A History of Jack o’ Lanterns

Welcome to the final post in 2023’s Month of Horror, and as part of Halloween every year people carve jack o’ lanterns, also spelt jack-o-lanterns. Carved out of pumpkins and lighting up the night with candles the jack o’ lantern is an integral part of the holiday, but why are they so important? To understand

Florapedia: Pumpkins (and zucchini/courgette)

Welcome back to 2023’s Month of Horror and with Halloween just around the corner many of us will be thinking about making a jack-o-lantern. Of course, we make jack-o-lanterns out of pumpkins, specifically Cucurbita pepo which is actually an incredibly diverse species. Not only are pumpkins a member of this species but also zucchini (or

Voodoo: How a Religion became a Horror Trope

In October in the UK it is Black History Month, and of course October is ‘Month of Horror’ on this blog. It is a trope in horror media, and popular culture as a whole, that depicts Voodoo as a Satanic, blood-sacrifice, black magic cult based on purposeful and general misunderstandings of the religion. Born through

Zoopedia: Japanese spider crab

Welcome back to 2023’s Month of Horror and we’re beginning this post with a bit of a story. As a young child my grandparents took me to the SeaLife Centre in Scarborough because of my love of animals. Young me and my younger brother saw a monster and became terrified so my grandparents had to

Zoopedia: Aye-Aye

Welcome back to 2023’s Month of Horror and this week’s Zoopedia which simultaneously looks demonic and cute: the aye-aye. In its native Madagascar it is sometimes seen as a harbinger of death, but this is far from the actual biology of this strange primate. Taxonomy and Evolution Despite its appearance the aye-aye is one of

Paleo Profiles: Megamonodontium

Arachnophobia is one of the most common phobias in the world which is a shame because spiders are normal animals that have an interesting evolutionary history. Recently, the evolutionary history of spiders has been made slightly clearer with the discovery of a fossil spider, which also happens to be the second largest fossil spider ever

Zoopedia: Black widow spiders

It is time for our first Zoopedia of 2023’s Month of Horror and we’re looking at one of the most infamous arachnids on the planet: the black widow spider. Actually over thirty species we’ll be looking at three today: the southern, western, and northern. They are also famed for the females cannibalising the males, but

Myths, Legends, and Faith: Nuckelavee

Welcome to the first post of 2023’s Month of Horror where, for the month of October, we look at the horrors, terrors, and all things gothic through history and natural history. Our first post is perhaps one of the most gruesome looking spirits and monsters I have ever seen. A skinless rider fused with a

Myths, Legends, and Faith: Zombies

It’s the final week of 2022’s Month of Horror and in the UK October is also Black History Month. The legacies of slavery in the Caribbean led to folklore and belief intersecting Black History with what we associate with horror. The zombie is one of these, but the original zombies were a far cry from

Zoopedia: Halloween Hermit Crab

We’re in the last full week of 2022’s Month of Horror, so let’s look at an animal which literally has Halloween in its name: the Halloween hermit crab. Despite its name, the Halloween hermit crab is quite a cute little crab is a helpful little crustacean and are popular for aquarium owners. Taxonomy and Evolution