The Compass: Fears of the undead and werewolf "confessions"

This week, we take a journey around the world to explore the spooky, strange, and downright scary, in celebration of Halloween.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌    ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  

 

SEE BELOW, CAN YOU GUESS THIS WEEK'S WORD SCRAMBLE? VIEW ONLINE

SEE BELOW, CAN YOU GUESS THIS WEEK'S WORD SCRAMBLE?

THE COMPASS

This week, we take a journey around the world to explore the spooky, strange, and downright scary, in celebration of Halloween. Meet 5 "zombie" parasites that mind-control their hosts, learn how horror movies can help people overcome real-world trauma, and discover the imaginary beasts that fueled nightmares around the world.

ILLUSTRATION BY DEA PICTURE LIBRARY, DE AGOSTINI / GETTY Medieval pandemics spawned fears of the undead, burials reveal An analysis of graves shows a spike in people buried face-down as plagues ravaged German-speaking Europe. What were the living trying to achieve? HUNGRY HUNGRY CORPSES

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY IMAGE SOURCE VIA GETTY IMAGES How horror movies can help people overcome real-world trauma Films that terrify you today may improve your fear responses tomorrow—and could provide relief from anxiety and stress. EXPOSURE THERAPY

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANAND VARMA, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Meet 5 "zombie" parasites that mind-control their hosts It's no Halloween movie—some parasites hijack their hosts' brains to make them act in horrific ways. MASTERS OF MIND CONTROL

SOME HISTORIANS BELIEVE VLAD THE IMPALER MAY HAVE SLEPT HERE. UNSCRAMBLE THE LOCATION BELOW. ANLVVTNYAIRAS CLICK TO SEE IF YOU'RE RIGHT!

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM / SCALA, FLORENCE A German werewolf's 'confessions' horrified 1500s Europe Under torture, Peter Stumpp confessed to savage crimes—leading to perhaps the harshest trial during Germany's werewolf panics. WEREWOLF TRIALS

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

1. The history of trick-or-treating, and how it became a Halloween tradition 2. Inside the Irish ‘hell caves’ where Halloween was born 3. The twisted transatlantic tale of American jack-o’-lanterns 4. These candid haunted house photos are frighteningly hilarious

PHOTOGRAPH BY SCIENCE HISTORY IMAGES, ALAMY These imaginary beasts fueled nightmares around the world Monsters may seem like a thing of the past, but for eons humans have used them to understand the unexplainable. MONSTER MASHUP

WHERE WILL WE JOURNEY TO NEXT? Be sure to check your inbox next week to find out.

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