Il y a 100 ans, les premières photos d’Halloween foutaient vraiment les jetons

Halloween, c'était quand même bien plus angoissant avant. Il y a environ 3000 ans, l'année Celte se terminait non pas le 31 décembre comme maintenant, mais le 31 octobre. Et cette dernière nuit était la nuit de Samain, le dieu de mort. Les nuits devenant plus longues à cette période, d'après la légende, les fantômes des morts en profitaient pour rendre visite aux vivants. Et Samain, le dieu des morts, rôdait pour rassembler les âmes de ceux qui étaient trépassés dans l'année. Voyez, c'était autre chose.


-Buzzly

Salem au temps des sorcières

Malgré son visage ridé, son nez crochu, ses yeux globuleux, son menton en galoche et son chapeau pointu, la sorcière n’effraie plus. Du moins pas celle qui pimente les contes pour enfants ou les décors « halloweeniens » des magasins. Plus magique que maléfique, son image de vieille femme volant sur un balai amuse. Mais ce ne fut pas toujours le cas. La sorcière a un lourd passé. Pour preuve, le procès des sorcières de Salem, aux États-Unis, en 1692.


-Le Devoir

Halloween: la science de la peur disséquée

Ce soir, fantômes, sorcières et autres petits vampires prendront les rues d'assaut. Tout en faisant le plein de friandises, ils s'amuseront aussi à se donner la frousse. En ce jour d'Halloween, La Presse décortique la science de la peur avec Margee Kerr, une sociologue de l'Université de Pittsburgh qui mène certaines de ses expériences... dans une maison hantée. Autopsie de la peur en cinq points.

-La Presse

Forget the war on drugs: Alcohol ruins more lives than all other drugs combined

While our current political conversations often involve concerned discussions about marijuana’s imagined dangers or potential benefits (recall that the most recent Republican and Democratic debates both dedicated time to the question of pot legalization), our most problematic relationship actually seems to be with alcohol. America, it seems, has a drinking problem—and studies indicate it is only getting worse. There are real reasons, in addition to the pressing issue of mass incarceration and the failure of the drug war, for us to start thinking seriously about the cost of our increasing reliance on alcohol when we consider the ravages of drug use. Particularly since the toll of alcohol, though often left out of that conversation, actually outpaces those of every other legal and illicit drug combined.

-Salon

40 Incredible Abandoned Structures.

-Leenks

The creepiest ghost towns that you can still visit

They may look like scenes from a post-apocalyptic horror film or the last place anyone would want to go on holiday, but these eerie ghost towns are drawing millions of curious travelers every year. 

-Daily Mail

Ghost Towns of the 21st Century

After factories close, will one-time manufacturing hubs ever recover?

-The Atlantic

Erotic Asphyxiation: The Widespread and Potentially Fatal Fetish That Nobody Will Talk About

Erotic asphyxiation, or EA, is a sexual act that involves suffocation. You probably know that already. How to get to that point is up to the individual. Rope, hands, bags, cling-film, water—the method can be chosen to suit the desired effect. For some, this is just the thrill of being dominated with a hand on the throat, for others the sensation of oxygen being cut off from the brain heightens the intensity of an orgasm. For others, the aim is to pass out completely. The negative side effects can range from cardiac arrest to permanent brain damage. The likelihood of this happening increases when EA is done alone—"autoerotic asphyxiation."

-Vice

The Lonely Death of George Bell

Each year around 50,000 people die in New York, some alone and unseen. Yet death even in such forlorn form can cause a surprising amount of activity. Sometimes, along the way, a life’s secrets are revealed.

-NY Times

Do you know the people in these pictures of tenement life?

A photographer who pictured Scots living in tenement slums 45 years ago is now hoping to be reunited with his subjects. Nick Hedges took the photos for housing charity Shelter in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
He now wants to meet the people in his pictures to find out what happened to them.

-BBC

Massive Mural on Sunken Ship Changes with Tide Levels

This hyperrealistic portrait is created by artist Sean Yoro (aka Hula) and it changes depending on the height of the tide. When the water is low, the woman’s body is visible, as the water rises, her face becomes hidden and only her hand is visible, which gives the feeling that she’s in desperate need of help.

-Leenks

The Most Beautiful and Famous Trees on Earth

“A tree is a wonderful living organism which gives shelter, food,
warmth and protection to all living things. It even gives shade to
those who wield an axe to cut it down” – Buddha.

There are probably hundreds of majestic and magnificent trees in the world – of these, some are particularly special.

-Green-landscape

«The Lobster», marié à tout prix

Dans un futur proche, les célibataires sont pourchassés, parqués dans un hôtel et sommés d’y trouver l’âme sœur sous peine d’être transformés en bêtes à l’issue du séjour. David (Colin Farrell), architecte amorphe répudié par sa femme, est livré en pâture à l’intraitable bureaucratie des lieux. Il élit comme animal totem le homard (le «lobster» du titre), connu pour sa prodigieuse longévité. Forcé d’enchaîner avec ses comparses les rituels grotesques, il assiste à des thés dansants, rendez-vous forcés avec des prétendantes et séances de chasse à la carabine dans la forêt où s’est réfugiée et s’organise la dissidence.

-Libération

La crasse envie d’adultère - «Les maisons», de Fanny Britt, ou comment savoir si on a fait les bons choix

Et s’il n’était pas trop tard ?… Si on pouvait choisir une autre voie. Tout envoyer promener. Laisser parler une fois pour toutes cette petite voix à l’intérieur qui dit « vas-y, fonce, c’est ta vie, fais-le, saute, sans regarder derrière »…

-Le Devoir

The Ghosts of Alcatraz Island

With its centuries old history from ancient Native Americans, to Fort Alcatraz, to a Military Barracks, and most often known service as one of the toughest federal penitentiaries in the Nation, it is no wonder that this place is said to be one of the most haunted in the nation. Often described as a portal to another dimension, Alcatraz is filled with the energy of those who came to the "Rock” and seemingly never left.

-Legends of America

Why Sex That’s Consensual Can Still Be Bad. And Why We’re Not Talking About It.

Last winter, Reina Gattuso was a Harvard senior majoring in literature and gender studies and writing a biweekly column for the college newspaper, the Crimson. She covered a variety of subjects, among them her sexuality (she identifies as queer) and Harvard’s byzantine class hierarchies, and she wrote a regular feature called “Four Dollar Wine Critic.” In February, she dedicated her column to the subject of sexist sex.
Gattuso is not against sex by any means. “I don’t say yes. I say oh, yes. I say yes, please,” she wrote. And she did say yes at a booze-soaked party hosted by a group of men she didn’t know. One of the men told her that because she was bisexual, he assumed she was “particularly down to fuck.” He said she could make out with his girlfriend if she would hook up with another of the men.

-NY Mag