It was once believed that during the days around the winter holidays the dead visited the living. A holdover from this belief is the tradition of sharing ghost stories at Christmas in England, that is now becoming popular on both sides of the Atlantic.
Here are 3 ghost stories for Christmas I narrated for Bone & Sickle podcast, lavishly soundscaped and scored for your enjoyment: https://www.boneandsickle.com/2022/12/23/a-christmas-ghost-story-2/
#FolkHorror #Folklore #GhostStories #Christmas

I hate commercials and try to avoid them, but at the same time, if you never see commercials, you can't pretend to understand America.

"Whether Twitter is destined for a fast, slow or no downfall at all remains to be seen. But some in academe aren’t waiting: they are heading for Mastodon or other platforms." https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/12/01/academics-twitter-disperse-wake-musk-takeover
Lists of thousands of academics on #mastodon are here: https://github.com/nathanlesage/academics-on-mastodon
#Academia #AcademicChatter #HigherEd @academicchatter

In my #introduction I mentioned other types of memento mori - here is an interesting example which reminded the owner of their own mortality and ‘protected’ them at the same time. This cheerful skull-shaped silver pomander was believed to protect the bearer against miasma (foul smelling air). It opens to reveal four compartments for strong-smelling substances. Early 17th cent (Metropolitan Museum NY) #MementoMori #histmed #medicine #MedMastodon #histsci #histodons #EarlyModern #skull

Terrifying / thrilling to see a promotional 3D image of a book you wrote but which you had maybe convinced yourself you never really wrote

30% off at Fordham press. use this code. UPWEEK22 I have two books with them: Public Things: Democracy in Disrepair......and: Shell Shocked: Feminist Criticism After Trump. The Press has a ton of great stuff, including Bill Connolly's recent theory/memoir

A tiny skeleton reclines on the hexagonal bezel of this gold memento mori ring, resting its skull on its bony hand. It appears to be reclining within a coffin. The skeleton is surrounded by the words ‘memento mori’ - the ‘e’ is missing however, so it reads ‘memnto mori’. Objects like this reminded the wearer of their own mortality and the importance of preparedness for death. c.1500-1650. Found in Kent (Portable Antiquites KENT-9117D7) #MementoMori #jewellery #histodons #history #skeleton