My favorite section of the book: "The 13 House" which is about the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California owned by Sarah L. Winchester, the rifle heiress. A medium told her that the spirits who were killed by the rifles her family manufactured were retaliating and taking her loved ones' lives as revenge. The spirits placed a curse on Sarah and she was instructed to move west and set up fort, rather, house and building on it according to the spirits' wishes. The book lists 18 references to the number 13's association with the houses configurations. For example, "13 blue and amber stones in the spiderweb window"... this is a must-see along with "13 hooks in the Seance Room" and "13 rails by the spy hole in the South Conservatory." Sounds like a future field trip for the Korner.

 The book also raises questions about the 13th astrological sign and the reference to 13 in tarot cards. An excellent reference to have on hand.

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Books filed under Wonders and Curiosities

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Passage of Darkness : The Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie by Wade Davis, Richard E. Schultes, Robert F. Thompson
also read

The Serpent and the Rainbow by Wade Davis
enlarge cover

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Earth Mysteries: the study of ancient sites

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Science-Fiction/Fantasy Writer A. A. Attanasio--the Home Page

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Surrender on Demand

by Varian Fry

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Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre
enlarge cover

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Nancy A. Collins
A Dozen Black Roses

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The Vampire Armand : The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

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Dorothy Parker

Selected Poems by Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker's Review of Upton Sinclair's Money Writes!

Dorothy Parker photo gallery photos of where Dorothy Parked lived, audio clips of Parker reading, info on Parkerfest--an annual event

All the articles below were found online in Salon Magazine
Not-so-basic reviews and interviews, plus a few other links to help you maintain that pus-filled, zombie state of mind.

Marilyn Hanson
When the antichrist arrives, he won't be a Goth Rocker -- he'll be a three-headed blonde.

"Who Killed Kurt Cobain?" and other unauthorized "mysteries."

Nancy Friday on beauty, witches and good manners in bed.

Part 1--Stories of Vladimir Nabokov

Part 2-- Stories of Vladimir Nabokov

Salman Rushdie

Interview With A Grossologist

"Staggering our certainties" about humanity's place at the top of the heap
The Salon Interview with Stephen Jay Gould
The eminent essayist and paleontologist talks about his new "Full House," the fallacy of evolutionary progress, creationism and extraterrestrial life.

The Salon Interview with William Gibson
The author of "Neuromancer" on the joys of the Web, artificial celebrities and his new novel, "Idoru."

The Canonization of Hunter Thompson

The Salon Interview with James Ellroy
Oedipus Wreck. The author of "My Dark Places" on the search for his mother's killer, the stupidity of hard-boiled detective stories, and why he hates rock 'n' roll.

Shirley Jackson: Monstrous Acts
A new collection of unpublished stories reveals both sides of the strange, luminous writer who created "The Lottery."

Margaret Atwood on famous Victorian murderesses, her claim to Connecticut, and the deep satisfaction of a clean, folded towel.

Before you kill yourself, M. Scott Peck argues, try killing your ego.

Suicide Isn't Painless
Death guru Stephen Levine wants to legalize assisted suicide -- but only for physical reasons. In other situations, taking one's life is just impatient, sloppy, a "shortcut."

J.G. Ballard on William S. Burroughs' "Naked truth"

The K Chronicles: A new strip every Wednesday