The origins of the Jersey devil are doubted even now. It is said to be 260 years old, around the time it was first sorted. Though many people believe it to be folklore, other witnesses have confirmed the existence of this creature in the heart of Pine Barren. There have been approximately 2000 such witnesses. According to the legend, the Jersey Devil was born to a Mrs. Leeds as her 13th child. The child was declared to be that of a devil, and banished from the human settlement.

The jersey devil is said to have terrorized, villages, schools, hospitals, highways etc. by flying over them. A theory related to the creature stated that it was an evolved form of a duck. Another theory stated that creature was the very essence of evil and harbinger of war. This theory materialized, as the number of sightings increased during years of the Civil War.

The Jersey Devil was witnessed by Jonathan Bonaparte, the Emperor of Spain and Napoleon’s brother. His claims resulted in widespread media attention, not only from New Jersey but also from the entire world. Search parties were sent and due the onset of photography, evidence was captured and shown to the public. The Jersey Devil also inspired the name for the New Jersey football team as well.

After four years of working at the warehouse, Joseph was discovered by a showman Sam Torr, and convinced of a comfortable life in the show business by him. Joseph agreed and was soon touring the eastern midlands of England and living on a healthy pay. From now on Joseph Merrick known as ‘The Elephant Man’.

All was not well for Joseph in the show business. In his autobiography titled- The Autobiography of Joseph Carey Merrick, he write, “I was taunted and sneered at so that I would not go home to my meals, and used to stay in the streets with an hungry belly rather than return for anything to eat, what few half-meals I did have, I was taunted with the remark—’That’s more than you have earned.’

In one incident, Merrick travelled to Brussels to be displayed in the town square. There he was robbed and abandoned by his organizers. It is with great trouble that Joseph returned to London.

Joseph was examined by numerous doctors but they were at a loss to determine his condition. His father tried to explain his condition by claiming that when Joseph’s mother Mary was pregnant, she had visited the town fair where she fell down after being frightened by an aggressive elephant. Scientists however have ruled out any possibility of maternal impressions having any effect on the child’s physical condition.

Joseph Merrick was immortalized in 1980s film titled The Elephant Man, directed by David Lynch and was claimed to be a biographical account of Joseph Merrick.

Methemoglobinemia is a rare disorder where methemoglobin is present in the blood in high levels. Methemoglobin is the oxidized form of Hemoglobin and reduces the production of oxygen. The presence of this element in the red blood cells in concentrated amounts leads to tissue hypoxia and giving a purplish and bluish tome to the skin. The Fugates had the recessive gene of this very element in their blood and thus were an odd tint of blue.

Martin Fugate, a French orphan and immigrant to Kentucky, was said to be the carrier of Methemoglobinemia. It is said that by some coincidence, he met his wife Elizabeth, who too was said to be very pale and carry this gene as well. Together they had seven kids, out of which four were blue. The ‘Blue people’ of Kentucky quickly rose in their population. They would marry their cousins and soon inbreeding led to formation of a closed community in the Troublesome Creek. It wasn’t odd for the citizens of Kentucky to see an extremely blue person now and again on the road. However since the gene was repressive, this population of blue people soon started to dwindle. Yet even know the descendants of the blue people are born with hypoxia, which turns normal in a few days. It is seen that even though these kids turn a healthy shade of complexion, during extreme cold or anger, their nails and lips turn blue or purple.

Many scientists and researchers came from far to study the Furgates’ genes and were at loss to explain their unique skin color. It is Madison Cawein, a hematologist who found out the exact disorder. He is known to give the blue people, Metheglobin Blue injection, which turned them pink almost immediately. But its effects did not stay long enough as it used to come out with the urine. Today, the descendants of the Fugates, when researched, do not show any signs of Methemoglobinemia. However the blue-ness of the nails still remains as the last sign of the blue people of Kentucky.

The philosophical Taoism is not institutionalized; however religious Taoism is orderly and institutionalized. One of the most wide read texts of Taoism is the Tao- Te-ching. Following are a few of its contents:

-          The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and
unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and
unchanging name.

-          Always without desire we must be found,
if its deep mystery we would sound;
but if desire always within us be,
its outer fringe is all that we shall see.

Tao within itself consists of various concepts like the Te, Wu Wei and Pu. Te deals with power and integrity. Wu Wei is associated with effortless actions or doing and Pu (as an extension of Wu Wei) is considered to teach living without any additional illusions. Tao can be considered a book, with its three concepts as various chapters teaching the methods of simple living. Taoism also embodies within itself the fact that the human body is nothing but a microscopic element in the vast universe. The body is bound, by the Chinese beliefs, with five elements. There are five organs that draw a parallel to the five elements of earth, five directions and the various seasons. Understanding this truth of life would lead the human to attain a higher sense of spirituality.

There are many theories that have been related to the SHC syndrome, some of these are paranormal and some of them scientific. According to science, the body needs two components in order to be flammable- excessive heat and anything that is highly flammable. They explain body combustion through the ‘ wick effect’. Here the body fat is the flammable component and outer body clothes the wick, as the fat is burned, the clothes too get captured in the fire. This may also be the reason of nothing except the body burning with the clothes and the surroundings left untouched.

In a period of 300 years there have been approximately 200 cases of Spontaneous Human Combustion.in most of the cases, the victims are females, usually the victims are overweight and alcoholics, the room in which the combustion took place is relatively untouched by the fire and in most cases The body is surrounded by yellow putrid smelling material. The most famous case of SHC is that of Mary Reeser. In 1951, the police found the body of the old lady, in her rocking chair, completely burnt, her liver shrunk to the size of a baseball due to intense heat and all the plastic appliances melted due to intense heat released through the body heat. The heat was such  that even the outside door knob was so hot that the firemen were unable to open the door. However not all  victims of SHC face death, some have been said to miraculously survive also. For example, Jack Angel who woke up with burns and blisters all over his body and a huge hole in his chest.

Known fruit of the unknown;

Daedalian plan;

Out of sleeping a waking,

Out of waking a sleep;

Life death overtaking;

Deep underneath deep?

- the Sphinx by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1841)

A creature of immense beauty and curiosity, Sphinx has held the fascination of people around the world. She does not belong to selective areas or mythological stories, but is seen throughout the pages of history, scattered in different corners of the world. She does possess attractiveness, but is gifted with wisdom and represents a perfect woman.

A Sphinx is a creature with body of a lion, wings of a bird and head of a beautiful women.She is found not only in a specific mythological setting but in the myths of various civilization like in greek, Egyptian, and south Asian mythology. In the Greek myths she is considered a woman, however in Egyptian, she posses the head of a man. It is not her looks that is said to set her apart, but her wit.  According to the myths, anyone who crosses her path is required to answer a riddle, if they fail to do so, they would face the wrath of the magnificent Sphinx, and be eaten by it. The Sphinx is said to have been sent from ethiopia by Goddess Ares or Hera.

As an object of mystery, the Sphinx has been used in architecture to display mysticism. The earliest known buildings and temples that accommodate the Sphinx in their architecture is in Turkey made in 9500 B.C. More famously, the Sphinx made in Giza in Egypt. It is said to represent the Pharaoh Kafrah. The use of the Sphinx was not just limited to the oriental but also to the European architecture. It was used widely during the renaissance period. It now is seen in freemasonry as well.

“A major difficulty is that the answer to the Riddle of the Sphinx is partly a product of the answers that we already have given to the riddle in its various forms. ” – Gregory Bateson

“Let these women, whose husbands are worthy and are living, enter the house with ghee (applied) as collyrium (to their eyes). Let these wives first step into the pyre, tearless without any affliction and well adorned.”-

Of the many horrifying violence committed against women, Sati remains the most appalling. Sati is a Hindu custom where the widow is required to immolate herself by sitting on her husband’s pyre (in some rare cases the husband too commits Sati, and a woman may commit Sati for her son as well). Sati was created as a voluntary act, however, in many cases it was observed that the pressure from the society/community and the traditions forced the woman to take such a decision. Many a times the relatives of the deceased would throw the woman’s body over her husband’s burning pyre.

The origins of Sati are not clear. While some argue that Sati is derived from Hindu Mythology, there is no real evidence in the myths to support this. Hence, this was seen mainly as a social custom. Though largely seen as Indian, the act in its various manifestations is seen to exist in Greek, Egyptian, and Scythian civilizations as well. It was started to prevent the widows to remarry after their husband’s demise, to prevent her from killing her wealthy husband, in order to claim his fortune. Many places like Rajasthan, where the Rajputs ruled for a long time, Sati was committed to restore the honor of women and thus the Rajput rule. Upon hearing the loss of battle, and the eminent capture of the territories of the kingdom, the King’s wives and concubines would light a huge pyre and kill themselves by jumping in it.

In order to banish Sati, reformists like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, argued for its complete ban. The British rule in India too opposed this medieval and barbaric act by making it illegal and punishment by death.

During the recess, in an empty classroom, Satomi was murdered brutally. Her throat and hands were slit and the floor covered in blood. The killer had used a utility knife. Her classmate had left her body in the empty class and went into her own, her clothes smeared with Satomi’s blood. When her class teacher found Satomi’s disappearance and Girl A’s clothes covered in blood suspicious, she called the school authorities for help. After searching the classrooms, they found Satomi’s dead body. The police was called and her classmate was taken into custody.

Upon questioning, the girl showed signs of extreme remorse. She was reluctant to tell anything and kept pleading for forgiveness. The police records show the use of “I am sorry”, repeatedly in her statements. After intense questioning she finally revealed that the motive to kill Satomi was to get even at her. The previous day, the girl claimed, Satomi had fought with her on the Internet. She has called her a ‘goody goody’ and attempted to slander and tarnish her image.

The murder sparked widespread media coverage and revealed the many insecurities of the public. The issue was taken up at the Diet. The parliamentarians argued for the age of criminal responsibility to be reduced from 16 years to 14 years in the wake of the Sasebo killing.

The name Saraswati derives from two Hindi words, ‘Saras’ (which means flow) and ‘Wati’ means woman. She is depicted as a beautiful woman wearing a pure white sari and playing a ‘veena’(a musical instrument with many strings). She has four hands and in each hand she holds an instrument she cherishes. She is also shown as sitting on a lotus flower.

Saraswati is not just synonymous with Hinduism but also with Buddhism and Zoroastrianism where she is known as ‘Sraosha’, Goddess of Earth.

Legend says that when the third eye of Lord Shiva opened, it destroyed everything that came in front of it. Maa Saraswati, being the Goddess of Wisdom was the only one that could stop this fire. It is said that Saraswati converted into a river and took the flame with her to the bottom of the ocean. The flame will remain there till knowledge is sought after and wisdom prevails on earth.

Her dhyāna shloka given at the beginning of the Fifth chapter of Devi Mahatmya says:

“Wielding in her lotus-hands the bell, trident, ploughshare, conch, pestle, discus, bow, and arrow, her lustre is like that of a moon shining in the autumn sky. She is born from the body of Gowri and is the sustaining base of the three worlds. That Mahasaraswati I worship here who destroyed Sumbha and other asuras.”

The mummy was found sitting in the position of meditation, much synonymous with the sitting posture of the Buddha. It had a flat nose and was dark brown in color. The height of the mummy measured less than 14 inches. Upon X-ray, an estimate was made regarding the mummy’s age. It was 65 years old. The absolutely perfect preservation of the mummy baffled anthropologists and scientists alike. They determined that either the mummy was originally a pygmy or it was an earlier form of red Indians that inhabited the region.The mummy soon became a sideshow attraction. It was purchased by a wealthy businessman Ivan T. Goodman.

The fact that the mummy could belong to the secret pygmy people was also contested for a while. The mummy, many people claimed, was a proof of existence of such a race. Discoveries made in Tennessee in 1877 also revealed the existence of graves which were in fact fourteen inches long and 2 inches wide.

With advancement of technology, researchers did show intentions to study the mummy again and determine its origins; however the mummy was now untraceable. After transferring from the ownership of Goodman, the mummy landed in the hands of Leonard Wadle in 1980s when it was last seen in public. Its whereabouts are now a mystery. A reward of $10000 is now announced to the person who finds the missing mummy.