Erotica, fantasy, and horror writer.
Where did the word “Dixie” as a reference to the southern United States come from? Most likely from the Mason-Dixon line, a demarcation used to separate the states where slavery was legal from those where it wasn’t. But it could also refer to a ten dollar note used in pre-Civil War New Orleans with the …
Illustrations for the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast all seem to highlight the same moment, as portrayed here. The two are seated together, the beast pledging his devotion, while Beauty looks away, pleased but ambivalent. This one, using the palette and style of the 1960s, shows the encounter in slightly abstracted form, with a …
The recent release of Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune got me thinking about the many depictions of Feyd Rautha, Paul Atreides’ antithesis and rival, created by artists over the years. Why not the saintly Paul himself, you ask? Well, he’s just not as interesting. He spends most of the book in a stillsuit, the …
In the late 1970s and 1980s British writer Tanith Lee came out with the books that most defined her career: The Flat Earth series. These books were about an Arabian Nights never-never land of deserts, demons, innocent maidens, leering rakes, and magic. The first three, Night’s Master, Death’s Master, and Delusion’s Master dealt with, …
Russia retained a feudal type of government until well into the 20th century (before the Russian Revolution, of course) that depended on the backbreaking labor of its serfs to fund the lavish lifestyles of its ruling elite. Not only that, the Czars were considered chosen by God himself to rule, and considered sacred, which is …
Why is explorer lady wearing high-heeled pumps in the jungle?
Nosferatu, or The Undead, was a 1922 German silent film that predates the more familiar Universal version of Dracula. Max Schreck played the titular vampire, Count Orlov; the actor had an unusually tall, thin, lanky build that added to the otherworldly look of the being, highlighted in this trailer for a restored version of the …
This would have been only a slightly disturbing domestic scene but for the skull head of the man and the wig rest head of the tabby cat.