In ancient times, people believed that every element and every movement of nature and man was determined by little demons because they could not imagine the physical processes to which their life was subjected. These demons were not all of an evil nature, some were very friendly to people. They appeared in many cultures [...]

The Necronomicon (Greek: nekros νεκρός - The image of the law of the dead) was written by the half-insane Arab Abdul Alhazred and was originally called عزيف الجن (Al Azif), which is translated as the eerie whisper of a jinn coming from the vastness of the desert can. The cause of this noise is probably the phenomenon of the "singing [...]

The indigenous Dayak people live in the impenetrable rainforests of Kalimantan. In their own language, this word means nothing more than "man". Their way of life is adapted to their habitat and their ancestors have lived there since the 3rd millennium BC. Some of their traditions may sound astonishingly familiar to us, like dilating the earlobe. At [...]

The gold beetle (original title The Gold Bug) is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, in which the deciphering of a secret script is explained in detail as part of a treasure hunt using the frequency numbers of the individual letters in English texts. The short story was first published in the Dollar Newspaper on June 21 and 28, 1843. A first translation into German by Alfred [...]

The wolf always played an important role in the life of the Lakota Indians. He was both a threat and a wise totem animal. There was a wolf cult called “Šung'manitu”, to which special priests and medicine men belonged and whose ritual robes included a wolf's fur under which the cult member could hide. The legends of the Lakota Indians also reflect the meaning [...]

Asceticism and meditation are important tools for finding the inner center, as it is practiced in Buddhism. If you cleanse your body of all poisons and external influences and go into meditation, it is possible to climb completely new levels of consciousness. The Buddhist monk strives for the dissolution of the [...] during his path, which lasts his whole life.

The satyr is a hybrid being and demon of Greek mythology. He has similarities with the god Pan and the god Priapus. Dionysus is considered the father of the satyr. He is not a god in the sense of a radiant, flawless and exalted entity. It is a very worldly, hedonistic figure. But where the father can still [...]

Hephaestus, the god of fire, created Pandora at the behest of Zeus as a punishment for humanity for Prometheus' theft of fire. Her name means something like “all-gifts”. Endowed by the gods of the Greek pantheon with all the gifts they could bestow on her, she was absolutely irresistible to men. Epimetheus is [...]

Dullahan can be found in Ireland. There they appear as dead, often armed and headless riders. The appearance of a Dullahan, also known as a Gan Ceann, is a terrible death omen. The Gan Ceann can actually speak, but only the name of the person whose imminent death it announces. Particular caution should be exercised at the end of August / beginning of September and [...]

One day Condla the Red was out with his father when suddenly a woman approached him in a robe more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. She told him that she was from the Otherworld. There would be no death, no sin, no war here. Here everyone can eat continuously without having to look at their own food [...]

Man has tamed the seas, subjugated the oceans. Just a few decades ago, the struggle with waves and tides was a struggle “man against nature”. Not all white spots on the world map had been sailed, not all islands had been entered. Men set out to penetrate into the last corner of the earth to find immortal [...]