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29 Dragon Places for the Lunar New Year

Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with temple-scaling serpents, fire-breathing bridges, and everything in between.
Michelle Cassidy February 5, 2024
Lava from Mount Etna could hit 10 different municipalities.
volcanoes

Europe’s Most Active Volcano Is Also the World’s Only Decipoint

The many eruptions isn't the only reason Mount Etna is unique.
Frank Jacobs, Big Think February 2, 2024
Maysville, Colorado

Angel of Shavano

This distinctive snowfield on the slopes of a Colorado fourteener has several legendary origin stories.
The mysterious Bigfoot
mythology

10 Places to Visit If You Want to Believe in Bigfoot

Even if you’re not convinced cryptids exist, these spots will offer a fascinating look into the minds of those who are.
Atlas Obscura January 18, 2024
mythology

The Christmas Goblins of Greece Play Devious Tricks All the Way Till January

But don’t worry—polar plunges and putting children in ovens helps banish them.
Vittoria Traverso December 22, 2023
Gdańsk, Poland

Lunar Rover at Mariacka Street

During the renovation of this bas-relief, the constructors added one unusual element.
The legend of the Snallygaster appears to have been an invention of local newspapers, but one that carried a dark threat.
mythology

The Unsettling Legend of Maryland's Native Cryptid, the Snallygaster

A strange, scary farce that brought together Old World legends and racist scare tactics.
Colin Dickey October 27, 2023
Caravaggio's 1597 painting of the gorgon Medusa vividly captures the violence behind origin stories for many of our constellations.
astronomy

In October, Our Night Sky is Full of Scary Stories

Stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere can find the demon star Algol, a murdered monster, and victims of vengeful gods.
Rebecca Boyle October 25, 2023
The 1984 film <em>Gremlins</em> was inspired in some ways by wartime gremlin stories (Roald Dahl's in particular), but put another modern spin on the older tradition.
military history

How Gremlins Went From Fairy Stories to Warplanes to Hollywood Legend

Meet these slippery, mischievous reflections of our anxieties about technology.
Hadley Meares October 24, 2023
This 1962 cover of <em>Official Detective</em> features a Halloween candy poisoner at work.
poison

Why Halloween’s ‘Poison Candy’ Myth Endures

Even though we know better.
Jennifer Byrne October 19, 2023
San Rafael, Mexico

Nahualac Pond

A shrine in the middle of this pond represents a Mesoamerican creation myth.
Stone God of Nanoka-Ichiba
Yamanashi, Japan

Stone God of Nanoka-Ichiba

Considered an enigma by folklorists, an object of primitive animistic worship lives on in Yamanashi.
Caves of Hercules
List

16 Real-World Places Steeped in Mythology

From a legendary river of the dead to a long-burning fire, reality and myths merge in these places.
Jonathan Carey September 22, 2023
Puerto Nariño, Colombia

Fundación Natütama

From pink dolphins to underwater cities, this museum explores the unseen, mythical world of the Amazon river.
An ancient wall with a path running through it under a metal roof
Yulin, China

Shimao Relics

A massive ancient Chinese city with stone walls and evidence of human sacrifices.
Singapore

Kubur Kassim Cemetery

Old Muslim cemetery and resting place of folkloric creatures
Belgrade, Serbia

Icarus on the Air Force Command Building

An Art Deco Icarus statue adorns this abandoned gem of Yugoslav Modernist architecture.
Nymfopetres
Thessaloniki, Greece

Nymfopetra

Legends hold that these unusual rock formations were once a bridal party, or perhaps a group of hunters.