Eliza Turner

"Reaper" by Konstantin Vasilyev In Konstantin Alexeyevich Vasilyev’s painting, simply titled “Reaper” ("Жница"), we find a very unique blend of imagery. “Death and the Maiden” is a long established theme, particularly favored by Scandinavian artists. The maiden is, naturally, a young woman; she is representative of life, whereas death is either a skeleton, Grim Reaper, or just a very old man. Vasilyev has blended both of them into one person in this painting. The maiden has become death as well as life—a profound statement. When one thinks of death, the image of a dark, cloaked, icy figure is likely to come to mind. Here we find just the opposite. Vasilyev’s Reaper is a young, blond woman with piercing eyes resting against a tree, sickle in hand. While she appears nonthreatening, it is her eyes which give the viewer a hint of her true identity. Her expression lies somewhere between fierce and indifferent; do not let her beauty fool you, to know her is to di...

Few realize that women played a pivotal role in the development of science fiction. Even fewer know that feminist science fiction became popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This collection contains a broad spectrum of this genre, many of which have been all but forgotten. Ten novels and short stories and two appendices round out this volume. The anthology is $1.49 and available on  Amazon ,  Barnes & Noble , and  Kobo .  If you prefer, you can also buy directly from us via Payhip in all formats (.mobi, epub, and pdf). Approx. 785 pages or  231,813 words long.  As with all ebooks from The Forlorn Press, Feminist Sci-Fi contains a clickable table of contents. Table of Contents: Herland By Charlotte Perkins Stetson Gilman Sultana’s Dream By Rokheya Shekhawat Hossein Mizora: A Prophecy By Mary E. Bradley Man's Rights By Annie Denton Cridge Friend Island By Francis Stevens Three Hundre...

When one thinks of the late 19th century, images of prim and proper women and stiff-upper-lipped gentlemen strolling down the street cane in hand comes to mind. What one does not realize is that while things may have been so in public, in private it was another story. The Victorians produced tons of erotic, or just plain pornographic, literature—much of which would shock even today’s audience. Spanking and incest were their favorite subjects, but anything was fair game. Ten of the best and rarest of these novels are contained in this volume. In addition to that, there is one appendix, “A Brief History of Priapus.” The entire collection is $3.99 and available at  Amazon ,  Barnes & Noble , and  Kobo .  If you prefer, you can also buy directly from us via Payhip in all formats (.mobi, epub, and pdf). Approx. 2,240 pages or 671 ,803 words long.  As with all ebooks from The Forlorn Press, Naughty Victoriana contains a clickable table o...

I am not a paranormal investigator. I have no interest in paranormal investigating. I enjoy these types of TV shows as much as anyone else, but that’s about it. I partake of paranormal shows as entertainment. It isn’t that I don’t believe in the supernatural at all, I simply take these types of things with a grain of salt. Earlier this month I wrote an article on examiner.com about the Boulder City Pet Cemetery and got some great pictures in the late afternoon. I decided to return to the pet cemetery at night to see if I could get some good nighttime photos. The setting is perfect; rustic old graves in the middle of the desert make for a very dark, gothic subject. Just the type of pictures I love to take. This is the first photo, unedited. I took a friend with me on this outing. At the time it was mainly for company, but looking back I am glad I was not alone. I did not feel anything macabre at the cemetery during the day. Upon visiting after dark, my main concern was co...

Olentzero is synonymous with Christmas to the Basque people. He is one of the last surviving relics of pre-Christian pagan beliefs. There are numerous differing legends and practices about Olentzero; almost every Basque village had its own variation. In many ways he is similar to other European counties’ “Father Christmas,” but in just as many ways he is a completely unique character to Basque folklore. Originally he was a giant, or jentilak, who lived in the mountains. He was the last surviving member of a tribe of giants who either died with the birth of Christ, or simply left to avoid being Christianized. Sometimes called Olentzero of the red eyes, he would cut the throat of children who broke the fast. In other variations, he would kill anyone who ate too much on Christmas Eve, which was traditionally a day of fasting. He is often portrayed as being drunk, slouched in a chair with an empty bottle in his hand. He is usually dressed like a peasant and is always very rustic. ...

I recently began writing for examiner.com as a freelance journalist. Today, my first article with them went live. I will be focusing on the unique places and people in the Las Vegas and Southern Nevada area (my official title is “Las Vegas Places and Faces Examiner”). I have wanted to write about our local oddities and unique history for some time and this seems to be a good medium to do so through. Blame it on the scorching desert sun, but there is never a shortage of eccentrics here; from Howard Hughes to Lonnie Hammargren to Scotty’s Castle in nearby Death Valley, Southern Nevada is a mecca for the bizarre.   The link to my first article is below. It’s about Sloan Canyon, a local spot loaded with Native American petroglyphs, or rock art. Sloan Canyon has one of the highest concentrations of petroglyphs in North America! I have attached a few photos I took there as well. Here's the link: Sloan Canyon: The Sistine Chapel of rock art

I recently came across this overlooked short story of Blackwood’s and immediately realized that it read much like a Lovecraft tale. Of course, any Lovecraft geek knows that Blackwood was a strong influence on the younger author, so such a finding is not surprising. Nonetheless, this little tale has gone unnoticed as a possible inspiration for Lovecraft’s cosmic horror. “The Messenger” is also very similar to Guy de Maupassant’s “Le Horla,” which is a known influence of Lovecraft. Both feature an otherworldly visitor. However, the messenger does not seem to be as malicious as the Horla, though the story ends before we know for sure what the messenger is here for. Also, the narrator of both tales could easily be insane, the entire thing a delusion of a fevered mind. Due to its short length, I will reproduce the tale in its entirety below. * * * * * THE MESSENGER  by  Algernon Blackwood  (1912) Illustration by W. Graham Robertson from...