Reading Notes: The Miser, The Last One.

I end on a story type that was my favorite throughout the year: Russian Folktales.

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A mean old man went walking and stumbled upon a beggar. He passed by without a word, and saw a poor man give him a copeck. The rich man was ashamed, so he asked the poor man for money to give to the beggar - he had money himself, but not anything small enough he wanted to give away. The poor man gave him one, asking when he should find him again for repayment. The rich man said the next day, but when they day came the rich man claimed to have no change. The poor man said he would try again tomorrow, and the previous events repeated. The rich man told him unless he could give him change for a hundred copeck, he could return in a fortnight. The poor man returned, and when the rich man saw him coming up the driveway he told his wife to pretend he was dead. The wife did as he said, and the poor man said he would wash the corpse for his money back. The wife let him, and the poor man washed the rich mans body with scalding hot water. The poor man instructed the wife to buy a coffin, and having to cover up the lie she did. During the funeral, robbers crept through the church and the poor man hid. He saw them sharing the stolen goods, but they all argued over who could take a golden sabre. The poor man jumped up and said "whoever will cut off the corpses head can have the sabre!" at which point the rich man jumped up, scaring off the robbers. The poor man offered to divide the money equally, and after the poor man asked for the still owed copeck. But alas, none of the money found was even close to the small currency of a single copeck - so the poor man became rich, but the rich man never paid him back.

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Famous Last Words:

This past week was one of the least productive weeks so far this semester. I planned out the week Sunday so that I would get all my homework and lab-work done by Wednesday night so that I could have a stress free Thanksgiving; however, this did not happen. I have still, a week later, only done one of many lab reports and Thanksgiving had it's own stress beyond worrying about school work. It wasn't all bad though, as dinner was amazing and we played the game Life until about 1:30 in the morning. For those interested, here is my grandma's mac & cheese recipe that I made:

Feel free to try it!

We ended up using chives instead of parsley, and we added panko on top. It was really great! But we did have to double all the portions as we made this dish for 7 people.

While I didn't finish my schoolwork goals, I got the most important assignment done - my antibiotic assignment. This was a time consuming task and I am glad I started working on it Wednesday as it took me till Sunday to complete. And like I said - the food was great this year at Thanksgiving.

Another thing I did this week was make a concept map! A few weeks ago it was a mandatory assignment and I absolutely hated every second of it. To give you an idea of how complicated it was and why it took about 10 hours to complete, here it is:

This is about the central dogma of microbiology: replication, transcription, and translation and the ways they are connected. 

The thing that made it so difficult was that I had to think hard about how everything was connected. The largest part in green was the most confusing, as many things interlinked over different periods of time so I had to find a way to connect them and make the connections make sense. While I hated this assignment, I got every question on the exam about it correct. From this experience I was motivated to actually make another one - but this time I enjoyed it! I think the lack of grading made it less stressful and I was able to calmly make it without fear of mistakes. It even turned out better than the one I turned in for a grade, only taking about 2-3 hours in all:

This concept map is about three biological pathways in which microorganisms break down glucose for energy, the different energy forms, and how they tie into the TCA cycle and how they all tie into the production of ATP. 

One thing I learned from this - while I did not initially understand the method to my professors madness, I am glad she gave us this crazy hard assignment because now I have a new study method I had never considered before. 

Wikipedia Trail: From Macbeth to King James

Macbeth, King of Scotland

I started with this page about the real Macbeth, because I had no idea he was a real person! I had no idea Shakespeare based it on real events, as the Real Macbeth was also killed by the Real Malcolm III. While based on real people, the article states it is not based on real events.

Holinshed's Chronicles

This lead me to here, Holinshed's Chronicles which are about British history and are the chronicles that Shakespeare used to inspire him for the play. Once again, I am met with surprise that Banquo is also a real person. Shakespeare also altered the witches from the chronicles nymphs and fairies and was thought to have done this to add a more sinister tone to his play.

Banquo

Here I learned about Banquo as I knew him in the play but that in life or at least the Chronicles he was actually an accomplice to the murder of the king. The change of character heart was done by Shakespeare to appease King James which leads me to my final article. While, as I said, the article seems to state he was a real person there is no reference to his roll in life other than an accomplice to murder leading me to believe the name was changed from whomever was the real murder accomplice.

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Above is an image seen in the Banqo wiki page and I really love it. In all my storybook research I did not see this painting and I think it is a very unique representation of the three witches but more or less as one evil entity. This is honestly a painting I would love to have hanging in my home.

James VI and I

This article is about King James, and though I have heard his name I have never really thought about him before. This king did not have a brave or quick death, as he suffered from kidney stones and gout, with severe teeth decay which probably was enhanced by his alcoholism. He was so ill, his pee was purple suggesting he suffered from porphyria,  but it was later dismissed because kidney stones can turn pee bloody also. He was said to be suffering a severe case of dysentery when he died.

Reading Notes: The Dog and the Corpse

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A moujik went hunting with his dog ans found nothing but his own pain. He passed a grave having no game, and saw where two roads met a corpse. He was very frightened and did not know which way to go, or to turn back entirely.

He walked forth with his dog, and the corpse, sensing him, came alive. The corpse rushed him, but his dog grabbed the thing by its calves. The moujik saw his dog and was so happy that he was protected. In his rejoice he ran home but forgot the dog. The dog overpowered the corpse, and ran after his master. When he found him, the dog started attacking the moujik. Everyone in the house was confused, except the moujik's mom who said that the dog was upset he abandoned the dog. The next morning, the dog growled when moujik approached it. The family fastened the dog to a chain, and kept it there all year. Even after one year, the dog still would try to attack it's master so they killed it.

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Reading Notes: Friday, Part A.

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A woman did not pay her respects to the god Mother Friday. She made cloth and fell asleep, but the door opened and thus behold Mother Friday herself. She wore a white dress and was angry, stuffing the dust from her machine in to the woman's eyes. When she only had dust instead of eyes, Mother Friday left. The woman awoke and started screaming because she could not see. The others told her Mother Friday punished her for working on her holiday. The woman begged for forgiveness and offered a tapestry, promising to never herself or let others dishonor her. Mother Friday was a forgiving god and gave the poor woman her eyesight back, and now it is a sin to comb and spin flax on the holiday.

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Reading Notes: The water snake, Part A

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A girl went to bathe in the forest with others, but once in the pool there was a snake. The girl got out but found the snake was on her clothes, and upon trying to poke it with a stick to get it to leave the snake said it would leave - if shed marry it.

The girl did not want to, but upon peer pressure of the others she did. She got her clothes back and went home, telling her mother what happened. The mom said it was ridiculous as no one could marry a snake. They all forgot the weird event.

The girl came home one day, crying as she had been chased by a horde of snakes. The mom barred the door shut. The snakes broke the windows and stole her, which her mom followed the girl as she was taken by the snakes.

They went into the pond where they turned into people. The mom cried but went home, accepting her daughters fate. Three years went buy and the girl remained under the pond, having children with the snake. She begged her snake husband to let her see her mother, and one day he did. Before she left, she asked what to say when she needed him. He told her a phrase and she left with her children. The mother was so happy to see all of them. The mom asked how she would get back home, and she told her the phrase. After she went to sleep, the mom took and axe and called out the phrase, to which immediately the snake showed up. The mom cut off his head, and the pond water turned red. The daughter awoke saying it was time to leave, but the mom asked her to stay another night. The next day she left and said the phrase, but her snake husband did not show. She saw his head floating in the pond and guessed what happened.

In grief, she turned herself and her children into birds.

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Reading Notes: The Two Corpses, Part B

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A soldier was going home to pray and pay respect to his parents. On his way home, when it was dark, he passed a graveyard and heard someone running and crying saying he couldn't escape. He saw a corpse running after him with lashing teeth. The soldier ran and found a church, hiding inside. In it, there was nothing but another corpse on a table. The soldier hid in the corner, waiting to see what would happen. The first corpse ran inside and the second asked the first why it was here. The first said he wanted to eat a soldier he found, but the second argued the soldier was in his home so he should get to eat the soldier. They argued and fought, and fought so hard they fought to death (super death I guess). The soldier went home, and praised god.

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Reading Notes: Fairy Ointment, Part B

English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Goody was a nurse who helped the ill and infants. One night she found an ugly old man at the bottom of the stairs who asked her to help his wife who was too sick to help their baby. She didn't trust the man but she needed the money. When she went down the stairs, she saw outside a black horse with fiery eyes and they sped away.

They rode a very long time and when they reached the house Goody took the baby boy. The mother gave Goody ointment and told her to stroke the baby's eyes as soon as they opened with the stuff. She was curious, so when the parents weren't looking she put some of the stuff in her own eye. Suddenly, the poor cottage was elegant. The mother was beautiful and the baby's clothes were made of fine silks. She noticed other children with pointy ears messing with the sick woman, and realized this goo gave her the ability to see pixies. Eventually, the woman became well and could take care of her baby and the lady left without saying a thing. The old man paid her more than she had ever received for her service.

The next day Goody went to buy some things she needed. But while shopping she saw the old man, stealing openly but no one seemed to notice. She didn't think she should interfere, but she wanted to be a good customer so she approached the old man hoping to stop him. She started to talk, and the old man interrupted her in shock that she could see him.

He asked her which eye she could see him with, and she said her right. That is when the old man realized she had used the ointment - enraged, he took her right eye and she was blind on that side until she died.

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Reading Notes: The Old Woman and Her Pig, Part A

English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

An old woman was cleaning when she found some spare change, enough to buy a little pig. Once home the pig refused to go over the stile. The old lady asked a dog for help, but he too refused. She walked farther and found a stick, asking it to beat the dog as it would not bite the pig and the stick also refused. Eventually she met fire, and demanded it burn the stick - but the element would not. She found water, asking it to put out the fire. She asked an Ox to drink the water. She asked a butcher to kill the ox. She met a rope that she asked to hang the butcher. She asked a rat to gnaw on the rope. She asked a cat to kill the rat.

Up to this point, everything she asked was denied, but this time the cat agreed if she would bring the cat milk. So the old lady found a cow, who offered milk in return for hay. The cow ate the hay, and she gave the milk to the cat. The cat killed the rat, as it was dying the rat gnawed at the rope, which began to nag the butcher, who began to kill the ox, which started drinking water, which put out fire, which burned the stick, that beat the dog, who bit the pig - scaring it over the fence.

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Story Revision: A Shuffle in the Night

In the distance, he hears laughter. He ponders, who would be laughing out here? The sun is setting on the path, an unofficial path made from many trips to the same destination. The laughter is closer now, and he looks up, oh - it's just a crow. There are not normally crows on this path.

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It is a two day trip, and it's getting too dark to see anymore. The forest is less comforting tonight, he feels that he is being watched and builds a fire a little dimmer than usual in the small cove of the forest, just mere feet from the path.

***

Not much time had passed when he awoke to hear the shuffling of feet. Who even knows this path is here? Through his blanket and past the snuffed fire, he sees, thinking, an old woman?, dragging a large bag. He could lay still, hide beneath his covers - but she would see him in passing. Rather than wait to be found he decides to approach her - but not without finding out as much as he can beforehand.

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She is in rags, a mix of hides and fur, and upon further observation, carrying a knife still wet with blood. 

This discovery sends the hair on his neck straight up. But what else can he do? Beyond the path, the forest is too dense to travel through... and besides, she is getting closer.

Any attempt now to leave would be clearly heard by her. Thinking fast, he jumps on to the path to create an illusion of control. What are you doing here?After several moments, his question is responded to - but the woman still does not show her face. My child is in this bag, he has succumbed. 

He is stricken, frozen, unable to respond. Is she telling the truth? Does he even want to know? Eyes never leaving the knife, he says I... am sorry... Can I help you? More silence passes in a time that feel like an eternity. He realizes that since he stepped on the path that his adrenaline hasn't allowed him to notice the foul smell present, the bag? he wonders - but suddenly she attacks him.

She lunges with the knife and as he falls the hood comes off, this is no woman but the shredded remains of what once was. She has only one eye, the other an exposed socket and no nose, her lips are gone and only show bloodied teeth. Shreds of the skin left flail during the assault, he takes her arm holding the knife right as it is about to be plunged into his chest but her arm comes off. He wrenches the knife from her somehow still grasping hand and cuts off her head, or what was left of it.

The air is still. The only noise is his heavy breathing. He stares at the few stars he can see past the trees. After several moments, he stands. Legs wavering, he manages to walk to the bag and cut it open - finding something that makes bile rise in his throat. A child, a boy, but with flesh ripped from his body. Bites taken out of his limbs. He is not the one who was rotting, he was not the source of the smell. He has been too recently killed.

*** 

He ran the rest of the trip home without stopping. He couldn't rest, it didn't feel safe. Home, home was safe - so he ran.

He sees the the familiar opening to his village, they will know what to do he thinks. In the distance, he sees the backs of his mother and brother. Relief floods him as he finds comfort in their presence, until the wind brings a smell to his nose that runs his blood cold. Before they turn, he already knows what awaits him. His hands clench the knife.

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No! His mother turns, but only half of her face returns with her as the other half is exposed bone. He did not notice before, but his brother is missing an arm. Yet, the lack of a limb does not slow him down as he runs. Running toward me. They're going to kill me!

He turns to run from his family, only to come face to face with the boy from the bag; very undead, and very much blocking the only easy means of escape.

Reading Notes: Robin Hood's Death, Part B.

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child (1882-1898).

Little John was sitting at a tree with Robin Hood, when Robin said he wanted to shoot an arrow across the pond, but that his arrow was broken. Yet, he had cousins living down there, and.... "she bleed me"?

Robin ran, and before he got to where he was going, he became very sick. When he got to Kirkly hall, he rang the doorbell and no cousin answered. Robin let himself in, and found his cousin. She asked him if he wanted beer, and he said he would not eat or drink till he was "blooded by thee". 

She told Robin that she has a room he can never see, but if he walks into it she will blooded him. She lead him to the private room where she blooded Robin, and locked him in the room. He bleed all day, until the next day at noon. His horn, hanging to his knee, took and blew three weak blasts from it. Little John heard this and knew he was near death. 

Robin broke down the locks of the room, and fell to his knees. John cried. Robin swore he never hurt a woman or man in in woman's company in all his life.  He asked John for his bent bow, and set it loose to land wherever his grave would be. He asked for green sod under his head and feet, and is bent bow at his side. He asked for his grave stone etching, and then died. 

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Afterthoughts - 

I'm pretty confused by every bit of this, but that's probably because I read the last story. 

Reading Notes: The Horned Woman, Part A.

Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1892).

A rich lady was up late when a knock at the door demanded to be let in. The lady asked who it was, and the reply was that it was the witch of one horn. The lady assumed someone in the neighborhood was needing help, and opened the door to a woman with a horn on her forehead. The woman sat down and asked where the other women were. A second knock came and demanded to be let in. The lady once again opened the door, and this time a witch with two horns entered. This repeated until there were twelve women each with one horn more than the last. They wove wool and sank songs but would not speak to the lady of the house. She was worried, and felt afraid. She suddenly fell ill, and realized a spell had been cast upon her. She was now under the witches control, and the lady was forced to make a cake - but could not find a vessel to make the cake in. The witches told her to use a sieve, and so she did. The water poured and she cried. A voice suddenly spoke, saying to take yellow clay and moss and bind them to the sieve, because before this the sieve was leaking. She did as told and the sieve held water, she returned as commanded by this new voice - but was told when she returned to the north angle of the house to cry loudly three times a chant. 

She did as told by this new commander, and the witches flew away. The spirit that helped the lady protected her home with magic so the witches could not harm her again. To break the spell the witches put on the lady, she sprinkled water on her feet, and outside the door. She took the cake and made a meal mixed with blood from her sleeping family. She placed a portion in each of their mouths and they were restored. The cloth woven by the women was used by the lady to create a padlock, and she secuded the door shut so they could not enter. She now waited. 

Not long after, the witches were back. They cried against the water that blocked the lady's path, and the jam also kept her from opening the door. The cake was unable to be used by the witches too as it was eaten by her family. Defeated, the witches left. 

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Reading Notes: The Witch Girl. Part B.

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A Cossack asked for help and to spend the night at a house, the homeowner said to enter if he wasn't afraid to die. The Cossack thought why he would say such a thing, and went to feed his horse. In the stable, he saw men and women and children praying for help. The Cossack asked why they were all upset, and the homeowner said that in their village Death comes at night and whichever cottage she looks into, those people must be buried alive. Tonight is the night this house gets buried. The Cossack says he wont allow that to happen, and keeps an eye out.

At Midnight, the window opens to a white witch. She tried to enter the house and Cossack cut off her arm. He picked up her arm and hid it under his cloak, finally going to sleep. The next morning saw that everyone was alive and were happy. The Cossack said he would show them death and that they should all gather tonight so they can find her. The family went to gather the town, but everyone was gone. They reached the last house where they found a man who said his daughter was ill. Inside, they found a girl with a missing arm. Cossack was rewarded and the witch was drowned.

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After thoughts -

so it wasn't death but a witch who was killing town after town, possessing or posing as a normal person. This time, she got to all the families but one, and when her arm was taken off she could not take them. She returned home, and was found by the people as not the girl they thought they knew but a witch/demon.

Reading Notes: The Bad Wife, Part A.

Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).

A wife never listened to her husband when he spoke, and did the opposite of anything he said. If he asked for food, she said he didn't deserve any; but if he said he didn't want food, she made a feast. If he told her to relax, she did chores. 

He was so fed up, he went to the forest to look for berries. While searching he found a bottomless pit and contemplated if he should put her in it to teach her a lesson. So when he returned home, he told her not to look for berries. Then - she jumped into the bottomless pit. The husband returned home happy, and for 3 days it was bliss. On the fourth day, he visited his wife and dropped a rope, and when he pulled it back up a demon was attached. 

The demon begged for mercy and to not be let back down, as some evil woman has been killing them. He promised to repay him for mercy. The man let him free, and the demon asked him to follow as the demon was going to torment people while the man helped them. 

In the town, the demon possessed other's wives and daughters, who went crazy. Then, the man would show up and as soon as he did the demon would leave and a blessing would fall on the house. Everyone started to think the man was a doctor and gave him money for making the demon leave. 

Once the demon made him alot of money, he said he was finished and off to go posess someone else but did not want the man to be there. If the man showed up, the demon threatened to eat him. The town people looked for the man when the next woman went crazy, and he came. He asked them to leave him alone, and he told the people to crack the horses whips and scream "the bad wife has come!"

When the man entered the house, the demon came out and said he would eat him. The man said, I just came to warn you my wife is back. The demon looked out the window and saw the townspeople shouting about the bad wife, and asked the man where he could hide. The man told the demon to hide in the pit since she was gone. The demon returned, to where the wife still was. The girl was free and her family made her the mans new wife and gave him land. To this day, the bad wife still is in the pit. 

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Afterthoughts 

What a roller coaster - I loved this story. The picture is of a demon from the TV show Disenchantment - if you liked Futurama, the writers made this new show on netflix! 

Week 11 Story: You can't run, You can't hide.

Thump Thump Thump. 

It's a windy day. The shutters keep slamming on the windows.

Thump Thump Thump. 

It really is hard to concentrate with that banging. And now, suddenly rain? Or is that hail? 

THUMP THUMP THUMP. 

Jeez! Knock much? Who could possibly be at the door in the rain. I'll just look through the peephole. Hmm... I can't see much but his face through the peephole. Which is... creepy. When was the last time this guy got a hair cut? I think I'll keep the door shut. 

"Hello?"

"Yes, sorry to bother you but I'm looking for someone. His name is Judas."

"I'm sorry but I don't know anyone by that name."

"He betrayed my friend Chris."

"Well I am sorry for your friend but as I said, I don't know anyone by that name. Please leave now."

THUMP. 

he jumps back.

I better triple lock this door. Chain should be good on top of the deadbolt and handle lock. 

windy day, doing chores around the house. 

he puts the chain on the door, looking through the peephole again. 

Oh thank goodness, hes gone. 

Thump Thump Thump. 

Still, with the shutters? I need to close them, the forecast didn't call for damaging winds but apparently they're wrong. 

he walks to the window, and before he gets there he hears,

Tap Tap Tap 

he freezes where he stands.

What... Whats going on...

he peers around the corner, and then runs to the kitchen. 

"911? Yes there is a man standing outside my window. He's in a trench coat, tall, I didn't see much other than he's bald."

he peeks over the counter.

"He isn't there anymore, but I would really love it if you could send over a cop."

Ding-Dong

"Oh, wow that was fast thank you so much."

he opens the door to a man with short blonde hair. 

"Officer? Are you... are you an officer? Because... wait, why are you wearing a trench coat?"

he tries to shut the door, but the man breaks it off the hinges. 

"What are you!"

It's not one man, but all three he has seen - one man with three faces. 

"Get away from me!"

he turns to run, and falls into an abyss. suddenly he slams onto the floor. 

Where the hell am I?

"Hello, Brutus."

Oh no, its that terrible three faced man from before. 

"Please, just let me go"

"I can't do that. You see, you and your friend Cassius did a very bad thing. Now you get to wait here, while I go fetch him, and you'll both get to meet Judas"

"Okay, and then what?"

"And then your eternal damnation begins"

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Authors Note: 

I took this story from Dante's inferno and just ran with what came to mind. I thought to introduce the devil with wind, as in the story the devil is causing unnatural winds that Dante feels before he meets the devil. The devil is also waist deep in ice when Dante does see him, so I added hail/rain with his official appearance. The devil has three faces, so I decided to use that and trick the character into thinking he was seeing three separate people. The sounds were just ideas that I thought of when I think of past scary movies, and I ended it basically as a prequel to what Dante will eventually witness - the devil torturing all of them with his three different heads. 

Reading Notes: The Land of the Dead, Part B

A young woman died, and when she found herself dead she went to sleep. She awoke to someone shaking her, saying you are not asleep - you are dead so you must get up.

She realized she was in her grave and it was her grandfather shaking her. She went with him back to the village, but the homeland was gone. Now it was a new village, weird and different. The old man told her to go into one of the houses, and when she did the homeowner picked up a stick and asked what she wanted. The young woman ran away crying, and her grandfather said this is a village of dog shades - she has just been in the experience of a stray dog, and now she knows how they feel when people beat them.

In the next village she saw a man laying on the ground, but with grass growing through his joints. He could move but the grass tied him down, not allowing him to get up. This realm was where people were punished for pulling up plants when they didn't need them. The grandfather disappear.

The girl wandered into a new village, but found a river blocking it. This was a river of tears from people on earth who wept for the dead. She could not cross the river, and her own tears fell into the river as she cried. Suddenly, a boat floated down the river and using it as a bridge, she crossed the stream. The other dead could smell her, and openly wondered who she was and where she was - as they could only smell not see her. Her grandfather reappeared, leading her into a house where her grandmother resided.  The grandma asked if she was thirsty and thats when the girl noticed the water vessel was one from her village, one she had been given when she was alive during a festival. The old woman gave the young woman a piece of deer fat, which was something else she had received at the festival. The grandma explained her grandfather was her guide, because he was the last person she thought of as she died and he hurried to meet her crossing over. Peoples living thoughts are heard by the dead in the other realm.

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For whatever reason, coffin pool floats are a thing. 

Reading Notes: The Buffalo Stone, Part A

Blackfeet Indian Stories by George Bird Grinnell (1915).

A small stone, usually a fossil or some unknown thing in a weird shape, is called a buffalo stone. It has magic powers and gives good luck when hunting buffalo. The rock can make a sound similar to a bird, usually alerting the person who finds it that it is in fact a buffalo stone. These are usually found in prairie plains. 

One weird winter all the buffalo disappeared. The snow was too deep for anyone to try to find the, so they walked the river bottoms and ravines, killing other grass grazers as they went. Eventually though, they ran out of small game and began to starve.  

A man had killed a prairie rabbit, and ran home fast to tell his wife to hurry up and cook it - excited at the rare find. She went down to the river to clean it but stopped, hearing a song but seeing no birds. She located the source of song to a tree, with a weird stone jammed into the roots. She noticed some buffalo fur had been caught in the tree. Frightened at the thought of being alone and weaponless with wild buffalo, she went no further. As she turned away, the singing stopped. The stone spoke now, and asked to be taken to her village where she should teach her people the song she heard. The stone told her to pray for this starvation to end and for the buffalo to return. 

The woman did what the rock said to do, telling her husband of the events that just happened. The wife taught the chiefs the song, and they all prayed. Soon after, they heard noise of trampling buffalo and that the stone was magic. This was the first buffalo stone found. 

The buggalo are a fictional creature that are sort of like the buffalo to the native americans as the buggalo are to the native martians on the TV show Futurama. Image source. I had a typo when I first wrote buffalo and wrote buggalo, so why not include a picture of them. 

Reading Notes: Inferno: Satan, Part B

Dante's Divine Comedy, translated by Tony Kline (2002).

the demons of hell are coming toward Dante and his guide. The guide asks him to look forward and try to recognize Satan.

He looks and notices a tall structure with massive winds, he tries to hide behind the guide because there is no shelter here. Absolutely doused in fear, he looks around at what lays in Hell. Many bodies are frozen in stone, some laying, some standing, some on their head and some bent so that their head touches their feet. Finally, they reached Lucifer.

Though he thought he could fear no more, a new wave of terror struck like a tsunami. He became so enveloped in horror that he did not die, but he was no longer alive. He was suffering in limbo while looking upon the once beautiful angel, now a hideous devil.

The devil stood waist high in ice, but know he was by no means small. The average man was closer to a giants height than a giant was to just one of lucifers arms. His body was as massive as he was ugly.

Three faces were on one head, each with a body being chewed in the mouth inflicting unique pain and suffering. The eyes - one fiery red, two joined to it on either side- sat above the center if each shoulder, which were linked at the neck with one white and one black eye on the center of the throat. On the faces where the eyes should have been were large wings like a bird but leathery as a bats. This was the source of the wind creating the frozen wasteland that surrounds them - hell is not on fire, but burns hot from the frost, so cold it splits lips and cracks the skin. Regardless of the cold, Satan wept from all his eyeless sockets, weeping blood that fell down three chins.

The three sinners he chewed were Judas, Brutus, and Cassius, They were stripped of skin. Judas flailed wildly while Brutus quietly squirmed. Cassius was very long limbed and endured the torture still.

Night was coming, and now they had to climb up Satan's body to leave hell.

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Storybook Research

To start the research I reread some passages of the play. I like the idea of having at least one original quote per story in my storybook, and I need one for my second story. I decided upon one and a half for this story:

“Oh, horror, horror, horror! This is beyond words and beyond belief!”

"The graceful and renowned king is dead. The wine of life has been poured out,”

I'm using the first for Banquo, originally said by Macduff and the second said by Macbeth but altered to the situation that is slightly different, specifically to point out the way the king was killed and who is the suspect.

I went back and found a link Laura gave me for my research on scrying as the intro scene will use some of that.

Now for pictures, this one was easier to find images for than my last story but difficult because my internet was being slow. Here are the images you'll find throughout my story - but out of order.

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Week 9 Story: A Hotel in the Woods

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The man has been traveling for some time and has run out of food. He's walking through a dense forest, when suddenly "Thank goodness, something to eat!" he proclaims as he starts ripping mushrooms out of the ground.

The sun sets, it becomes very dark and cold. "Those mushrooms weren't enough, I need more food." He walks around with his eyes toward the ground, looking something else to consume. So concentrated on the ground, he bumps into a sign hanging above that reads "Welcome to the Cortez Hotel".

"That's weird. It seems too far from the main roads for an inn, but maybe they have food inside". He walks through the main door into a lobby where the lights are flickering. The lobby is empty, so he rings the bell for service.

"What?" speaks a woman suddenly behind him. The man says, "I need somewhere to stay, and I am terribly hungry". The woman looks at him with an unfazed expression, gazing at him with the coldest blue eye's he's ever seen. She smells likes smoke. "I have no food to spare as I am preparing for soldiers who booked the night here, but we do have one room left." She hands him the key, and he stares down at it. It is very cold in his hand. He looks up to find the woman is gone. The key has a tag with the number 64.

The silence from the hotel is deafening. He can hear himself breathing very loudly and he is sweating despite it being freezing. He lays down on the small cot in the tiny room numbered 64. Slowly, he falls asleep.

***

The man is woken by laughter. Peeping through his door, he sees the soldiers the woman was speaking of. In the lobby they have assembled a buffet with lots of hot food and beer. His stomach growls and his mouth waters. Right before he decides if he will wander out and try to steal some food, the doors to the lobby slam open. "Hey, there he is!" The cries of joy from the soldiers and the metals on this other man's chest indicate he's their leader. "Celebrate tonight, for we have won this battle. I am going to bed early. I suggest you all get a good nights rest, for this war is not over yet." The man closes the door to his little room quickly, as he realizes the soldier's leader is in the room next to his.

Curious still, he then looks through a crack in the wall. The general calls in his assistant to the room "I would like to be put to rest now" says the general and removes his head.

The man jumps back from the wall "what in the world is going on, what horrible people inhabit this hotel?" He opens his door again to find all the soldiers gone. The tables are turned over, and there is red liquid on the floor. "I didn't see them drinking wine" he thinks. Back through the crack, he watches terrified as the assistant begins removing the generals limbs one by one until he is in pieces. "I have to get out of here" the man thinks.

He cracks open his door, and sees all of the soldiers again - but slaughtered and scattered across the lobby, dismembered and disemboweled. Not wanting to walk through the room of corpses, he locks the door and breaks the window. As he teeters on the window's ledge, he hesitates because he can't see the ground. "Where is the ground? I was on the first floor!" Behind him, he hears the door creak open.

Twisting, he finds blue eyes staring down at him. The woman who gave him the key to his room standing inches from his face. She reeks of the smoke smell that only lingered before. "I wont tell anyone! Please! Let me go!" she shouts. Suddenly, she shoves him out the window.

The man is falling, flailing rapidly trying to grasp on to anything for support. He can't see anything as he's falling except the light of the window getting smaller and smaller as he falls. The man hits the ground with a thud, knocking him unconscious.

***

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Birds are chirping and sunlight streams through his eyelids. He opens them slowly to realize he is laying on his back, staring up at trees in a dense forest, surrounded by mushrooms. He sits up, and notices a sign that reads "We honor the men who died on this ground, where the massacre of the 64th division was committed".  He stands and runs to the main road, going to another hotel - this one he is familiar with.

"What happened in those woods? What's the 64th division?" he asks the clerk. The clerk replies "There used to be a hotel in those woods that catered to soldiers during WWI, it was off the main road to give some privacy. The 64th division was a band of soldiers who went there to rest after winning a particularly gruesome battle, but they ate the mushrooms growing around the property and went mad. They thought the enemy was attacking again, and slaughtered each other after killing their general."
"They killed their own general?" said the man. "Yes," replied the clerk, "they cut off his head, and his arms and legs before turning on each-other. Rather than admit their soldiers went crazy and killed everyone, the government sent people to burn down the hotel and claimed it was a massacre committed by the enemy. Legend says they set fire to it when there was still a civilian inside, some poor woman working the front desk who survived the soldier's attack. I guess they didn't want any witnesses."

"God, that's horrible. But, those mushrooms out there, they make you go crazy?"

"Yeah, but that's not the worst part. You sober up for a while after, only to have your heart stop and die."

Authors Note:

Here is the original story. I really liked the idea of ghosts on an old graveyard, and my story starts the same as the original but he is so hungry he eats mushrooms on the ground - he sees the ghosts, but it's because he ate the same mushrooms the soldiers did that killed them. Instead of seeing a light, he runs into the hotel sign. The general's assistant is still seen taking him apart, and I reason that he came apart not really by an assistant but by his own soldiers who went mad from the mushrooms. This time, the man leaves the hotel instead of staying the night. I added the lobby character and made the hotel name the same name as the hotel in the TV show American Horror Story - where half the residents are ghosts who died there. The room 64 is where a bunch of crazy stuff happens. The falling scene was one that I took from the movie, Get Out, where the main character is in hypnoses and falls through a tv screen only to be falling farther and farther seeing the screen shrink in "the Sunken Place". The man goes to a near by hotel (just like in the original story, I wonder why he didn't just go there in the first place), but I gave the place he was in a slightly new background with a government cover up and a twist ending for the main character - indicating he is about to die.

Reading Notes: The Rabbit Goes Duck Hunting, Part B

Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).

The rabbit is being a jerk again, this time boasting on himself and the abilities he has. He lies and deceives all about things he sees others doing. This time, he lies and says that he can eat fish just like the otters. The otters say, well I can eat ducks too and to this the rabbit says he can also eat ducks. The otter challenges the rabbit to prove it, and accepting the challenge they go to a river where some ducks are. The otter effortlessly gets a duck, and while he is hunting the rabbit makes a noose to catch a duck (basically cheating). The rabbit goes to catch a duck, and the duck flies away carrying the rabbit until he cant hold on any longer and falls. He falls into a hole with no way out. Several days go, and he hears children playing outside. He sings a song to attract them to him, and they bring their father to cut a hole in the tree. Eventually the hole is big enough that the rabbit can run through and escape the people - free again to terrorize the animal community. 

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Speaking of bunnies, there was a children's book I read in school about a family that got a bunny and the cat didn't trust it - finding that it was sucking the juice from all the vegetables. He conspired with the dog, and I don't remember all that happens, but at the end they find the bunny is harmless and just a new friend with a weird diet. 

Afterthoughts. 

It seems for the Cherokee that the rabbit is their trickster animal, a spot normally reserved for a fox or coyote. I like the idea of changing he challenge and animals, where a platypus challenges a a crocodile to an arm wrestling contest and wins by hiding a needle in his hand - which becomes his poisonous spike that males have and he gets thrown across the river or something. I could also join the two stories I read this week, where the possum walks by the rabbit trapped and doesn't help him so the rabbit has to rely on tricking the humans to help. 

Reading Notes: Why The Possum's Tail Is Bare, Part A

Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).

A possum had a beautiful tail that, either to his bragging or because it was so beautiful (or both), the rabbit conspired to have it altered. It didn't help the rabbit no longer had his tail. as a bear took it. He invited the possum to a dance, where he would showcase his pretty tail. The possum agreed and was told the barber would come beforehand to spruce up his tail. What the possum didn't know, was that the barber was going to cut all the hair off of it and wrap it in a ribbon. The possum went to the dance, unwrapped his tail without looking, and started dancing. Eventually, he looked to see why all the others were laughing and saw with horror his beautiful tail was ugly as a lizards tail. So freaked, he fell on his back with a grin, helpless, as possums do when surprised. 

I think I've posted this before, but here is a photo I took of a possum that got stuck behind the grill in our back yard (he did not move when I moved the grill, so I poked him with a broomstick and after a hiss he left - totally fine). 

Afterthoughts.

Well, I am caught between thinking the rabbit is a jerk and that this is a story to warn children of being hubristic. How could I alter this story for my own? Maybe the bear could come back to eat the rabbit for being mean. Or I could change this to birds and how the peacock got his beautiful colors, that he stole them from the ostrich and made the ostrich ugly. This story seems like the reverse of the ugly duckling who grew up to become a beautiful swan. 

Reading Notes: The Elves, Part A

The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales translated by D. L. Ashliman (1998-2013).

A poor shoemaker only had enough leather for one pair of shoes left, so he made the stencil and went to sleep, intending on finishing them in the morning. He awoke to find the shoes made perfectly, and done so well that the first customer to walk in paid more than the normal price for them.

He now had enough money for two pairs of shoes. He went to bed again with the stencil cut out for four shoes, and woke to the shoes made as perfectly as the last. A customer once again paid more than the original price and he had enough money to buy leather for four pairs. This pattern continued and he became very wealthy.

One night, before Christmas, his wife and himself decided to stay up and see who was making the shoes. At midnight, two streakers appeared and started making the shoes.

The wife said they should show gratitude to the naked men, and sewed them some clothes while the husband made them shoes. They set the presents out and waited to see what would happen. They were so happy that they left and never returned, but the shoemaker still prospered and had a good life.

Elf on the Shelf: Halloween Edition

Afterthoughts 

I decided on the elf on the shelf for my picture, but since Halloween is around the corner I chose this version of him. 

Why did the little men come, and why did they leave once they had clothes? At first my mind went into horror story mode and they would find that the shoes were made of human skin instead of cow. Then I had an idea, maybe the little men were cursed to perform good acts until they were given a gift of gratitude - after that they could stop. It also reminded me of the whole elves-steal-your-left-sock thing and that's why your socks always go missing. This story doesn't provoke too many ideas for a rewrite, so I hope next week's A and B stories do.

Reading Notes: The Sorcerer of the White Lotus Lodge, Part B

The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

A sorcerer was very powerful and developed many students as many wished to learn his powers. One day, he left with a bowl covering another bowl and told the students not too look what was inside but to watch it. As soon as he was out the door, the students uncovered it to only find clear water with a mini boat on it. They touched it, and it fell over. They quickly fixed it and recovered the bowl. They turned around to see the sorcerer asking why they disobeyed him, to which they tried to lie and say they didn't. He told them because of this, his ship capsized at sea.

The sorcerer left again, this time with a candle and told them to watch it to make sure the wind does not blow it out. After two days, the students became sleepy and when they awoke they saw the candle was out. They relit the candle, only to see the sorcerer asking why they disobeyed him again. He told them because of this, he was forced to walk 15 miles in the dark.

A student insulted the sorcerer, and he told the student to go feed the pigs. As soon as he walked into the pig room, the sorcerer turned him into a pig and sold him to a butcher. The son's father came looking for him, but the sorcerer said he left along time ago. Another student told the father what happened. Fearing the sorcerer, the father did not have him arrested but had him surrounded and seized by a thousand soliders who took the sorcerer, wife, and child to the capitol.

On their way, they encountered a giant angry monster. The sorcerer said only his wife could stop him, so they unchained her, only for her to be eaten by the giant. This happened to the son, and then the sorcerer. Suddenly, the monster was calm and walked away - leaving the soldiers to realize they had been tricked.

Tim the Enchanter

After thoughts

A lot could be done with this story. The kid turned into a pig could have been the one influencing all the other students to disobey the sorcerer, and that is why he was turned into a pig. The sorcerer could have been testing if he could trust the students with a simple task, and if not then they could not handle magic. The sorcerer didn't seem to be taking his job to seriously, and it made me think of the ridiculous Tim the Enchanter from the Holy Grail.

Reading Notes: The Cave of the Beasts, Part A

The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

A father of 7 daughters goes to the woods and finds 7 wild duck eggs. Selfishly, he shares them only with his wife. The next morning, a daughter asks the mom what shes cooking and the mom says eggs, and that she will give her one if she does not tell her sisters. This happens with all 7 sisters, and the father is furious there are none left. He asks if they want to go to grandmas house, but he really plans to leave them in the woods to be eaten by wolves. The older daughters saw through his ploy, but the younger did not and agreed to go. He abandoned them, and they were left to seek shelter.

They found a cave behind a boulder, lit inside with many jewels owned unknown to them by a fox and a wolf. The two sisters settled to sleep on the two golden beds. When the fox and wolf returned home, the wolf swore he smelled human flesh but the fox said this was nonsense since they locked up the cave too well. They settled down to sleep near the fire. When the girls woke, they were terrified of the animals. They stoked the fire and put the boulder back, locking them inside to burn to death.

The daughters lived in the cave for a few days, and when the father started to miss them he went looking for them. He found them and the jewels, brought them home, and they became a happy family.

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After thoughts

I chose this one because the title reminded me of the first Lovecraft story I read, The Beast in the Cave. It was honestly a let down, and I guess the girls get their murderous nature from their father. The wolf/grandma element made me think of red riding hood. Then you have a little bit of goldilocks thrown in, sleeping in someone else's bed. I don't like the ending, where the only message I can find is the opposite of the Beatles song, becoming "money can buy me love". Why didn't the older sisters warn the little sisters? Why were the little sisters so quick to forgive their father? How was the mom too stupid to see what was happening in her house? What a horrible family.

Reading Notes: The Night on the Battlefield, Part B

The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

A merchant travels and becomes weary, a storm comes and the sun sets, and suddenly he sees the lights of an Inn flicker on of a building he did not notice before. He goes to the inn and asks for board and food and wine. The inn says they have a spare room for him, but all their food and drink must be saved as a battalion is coming in later.

Later that night, he could not sleep. He heard weird noises and looks through the crack in the door to see the all the men drinking and eating on the floor. Then, in walks the general. He commends them for their hard work and says he is going to rest. With his assistant in tow, he goes to his room which is adjacent to the merchant. Through another crack in the wall, he looks into the Generals room and sees the general take off his head. His assistant helps him by taking off his arms, then legs, and turns off the light.

The merchant tried to sleep, but he could not from the hunger, thirst, and crazy thing he just witnessed. He awoke to the sound of a crow, and realized he was outside. The inn was no where to be seen.  He runs to the nearest Inn he finds and recounts what happened, asking what that Inn owner thinks. The inn owner says that the entire forrest he was in was a battleground, and strange things happen after dark.

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After thoughts

Well I really enjoyed this story because of the supernatural element and twist. This will make an awesome rewrite. The general dismemberment scene reminds me of something that occurs on the show Supernatural, where sometimes ghosts become stuck in loops and keep reenacting their death (called a death echo). Maybe this general was dismembered during an ambush, maybe this inn was one that once stood before treason. I like the idea of the time loop happening every night on that ground, or maybe the man had ingested something like a mushroom that made him hallucinate or able to see the dead.