Eliza Turner

“Rasputin and the Jews” by Delin Colon is a great introduction not only to Rasputin, but to the state of the average Jew in Tsarist Russia. The author does assume that the reader has some basic knowledge of Rasputin’s story, but nothing you couldn’t find after an internet search about Rasputin. The primary source used for this book is the papers of Aron Simanovich, Rasputin’s Jewish secretary. Instead of focusing only on recounting the outline of his life, Colon instead expounds upon Rasputin’s beliefs, sayings, and the actual advice he gave to the Tsar—most of which was ignored, despite the popular belief that Rasputin somehow controlled all of the Tsar’s decisions. In fact, Colon does a magnificent job of explaining that if Tsar Nicholas II had listened to Rasputin, the entire Bolshevik Revolution would likely have been avoided. Rasputin drew the ire of the aristocracy because he believed in equal rights for all Russians, including Jews. Jews were at the bottom of the soci...

Guy de Maupassant, one of France’s most prolific writers of the 19th century, is also the father of the modern short story, for good reason. He wrote over three hundred short stories throughout his career, with most of them being written during the 1880s. While most of these dealt with mundane occurrences, some of them were quite strange.  Maupassant’s style is much more approachable than a lot of other Victorian-era authors. Each of his short stories immediately grab your attention and make you wonder where exactly he is going with it. Oftentimes, the ending is not the climax of the story; there doesn’t even seem to be a climax in some of them. Maupassant did not write mere stories.  He wrote about occurrences that otherwise would not be noticed or remembered and strove to find a deeper meaning behind them. While the stories chosen for this collection are juicier than his others, this element is still to be found in them. Also included is my essay, “The Demise ...

Ever since I wrote the original posting on Giaquinto’s Penitent Magdalene, I have had unanswered questions brewing in the back of my head about this intriguing painting. So, when I was in Manhattan last August, I jumped on the first chance to get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and took that long awaited second look at this masterpiece. If you have not read my earlier post, I recommend that you read it, as I will build upon some of the concepts already mentioned there. You can read it  Here . A Thorny Vine  In a “penitent” painting, it is a little surprising that Giaquinto chose to forgo the cilice as her outer garment and put Mary Magdalene into a flowing white and blue gown. However, he chose to put a sliver of a thorny vine visible only under her right arm. It appears to wrap around her ribcage underneath her robes. Perhaps the artist is making a statement by doing this. The message I hear when looking at it is that, no matter what your outward appearance...

It is my pleasure to present to you the latest installment from the Forlorn Press! Strange Tales of the High Seas is a collection of the strangest maritime tales by the now forgotten early masters of weird fiction. Many of the elements of these early tales have become common fare in today’s horror, and I find it inspiring to read the originals. These are not your typical ghost stories; rather, they walk the line between science, the supernatural, and the bizarre. These stories have everything from invisible sea monsters to rabies-infected crews turning the ship into a blood bath, odd twins, and sea-worshipping Pagan captains. Rifts in time and space and even real life mysteries grace these pages. I have also reproduced the original illustrations of these tales as well as added additional atmospheric pictures. Table of Contents: “The Voice in the Night” by William Hope Hodgson “From the Darkness and the Depths” by Morgan Robertson “The Sea Fit” by Algernon Blackwood “Ma...

I am very pleased to announce the publication of my first book, as well as the foundation of my ebook publishing company, The Forlorn Press. The book is called Tod Robbins: His Life and Work . As the title implies, it is a biography on the largely forgotten American writer of weird fiction, Tod Robbins. Researching it was a real challenge; Robbins actively tried to keep his life as secret as possible. Now, over sixty years after his death, there is not only scant information available about him, but a lot of misinformation as well. Exactly how many wives did he have? Some sources say as many as six, but who were they? He also spent World War II in a German concentration camp, and I believe I have discovered the precise camp. I have also included biographical sketches of each of his verified wives. Some of his wives also led quite interesting lives that proved fascinating to uncover. His first wife, Edith Norman Hyde, was the controversial first Miss America, although you won’t...

Life has a way of keeping us unexpectedly busy.  It also has a penchant for overtaking our free time, hence, my recent absence from blogging. I do, however, have some good photos to share, which will hopefully make up for the lack of words. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to Zion National Park in Utah. Most hikers prefer to take on the trails during the summer months; I, however, love the winter. The snow, fog, and even the rain all offer extraordinarily unique scenes.  The barren trees pierce into the sky like skeletal fingers grasping for something just out of reach, and the fast moving clouds offer ever-changing sights that disappear just as quickly as they come into being. The mountains of Zion offer spectacular views in any season. The peaks are only enhanced by the dark, stormy clouds. The variety of trees and foliage are so diverse that you may see evergreens intermingled with contrasting barren, leafless varieties. Another advantage to the winter v...

Coffinwood is just the type of place you always expect to find in one of these little rural Nevada towns but never do. Well, if you are ever driving through Pahrump, you just might stumble upon it. Coffinwood is not only one of the only places you can still purchase a wooden coffin, made to fit, but also any other item you can conjure up can be made coffin shaped. Out of Coffinwood, Bryan and Dusty Schoening run a coffin making business called Coffin It Up. Many of their clientele are Europeans who want a traditional burial. While coffins have fallen out of fashion here in the U.S. and have been replaced with caskets, across the pond, wooden coffins are still widely used. Considering the variety of different cultures on the continent, it is difficult to find a mass producer that can appeal to all of them. Coffin It Up has the advantage, as every one of their coffins is hand made and customized  to every customer’s tastes and preferences. An example of a traditional Jewish co...