Author: Ms. R.

This sanctuary was constructed during the late 2nd-century and early 3rd-century. The cult of Serapis started in Egypt and was later adopted by the Greeks and Romans, until Emperor Theodosius banned all pagan cults and adopted Christianity as the official religion in 391 CE. It’s believed there were originally 11 rocks, as recorded by early archaeologists, but only a small part is currently accessible. The sanctuary is composed of tanks of different sizes and shapes, votive inscriptions, building foundations,……

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If you want to maximize your profit when selling a human skull, you’re going to need some dried peas. You can substitute millet or rice grains in a pinch. You’ll also need some water, and, of course, a skull. Turn the cranium upside down, fill it with the peas or grain, add the water, and wait. As the starches absorb the water and expand, the collagen-rich, fibrous tissue that keeps the cranial bones together will weaken. Eventually, the skull……

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Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, two members of the Atlas Obscura team go in search of the true story that may have inspired the literary classic, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet……

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Here is something that most people would agree is true about Robert the Doll: He’s terrifying. Ostensibly a little boy in a sailor suit, his careworn face is only vaguely human. His nub of a nose looks like a pair of pinholes. He is covered in brown nicks, like scars. His eyes are beady and black. He wears a malevolent smirk. Clasped in his lap he’s holding his own toy, a dog with garish, popping eyes and a too-big……

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King Charles II was on his deathbed. The year was 1685, and the monarch had suffered a stroke. Doctors tried everything to save him, but the king was convinced that one particular remedy would work. Years before, Charles II had paid Oliver Cromwell’s own doctor and chemist, Jonathan Goddard, a handsome sum for the secret formula for Goddard’s Drops. The chemist claimed that his invention, which later came to be known as King’s Drops, was a kind of miracle……

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William B. Ogilvie was an orphaned Shreveport native who served as a Confederate soldier before opening a wildly successful chain of grocery stores at war’s end. For a man that lived so many lives, it’s only fitting that his titular mansion did the same. The Ogilvie-Wiener Mansion is one of the largest Victorian structures in Louisiana and the oldest Queen Anne-style Victorian building in Shreveport, built in 1896. The 9,000 square-foot building boasts 20 rooms, a wraparound porch, and……

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