#its like tuberculosis during the 1800s

[florsial]

Regulus cries more often than not. It's something he's picked up on during the war. When he felt like there wasn't a light at the end of the tunnel, when he felt as if he couldn't differentiate between the nightmares to reality. He doesn't sleep because of it, he just spends his nights crying. Walburga told him he sounded like a wailing baby. She doesn't look at him.

But James notices he cries more after the cave. Mornings, afternoons, nights. He can hear it from his room. When he eats breakfast. When he slips under the blankets. During meetings. It rings in his ears. In Sirius' too, he can tell.

They don't do anything about it in the beginning. James didn't want to be overbearing, so he just let Regulus be, let him cry it all out. But it seemed as if there wasn't a bottom in the endless pit. Regulus just kept crying. Crying. And when he isn't, he just stares off. It isn't much better than the wailing.

One day, it gets too much. When he hears Regulus crying, he walks into the younger's room and starts to cry as well when he sees Regulus doing nothing but just sitting at the end of his bed. His face was in his hands and crying, wailing, again and again.

"I'm sorry, I-I'm sorry..." James says repeatedly. He doesn't know how, but he finds himself kneeling in front of Regulus, his face buried in the younger's knees. They are both crying. He's apologizing and Regulus is wailing without words.

It's almost comforting. The two of them acting like a complete mess together. Sobbing in each other presence. Holding onto each other for dear life because they don't know when it will slip from their grasp during the war. It's so comforting that James doesn't realize when they've stopped crying until his weak and broken repeating of, "I'm sorry" is finally stopped by Regulus carding his fingers into his curly and whispering, "I'm sorry too."

They both feel lighter after that.

[creehd]

IM SCREECHING OVER THIS ROARING 20s AU,

but very politely holding your shoulders and giving you a little shake.

I haven't watched much teenage mutant ninja turtles unfortunately, but from what i do know, you putting them in the 1920s is absolutely FASCINATING. The difference in politics and the World in general from the modern version to your AU is just,,, HNGNGNGG im chewing on the leg of your desk

Do they act differently?? Or are they relatively similar to their modern counterparts? How are they forced to adapt to this universe? Are they still ninja trained? How did they get turned into mutant turtles, and what's Shredder's (who you MUST draw, im begging you), motive during this time period? 👀 DO THEY STILL LIKE PIZZA?????

And most importantly, may i give Splinter a kiss on the head? 👉👈

Amazing art as always <3

I owe you my life for this ask. I can feel myself being pulled back into both my obsessions with TMNT and the early 1900s.

SO I'M STILL BUFFERING EDGES AND WORKING OUT WHAT EXACTLY I WANNA DO WITH CERTAIN CHARACTERS BUT HERES THE MAIN SYNOPSIS;

In 1923 New York, post ww1, splinter is the last of his lineage of samurai in the Edo period in Japan, escaping to New York and attempting to build a new life when he came into contact with the Foot, a long-established gang with ties to shredder a yakuza boss who also immigrated from japan at the end of the 1800s once he lost his title as shōgun. He is controlling many facets of New York through experimental science and crime.

Mainly being; bootlegging, gambling, auto theft, narcotics, robbery, And any other gang-sanctioned activity.

In an attempt to stop him, splinter soon finds himself mortally wounded and in desperation to save his life, he is mutated into a rat, alongwith 4 baby turtles and an entire lab of wildlife. (Animal testing has been around for awhile) Hiding away with his newly found family and recovering from injuries that made him slowly lose his eyesight, the boys began to grow in the shadows of a newly technological America.

And that's kinda what I got as an explanation for how exactly splinter got here and what happened before the turtles grew up.. AS FOR THEIR PERSONALITIES. I try to keep them similar, I take inspiration from each different continuity of tmnt for what I think the perfect imalgamation would look like for a basis for who they are, and then I made it time period accurate!

So in order-

Leonardo: Leo is a big boy scout, he respects splinters wisdom and teachings, and when I think of him I picture Steve Roger's before the Super Soldier serum, Leo believes in New York, and he believes he and his brothers can help fight the rampant and rising gang-related crime in the city. He also enjoys tennis, chess,and card playing, alongside supporting the local flapper scene in the city. He also heavily supports freedom of the press AND believes in the abolishment of prohibition! (Not bc he likes to drink but because he WANTS freedom and justice for all) loves to listen to radio shows with Donnie and read newspapers and magazines to keep up with current trends and events.

Donatello: Donnie is hugely interested in the rise of technology across America, hugely interested in the works of Albert Einstein and the amazing minds behind the Tuberculosis vaccine (baxter stockman in this au is a scientist who basically helped discover penicillin before the incident™️) , he's fascinated with radios and tvs however they aren't as sophisticated as he might like yet, he believes he can help the field of science alongside his brothers as a crime fighter, although it isn't his passion to fight, he sees fighting as a science of its own. His hobbies include radio shows and reading! (His favorite book is at the earth's core by Edgar rice Burroughs) and he also really really enjoys April's company, and dressing up with her.

Raphael: Raphael is a vigilante at heart, but also a bit too hotheaded and selfish to see when he is in too deep, he heavily engages in the night life and the scummier parts of New York, bar fights, alley brawls, deals gone wrong, you name it, raphs got a fire for fighting for what's right. He rubs elbows with many of the lower-class gangs, who are just trying to get by, and after learning about the struggles of suffragettes, he lends a hand when he can with their growing cause, he's also a huge jazz fan, attending many flapper shows and frequenting speakeasies. Before he met Casey in late 1919, he dreamed of nothing more than to fight in the Great War, however, when he met Casey Jones, he was quickly attuned to the horrors the war brought to its soldiers, and how horrendously they were discarded after, and prompting vowing to help veterans in need. He and Casey are close and frequently engage in going to silent films, recreational drinking, and smoking together.

Michelangelo: Mikey is an artist, he loves his city and its people, and alongside being an incredibly talented martial artist crimefighter alongside his brothers, he believes in peace and love above everything. (Although he'll finish a fight if he has to) him and raph clash heavily on how to handle issues in new york, and while they can't see perfectly eye to eye, they overlap on alot of ideals and pastimes. Mikey is a prolific painter like his namesake, as well as a silent film connoisseur, a birdwatching fan, a huge fan of jazz, and a frequent at lgbt nightclubs in Harlem.

NOW FOR THE NON TURTLE CHARACTERS!

Splinter: Splinter was born in Japan in the mid 1855, he is now in his late 60s, trying to pass on his knowledge of the time to his sons, while training them the way of the samurai and ninja from when he was a boy. Splinters mutation heavily affected his eyesight, and training and keeping in touch with his culture and fighting traditions helped him overcome the difficulty of navigation, along with his mutated hearing and smell. He's a strict older Japanese dad, he loves his boys but is hesitant about the new boom of technology and heavily encourages the boys to stick to their traditional ways while fighting for what's right.

April: April moved to the city from smalltown in 1915, daughter of a farmer, she came in hopes of starting a career for herself and eventually settle down, but as things began to go down hill for the aspiring woman, she began to work a day job as a secretary at the New York World Newspaper company and at night as a flapper, she ends up getting caught up In ganglife around new york before meeting the turtles during a chance encounter with the foot gang.

Casey Jones: Casey Jones is a poor young man from New Jersey, high aspirations and low funds led him to leave his abusive household and seek out adventure during the draft in 1917, Casey fought In the Great War in Europe, and came back a changed man. Shortly after his return to the States, he moved to New York City to try to rebuild a life he once yearned for, when he meets Raphael. Both boys begin to start a bond, sharing the same pastimes and enjoying the same sights the city has to offer, but it's hard to navigate a life that feels so foreign after his enlistment, what's even harder is understanding why he'd rather enjoy the company of Raphael rather than the girls they watch on stage. He still engages in recreational hockey and the occasional book club since Leo and Donnie insist on helping him with his dyslexia.

As for their motives.. they're just trying to help clean up the streets and not get traumatized along the way! But that's never how it works out is it..

And for the villians.. this posts getting a bit long so I'll make a seperate post about shredder and his whole deal, along with the krang :]

And of COURSE they still love pizza! They're the ninja turtles, it came free with the Xbox,

But if u want an actual answer yes they still love pizza, alot of Italian immigrants came to New york in 1880ish through 1930, and pizza was starting to super get popular.

(And splinter always gets alittle kiss)

BUT YES that's what we're cooking with so far!! And I have many idea for them, and would love to hear more thoughts and opinions !!! Please. This is my brainchild I'm foaming at the mouth to share it.

ask box is always open!!

[theblackdahliaemporium]

Herbalism 101: Mullein Leaf

Fun fact: Mullein is a member of the Snap Dragon Family.

The Mullein plant has been around for years and has more than 200 species. The most popular type is common mullein (Verbascum Thapsus.) the leaves harvested near the bottom of the plant and used either dried or fresh.

Mullein flowers and leaves were used on animals and people for a variety of issues:

Cough

Congestion

Bronchitis

Asthma

Constipation

Pain

Inflammation

Migraine

Sleep

Gout

By the late 1800s, mullein became a popular treatment for people with tuberculosis in Europe, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Keep in mind that many of the benefits of mullein are based on anecdotal experiences. More human clinical studies are needed to understand the benefits of this herb. -Healthline

Mullein leaf is sold in various forms:

Tea

Extract

Oil

Powder

Capsule

Elixir

Some can be made into creams.

Some herbalists recommend mullein for respiratory and inflammatory conditions, but there is not enough scientific evidence of its effectiveness. -Healthline

Dioscorides, a Greek physician pharmacologist and botanist, practicing in the 1st century in Rome, who authored the herbal De Materia Medica, was one of the first to recommend mulleins use in lung conditions around 2,000 years ago. It was used as a hair wash in ancient Roman times; the leaf ash to darken hair, and the yellow flowers for lightening it. The leaves were dried, rolled and used as wicks for candles and the entire dried flowering stalks were dipped in tallow and used for torches, hence the names 'candlewick plant' or 'torches'. According to Maida Silverman in her book A City Herbal, " The great respect and love formerly accorded to mullein can be inferred from the number and variety of the folk names for it." -Mountain Rose herbs.

Mullein leaf, flower, and root, with its litany of folk uses ranging from 'nature's toilet paper' to an effective apotropaic (fancy word meaning that which wards off evil spirits), have been used extensively in folk medicine. Its magical qualities were numerous, going beyond simply warding off evil but also was thought to instill courage and health, provide protection, and to attract love. In fact, it was believed that wearing mullein would ensure fertility and keep potentially dangerous animals at bay while trekking along in the wilderness. Further, allegedly a practice for men in the Ozark mountains to attract love consisted of simply pointing the mullein's flowering stalk towards the direction of his love's house and seeing if the stalk went upright again indicating her reciprocated love. Mullein, like so many herbs of European origin, was introduced by the colonists and then incorporated into the Native American healing tradition. The root was made into a necklace for teething infants by the Abnaki tribe, the Cherokee applied the leaves as a poultice for cuts and swollen glands, and other tribes rubbed the leaves on the body during ritual sweat bathes. Additionally, the flowers were used internally as teas and topically as poultices. The Navajos smoked mullein, referring to it as "big tobacco" and the Amish were known to partake as well. Presently, mullein can be found at health food stores often prepared as soothing leaf tea or an ear oil made of the infused flowers. -mountainroseherbs

According to King's American dispensatory (a book first published in 1854 that covers the uses of herbs used in American medical practice), "upon the upper portion of the respiratory tract its influence is pronounced." Mullein was prescribed by Eclectic Physicians (a branch of American medicine popular in the 1800-early 1900's which made use of botanical remedies) who considered it to be an effective demulcent and diuretic, and a mild nervine "favoring sleep." -Mountain Rose herbs.

DISCLAIMER: Precautions Small hairs on mullein leaf may cause mechanical irritation in the mouth and throat if not filtered out of extracts prior to consumption. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.

[talesofedo]

One thing that has been endlessly fascinating to me while studying Edo-period Japan is the fact that so many assumptions made about the world are rooted in the Western perspective.

Take bread, for example.

I'm sure you've seen quotes like "bread is a universal food that exists in every country" and "without bread civilization wouldn't exist the way we know it today." That's all nice and good but not necessarily true across time periods and places.

In Japan, bread was first introduced by the Portugese in the mid-1500s, but it didn't actually catch on until much later.

The oldest surviving Japanese bread recipe was written down in 1841 by Egawa Tarozaemon, governor of Nirayama, teacher of Western gunnery, and builder of coastal artillery defenses.

Tarozaemon's bread recipe (from Yahoo News).

Tarozaemon's 1841 bread recipe is for a German sweet bread and substitutes amazake for the yeast and sugar content of the original. However, the written recipe does not include amounts for any of the ingredients, making it somewhat difficult to replicate without much trial and error.

The researchers studying Tarozaemon's records speculate that it was actually his mother who had an interest in baking and who was known for her excellent castella. They believe she may have been interested in other Western recipes and Tarozaemon, who employed at least two scholars of Western learning, might have been happy to oblige by copying recipes for her to try.

Alongside the German sweet bread, Tarozaemon also wrote down recipes for a kind of hardtack to be used by his troops, and two kinds of confections, which were perhaps more suitable to his mother's baking interests.

One bread-like product introduced to Japan by the Portugese did catch on: castella, a kind of sponge cake still popular today.

Matsudaira Mikinosuke and friends enjoying enormous slices of castella during the late Edo period.

During the time of Tokugawa Iemitsu, castella was served almost exclusively to the emperor and foreign envoys. By the time of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, its popularity had spread across the country, but it was still only available to the upper classes of high-ranking samurai and wealthy merchants. That's because it was made with expensive ingredients: specifically, eggs and white sugar. It finally became widely available to the masses by the end of the 1700s.

Edo period castella was more crispy than today's moist and fluffy Nagasaki-style castella. Described as a "simple, crispy pound cake", it was commonly eaten alongside miso soup or with grated daikon and wasabi.

Fun fact: castella was also used as a nutritional supplement for tuberculosis patients.

...

Speaking of eggs and their expense:

Even with today's soaring egg prices, eggs in the Edo period were more than 20 times more expensive than they are in 2023. By the early 1800s, an individual egg cost 20 mon, while a whole bowl of soba only cost 16.

The reason eggs were so expensive is that people did not generally raise animals for consumption until the very end of the Edo period, though that didn't really take off until the Meiji period, which is when we first see large-scale egg production in Japan.

People did keep chickens during the Edo period, specifically for their eggs and not their meat. In fact, many lower-ranking samurai raised small flocks of chickens to supplement their incomes by selling the eggs, something that had been encouraged since the time of Tokugawa Iemitsu. However, chickens at the time were not bred to produce large volumes. They often did not lay eggs regularly, and sometimes did not lay at all if the weather was particularly hot or cold.

Eggs, as well as meat, were often considered medicinal - something you purchased for a sick relative or to increase your own strength, though in many cases the primary reason for the medicinal label was getting around the feeling of guilt for consuming them, since it was frowned upon under both Shinto and Buddhist beliefs.

Even with those religious beliefs, meat was actually eaten pretty regularly in the Edo period by those who could afford it.

By the end of the 1700s, at least one restaurant in Edo specialized in wild boar, the most commonly consumed meat in the Edo period based on archeological finds. Others include deer, serow, assorted wild birds such as pheasant and quail, occasionally bears and, at times, dogs.

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics:

1. Cover for the "Beast in the Cave" audiobook.

2. Cover for the "Beast in the Cave" short film adaptation.

3. Cover for the Echoes in the Well House music album.

4. Cover for the Phase 4 music album.

1905: Output 3.

Definitions:

1. Juvenilia refers to literary, musical & artistic works made by young writers, artists & lyricists.

If ever printed, it's always after their creator becomes famous - for later works.

Juvenilia are always published as retrospective pieces, examining how their creator became so proficient.

2A. Devolution is, in scientific terms, a 'descent' to a lower or worse state. It's a process of losing useless traits.

But, organisms don't evolve back into simpler forms. Evolution doesn't grow backwards. Rather, organisms adapt into new forms - to survive their own environments.

And, it's always ongoing - even now...

2B. Devolution is a common enough concept in Lovecraft's tales. It's also central to his belief in Cosmicism, since he saw all human progress as being totally meaningless in the grand scheme of the cosmos...

3. Mammoth Cave is the world's largest known cave system. It stretches, under Kentucky, for 365+ known miles.

But, geologists think there's some 600 miles of still unexplored tunnels. Every year, new passageways are found & explored...

It's thought that indigenous 'Indians' explored the nearest 3 miles in, since they 1st found this cave 4,500 years ago!

Nobody knows how many people have died in Mammoth Cave.

But, some folk regard this cave as a haunted realm - claiming they find unexplained objects in their pics of it!

This cave is quite ancient, as a fossil of a petal toothed shark was found deep inside - dating back to 300 million years old!!

4. Meteorology is the science of studying atmospheres - even on alien planets! This includes both, local weather effects & overall climate patterns.

Seen, nowadays, as an union of many sciences, since the atmosphere, land & ocean work like an single system.

A subject 1st explored by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, when he wrote his 350 BC opus, "Meteorologica."

This was the earliest known attempt to understand Earth's atmosphere & its water cycle.

5. Consumption is a bacterial disease now known as tuberculosis. This was once the most feared infection in the world & was called the "Great White Plague."

It was named consumption because it seemed to be consuming its victims... Characterized by bloody, hacking coughs, lung pain & fatigue.

Strangely Enough - Consumption was nicknamed a "romantic disease" since many artistic folks caught it.

In fact, during the late 1700s & the early 1800s, cultural ideas about beauty & tuberculosis changed to see the disease's ravages as 'beautiful.'

In Victorian days, it was thought that a change in environment would help ease consumption's painful effects.

Since 1946, doctors have used the streptomycin antibiotic to bring it under some control.

6. "Beast in the Cave" musical adaptations:

6A. "Age of Ice" heavy metal album with a "There's Lives a Beast Within This Cave" by the Atom Smashers.

6B. In "Stories of H.P. Lovecraft - A Symphonic Collection" album by the band Blank Manuscript.

6C. "Beast in the Cave" is a track by Phase 4.

6D. As is the song (by the same name) from Echoes in the Well House.

7. "Beast in the Cave" the 2016 movie, has been deemed as not worth the 3 hour watch time! The only good scene is right before the end. Though it did have some 'decent' death scenes, such as a man being impaled up in a "ceiling spike!"

(Stalactite?)

The opposite view is that the film is fascinating because of its simplicity & dimly lit locations!

It uses off-screen narration taken from Lovecraft's text.

The director, C. McCasland, drew whatever strength he could out of the script. He avoided spectacle to create something that's really creepy...

8. Arthur C. Doyle's "The Terror of Blue John Gap" is 1 of his many horror stories - which most people don't know he wrote. They usually focus on Sherlock Holmes alone...

This tale sees a doctor staying in a remote farm to ease his consumption. Against warnings, he explores a deep Roman mine.

In the dark, he hears & smells some thing walking nearby... At the exit, he sees roundish footprints in some mud.

Not believed by others, he returns to the cave entrance with a rifle... And, after it stalked the area looking for food, he shoots the massive creature - in the back!

Following it into the mine, the doctor faces it down & is just able to escape!!

In the morning, local farmers block the entrance with giant rocks - just in case it's still alive...

It seems a farmer had gone 'missing'...

This story was turned into a 2019 short film with the same name.

PS:

1. "Blue John" is actually a purplish precious mineral found in Derbyshire, England.

2. The "Gap" is just old British slang for the cavern's 'mouth'...

[blueiscoool]

The New England Vampire Panic

The New England vampire panic was a period of terror and mass hysteria during the 19th century, caused by an outbreak of consumption blamed on vampires in the states of New England, United States.

Consumption, known today as tuberculosis (TB), is an infectious disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. The disease generally affects the lungs, causing a chronic cough with blood-containing mucus, fever, night sweats and weight loss.

Across the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, outbreaks of TB spread amongst family members and households. So severe was the epidemic, that it claimed around 2 percent of the region’s population from 1786 to 1800.

When a TB sufferer died, it was assumed that they consumed the life of their surviving relatives who also became ill from TB. To protect the survivors and ward off the symptoms of consumption, the bodies of those who died were exhumed to examine for traits of vampirism.

The concept of a blood-sucking spirit or demon consuming human flesh has been told in the mythology and folktales of almost every civilisation through the centuries. One of the earliest vampiric depictions stems from cuneiform texts by the Akkadians, Samarians, Assyrians and Babylonians, where they referred to demonic figures such as the Lilu and Lilitu.

It wasn’t until the late 17th and 18th century that the folklore for vampires as we imagine, began to be told in the verbal traditions and lore of many European ethnic groups. They were described as the revenants of evil beings, suicide victims, witches, corpses possessed by a malevolent spirit or the victim of a vampiric attack that has resulted in their own viral ascension to vampirism.

During the 18th century, vampire sightings across Eastern Europe had reached its peak, with frequent exhumations and the practice of staking to kill potential revenants. This period was commonly referred to as the “18th-Century Vampire Controversy”.

In New England, vampiric traits were determined by how fresh the corpse appeared, especially if the heart or other organs still contained evidence of liquid blood. After a vampiric corpse was identified, the remains were either turned over in the grave, or in some cases the organs were burnt, and the affected family members would inhale the smoke to cure the consumption. In rare cases the deceased would be decapitated and their remains reburied.

One of the most famous cases is the Mercy Brown vampire incident in Rhode Island in 1892. Several members of George and Mary Brown’s family suffered a sequence of TB infections, with the mother, Mary Eliza being the first to die of the disease.

A newspaper report at the time documents that George Brown was persuaded to give permission to exhume several bodies of his family members by villagers and the local doctor. Their examination revealed that the bodies of both Mary and Mary Olive exhibited the expected level of decomposition, however, the corpse of the daughter, Mercy, exhibited almost no decomposition, and still had blood in the heart (likely due to her body being stored in freezer-like conditions in an above-ground crypt).

Mercy’s heart and liver were burned, and the ashes were mixed with water to create a tonic that was given to her surviving brother. What remained of Mercy’s body was buried in the cemetery of the Baptist Church in Exeter after being desecrated.

In another account by Henry David Thoreau in 1859, he wrote: “The savage in man is never quite eradicated. I have just read of a family in Vermont—who, several of its members having died of consumption, just burned the lungs & heart & liver of the last deceased, in order to prevent any more from having it” – referring to the case of Frederick Ransom from Vermont, who was exhumed and his heart was burnt on a blacksmith’s forge.

The term “vampire” wasn’t a common term used in the 19th century communities across New England, instead it was likely applied by newspapers and outsiders at the time due to the similarity with contemporary vampire beliefs in eastern Europe.

In an anthropological study by Michael Bell of the New England phenomenon, he stated that: “No credible account describes a corpse actually leaving the grave to suck blood, and there is little evidence to suggest that those involved in the practice referred to it as ‘vampirism’ or to the suspected corpse as a ‘vampire’, although newspaper accounts used this term to refer to the practice.”

[justjauslingaround]

My thoughts on a She ra tweet I found!

Before I start, I want to clarify that I don’t mean to say anything negative about She ra and the Princesses of Power, authors during the 19th century, or the person who wrote the tweet I about talking about! I just found this interesting! No disrespect at all to anyone!! And if you are the person who wrote the tweet: hi I think you’re really cool!!

So I found this tweet as I was scrolling through my social media (it might be at the bottom but hopefully it’s above) and it made me think. As you can see, the tweet is talking about how the women of She ra look beautiful when they’re at their lowest point. And I agree with this. They do look very pretty and I have watched (and loved!!!) the show. I never thought about it but that made me think.

During the 1800s, (I know I am very far away from She ra but stick with me) tuberculosis, or consumption, was rampant across Europe, killing a majority of those who got it. It also killed many young people, and with the help of Lord Byron saying that he, “should like to die of consumption,” it soon became a “romantic” disease. Authors and poets would write novels and poems about cute, tragic girls who were pale from consumption. A prettily weak girl with tuberculosis could give a male protagonist everything he needs: backstory, motivation, character development, and plot points.

Unlike the “romantic” disease authors, the animators and writers of She ra put their tragic characters in the spotlight. Angella is not a side character used for a man’s character development, she is her own person with big, negative emotions that take center stage. Adora is the main character of her own show, her tragedies are for herself and her character development only! Though Catra is unconscious and being held by Adora, Adora cares about Catra and her wellbeing and helps her selflessly. Adora helps Catra not because she is pretty, but because she loves her. She-ra flips the “beautifully tragic” trope on its head by letting their characters be beautiful and tragic without benefiting others (or if they do benefit others it is someone who already loved them before helping them).

[carewyncromwell]

“Good evening, everyone. I hope that your holiday season is appropriately merry. I am called Bartholomew, or Bat, Varney, and this is my singular favorite part of the entire year. As she is aware of this, my mundane has given me special access to her ‘Askbox,’ so that I may interact, educate, and debate with all of you about subjects involving this most wondrous time of year. I was raised in the later half of the 18th century and I’ve also lived through what my mundane calls the ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ and ‘Fantastic Beasts’ timelines, or the 19th century and early 20th century...and, courtesy of my mundane, I’ve been also given access to the fourth wall so that I can discuss things that came later, as well, as long as they involve Christmas.”

‘I must say, as much as I still don’t understand about my mundane and this communication method of hers, discussing Christmas traditions of the future is incredibly appealing.’

“For more such Christmas content, my mundane says you may consult the ‘Bat Comments on Christmas!’ tag...and naturally, she encourages you to send in those Christmas-related owls my way.

“Today’s topic of discussion is one of Christmas’s most central traditions -- caroling.

“Now of course, holiday songs are as old as holidays themselves, so there was naturally plenty of music centering around Christ and his birth from the start -- generally hymns, which were written in Latin and meant to be sung in church, whether on Christmas or not. But since Christmas was always split into both secular and non-secular traditions, there were also less formal songs that people sang outside of church as well. The first written carols of this sort that we know of originated during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I -- in fact, one of the most popular Christmas songs we know of today, ‘What Child is This?’, uses the tune of the song ‘Greensleeves,’ which was written at that time.

“Christmas caroling on people’s doorsteps -- much like Halloween’s ‘trick-or-treating’ tradition -- was inspired by a custom from older winter holidays where poor people would go door to door in wintertime, singing vaguely threatening songs to beg the houses’ rich owners for food, lodging, and/or money. As time went on, that tradition was called ‘wassailing,’ after a hot spiced beverage called wassail, which I suppose would be comparable to eggnog today. Caroling became more mainstream once people took to writing the songs down and printing copies in the 16th and 17th century -- even though there was a significant span of time in England when caroling was banned, thanks to the efforts of Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan-led Parliament. Even with the ban, though, the singing of carols persisted. Christmas caroling in organized groups really took off with Christmas’s rebirth in the 19th century. Thanks in part to a rather popular novel by Charles Dickens -- which was, appropriately enough, called A Christmas Carol -- the holiday that was once a bawdy outdoor festival was rebranded as a time for togetherness, love, peace, and giving to the needy...and caroling cheery songs door-to-door with others for pay fit perfectly with that theme. More song books were published, compiling many traditional Christmas songs together specifically for caroling.

“Now then...shall we discuss some individual Christmas songs? I suppose I can always start with a few of my favorites, from over the years...and, perhaps, you all can contribute others for me to discuss as well, if you so desire.

“‘Hark! How All the Welkin Rings’ is a song I learned in my childhood from my mother. The version I grew up with was originally written in 1739 under the name ‘a Hymn for Christmas-Day,’ by Charles Welsey -- over the years, the lyrics and melody were modified and transformed into what you all may know as ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.’

“‘The World Turned Upside Down,’ as I’ve mentioned previously, centers around the time that Christmas was banned in England. Interestingly one could easily compare its structure to that of traditional sea shanties, as it’s a rather repetitive cluster of notes that always ends with an identical line that everyone can sing along to, even if they don’t know the rest of the words.

“‘Joy to the World’ is based largely off of psalm 98 of the Christian Bible. Its first musical variation was published in 1719, though the tune used today is from an slightly more recent version from 1848. From what I understand, the popularity of that second version has only increased exponentially, over time.

“‘O Holy Night’ was originally written in French in the mid-1800′s as ‘Cantique de Noël.’ It was based off a poem called ‘Midnight, Christians.’ It’s also a favorite of my esteemed friends, Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel.

“‘The Santa Claus Express’ sadly did not take off the way other Christmas songs have, from what I gather, but it without fail always reminds me of my close associate Grim. @cursebreakerfarrier Trains have been closely associated with Christmas at least since the 1860s when the first wooden toy trains were made, but they only became more popular with the invention of the first electric toy trains at the very beginning of the 20th century. It’s little wonder that since then model train sets became popular gifts and that -- likewise -- trains now spark a lot of nostalgia for both childhood and Christmas in a lot of people. I suppose that’s why one of my mundanes’ favorite Christmas-themed moving pictures, The Polar Express, focuses around a train that travels to the North Pole.

“‘Winter Wonderland’ is the newest of these songs, as it was written in 1934, but from what I understand, it’s become very well-beloved over time. One story I’ve heard is that its writer had been in treatment for tuberculosis when he wrote its lyrics, taking inspiration from his memory of New York City’s snow-capped Central Park. I must confess that I always enjoy ‘echoing’ each line until it comes to the chorus whenever I hear it -- you know, ‘Sleigh bells ring (sleigh bells ring) -- are you listening? (Are you listening?)’ Violet and Bertie @that-ravenpuff-witch tend to do the same thing, whenever either of them are in my earshot and the song starts playing.”

[route22ny]

For the first time in history, Coney Island has lost an entire season. As Labor Day weekend arrived and faded, amusements remained shuttered and people began wondering aloud if the neighborhood can recover. The pandemic is testing the will and finances of even the most dedicated businesses and residents. This year was expected to be the greatest of this century, with important anniversaries, exciting events, and new attractions. None of this happened. But Coney Island has been tested before. Pestilence, war, crime, and weather have challenged the island, and each time it has clawed its way back. Coney had barely begun life as a resort in the early 1800s when its remote location made it a prime candidate for New York's quarantine station. Yellow fever and cholera epidemics had swept through New York, and the city sought to build a massive facility that would house immigrants with infectious diseases for 40 days. Coney was on the short list in the 1850s but it turned out that the location was not remote enough. Instead, the station opened on two smaller islands, Hoffman and Swinburne, built from landfill in the waters just west of Coney Island. In the 1870s, long before amusement parks arrived, Coney Island became a refuge for poor children suffering from tuberculosis and other diseases. The Coney Island History Project's 2019 exhibit "Salvation by the Sea" documented and highlighted the work of the Children's Aid Societies and the other shorefront summer homes built along the beach. These charitable homes and hospitals, supported by New York's wealthiest residents, became the island's largest landowners and operated until construction of the Boardwalk forced them out. The societies saved thousands of young lives with the "Fresh Air Cure," and trained generations of immigrant mothers in proper hygiene and child rearing that prevented disease in New York's tenements. Malaria was the culprit at Coney Island in 1903, when disease-carrying mosquitoes were found in foul standing water caused by the illegal filling and dumping along Coney Island Creek and the Brighton race track. The entire island was doused and sprayed with noxious oils, from one end to the other, in an attempt eradicate the problem. This created an ugly landscape and did little to solve the problem. A polio epidemic hit New York hard in 1916, and parents with children were told to avoid amusement parks, swimming pools, and beaches. But the disease was already widespread, and many children suffered the horrifying effects of infantile paralysis before a vaccine was found. Coney Island remained open to the public throughout 1916, but few children were seen at the beach and amusements that year. The influenza epidemic of 1918 followed the polio epidemic, hitting its peak during the fall and winter of 1919, the off-season, when Coney Island's rides and amusements were already closed and crowds were absent. Coney Island escaped the worst effects of the deadly 1918 flu. Rationing of oil, metal, and rubber during Word War II made ride maintenance difficult, but Coney Island operators were recyclers and experts at repurposing. Nothing was ever discarded, and the rides continued full blast during the war. The Island's bright lights were "blued out," dimmed, or covered with curtains that faced the ocean side. Luna Park was lit with dim but colorful Japanese lanterns. Coney was considered important for the morale of soldiers on leave, or who were heading overseas and needed a last celebration. The "Underwood Hotel" below the boardwalk was livelier than ever during the war years, filled with romantic couples saying a last goodbye. Social distancing in Coney Island has a more recent precedent. Street crime was out of control in the mid 1960s, and robbing the exposed ticket booths at rides became the rage for gangs of young thugs. Plexiglas shields and elaborate wire cages soon surrounded all booths and entrances to rides, keeping the public at a distance and protecting operators and patrons from harm. Super Storm Sandy arrived in late 2012 as the season ended. It dealt a devastating blow, but Coney Island's amusements had five months to make repairs before reopening in March 2013. This recovery led to a belief that all obstacles could be overcome. But this year is unlike any other. Coney Island is being tested as never before. The Coney Island History Project and the Vourderis family of the Wonder Wheel had planned to make this centennial season unforgettable, and it turned out that it was, but for reasons that no one could ever have imagined. Plans for the Centennial celebration of Deno's Wonder Wheel included special events like Broadway musical performers on the park's newly purchased property and our 9th annual Coney Island History Day on the Boardwalk; new and renovated rides, attractions, signage, and murals; and a splendidly refurbished Wonder Wheel. My new book, Coney Island's Wonder Wheel Park, and an accompanying exhibit at the History Project would pay tribute to the history of Coney Island's greatest and oldest continuously operating attraction. I spent the summer of 2019 researching the history of the Wonder Wheel on a tight publishing deadline so that it would come out in time for Memorial Day. The research was all primary source and I tracked down family members of the Wheel's original designers and operators whose stories had never been told. Many were planning to come to the Memorial Day celebration, including the 95-year-old daughter of Charles Hermann, the Wheel's creator. The reality of how this season would turn out began to sink in during early spring. "No opening for Palm Sunday? Maybe by Easter Sunday? Delayed until Memorial Day? Of course we'll open by July 4!" The season quietly disintegrated into despair and confusion. A Labor Day Weekend like no other in history came and went. Due to the pandemic, the Coney Island History Project suspended walking tours, events at schools and senior centers, in-person oral history interviews and the exhibition center season. Starting in March, our staff transitioned to recording oral histories via phone and Skype and creating new virtual programming including podcasts and videos. Our online oral history archive was featured in the NY Times, Time Out NY and Curbed New York as a cure for loneliness, a way to lose yourself in fascinating stories from the past, and visit Coney from afar. Amusement parks don’t have the option of transitioning to virtual programming but Deno’s Wonder Wheel is an outdoor ride with 24 open-air cars spaced 15 feet apart. It was designed for social distancing and park owners made every effort to provide a safe space for visitors. Masks, Plexiglas, distancing markers, sanitizer stations were all in place, yet the Wheel and the park's other rides remained silent and still due to New York State executive order. And now, as the season comes to a close, we can just hope for a better, safer, and much happier 2021. We will survive.

(The author, Charles Denson, is director of the Coney Island History Project)

[katherine1753]

I was tagged by @slow-burn-sally​ thanks friend :D

your name and then what you would have named yourself

Katherine. I’m not sure, something shorter or that can only be spelled one way lol. 

astrological sign (sun/moon/rising if you know them)

Cancer. I have no idea what sun/moon/rising means. I was supposed to be born during Virgo though if that means anything?

when did you join tumblr and why?

......2010. To follow some fandom artists I liked on deviantart and some youtube people. I’ve been here a good long while.

top 5 fandoms

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, The Terror, The Untamed, Good Omens, uhhhhhh either Star Wars or Sherlock idk I’m very focused on the other four right now haha

top 5 favorite films

I don’t knowwww um The Holiday, Ocean’s 8, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Shining, Beauty and the Beast

go to song when you wanna Feel something

Wildfire - Marianas Trench

what’s your religion or faith if you have one?

I was raised Methodist so I guess that? 

a song that makes you feel seen

hmmm probably something else by Marianas Trench tbh 

if you could have any career

Wellll I love my job, I’m a kennel manager/dog groomer(mostly), maybe the same thing but paid better lol. I mean I’d love to be like a singer or artist or something but I’m thinking realistically here. I’m doing absolutely nothing with my degree/s, so something in those fields would be nice too...

do you have a type?

I don’t think so? I’m mostly into women and I just like any of them. As for men, at least fictionally, I like men who look like they’re straight out of the 1800s, ready to faint from scurvy or tuberculosis or something. Or the dark brooding type. Would I like any of them as regular human beings? I have no idea. As for everyone else, *shrug*? idk just someone who’s nice to me

what does your heart/soul yearn for

a HUG. freaking hugs. physical touch. Stupid covid. My best friend and I have seen each other at a distance a few times this year because it’s our 20th year of friendship and I can’t even hug her and it physically pains me that I cannot. 

if you had to describe yourself in 5 words

quiet, creative, tired, indecisive, good-with-animals

favorite subjects in school

in high school, band. in college...most of my major classes? uhhh Celtic Prehistory and Archaeogeology are standing out at the moment. 

where does your soul feel most at home

somewhere with woods/mountains/moss

top 5 fictional characters:

ahhhh I’ll limit myself to one per fandom: John Segundus, Thomas Jopson, Dana Scully, Wen Ning, Belle

top 3 moments in a show that made you ugly cry

Nicole and I just finished the Untamed so I’m going with that: 1. When Wen Ning yelled all the truths at Cheng and it was a huge massive reveal that I predicted but all of the pretty men were crying and it was emotionalllllll. 2. like the entire rest of the show ummm the long lost cousin/child/nephew reveal 3. The ending. “...Wei Ying.” if you know then you KNOW

the earth, the sun, the moon or the stars

earth

favorite kind of weather

basically now? Fall. Any of it. 

top 3 characters you kin with

ummmm idk Guillermo de la Cruz, Lan Zhan, can I say John Segundus again? 

favorite medium of art

pencil/pen/marker. Something on a paper!

introvert/extrovert/ambivert

oh introvert for sure. 

a favorite literary quote

“the Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite” - Piranesi

some of your favorite books:

and suddenly I’ve forgotten every book I’ve ever read. Piranesi, Gideon the Ninth/Harrow the Ninth, Neverwhere, Good Omens, And Then There Were None

if you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

I’m in GA, I like GA, somewhere by myself. 

if you could live in any time in history when would it be?

as much as I love historical periods, probably now. Medically I wouldn’t have done so well otherwise lol 

if you could play any instrument masterfully

I think piano or guitar would be the most like...useful? I was pretty decent at clarinet. 

if you have one, what mythological god or goddess do you feel a connection to

Idk, I’ve always thought Hades was cool 

and lastly, favorite recent selfie in your camera roll

my hair is a completely different color now but this was from a couple weeks ago. It’s a decent one!

[the-diagnosis-archive]

HIV(AIDS)

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infection, specifically the white blood cells called CD4 cells. HIV destroys these CD4 cells (T cells), making a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases such as tuberculosis and some cancers. It is spread by contact with certain bodily fluids of a person with HIV, most often spreads through unprotected sex (without a condom or HIV medicine to prevent or treat HIV) with a person who has HIV. It may also spread by sharing drug needles or through contact with the blood of a person who has HIV. Women can give it to their babies during pregnancy or childbirth. First identified in 1981, HIV is the cause of one of humanity’s deadliest and most persistent epidemics.

The human body can’t get rid of HIV and no effective HIV cure exists. So, once you have HIV, you have it for life. However, by taking HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy or ART), people with HIV can live long and healthy lives and prevent transmitting HIV to their sexual partners. In addition, there are effective methods to prevent getting HIV through sex or drug use, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

Without treatment, the infection might progress to an advanced disease stage where it reduces the number of CD4 cells (T cells) in the body, making the person more likely to get other infections or infection-related cancers. Over time, HIV can destroy so many of these cells that the body can’t fight off infections and disease, this stage is called AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). However, modern advances in treatment mean that people living with HIV in countries with good access to healthcare very rarely develop AIDS once they are receiving treatment.

Causes:

Scientists identified a type of chimpanzee in Central Africa as the source of HIV infection in humans. Scientists suspect the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) jumped from chimps to humans when people consumed infected chimpanzee meat or when they came into contact with their infected blood. Studies show that HIV may have jumped from apes to humans as far back as the late 1800s. Over decades, the virus slowly spread across Africa over the course of several decades and later into other parts of the world. We know that the virus has existed in the United States since at least the mid to late 1970s.

To become infected with HIV, infected blood, semen or vaginal secretions must enter your body. This can happen by having sex, you may become infected if you have any kind of sex with an infected partner whose blood, semen or vaginal secretions enter your body. By sharing needles, sharing contaminated IV drug paraphernalia (needles and syringes) puts you at high risk of HIV and other infectious diseases, such as hepatitis. The risk of HIV transmitting through blood transfusions is extremely low in countries that have effective screening procedures in place for blood donations. Infected mothers can pass the virus on to their babies during pregnancy or delivery or through breast-feeding. Mothers who are HIV-positive and get treatment for the infection during pregnancy can significantly lower the risk to their babies.

How HIV doesn't spread

You can't become infected with HIV through ordinary contact. That means you can't catch HIV or AIDS by hugging, kissing, dancing or shaking hands with someone who has the infection. HIV doesn't spread through the air, water nor insect bites.

Symptoms:

After the first month or so, HIV enters the clinical latency stage. This stage can last from a few years to a few decades. Some people don’t have any symptoms during this time, while others may experience a flu-like illness within 2 to 4 weeks after infection (Stage 1 HIV infection). But some people may not feel sick during this stage. Flu-like symptoms include fever, chills, rash, night sweats, muscle aches, sore throat, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, or mouth ulcers. Other symptoms may include dark splotches under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids, sores, spots, or lesions of the mouth and tongue, genitals, or anus, bumps, lesions, or rashes of the skin, recurrent or chronic diarrhea, rapid weight loss, neurologic problems such as trouble concentrating, memory loss, and confusion, and anxiety and depression.

HIV symptoms at this stage may come and go, or they may progress rapidly. This progression can be slowed substantially with treatment. With the consistent use of this antiretroviral therapy, chronic HIV can last for decades and will likely not develop into AIDS, if treatment was started early enough.

For the most part, infections by other bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites cause the more severe symptoms of HIV. These conditions tend to progress further in people who live with HIV than in individuals with healthy immune systems. A correctly functioning immune system would protect the body against the more advanced effects of infections, and HIV disrupts this process.

As with the early stage, HIV is still infectious during this time even without symptoms and can be transmitted to another person. However, the only way to know for sure whether you have HIV is to get tested. If someone has these symptoms and thinks they may have been exposed to HIV, it’s important that they get tested.

For the most part, symptoms of HIV are similar in men and women. However, symptoms they experience overall may differ based on the different risks men and women face if they have HIV. Both men and women with HIV are at increased risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, women may be less likely than men to notice small spots or other changes to their genitals. In addition, women with HIV are at increased risk of recurrent vaginal yeast infections, other vaginal infections, including bacterial vaginosis, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), menstrual cycle changes, and human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause genital warts and lead to cervical cancer.

Diagnosis:

The only way to know for sure if you have HIV is to get tested. Knowing your status is important because it helps you make healthy decisions to prevent getting or transmitting HIV. Testing is relatively simple. You can ask your health care provider for an HIV test. Many medical clinics, substance abuse programs, community health centers, and hospitals offer them too. You can also buy a home testing kit at a pharmacy or online, however, such results should only be considered as a full diagnosis following review and confirmation by a qualified health worker.

Knowledge of one’s HIV-positive status has two important benefits. People who test positive can take steps to get treatment, care and support before symptoms appear, which can prolong life and prevent health complications for many years. And people who are aware of their status can take precautions to prevent the transmission of HIV to others.

HIV can be diagnosed through blood or saliva testing. Available tests include, antigen/antibody tests. These tests usually involve drawing blood from a vein. Antigens are substances on the HIV virus itself and are usually detectable in the blood within a few weeks after exposure to HIV. Antibody tests. These tests look for antibodies to HIV in blood or saliva. Most rapid HIV tests, including self-tests done at home, are antibody tests. Antibody tests can take three to 12 weeks after you're exposed to become positive. Nucleic acid tests (NATs). These tests look for the actual virus in your blood (viral load). They also involve blood drawn from a vein. If you might have been exposed to HIV within the past few weeks, your doctor may recommend NAT. NAT will be the first test to become positive after exposure to HIV. Talk to your doctor about which HIV test is right for you. If any of these tests are negative, you may still need a follow-up test, weeks to months later to confirm the results.

Treatment:

Currently, there's no cure for HIV/AIDS. Once you have the infection, your body can't get rid of it. However, there are many medications that can control HIV and prevent complications. These medications are called antiretroviral therapy (ART). Everyone diagnosed with HIV should be started on ART, regardless of their stage of infection or complications. A person living with HIV can reduce their viral load to such a degree that it is no longer detectable in a blood test. After assessing a number of large studies, the CDC concluded that individuals who have no detectable viral load “have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner.” Medical professionals refer to this as undetectable = untransmittable (U=U). The person still has HIV, but the virus is not visible in test results. However, the virus is still in the body. And if that person stops taking antiretroviral therapy, the viral load will increase again and the HIV can again start attacking CD4 cells. People living with HIV generally take a combination of medications called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) or combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). This approach has the best chance of lowering the amount of HIV in the blood. There are many ART options that combine three HIV medications into one pill, taken once daily.

There are a number of subgroups of antiretrovirals, such as:

- Protease inhibitors, protease is an enzyme that HIV needs to replicate. These medications bind to the enzyme and inhibit its action, preventing HIV from making copies of itself. These include:

o   atazanavir/cobicistat (Evotaz)

o   lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra)

o   darunavir/cobicistat (Prezcobix) 

- Integrase inhibitors: HIV needs integrase, another enzyme, to infect T cells. This drug blocks integrase. These are often the first line of treatment due to their effectiveness and limited side effects for many people.

o   elvitegravir (Vitekta)

o   dolutegravir (Tivicay)

o   raltegravir (Isentress)

o   Nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs)

- This class of drugs, also referred to as “nukes,” interfere with HIV as it tries to replicate:

o   abacavir (Ziagen)

o   lamivudine/zidovudine (Combivir)

o   emtricitabine (Emtriva)

o   tenofovir disproxil (Viread)

o   Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) that work in a similar way to NRTIs, making it more difficult for HIV to replicate.

There are also emergency HIV pills, or post-exposure prophylaxis

If an individual believes they have been exposed to the virus within the last 3 days, anti-HIV medications, called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), may be able to stop infection. Take PEP as soon as possible after potential contact with the virus. PEP is a treatment lasting a total of 28 days, and physicians will continue to monitor for HIV after the completion of the treatment.

People will often use a combination of these drugs to suppress HIV. A medical team will adapt the exact mix of drugs to each individual. HIV treatment is usually permanent, lifelong, and based on routine dosage. A person living with HIV must take pills on a regular schedule. Each class of ARVs has different side effects, but possible common side effects include:

nausea

fatigue

diarrhea

headache

skin rashes

When people get HIV and don’t receive treatment, they will typically progress through three stages of disease. Treatment can slow or prevent progression from one stage to the next. Also, people with HIV who take HIV medicine as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex.

Stage 1: Acute HIV infection

Within 2 to 4 weeks after infection with HIV, people may experience a flu-like illness, which may last for a few weeks. This is the body’s natural response to infection. When people have acute HIV infection, they have a large amount of virus in their blood and are very contagious. But people with acute infection are often unaware that they’re infected because they may not feel sick right away or at all. To know whether someone has acute infection, either an antigen/antibody test or a nucleic acid (NAT) test is necessary. If you think you have been exposed to HIV through sex or drug use and you have flu-like symptoms, seek medical care and ask for a test to diagnose acute infection.

Stage 2: Clinical latency (HIV inactivity or dormancy)

This period is sometimes called asymptomatic HIV infection or chronic HIV infection. During this phase, HIV is still active but reproduces at very low levels. People may not have any symptoms or get sick during this time. For people who aren’t taking medicine to treat HIV, this period can last a decade or longer, but some may progress through this phase faster. People who are taking medicine to treat HIV (ART) as prescribed may be in this stage for several decades. It’s important to remember that people can still transmit HIV to others during this phase. However, people who take HIV medicine as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load (or stay virally suppressed) have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative sexual partners. At the end of this phase, a person’s viral load starts to go up and the CD4 cell count begins to go down. As this happens, the person may begin to have symptoms as the virus levels increase in the body, and the person moves into Stage 3.

Stage 3: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)

AIDS is the most severe phase of HIV infection. People with AIDS have such badly damaged immune systems that they get an increasing number of severe illnesses, called opportunistic illnesses.

Source: x x x x x x 

[sciencespies]

Mail Handlers Used to Poke Holes in Envelopes to Battle Germs and Viruses

https://sciencespies.com/nature/mail-handlers-used-to-poke-holes-in-envelopes-to-battle-germs-and-viruses/

Mail Handlers Used to Poke Holes in Envelopes to Battle Germs and Viruses

Since the dawn of written communications, missives sent by card or letter have been the source of both joy and pain for recipients. During times of epidemics, however, the mail is viewed with extra wariness.

“The mail is something you welcome in times of normalcy, but just like any other kind of outside influence, it’s something that has been subjected to suspicion when there are times of strife, and when there’s an epidemic,” says Lynn Heidelbaugh, a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum. Recipients worry whether the mail might bring contagion, “purely because it may have arrived from elsewhere and that elsewhere has been reporting infectious disease,” she says.

That’s as true today as it was in the late 19th century, when—before sanitizing sprays and disinfectant wipes—American post offices responded to persistent yellow fever epidemics with perforating paddles used in the fumigation of the mail.

In the collections of the National Postal Museum and on display in the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery one such paddle that was used by the Board of Health in Montgomery, Alabama, looks more like a diabolical hairbrush than a public health safety tool. The perforating paddle was used like a hammer to poke numerous holes in envelopes in order to allow the contents to get a full measure of fumigation, the second step in sanitizing the mail.

Using the paddle, mail carriers perforated the letters and dispersed them on wire netting shelves in a railway car, where fumes from sulfur in iron kettles fumigated the envelopes.

(National Postal Museum)

Some time after the 1899 Montgomery, Alabama, yellow fever outbreak, when the cause of the illness was finally attributed to Aedes aegypti, an illustration of a mosquito was added to the back of the paddle.

(National Postal Museum)

The mosquito drawing is accompanied by a verse: “Bacillus Horriblius/Multa Dentura/ (Yellow Fever Germ)/Reduced 500 Diam.”

(National Postal Museum)

Yellow fever was a dreaded disease. Although many people contracted a mild form, about half of those infected died of the illness. There were at least 35 outbreaks in the United States between 1702 and 1800, and annual outbreaks took place from 1800 to 1879. As late as the 1890s, no one knew where the contagion came from or how it spread. The Marine Hospital Service, precursor to the U.S. Public Health Service, hypothesized in 1898 that yellow fever was spread by fomites, or materials such as bedding, clothing and other objects touched by someone with the disease. That led to concern that contaminants could arrive on letters sent in the mail.

Use of the paddles followed by fumigation with gasses like sulfur dioxide or formalin was widespread by the late 19th century. The practice proved both reassuring and annoying. “Your very kind letter—came here—punched as full of holes as your Donax sieve, and smelling of hellfire and brimstone—let a clean letter come from the pure of the Green Mountains and the cursed fools at the fumigating station seize it, punch it so that it is almost illegible, then pump an unbearable stink into it,” General F.E. Spinner, a former U.S. Treasurer, wrote to a Vermont friend in 1887.

The Smithsonian’s paddle is likely from 1899, says Heidelbaugh, when yellow fever was finally on the wane, with just a few mild outbreaks in New Orleans, and the Mississippi cities of Vicksburg, Natchez and Gulfport.

As late as the 1890s, no one knew where yellow fever came from or how it spread; the culprit turn out to be Aedes aegypti, which transmitted the virus that caused the illness.

(Joao Paulo Burini, Getty Images)

The paddle has a drawing of a mosquito on the back side; added some time after 1900 when Major Walter Reed, an Army surgeon, proved that mosquitos transmitted the virus that caused yellow fever. Handwritten above the mosquito is a peculiar verse: “Bacillus Horribilus/Multi Dentura, (Yellow Fever germ),” which is neither the correct name for the pathogen, nor the correct identification, since it is actually a virus, as Reed showed.

Yellow fever, a flavivirus, has parallels to SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID. There are still no effective treatments for yellow fever. For many, especially in tropical Africa, South and Central America, where it is endemic, the main way to avoid it is behavioral: taking steps to minimize exposure to mosquitos. But unlike with SARS-CoV-2, there is a yellow fever vaccine.

Although it did not likely change anything, the postal service continued to perforate and fumigate mail into the early 1900s, “probably due to custom and public demand,” writes Emmet F. Pearson and Wyndham Miles in a 1980 article on U.S. mail disinfecting practices over the years.

Disinfection had been practiced for hundreds of years, starting in Europe in the 1300s and eventually was adopted in the New World, including by the American colonies. In the U.S., perforation, fumigation and often, quarantine, have been used to respond to scarlet fever, diphtheria, influenza, typhoid, tuberculosis, leprosy, poliomyelitis, cholera, smallpox and most recently, anthrax. Mail has been gassed in rail cars, baked in ovens and irradiated.

Sanitizing was not necessarily an illogical response. Mail handlers have been sickened with smallpox, which is particularly virulent and can live on many surfaces and even be revived from a dormant state. Reports in the medical literature in 1901 traced two separate smallpox outbreaks to recipients of letters from areas where smallpox was endemic at the time.

And then there were the anthrax attacks in 2001. At least five envelopes full of anthrax spores were mailed to politicians and the media. Twenty-two people contracted anthrax, five of whom died, including two postal workers at the Brentwood post office in Maryland. Thirty-five postal facilities and commercial mailrooms were contaminated, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

United States Army officer and medical expert Walter Reed (above c. 1880) proved the connection between yellow fever and mosquitos.

(Bettman, Getty Images)

The Postal Service soon began irradiating mail sent to zip codes in Washington D.C. associated with federal government agencies, and still does. The irradiated mail is aired out for a few days before it is sent on to the recipients. Sometimes that mail might arrive in a plastic bag noting that it had been sanitized—akin to the old days when mail would be given a special stamp letting the recipient know it had been fumigated.

In response to the novel coronavirus, the USPS has instituted procedures to clean its mail facilities and retail operations and to ensure that postal workers and carriers wear face coverings and maintain appropriate distances from each other and customers. But it is not sanitizing the mail, says USPS spokesman David Partenheimer. “The (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recognizes that while it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads,” the USPS says.

But plenty of Americans are again worried about fomites, including whether mail and packages can bring the virus into their house. A National Institutes of Health-sponsored study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in mid-March ramped up anxieties. The researchers found that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could survive up to 24 hours on cardboard. However, it was at a greatly reduced level of infectivity. And, the authors advised caution on interpreting their cardboard finding, saying that there was a ton of variation in the experiment that caused statistical “noise.”

Since that time, only one other study has shed any light on how the virus acts on various surfaces. The study, published in the British medical journal The Lancet, was reassuring in terms of the mail, finding that “no infectious virus could be recovered from printing and tissue papers” after three hours. But it took up to four days for infectious particles to disappear from paper money.

Fear of the mail is palpable. Cell biologist and virologist Carolyn Machamer says she received several hundred emails from around the world after she weighed in on the New England Journal study for a Johns Hopkins University website. Some correspondents “were afraid to even open a box that was shipped from China,” says Machamer, a Hopkins professor who has studied coronaviruses for decades.

A health worker administers a yellow fever vaccine to a woman on August 27, 2008 on a roadside in Koumassi, a poor quartier of Abidjan after a case was discovered of yellow fever.

(KAMBOU SIA/AFP via Getty Images)

People should not be concerned, she says. SARS-CoV-2 “is very short lived on porous surfaces,” such as cardboard and paper. Once outside the body, the virus is easily rendered non-infectious, because its fragile lipid envelope can be damaged or destroyed with alcohol, soap or ultraviolet light, she says. “The guts of the virus, the genome and the protein wrapping it will be exposed,” which renders it unable to reproduce, she says.

Jodie Dionne-Odom, an assistant professor of infectious diseases at University of Alabama, Birmingham, says she, too, has been inundated with questions about whether the mail is safe. The studies so far suggest the virus persists on surfaces and can be a route of transmission. But, she says, “you have to ask, does the presence of virus actually mean infectivity.”

Adds Dionne-Odom: “Just because you can detect virus on a surface doesn’t mean it could actually infect you if you then put your hand to your mouth.”

If the mail was carrying infection, it likely would have been exposed by now, says Dionne-Odom. “We haven’t seen a big outbreak in mail carriers in any country,” she says.

Both she and Machamer say that it’s an unlikely route of transmission. A mail carrier or delivery person would have to cough or sneeze on the item, expel enough virus to be infectious, then have it remain wet for long enough so that when someone touched it, and then touched their nose, mouth, or eyes, they could be infected.

“Opening your mail is a low-risk activity,” says Dionne-Odom. “There’s potentially even zero risk, but we have to have those studies,” she says.

Machamer doesn’t worry about her mail. “If people are concerned, they should not bring it into their house right away,” she says, suggesting that 24 hours would be more than sufficient to kill the virus.

Dionne-Odom agrees. If someone can lower their level of worry by cleaning cardboard or segregating mail, there’s no harm, she says. “I just don’t want you to think that is where the virus is likely to come from,” she says. “It’s more likely to come from the person coming into your house.”

#Nature

[ghostflowerdreams]

Would my female OC being a doctor in 1899 be a problem? Is it even possible? What would it be like for her? idk if this is relevant, but I’m working on RDR2 fic…

What we know of Red Dead Redemption 2 is that it’s set in 1899, and spans across five fictitious states of a fictionalized version of the United States. It is a work of fiction, so its representation of the US is not accurate to real life. However, there are some similarities and references to real-world locations like Roanoke Island or the Lemoyne settlements. Some characters and events are also based on real-life people. There’s even a couple of historically accurate details such as Tuberculosis, which was the number one reason for mortality in the 1890s that helped to make the game realistic.

Rockstar Games certainly put in a lot of effort into making this game as epic as possible. So from this we know that they modeled the game from our – the real world’s time period of the late 1800s. We can use this as a starting point in our research to figure out if a woman doctor would be possible, how she be able to be one, how she’ll be treated by her peers and the public, etc.

Keep in mind that women have been practicing medicine, both openly and secretly, since ancient times. The first record of a female doctor was probably Peseshet in 2400 B.C.E., the supervisor of all female doctors, but there may have been female doctors even before that.

But to be specific to the 18th century – well, lets start with Elizabeth Blackwell. She was interested in medicine after a friend fell ill and remarked that, had a female doctor cared for her, she might not have suffered so much. Blackwell applied to many medical schools, but was rejected from each one. However, she got accepted into Geneva Medical College in western New York state.

The faculty, assuming that the all-male student body would never agree to a woman joining their ranks, allowed them to vote on her admission. As a joke, they all voted “yes” simply because they didn’t actually believe that the college was serious about it. Blackwell gained admittance, despite the reluctance of most of the students and faculty. Two years later, in 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to receive an M.D. degree from an American medical school.

Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell wasn’t the only women to practice medicine or to be recognized as a physician. Harriot Kezia Hunt (1805-1875), was an early female medical practitioner and women’s rights activist. She trained under Dr. Richard Dixon and Elizabeth Mott before opening her own consulting room, without a medical diploma in 1835. She practiced openly for about 20 years in Massachusetts and was the first woman to apply to Harvard Medical School in 1847. She was rejected, but was allowed to attend lectures at Harvard Medical School in 1850 and later on received an honorary M.D. from Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1853.

In the years following Hunt’s application and rejection, other women continued to be denied as well. It wasn’t until 1945 that Harvard Medical School admitted its first class of women in a 10-year trial to measure productivity and accomplishment of women both during and after medical schooling. This class of women was admitted due to the decreased amount of qualified male applicants as a result of World War II.

By modern educational and credentialing standards, Dr. Blackwell is recognized as the first woman in the world to earn a regular M.D. degree from a regular or accredited medical school by means of satisfying the standard requirements of a full course of study.

It was only toward the end of the nineteenth century that female M.D. were more widely accepted. And even then, women physicians were still expected to provide only obstetrical, gynecological, pediatric, or public health services. They faced monumental difficulties and open hostility by their male colleagues. After all, society dictated that a division of labor should separate the proper roles of men and women into two rigidly distinct spheres, the woman’s being the home, where her function is the nurturer. She was seen as a weak and modest creature, whose moral sensibilities had to be protected from the evils of society.

So, back to your question and how does this information apply to your OC?

Well, it’s certainly possible for her to be a doctor in that time period, but it will not be an easy road for her to pursue. Trying to get into a medical school in the first place will involve a lot of rejection. She might never be able to get into one until much later in her life. If she does get accept and doesn’t hide the fact that she’s a woman, she will be faced with harassment and possibly sabotage by her male peers.

The OC could disguise herself as a men. That is what Margaret Ann Bulkley did to get into the University of Edinburgh Medical School in Scotland. She became Dr. James Barry in 1812 and remained known thus for the next 56 years. This “beardless lad” served as a British army surgeon across the Empire for many years. It was only on his death in 1865 of dysentery that the charwoman laying out his body discovered that James Barry was, in fact, biologically female. Dr. Barry was not the only woman to cross-dress or take on a male persona in medical history. [x]

Your OC could also go to an all women medical school, but that will depend on when you have your OC being born in the RDR2 world. There were only two medical schools that were founded around that time.

New England Female Medical College, Boston, founded in 1848.

Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (founded 1850 as Female Medical College of Pennsylvania)

However, your OC doesn’t need to go to a university to be considered a physician. There’s the option of apprenticeship to a male physician who can ignore the fact that she’s a woman. Either way, the public opinion, especially with male physicians on woman doctors is unfavorable. Some people viewed woman physicians as untrained female abortionists and use the term as a derogatory epithet. Others may see them as just glorified midwives.

People during that time period will be skeptical at the news that the female OC is a doctor. But might be a bit more accepting if she calls herself a nurse. Most people will likely have the approach of needing to see her in action, or experience it for themselves to believe that she’s an actual competent physician. If they do believe her than they’ll expect her to specializes in the “softer” side of the medical field which deals with children and women.

Once out of medical school, woman physicians encountered even more barriers. Internships, hospital staff privileges, and election to medical societies were particularly difficult to obtain. The OC best bet is to probably open her own clinic or hospital (though gaining patients might be a bit of a struggle without the aid and support of a partnered male physician). Or to work somewhere that’s less likely to have issues with her, such as a hospital.

Woman’s Hospital of Philadelphia, founded in 1861, provided clinical experience for Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania students

Or maybe the OC enters into the field of private medical service? Basically be employed by individual patients primarily in their homes. This would be rare since not everyone would be able to afford it and even than they’re less likely to want a woman physician, unless the patient is a woman who insisted upon it or the patient is a child.

Also, around that time it was rare for African American women or men (which was even more rare) to be admitted to medical schools. The first African American woman to earn a medical degree in the United States was Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler. She was accepted into the New England Female Medical College in 1860 and graduated in 1864. She was subject to intense racism and sexism while practicing medicine.

I hope this has answered your question. I’ve also included links that go further into the topic about women in medicine during the 18th century, as well as information about medical tools, medicine, and so on that I think will be helpful for your story too.

Wikipedia - Women in Medicine

American Medical Association - Timeline of women in medicine

Smithsonian - The Medical Practitioner Who Paved the Way for Women Doctors in America

Amazing Women in History - Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D., America’s first female doctor

Wikipedia - Elizabeth Blackwell

University of Bristol - A short biography of Elizabeth Blackwell

Women You Should Know - The Hard Rise And Long Fall Of Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910), The First Woman MD

Britannica - Elizabeth Blackwell

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University - Elizabeth Blackwell’s Struggle to Become a Doctor

TIME - Who Is Elizabeth Blackwell? Why Google Is Celebrating the Pioneer

Biography - Elizabeth Blackwell

University of Tennessee Health Science Center Library - Elizabeth Blackwell: First Female Physician of the Modern Era

PBS - How Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female doctor in the U.S.

The Oregon Encyclopedia - Mary Anna Cooke Thompson

History of American Women - Mary Anna Cooke Thompson

Wikipedia - Charlotte Denman Lozier

History of American Women - Charlotte Denman Lozier

Nantucket Historical Association - Lydia Folger Fowler, M. D., 1822 – 1879, First American-Born Woman to Receive a Medical Degree

Britannica - Lydia Folger Fowler

Wikipedia - Lydia Folger Folwer

Encyclopedia - Fowler, Lydia Folger (1822–1879)

History of American Women - Marie Zakrzewska

Wikipedia - Marie Elizabeth Zakrzewska

U.S. National Library of Medicine - Changing the Face of Medicine: Marie E. Zakrzewska

Encyclopedia - Zakrzewska, Marie (1829-1902)

History of American Women - Clemence Sophia Lozier

New York Medical College - Clemence Sophia Harned Lozier, M.D. (1813-1888)‌‌

Encyclopedia - Lozier, Clemence Sophia Harned

Wikipedia - Clemence Sophia Harned Lozier

University of Massachusetts Press - Dr. Harriot Kezia Hunt

Unitarian Universalist Association - Harriot Kezia Hunt Making A Difference

History of American Women - Harriot Kezia Hunt

Encyclopedia - Hunt, Harriot Kezia (1805-1875)

Nebraska Studies - Susan La Flesche Picotte: First N.A. Female Physician

HISTORY - Remembering the First Native American Woman Doctor

Wikipedia - Susan LaFlesche Picotte

Smithsonian - The Incredible Legacy of Susan La Flesche, the First Native American to Earn a Medical Degree

U.S. National Library of Medicine - Changing the Face of Medicine: Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte

JSTOR - The First Native American to Receive a Medical Degree

Wikipedia - Rebecca Lee Crumpler

PBS - Celebrating Rebecca Lee Crumpler, first African-American woman physician

U.S. National Library of Medicine - Changing the Face of Medicine: Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler

History of American Women - First Women Nurses

Medium: TIMELINE - The ‘Wickedest Woman in New York’ who made abortion affordable for women in the 1800s

Mental Floss - 15 Terrifying 18th Century Remedies for What Ails You

Science Friday - The ‘Murderous’ Medical Practice Of The 18th Century

Britannica - Medicine in the 18th century

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation - Eighteenth-Century Medical Myths

PBS - Medicine

Colonial Society of Massachusetts - Botanic Remedies in Colonial Massachusetts, 1620–1820

HISTORY - 7 of the Most Outrageous Medical Treatments in History

Adam Matthew Digital - Popular Medicine in America, 1800-1900

Interesting Engineering - 15 Medical Inventions And Discoveries of the 1800’s That Have Come to Define Modern Medicine

City University of New York - Milestones for Health in America: 1800s

Wikipedia - Timeline of Medicine and Medical Technology

Wikipedia - 1897 in Science: Medicine and Pharmacology

Wikipedia - 1899 in Science: Medicine

Medgadget - 1800s Surgical Kit

Oxford University Press - Siting Epidemic Disease: 3 Centuries of American History

American Antiquarian Society - Eighteenth Century Medicine in America (PDF)

PBS - TB (Tuberculosis) in America: 1895-1954

American Heritage - What It Was Like To Be Sick In 1884

Michigan Family History Network - Some Medical Terms Used in Old Records

Science Daily - Dysentery epidemic killed many in the 1700s-1800s

National Center for Biotechnology Information: U.S. National Library of Medicine History of Medicine - Health, Medicine and Disease in the Eighteenth Century

Knowitall - Medicine: 18th-19th Century

Colonial Society of Massachusetts - Eighteenth-Century Medicine and the Modern Physician

Colonial Society of Massachusetts - Medicine in Boston and Philadelphia: Comparisons and Contrasts, 1750–1820

Science Museum - Surgery

PBS - Surgical Procedures

History of Surgery: 18th Century - 19th Century

Colonial Society of Massachusetts - Surgery in Massachusetts, 1620-1800

Science Museum - Pain and Cleanliness

Remember RDR2 isn’t set in real life, it’s a fictionalized version the United States that’s base on our real history. So don’t be afraid to make up things (like a fictional medical school – one that’s accepting of woman doctors and whatnot) or to tweak things so that it works for your story.

[myhauntedsalem]

Rolling Hills Asylum

Rolling Hills Asylum has quite a bizarre history, if I don’t say so myself. In it’s lifespan, the building has been an insane asylum, poor house, poor farm, nursing home, tuberculosis ward, orphanage, school , ward, antique co-op, and craft mall. Quite a history since the property has settled for over a hundred years now. The history of the building has records of over a thousand people who have died on the property. The mall, opened on the weekends has a number of strange occurrences. People report having their clothes tugged on by an invisible force they can’t explain. Many people have seen shadows of people moving through out the building when it is known the building to be locked up and empty.

Genesee County purchased this property in 1826 and opened its doors to the poor in 1827. They had taken to paupers, the insane, orphans, unwed mothers, the elderly, and anyone who could not support and care for themselves. They were a complete a self sufficient, as they farmed on the 100’s of acres of owned by the county. By 1950, the property was used for a nursing home only and the residents had been moved to a new facility in nearby Batavia in 1974. By then the building sat empty for twenty years. By 1992, it was reopened as Carriage Village, a mall of unique shops. By 2002 Jeff and Lori Carlson purchased the property and in January of 2003 they had renamed it the Rolling HIlls Country Mall. But problems arose and in 2007, the mall had closed. Today, the Carlsons live on the premises in one of the outbuildings converted from the old carpenter shop / maintenance barn to a four bedroom home.

What Lori and Jeff Carlson didn’t realize was the history and unexplained things going on in the home. Back when the Genesse County Board of Supervisors had established the Poorhouse, the staff had did their best to keep unsafe patients away from the general population, but there were many problems . As a result, a solitary confinement cell was constructed in the building and those who lived there were often referred to as inmates. Some of the spirits of these disturbed souls are thought to inhabit the halls of Rolling Hills. One tragic story involves that of an inmate who once lived at Rolling Hills Asylum, by the name of Roy. Roy had suffered from gigantism, which is a physical deformity that left with protruding facial features, large hands, and feet, and a height of over 7feet tall. Roy was the son of a prominent banker, and his physical appearance was an embarrassment to his family. When Roy was 12, he had been dropped off by his family at the Genesee County home and was left there until his death at the age of 62. Roy had liked opera music and was generally kind to others. Today his hulking shadow is said to be witnessed by visitors who report seeing him lurking throughout the building.

Other personalities weren’t as harmless as Roy though. In the infirmary wing, there is a nurse known for her cruelty. Emmie Altworth, or better known to others then, as Nurse Emmie was hated and feared not only by the inmates, but by the staff too. Rumors began circulating that Nurse Emmie was involved in the dark arts and was performing black magic to satanic rituals in Rolling Hills. Many people had reported that outside the cafe area, of apparitions have been seen of an old woman who has been seen going into the women’s restroom. On the second floor of the East Wing, the sound of foot steps and sliding can be heard coming from above, but there is no third floor. A man with a goat tee mustache as a apparition has been seen walking around too in the facility. Shadows are seen in the early mornings of three and five AM on the first and second floors of the East wing.

One particular site of the building is the main kitchen which is in the basement. When the facility was operating as an orphanage and as a asylum , food animals were slaughtered and butchered on site here. During the TB epidemic of the 1940’s, when the morgue was full, bodies were put in the meat freezers. It’s said that sometimes nearly dead patients were put in the freezer to die. This is where the negative feelings are encountered in the first freezer unit.

Weeks after moving in, Lori Carlson began noticing odd things happening. It started with the simple unexplained noises coming from within the building at times when she was the only one there. Doors would slam, to someone calling her name from down the long east wing corridor, to footsteps clearly heard above. Then misty apparitions began appearing in front of Lori. She thought she was overworked or losing her insanity. However, the sightings, voices, and footsteps, still continued on. Eventually Lori did research on the property and talked to a historian at Genesee County. The earliest she found was that of a stage coach tavern which was located on the property from the late 1790’s serving travelers between Batavia and Warsaw along Route 20. The owners then had sold the property to Genesee county in 1826.

Due to a mandate by New York State in 1824, all the counties in the state were charged with the care of the poor and told to find property to house them. The properties had to have acreage for farming, and be self sufficient. By January 1827, the Genesee Poorhouse opened its doors to its first recipients of care. During the 1800’s new buildings were added to the county home, and had continually evolved. The home also cared for the insane, a separate asylum made of cobblestones had been built, but was later destroyed by a fire. Orphans were brought to the home, removing them from the streets of towns and villages where they were beggars. One of the most intriguing piece was that of the 1800’s in which the property was used for the insane, the orphans, sick and dying, the aging, and the poor all slept, worked and ate together. The overcrowding was a point of concern and a special investigation was conducted eventually by New York State with the focus being on the Genesee County Home.

This explained a great deal of issues to Lori Carlson of the strange events that were going on in the property. She understood and realized the conditions of the past residents that had lived and died under these circumstances. Lori had no understanding of the “afterlife”, and eventually joined a local paranormal investigating team. This in turn, helped her to communicate with “her ghosts”. Lori had opened the doors to the public at Rolling Hills in 2004, holding ghost hunts. Rolling Hills is the first historical site in New York State to open its doors to the public for overnight ghost hunts. Such television shows, like “Ghost Adventures” has investigated Rolling Hills Asylum with great EVP’s to capturing their own audio sounds. Something I love to watch today and recapture myself for memories.

In light of this buildings history, there are many unsettled souls wandering the property and within its remaining structures. Many souls will never rest in Rolling Hills here, and will continue to haunt the pro

[jiangui]

because i have to do some translating for a subbing group i’m part of so i don’t have time much these days to start writing full character bios/stats for my muses page fdgjsdfl 

here are really basic basics about those ocs set in an alternate early-1800s Rome, Italy, whom i’m ready to easily rp. They can all fit in a magical or historical context.

Severina Colonna: a 19 y/o thaumaturgy student and single daughter of a widowed Roman diplomat and his dead Egyptian wife. She barely balances managing her father’s household, school, and having to plan to make her debut into society, so to relax she crafts and modifies guns with thaumaturgy, which is illegal but there are always buyers. None of her friends, acquaintances, or classmates know, including

Teresa Evangelista: a 19 y/o thaumaturgy student who doesn’t do terribly well in the Academy but attends anyways because her marriage prospects otherwise would be moot, and she is to debut soon. Having been extremely anxious and easily upset ever since her twin sister died during an epidemic, this beautiful, shy, pleasant girl is prone to the frail countenance and fits of fainting that appealed to society’s idea of a virtuous aristocratic lady, which makes her appealing to boys/bachelors, but they could potentially put off if they knew (which no one does) that she sometimes falls into a trance when she does her favorite pasttime, embroidering, and when she wakes up her embroidery is strange and unnerving and often prophetic. Teresa tries to be friendly with everyone, except her cousin Pellegrina, whom she thinks is arrogant and hypocritical.

Pellegrina Alluni: also dislikes Teresa, whom she thinks is fluttering, simpering, annoyingly fragile, and interested mostly in trivial matters. Pellegrina, meanwhile, is a bitter 18 y/o medical thaumaturgy student on epidemiology track, from a bourgeois civil servant family with dead parents and not-totally-there-in-the-head grandparents, paranoid of but still supports the current government despite its abuse of her let’s say breakthrough in thaumaturgically treating bacterial diseases, and a tiger sister to her little brother.

Isra El Naifeh: is the world-weary ghost inhabiting the dagger that Pellegrina bought from the Night Market on a whim. She used to be a killer for hire back in the fourteenth century in Damascus before she was executed and bound to the weapon. When her dagger cuts flesh, Isra can tell certain things about the owner of the flesh it has cut. Pellegrina hasn’t shared much of her life with her younger brother recently, but the existence of Isra is one thing she was willing to share and brainstorm over with

Aurelio Alluni: who is 4 years younger than Pellegrina, wide-eyed, idealistic, clever, occasionally manipulative, starting at the thaumaturgy academy, has confidence issues, really loves the reform-minded direction the emperor’s government is going in, curious, that boy who raises his hand in class every twenty minutes, was classmates with

Ginevra Merlo: who is Aurelio’s age and the boisterous, lively daughter of two generals, one of whom was brought over from the African continent as a young boy after he was captured from his family and sold by Ottomans, the other a woman. She is a thaumaturgy prodigy, extremely powerful, but is also slowly dying of tuberculosis/consumption. Magic can alleviate the symptoms and bolster her strength, but cannot stop the eventual conclusion of the disease, and since she got sick she can see ghosts, so cooped in by her parents and her siblings, she resorts to sneaking out at night to get a position as one of the thaumaturgical guards at the temple of the saint Our Lady of Fire, where thaumaturges who can see ghosts are needed and which houses the only

Oracle: of Rome, one of the Sisters of Our Lady of Fire, she who tended the hearth of Christ, and whose Sisters now continue to tend the holy flame and quarrel with the Vatican. The Oracle used to be a prostitute, but after she contracted syphilis, she began having visions, and word got around to the Sisters that she tended to be correct. When she’s not inhaling fumes to prophecy, she’s scaring the novitiates and the guards and fussing over

Eneas Caesario: or Aineias, an energetic, mischievous medical thaumaturgy specializing in surgery student by day who’s like a high school one-of-the-boys, except that he can tell really strange things about people intuitively, which makes him seem occasionally strange and fey. He was raised until he was 8 at the temple and is now a guard at the temple by night (he has always been able to see ghosts). When he’s off shift, he can or can’t be found roaming the Night Market that surrounds the temple and running across rooftops. He uses an alias at the academy because he is the son out of wedlock of

Principessa Talia Caesario: or Thalia, the most powerful unmarried woman in Rome, a magic prodigy “found” on the island of Crete at age 16 by the imperials after they took control of it from the Ottomans, then adopted into the imperial family. By the time she came to Rome, she was pregnant with Aineias and so the imperials sent her to the Sisters for a few years before they officially announced her to the court. She is the blonde CEO mom, who smiled and strategized and fought her way to power to become the head of the Office of Thaumaturgy. No one knows who the father is, but some nobles have speculated she had a lover on Crete, was assaulted during the invasion by a soldier, had relations with the previous Emperor, or even had relations with her brother the current Emperor. All she has ever told Aineias is that he is her son and her son alone, though the Oracle disagrees, since the Oracle raised him when he lived at the temple. Talia’s right hand woman is

Bernardina Quaranta: a noblewoman from the Friuli region in the north of Italy and deputy head of the Roman Office of Thaumaturgy. Sharp-edged and sharp-mouthed, this force of nature and her cutting smile are nevertheless popular in court. Confident and demanding she may seem to be, she is much less confident about her support of the current imperial family, the previous emperor having ordered the burning deaths of the benandanti of Friuli, of whom her nursemaid had been one, and Bernardina also one (though secretly). So far, she’s been able to hide that she every so often begins to shift into the form of a wolf in her sleep...

[loretranscripts]

Lore Episode 10: Steam and Gas (Transcript) - 12th July 2015

tw: ghosts

Disclaimer: This transcript is entirely non-profit and fan-made. All credit for this content goes to Aaron Mahnke, creator of Lore podcast. It is by a fan, for fans, and meant to make the content of the podcast more accessible to all. Also, there may be mistakes, despite rigorous re-reading on my part. Feel free to point them out, but please be nice!

Ask any group of people where they feel the most safe, and the answer is almost universal: their own house. It’s a place they know well, where they’ve built a life and crafted wonderful memories. “Home sweet home” is, for many people, an immutable law. But what happens when we leave the safety of our homes and travel? Once outside our comfortable safe haven, we often find ourselves exposed to what awaits us. Some people are more courageous than others, of course, but travel can be a source of fear for many. “Hodophobia” is the fear of travel, and while the vast majority of people don’t necessarily suffer from a clinical fear of leaving their homes, many do struggle with strange places, and no place can feel more foreign and strange to a traveller, in my opinion at least, than the places where thousands upon thousands of guests have stayed. Perhaps it’s the well-worn carpets, or the imperfect walls and ceilings, that make us feel… uneasy. Noisy plumbing, finicky lights, and the sounds of a settling structure can leave even the best of us feeling a bit out of our element. No other place in the United States can cause that uneasy feeling more than the often-forgotten mountain lodge built over a century ago, in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains. Despite its classic architecture and lavish décor, there is very little inside that feels safe, and I’d like to take you there. I’m Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore.

They were twin wonders: Freelan and Francis Stanley were born in Maine in 1849. They had five other siblings, two of whom were also twins, but something was different about Freelan and his brother. They were exceptional students, quick learners, and gifted with an unusual mechanical aptitude. As nine-year-olds, they were using their father’s lathe to craft wooden tops, which they sold to their classmates. At the age of 10, they were taught how to make violins by their paternal grandfather. It was said that those instruments were concert quality. Those early experiments helped fuel a lifelong passion for building things. After a short career as a teacher and principal, Freelan Stanley went into business with his brother, refining and marketing a photographic process known as dry-plating. It was a revolutionary change, allowing even amateur photographers to take quality images. So revolutionary, in fact, that the Eastman Kodak Company purchased the technology in the late 1800s, making the brothers very, very wealthy. From there, the wonder-twins moved into the world of motorcars. Their first automobile was built in 1897, and by 1899 it was the best-selling motorcar in the country. Because of its unique steam-powered engine, the automobile was called the Stanley Steamer. It was the steamer, along with a few other, smaller businesses, that helped turn the twins into tycoons in their own right.

In 1903, Freelan was diagnosed with tuberculosis, sometimes referred to as “the wasting sickness”. At the age of 53, he had dropped to just 118lb, and his doctors told him that he had six months to live at the most. So, like many people of that era, Stanley travelled west to the clean mountain air of Colorado, and that’s where he discovered Estes Park. Freelan and his wife, Flora, fell in love with the setting. They built a home there almost immediately, and after somehow shaking the tuberculosis, the couple returned there every summer thereafter, he in his tailored suits and pointy, grey beard, she in her high-collared, floral gowns. But it was another building they constructed there, a massive grand hotel, that has left the most lasting mark. Built to the tune of nearly half a million dollars, the Stanley Hotel opened its doors 1909, and has been serving guests ever since. The Stanley Hotel was a modern marvel in its day. It featured a hydraulic elevator, electricity throughout, running water, telephones, and even a fleet of Stanley’s own steam-powered mountain wagons, to ferry guests straight from the train station to the front door of the hotel. It had nearly 300 rooms, 466 windows, a music room with a grand piano, a billiard room, restaurant, ball room, and three floors of guest rooms. And that’s just inside the hotel. Outside and scattered around the property were staff dormitories, a concert hall, the ice house, carriage house, manager’s home and many others. A private air strip was even built on the property at some point, although its been abandoned for decades. Over the years, the Stanley Hotel has played host to a number of famous guests. John Phillip Sousa, the famous conductor, not only stayed there frequently, but would tune the piano in the music room, and record the dates inside the lid. Other guests have checked in there as well, including Titanic survivor Molly Brown, President Theodore Roosevelt, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Barbara Streisand. And Freelan Stanley? The tuberculosis never got him. He died in 1940, at the age of 91, just a year after his wife Flora passed away. But while the couple was no longer there to oversee the hotel’s day to day business, one thing has been very clear to those who work there today. The Stanleys, it seems, never checked out.  

In July of 2009, a tourist in the lobby of the hotel approached her friends with complete shock. She had been shopping for postcards in the gift shop and had exited the store while reading the backs of the ones she had purchased. According to her story, she had her head down when a pair of pant legs came into view. She did the polite thing and stepped to the side to allow the man to pass, but when she did, she claims the legs moved to block her new path. Taken aback, she raised her head to scold the man for his rudeness, but stopped when a wave of cold air rushed over her. The man, according to her, was dressed in clothing that seemed out of place, and his pointy beard had an old-fashioned look to it. She then watched as the man walked away toward the lobby fireplace, where he vanished out of sight. After rushing over to her friends to tell them what had happened, she was approached by another woman who happened to overhear their conversation. This woman led the tourists toward the antique Stanley Steamer automobile that sits in the hotel lobby and pointed toward the photo of Freelan Stanley on the wall behind it. The tourist was astonished. The man she had just seen with her own eyes had been dead for over 60 years. Mr. Stanley has also been seen in the billiard room, a favourite location of his during his time at the hotel. According to one report, a group of tourists were once being led through that room, when a vision of Stanley appeared behind one of them. Mr. Stanley also seems to have a soft spot for his beloved rocking chair on the front porch - visible from the front desk through the large lobby windows, it has been witnessed by many to be rocking on its own volition. But if Mr. Stanley really has remained behind in the hotel after death, then he is apparently not alone.

In February of 1984, the night bellman was working the front desk when he heard footsteps coming from he direction of the hotel bar, known as “The Cascades”. The bellman leaned over the counter to peer round the corner, and in the reflection of the lobby windows he was able to see the figure of a woman. She wore a pale gown that he described as off the shoulder, in a “Southern Belle” style. The bellman quickly exited the front desk area through a back doorway, but when he arrived in the side hall near the windows, no one was there. During an overnight shift in 1976, the clerk at the front desk reported hearing piano music. She left the desk and entered the music room, where the sound was coming from, but found it empty. According to her, however, the piano keys were still moving on their own. In 1994, a guest heard similar music from the direction of the music room and stepped inside. He claimed to see a young woman sitting at the piano, and he approached so he could watch and listen while she played. As he walked across the room, though, the girl transformed into an elderly woman, before completely disappearing. The Stanleys have frequently been sighted on the main staircase in formal attire, and even in the elevator. The encounters are never violent or malevolent, but they frighten guests and staff nonetheless. Bartenders there in The Cascades claim they have even seen the deceased owners strolling through the bar. Some have even given chase, only to lose sight of his ghost as it vanished into the walls. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, the frequency of the reports is enough to make you wonder. From glowing orbs caught on film to the faint sound of piano music drifting into the lobby, there seems to be no lack of fuel for the legends that fill those halls. But its not just the Stanleys who haunt the hotel. Sightings have been reported throughout the structure’s four storeys, but the vast majority of them occur in the most unwelcome of places: the guest rooms.

In the early 1900s, many visitors to the Stanley Hotel would stay for more than a weekend. In many cases, guests would stay through the summer, and that meant arriving equipped for months of living abroad. Those of us who have spent the past few years watching the British television show Downton Abbey might be familiar with the process. The gentlemen and ladies would arrive by carriage – in this case, steam-powered, of course – along with a caravan of servants and luggage, and while the wealthy guests had access to many of the finely appointed [?] rooms of the hotel, the servants and children were relegated to the fourth floor. This was an era where children were expected to be seen but not heard, and so they played in the rooms and halls far above the heads of the other guests. They slept there, they played there, and even ate there in a small, windowless corner of the upstairs kitchen. These days, the fourth floor is just one more level of guest rooms. According to many accounts, however, that doesn’t mean the children are gone. Many of these stories centre around Room 418. There have been reports of the sound of balls bouncing in the dark, of high, childlike voices laughing and talking in the hall outside the room, of metal jacks on wooden flooring, and the pounding of little feet. Guests have been startled out of their sleep by voices and sounds, some of which have even been captured on video. Even the staff have had experiences - the cleaning staff always enter the room with a bit of fear, due to the many odd things they have witnessed inside Room 418. The television has been known to turn on and off on its own, and on at least one occasion, a housekeeper has turned to see that the bed she has just made up now has the deep impression of a body in the bedspread.

The room with the most activity, though, is on the second floor, and there are legends as to why. It is said that in 1911, a thunderstorm caused a power outage in the hotel, sending the building into complete darkness. It was dinner time, and thankfully most of the guests were downstairs in the Macgregor ballroom, but the staff still needed to provide a temporary fix for the lack of light. Because the Stanley Hotel was built at a time of transition between gas and electric lamps, the fixtures throughout the hotel were equipped to do both. With the building in darkness, staff were sent from room to room with candles to light each acetylene gas lamp. But when one of the chambermaids, a woman named Elizabeth Wilson, entered room 217, something… happened. It should be said that this room was the presidential suite. It was enormous, and elegantly decorated in the style most beloved by Flora Stanley herself: bright, floral wallpaper with reds and pinks and greens covered the walls, and the carpet was the colour of grass, with accents of red and blue. It was the jewel of the hotel. According to the legend, the light fixture in that room had a hidden leak, and the room had filled with gas. When Mrs. Wilson opened the door with her lit candle in hand, the gas ignited, setting off an explosion that destroyed nearly 10% of the hotel along the western wing. Part of the floor gave way, and several steel girders fell on tables in the ballroom below, thankfully missing the guests. Mrs. Wilson, though, was not so lucky. She fell through the floor, breaking both of her ankles in the fall. It’s a good story, but there are many versions of it. Five separate Colorado newspapers carried the story, but details varied wildly. One paper listed the chambermaid as Eva Colbern, and said that she was thrown through a wall onto the porch, with no injuries. In another, she was Elizabeth Lambert, who died in the fall. Still another report claimed that the chambermaid was a woman named Lizzie Leitenbergher. All of the stories did agree that the explosion happened at 8pm, but none of them mention the thunderstorm. There are other glitches in the story as well. No employee records exist from this period in the hotel’s history. Among the many photographs of hotel staff over the past century, there are no pictures of anyone named Elizabeth Wilson, or Lambert, or Leitenbergher. All of it has the smell of window dressing, designed to lend some credibility to the odd experiences that guests have had in Room 217.

Just what experiences am I referring to? Well, according to first-hand accounts, the ghost of Mrs. Wilson has been known to unpack the suitcases of guests, to toss their clothing on the floor and rearrange the bed linens. Another common report is that some guests and staff have seen a mysterious black hole in the floor, said to be the location of her fall after the explosion. The faucet in the bathtub has been known to turn on and off on its own, and the maids have even seen doors in the room open and close. In 1974, a man and his wife arrived at the hotel at the end of the season. According to his story, they were the only guests in the entire hotel. After dinner that first night, the couple retired to bed, where the husband had a horrible nightmare. “I dreamt of my 3-year-old son running through the corridors”, he later said, “the boy was looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming. He was being chased by a fire hose. I woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed. I got up, lit a cigarette, sat in a chair, looking out the window at the Rockies, and by the time the cigarette was done, I had the bones of the book firmly set in my mind”. The man was Stephen King, and the book, of course, would later become The Shining.

Some folklore is historical. We tell the tales because they happened, at least to some degree. There’s a grain of truth at the core of many myths and legends - a real life event or fear that caused people to remember, to retell, and to eventually immortalise. Other legends, however, lack that core truth. They work backwards instead, creating a unique story to explain the unexplainable. Oftentimes these stories lean on the past, and mine it for hints of validity, but in the end, we’re still left with stories that have no roots. The reason people do that isn’t really a mystery. Story, you see, helps keep us grounded. It helps provide us with bearings as we navigate life, like a landmark we can all point toward. Then, when something odd or unexplainable happens, I think its only human nature to look for those landmarks. When we can’t find them, oftentimes we simply invent out own. Perhaps the original events that led to the unusual activity at the Stanley Hotel have simply been lost in the past. It would be reasonable to assume that at least some of the stories have a foundation in reality, rather than just the narrative of a hotel with a supernatural reputation to keep. That’s not my decision to make, I’ll leave that up to you. But sometimes we’re reminded that stories can evolve, that the unknown can suddenly become a bit more knowable. In 2014, while doing maintenance in a service tunnel beneath the hotel, workers found debris. Specifically, they found pieces of dry wall covered in pink and green wallpaper. Carpet fragments were also discovered there, still pale green, with red and blue details. It turns out the explosion really did happen, and if we can find the truth at the centre of one of the stories, even a century later, how much more truth is out there to be found? I’ll leave you with one last story from Room 217. According to a previous guest, who was preparing to go to bed, he opened on of the windows to let in some of the cool, Colorado air. Later, after having been asleep for some time, he felt his wife climb out of bed and quietly walk across the room toward the window. The man said that he opened his eyes, and after glancing at the glowing face of the alarm clock, he looked to find her standing at the window, face pressed against the screen. “You have to see this”, she whispered to him, “there’s a family of elk outside”. The guest didn’t move. He just smiled, and watched his wife for a long time, noticing how her hair moved in the breeze. It’s hard to blame him, after all. She’d been dead for over 5 years.

This episode of Lore was produced by me, Aaron Mahnke. You can learn more about me and this show over at lorepodcast.com, and be sure to follow along over at Twitter and Facebook, @lorepodcast. This episode of Lore was made possible by you, our amazing listeners. [Insert sponsor break]. Let me take a moment to say thank you. All of you have helped Lore climb up the charts and dominate conversations all around the internet, and truth be told, I couldn’t have done any of that without you, and I’m thankful to each and every one of you. Many of you have asked me to step it up and produce this show weekly, and I’ll be honest – I would love to. But to get there, I need your help. So, do this for me: go check out my sponsors, pitch in over at Patreon, leave an iTunes review, or buy some of my novels. Every little bit helps me get closer to being able to take Lore to a full-time, weekly schedule. You can find links and info on how to do that over at lorepodcast.com/support. Thanks for listening.

Notes

I could find no source for the 2009 gift shop experience.