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Enochian is a mysterious language that 16th century occultists John Dee and Edward Kelley recorded in their private journals. They claimed this ‘celestial speech’ allowed magicians and occultists to communicate with angelic realms. In the year 1581, occultists John Dee and Edward Kelley, claimed to have received communications from angels, who provided them with the foundations of a language with which to communicate with ‘the other side’. This ‘angelic’ language contained its own alphabet, grammar and syntax, which they wrote down in journals. The new language was called "Enochian" and comes from John Dee's assertion that the Biblical Patriarch Enoch had been the last human to know the language. The Enochian language entails plenty of myths and stories. The subject

Caractacus: The Powerful Celtic King Who Defied Rome Caractacus was a king and tribal leader of the ancient Britons during the Iron Age and ruler of the Catuvellaunui, a powerful British tribe.  He was the son of a Celtic king named Cunobeline and ruled Briton from 43-50 AD. Caractacus is associated with the expansion of his tribe’s territory with his apparent success being a catalyst for the Roman invasion of Britain. When the Romans launched their invasion in the summer of 43 AD they attempted to absorb it into the Roman empire. While other tribes in Britain, such as the Dobunni, submitted to the Romans, Caractacus fought fiercely for the independence of his people. A History of Roman Britain: A Land Transformed How

The sword of Joyeuse, which today sits in the Louvre Museum, is one of the most famous swords in history. Historical records link the sword to Charlemagne the Great, King of the Franks. If it did indeed belong to the famous king, who reigned some 1,200 years ago, the sword of Joyeuse would have been used in countless coronation ceremonies and is tied with ancient myth and legend ascribing it with magical powers. Charlemagne: How He Changed History Forever (Video) Was the Wallace Sword Truly Wielded by the Famous Scottish ‘Braveheart’? Charlemagne's Acquisition: The Joyeuse Sword Enters History The story begins in the year 802 AD. Legend states that the sword of Joyeuse, meaning “joyful” in French, was forged by

While today we flush our urine away without giving it a second thought, in ancient times it was considered a valuable commodity. Urine contains a wide array of important minerals and chemicals such as phosphorus and potassium. The Romans believed that urine – both human and animal - would make their teeth whiter and keep them from decaying, so they used it as a mouthwash and mixed it with pumice to make toothpaste. In fact, urine was so effective that it was used in toothpastes and mouthwashes up until the 1700s. As far as the Romans were concerned, the best and therefore the most expensive urine on the market came from the country of Portugal. It was supposedly the strongest

The Paiutes, a Native American tribe indigenous to parts of Nevada, have an oral tradition that they told to early white settlers of the area about a race of red-haired, white giants or “barbarians” that their ancestors referred to as the Si-Te-Cah. The story was written down in 1882 by Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, daughter of a Paiute Indian chief in her book Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims. These “giants” were described as being vicious, unfriendly and cannibalistic. In this story, the Paiutes speak of a great battle that took place which led to their extermination at site known today as Lovelock Cave. During the early part of the 20th century, archaeologists found thousands of artifacts inside this

For nearly fifty years, the town of Craco in southern Italy has stood uninhabited. Here, dark windows look out at potential travelers like empty eye sockets and the streets and buildings of this medieval town seem to have literally been vacated overnight, left to crumble in decay. Craco was once a monastic center, a feudal town and center of education with a university, castle, church, and plazas. Today, thanks to the dramatic landscape and unique atmosphere, Craco has been the set of many movies, including Saving Grace, James Bond Quantum of Solace and the hanging of Judas scene in Mel Gibson’s the Passion of the Christ. Craco: A Medieval Village with Ties to the Bronze Age Craco is a former

Not far from the city of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, China, sits the Leshan Giant Buddha statue. Carved into the side of Mt. Lingyun, the colossal statue is over 1,300-years-old and is considered to be the largest stone Buddha in the world, and by far the tallest pre-modern statue. The site attracts millions of people every year, including Buddhist pilgrims, making it something of a sacred destination and an ancient wonder of the world. A Statue Honoring Maitreya The Leshan Giant Buddha statue (also known as Dafo), is located to the east of Leshan City and sits at the junction of three rivers: the Min River, Qingyi River, and Dadu River. It faces the sacred Mount Emei with the rivers

For some time, people have debated whether or not human beings could spontaneously combust, or burst into flames, without an external heat source. However, over the past 300 years, there have been more than 200 reports of such incidents occurring. This phenomenon is called spontaneous human combustion (or SHC) and it occurs when a person supposedly burns to death by a fire believed to have started from within the body of that person. Of the hundreds of accounts on record, there seems to be a similar pattern. A solitary victim is often consumed by flame, usually inside his or her home. However, the extremities, such as the hands, feet, or parts of the leg, often remaining intact. The torso and

The Chupacabra is a legendary cryptid often associated with Mexico, and well-known across Latin America. One of the locations the Chupacabra has made a significant impact in the past is in Puerto Rico. Reportedly first sighted there during the mid-1990s, the Chupacabra made headlines across the world when livestock started mysteriously dying. Animals were found completely drained of blood through small incisions which, according to experts at the time, were not compatible with the bite of a dog, monkey, or any other known carnivore from the region. More than 200 Chupacabra sightings were reported on the island in 1995 alone, yet as quickly as the cryptid sightings started, they stopped, leaving behind a trail of questions. The Origins of the

Egyptian hieroglyphs are among the oldest writing systems in the world, dating back some 5,200 years. Known in ancient Egyptian as the “language of the gods” and said to have been created by the god of knowledge Thoth, hieroglyphs were vital in the fulfilment of royal duties and were used by powerful pharaohs and their scribes to record the achievements of their reign. Today, millions of hieroglyphs in sacred texts, sarcophagi, tombs, and monuments remain as memories of a highly civilized, bygone era. Studying Egyptian hieroglyphs is fascinating, though it can prove to be difficult for many students. Writing papers on this topic isn't easy either. So if you are assigned to write an essay or a research paper on