homage to Harry Houdini, performer extraordinaire, who passed away on Halloween in 1926, but never really left us. His exploits spawned books, movies and plays and inspired countless youngsters to take up the engaging hobby of prestidigitation.

Chemical Witchcraft in Salem

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 17:30:50 +0000

Could there be a more interesting place to visit on Halloween than Salem, Massachusetts? The town's stores are filled with witch memorabilia, witches are ready to tell fortunes and a sound and light show at the Witch Museum grimly portrays one of the most disturbing events in American history.

(Oct. 29, 2020): "COVID & More" with the OSS

OSS — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 21:00:48 +0000

Bewitched by Witchcraft

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:00:00 +0000

It is part of human nature to try to rationalize illness and misfortune. Today, many point accusing fingers at pesticides, food additives, or electromagnetic radiation as possible culprits in undermining our health. In less sophisticated times, witchcraft was deemed to be responsible. Natural disasters and sicknesses were due to spells cast by those in league with the devil. Then, as now, people feared what they did not understand. And they did not understand witchcraft.

Fantastic Creatures and Where to Find Them in a London Museum

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 19:06:36 +0000

Halloween is breathing down our necks, and with the holiday come frightful creatures. Horror literature is replete with fantastical hybrids and gargantuan beasts, but the real world itself may just trump our collective imagination. We can think of Earth’s own bestiary as shadowy predators, grisly giants, and unnamable pests… or we can take inspiration from zoologists and put aside our fears to study these magnificent creatures.

Happy National Magic Day

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 15:57:31 +0000

Halloween is a time when witches fly, black cats prowl and zombies rise from the grave. But it is also a time for magic. No, not supernatural charms, spells or incantations but the time honoured practise of prestidigitation. October 31 is not only Halloween, but it is also International Magic Day. Chosen because it was on this date in 1926 that the most famous magician who ever lived, died. Harry Houdini, the man that no chains or cuffs could hold, quietly slipped out of this world in a Detroit hospital.