Interesting People

Dermographia on Face and Knee Today we peer into the face of Mrs. Marcil of St. Jean Baptiste, Manitoba, Canada, and onto the–well, knee–of a French schoolgirl for some mysterious markings.

Superfluous Snakes Today is the birthday of Charles Hoy Fort and what better way to celebrate than with a shower of snakes?

The Mermaid Skin Cancer Cure In 1906 a Mrs. Merritt, suffering from breast cancer, heard the siren song of healing in a piece of mermaid skin.

Monsieur de Paris’s Orchid Buttonhole A profile of the next-to-last public execution of France, Louis Deibler.

Dr. Sinclair and the Fourth Dimension A respectable physician terrifies himself with his esoteric studies –and receives some visitors from the Fourth Dimension with a plan to end the First World War.

The Devil is a Tenor A sorceress conjures up a musical Prince of Darkness to sing the destinies of her clients.

Dr. Armstrong and the Assassin The strange link between Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth and an Episcopalian priest

The Mansfield Memorial Museum: Celebrating Atlas Obscura Day in Ohio In honor of Atlas Obscura Day. A visit to the unique Ohio museum founded by amateur naturalist Edward Wilkinson and brought brilliantly back to life by Scott Schaut.

A Benares Lady Magnet A visitor to India finds a “Devil Woman” with the power to levitate and magnetically attract man and beast.