historys

Long before the advent of a written history, the elders of ancient civilisations used stories to teach the new generation. The lessons might have related to the values of the society, their particular version of how they came to be, their purpose on the earth, or methods of obtaining food or a spouse.

The most well known of the ancient stories were the civilisation’s particular version of how Earth came into existence and how they came to be here on earth. These are known as the great Creation Stories. Every civilisation had an explanation for what the Earth sun, moon and stars were, along with more intricate details of the place of fire, water, animals and humans in the ecosystem.

The Creation Stories of various civilisations include the Stories from Genesis in the Bible (the writer here makes no value judgement on the veracity of the account in Genesis, merely acknowledging it was part of Jewish oral history before the actual writing of the Bible), to the Dreamtime of the Australian Aborigines, along with the whole gamut in between. These two examples are used as “bookends” because the Stories in Genesis have been printed and distributed more than any other literary work, whereas much of the Australian Aboriginal account has yet to be even collated in one place, let alone set down in writing.

Over time, the stories were written down for ease of teaching. During this period, the Bible Stories, Aesop’s Fables, Homer’s Epics the Iliad and the Odyssey, along with countless other classics were recorded on stone, paper, papyrus or some similar form.

As literacy became more prevalent and written works were used for teaching purposes to a greater extent, the long, detailed stories were stripped of their emotional content and reduced to their bare essence. For example, the Seven Days of Creation in Genesis was reduced to what is now known as “the Big Bang Theory”. People slowly turned away from the richness of meaning behind the Creation Stories from each civilisation and sought after clear and concise explanations for the same questions.

Inevitably, the time came when history “textbooks” were written. Often these give merely the facts of a time, place or period. It was about this time that a clear separation between “stories” and “facts” emerged.

In the era when Voltaire and Rousseau were loudly proclaiming the supremacy of Reason and their theories regarding the absolute importance of being able to prove something for it to be real, the Grimm brothers and Hans Christian Anderson were quietly spinning their “Fairy Tales”, which were often so fantastic that they stretched the bounds of believability.

Nevertheless, what child has not heard the story of the Frog Prince, Beauty and the Beast, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, the Lion and the Mouse, or the tale of Snow White? What adult would not prefer to listen to a fairy tale or a fable over a list of bare facts teaching the same message.

Essentially, what we often associate as “history” is merely the moral of the story. It is the message that if you habitually lie, you will not be believed when you do tell the truth. Would you prefer to here an explanation of that line, or hear the story about the Boy who Cried Wolf?

To summarise, one cannot separate facts from stories. Stories have been used for millennia to teach the new generation. The next time you read a fact, realise that there is a story behind it. Indeed without the story, there would be no fact as the fact is the essence of the story. You be the judge of the importance of stories.

Mike holds a Bachelor of History from the University of Notre Dame. If you are looking for Aesop’s Fables see AesopResources.com

Tags: culture, fable, history, storyculture, fable, history, story

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Vampires stalk our collective imaginations. The stars of books, movies, and even role playing games, they are at once both dangerous and alluring. No Halloween celebration would be complete without wax teeth, fake blood and a black cape.

But were there ever any real Vampires? Probably not, although there are any number of historical figures whose bloodthirstiness may have provided a basis for the legend.

Countess Elizabeth Bathory certainly stands as a prime example.

Born in Hungary in 1560, Bathory was married at age 15 to a warlord who apparently spent much of his time away fighting the Turks. Left at home, Bathory satisfied her own bloodlust by torturing and killing young girls.

Her victims at first were peasants, but as her sadistic urges grew, Bathory expanded her prey to include the daughters of minor gentry.

It was this that proved to be her undoing. Missing peasant girls is one thing, but the gentry were wealthy and educated. Local priests brought their suspicions to Emperor Matthias II, and an investigation was launched.

George Thurzo, the Palatine of Hungary, led the inquest, and on December 29, 1610, caught Bathory in the act. The Countess and four suspected accomplices were arrested.

Over the next three years, more than 300 people were interviewed and a chilling story emerged. Always a harsh mistress, Bathory apparently came to truly enjoy the pain she inflicted on her servants. Her cruelty was regrettable, but certainly not unheard of.

One day, a servant pulled Bathory’s hair while brushing it. The Countess raked the girl’s cheeks with her long nails, spilling blood on her wrinkled hand. Bathory imagined that the drops of blood smoothed away her wrinkes, and concluded that the blood of young girls could restore the beauty of her youth.

That’s when the horror really began. Bathory began to kill young girls to bathe in, and drink their blood. Evidence at the trial put the body count at more than 600.

Following the trial, Bathory’s accomplices were burned alive. Because she was nobility, Bathory escaped execution, and was instead walled up in a room in her own castle, where she died three years later.

But horrible as it is, Bathory’s story is usually overshadowed by that of another Eastern European noble.

Vlad III was a Romanian nobleman who lived from 1431 to 1476. Held hostage by the Turks as a child, Vlad later came to rule his father’s kingdom, which has variously been identified as Transylvania and Wallachia. He was also known as the Son of the Dragon (Dracula) in reference to his father’s position as a Knight of the Order of the Dragon.

Because his kingdom served as a buffer zone between Moslem Turkey and Christian Europe, Vlad’s life was one of constant warfare. Leading frequent raids into Turkish territory, he burned crops, pillaged, and poisoned wells. Legend has it that one of these excursions resulted in the deaths of 20,000 Turks.

Both home and abroad, Vlad gained a reputation for cruelty and ruthlessness. His father was murdered in a political intrigue, and Vlad apparently was determined not to suffer the same fate.

In one story, he is said to have invited his political enemies to a meeting at his castle. Vlad then locked the doors and burned it to the ground.

Another story tells of the visit of an Ottoman ambassador. When the ambassador refused to remove his turban as a sign of respect, Vlad had it nailed to the poor man’s head. That surely did not do anything to improve relations between his Kingdom and the Turks.

But the cruelty for which Vlad is best known also gave him his nickname: Tepes, which means “impaler.”

To serve as a warning to his enemies, Vlad would impale his prisoners on long poles, leaving them to twitch and rot in the sun. It is said that the roads to his kingdom were lined with these poor unfortunates.

So much of Vlad’s history is mixed with legend that it is imposible to know how many of these stories are true. But contemporary reports seem to verify many of them.

Accounts vary as to the circumstances of Vlad’s death. Tradition holds that he died in battle with the Turks and that his head was sent as a gift to the Sultan of Turkey. Another version claims that he was killed by the Hungarians. It’s also possible that he was killed accidentally by his own troops.

Strange as it may seem, Vlad Tepes is seen as a folk hero to many in that part of the world.

Vlad may have been lost to history, except for the research of a writer named Bram Stoker. Planning a novel on vampires, Stoker rediscovered Vlad and made him the central figure in the novel that bears his name: Dracula.

In more modern times, several serial killers have been dubbed “vampires” by the press.

Fritz Haarmann committed at least 24 murders in Germany between 1919 and 1924. He killed his victims by biting their necks. During his trial, which became a media circus, Haarmann was variously called a werewolf and a vampire. He was beheaded in 1925.

Haarman wasn’t the only “vampire” in Germany at that time. Peter Kurten, a serial killer who was beheaded in 1932, was known as the “Vampire of Dusseldorf.” He was charged with nine murders and a variety of other offenses, including sexual assaults.

It is said that Fritz Lang’s movie “M” was based on the Haarmann and Kurten stories.

In England, John George Haigh, the infamous “Acid Bath Murderer,” also was known as the “Vampire of London.” Haigh, who was hanged in 1949, claimed to have drunk the blood of his victims before destroying their bodies in a vat of sulfuric acid.

Are there real vampires?

Again, probably not. But there are those whose monstrous crimes make us wonder about the terrible creatures of night and legend.

More on the haunted history of Halloween can be found at Top Halloween Links at www.thingsinthebasement.com .

This article is derived from his lectures on the haunted history of Halloween.

John Retzer has worked as a professional journalist, photographer, editor, public relations professional and golf coach. He currently teaches economics, political science and history. In his “spare time” he runs several websites and blogs, including Top Halloween Links at www.thingsinthebasement.com and Golf Blogger at http://www.golfblogger.com

Tags: Halloween, history, VampiresHalloween, history, Vampires

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For thousands of years in many cultures circus has entertained people. It has endured since Roman times where circuses featured gladiators fighting to their death, chariot races, animal duels, and horse trick riding. Through the dark ages it endured in the form of troubadours and street performers. Finally, in the late 1700s, circus took a shape similar to the circuses of today.

In 1768 Sergeant Major Philip Astley returned to his home town of London, England, and started a horse riding school. He had just come back from serving in the British military as a cavalry man. To promote his horse riding school he created shows showcasing his skill on a horse.

As Philip Astley’s shows became more and more popular, he decided to add further entertainment. He added musicians, clowns, jugglers, tightrope walkers, and dancing dogs, which were already popular entertainment at fairs and festivals of the time. When his circus became more popular than his riding school, he opened another. And another. And another. Before Philip Astley died in 1814, he would open 19 circuses. Mr.Astley is now known as the father of modern circus.

After Sergeant Major Philip Astley opened his second circus, the inevitable competition emerged. They opened rival circuses all over Europe and eventually all over the world. But there was one problem. With the small size of towns in the 18th century, if a circus was around long enough, sooner or later everyone in a town would have seen it. But being as innovative as they were, circus owners solved that problem easily. They began to travel. In order to do this efficiently, the circus tent was invented. It was great because of how quickly and easily it could be set up and taken down.

By the mid 1800s, circus was in its golden age. Going to the circus was as popular as going to a movie theater is now. Soon entrepreneurs and businessmen joined the craze. They added human freaks and exotic animals in different tents that could only be entered at extra cost. And people did enter. Everyone involved circus was raking in money.

But all great things must come to an end. By the mid 1900s, circus was getting less and less popular due to the invention of the radio and television. People no longer needed to leave the comfort of their home for entertainment. So, circus declined in popularity until it settled at where it is today. Don’t get me wrong, circus is still popular, just not nearly as popular as it was 100-200 years ago.

Is the end near for circus? I think not! Circus has survived for thousands of years, and I see no reason for it not to survive for thousands of years to come.

Quinn Spicker is the webmaster of http://www.Circus-Street.com, an online community for circus artists and their fans.

Tags: circus, circus history, history, history of circuscircus, circus history, history, history of circus

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