Category Archives: Etymology

We Belong Dead

Posted on November 8, 2020 by Nathan

Today, I’m back from the dead (that might have worked better if I hadn’t just written yesterday) to talk about three Frankenstein movies. There are SPOILERS for all of them, as well as the original novel. Frankenstein – The original … Continue reading →

Posted in Etymology, Magic, Medicine, Monsters, Names, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Snally Boy

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Nathan

I noticed that one of the other monsters described in William Cox’s Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, the same book as the Squonk, is the Snoligoster. (WARNING: The passage is pretty racist.) That’s a name I thought I knew, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Cartoons, Characters, Etymology, Food, German, L. Frank Baum, Monsters, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Television, The Flintstones, Urban Legends | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sorting Out Sorcery

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Nathan

One running theme in Glinda of Oz is that there are several different types of magic in Oz, all of which have their specialties, but none of them can do everything. L. Frank Baum contrasts the fairy magic of Ozma … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy, Characters, Etymology, Games, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors, Politics, Religion, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Technology, Theosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What’s Buggane You?

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Nathan

The Buggane is a monster in the folklore of the Isle of Man, which I suppose makes it a Manxome foe, like the Jabberwock. As an American, the main thing I know about the place is the tailless cats. Since … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, British, Christianity, Etymology, Fairy Tales, Language, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Wisp

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Nathan

The term “Will o’ the Wisp” refers to a sort of light that appears over swamps and marshes, caused by photon emissions from gases. Or at least that’s the scientific explanation. There’s a lot of folklore devoted to these weird … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Crossing, Animals, Authors, British, Christianity, Dragon Quest, Etymology, Fairy Tales, Final Fantasy, German, J.R.R. Tolkien, Japanese, Lewis Carroll, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Plays, Poetry, Religion, Science, Scottish, South American, Video Games, William Shakespeare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Such Shellfish Women

Posted on June 29, 2019 by Nathan

I’m not really not that knowledgeable about Pokémon, but I have played Pokémon Yellow and picked up a few other things here and there. These are mostly about the original Pokémon, though, and there have been so many others since … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Chinese, Etymology, Japanese, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Pokémon, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Foray Into Animated Enchantresses

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Nathan

A few days ago, Tavie brought up how both Disney and Warner Bros. cartoons have witches named Witch Hazel, both voiced by June Foray, and said I should write a post about that. From the brief research I did, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Cartoons, Comics, Disney Afternoon, Etymology, Halloween, Holidays, Humor, Magic, Names, Television, William Shakespeare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Worm Your Way

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Nathan

Looking into mythology and fiction involving giant worms is a little tricky because it seems like a lot of early societies thought worms and snakes were variations on the same thing. I guess they didn’t want to investigate all that … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Authors, Cartoons, Etymology, Final Fantasy, Futurama, Greek Mythology, J.R.R. Tolkien, Language, Monsters, Mythology, Science, Television, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Yale, Yale, the Gang’s All Here

Posted on September 23, 2017 by Nathan

Today’s mythical creature is the Yale, which was included in a list of uncommon mythical creatures on Quora, a site I’m always getting e-mails from despite not remembering ever signing up for, but I don’t unsubscribe because there’s interesting stuff … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Etymology, Greek Mythology, Language, Monsters, Mythology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Warrior Women at Work

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Nathan

The Dark Prophecy, by Rick Riordan – The follow-up to The Hidden Oracle continues the adventures of Apollo in a mortal body, with only occasional access to his godly powers when he least expects them. The previous volume established the … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, Comics, Etymology, Greek Mythology, Humor, Language, Mythology, Poetry, Rick Riordan, Roman, Trials of Apollo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment