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Vlad the Impaler cried real tears of blood. Source: Lama9838/CC BY-SA 3.0

Sadistic Vlad the Impaler Cried Real Tears of Blood, Study Reveals

Vlad Dracul, the infamous medieval Romanian ruler known as Vlad the Impaler and the inspiration for the character of Count Dracula , is considered one of the most bloodthirsty rulers in human history...
Ancient spearheads. Source: Enrique / Adobe Stock.

Blood Residue Found on 13,000-Year-Old Ice Age Weapons

The earliest people who lived in North America shared the landscape with huge animals. On any day these hunter-gatherers might encounter a giant, snarling saber-toothed cat ready to pounce, or a...
Representational image of a child mummy. Child mummies have been scanned to reveal the prevalence of anemia in ancient Egyptian children. Source: Mary Harrsch / CC BY-SA 4.0

Why Did So Many Ancient Egyptian Children Suffer Anemia?

In a “first-of-its-kind” fascinating osteoarchaeological study, scientists have found that anemia was common in ancient Egyptian children who had been mummified . Through the use of CT scans, it was...
A Hollowed-Out Gourd Contains the Blood of Louis XVI. Or Does it?

A Hollowed-Out Gourd Contains the Blood of Louis XVI. Or Does it?

While it’s not what I’d do, legend has it that when King Louis XVI was beheaded in 1793, onlookers in Paris rushed to the scene to dip their handkerchiefs in the dead king’s blood. Years later, one...
The Precious Blood of Christ reliquary recovered by Arthur Brand. Source: Arthur Brand

Precious Blood of Christ Relic Returned By Wary Thieves

One of the most sacred relics of the Catholic Church, known as the ‘Precious Blood of Christ,’ contained in an elaborate golden shrine, was stolen from Fécamp Abbey Church in Normandy, France on June...
Top image: Romans believed that gladiator blood cured epilepsy. Source: Mariyana M / Adobe Stock

Romans Drank Gladiator Blood as an Epilepsy Cure!

The ancient Romans were known for enjoying violent forms of entertainment - public executions, animal hunts, chariot racing, and gladiatorial games. However, the blood and gore didn’t stop with the...
Corpse medicine sounds revolting today but for thousands of years “doctors” believed the human spirit and its powers could be ingested in the form of human fat, blood, or brains. "Saturn eating his son,” painted by Francisco de Goya.

Corpse Medicine: Brains, Mellified Man’s Honey-flesh, or Blood Drinks!

In the 16th and 17th centuries while, with astonishing hypocrisy, Europeans were reacting with disgust and outrage to reports of cannibalism brought back by travelers from the New World. And yet in...
Pen with blood ink. Source: VJP / Adobe Stock

Blood Quran: Ancient Holy Text Written in the Blood of Saddam Hussein

The Qur’an is the Islamic Holy text written approximately 1400 years ago, originally memorized and recited orally, and believed to contain the words of archangel Gabriel revealed to the Prophet...
The bloodletting of a patient by a surgeon with three dismayed onlookers; represented by five faun-like demons. Source: Wellcome Images / CC BY 4.0

Bleeding Your Way to Health: The Horrible History of Bloodletting

Bloodletting, or phlebotomy, is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the surgical removal of some of a patient’s blood for therapeutic purposes.” Throughout the majority of history, this gruesome,...
Wendigos fall into the larger definition of cannibalism as they consume parts of living people.		Source: Daniel / Adobe Stock

Atypical Nourishment – Hematophagy, Cannibalism and Necrophagy

The character Renfield from Bram Stoker's “Dracula" admitted the importance of blood, saying that “The blood is the life." This idea is not new, for example, Maya kings attempted to obtain the good...
Do you have royal genes? Source: master1305 / Adobe Stock

Do You Have Royal Genes? Almost Certainly, Statisticians Say

For the past 18 seasons, viewers of the BBC television show “Who Do You Think You Are?” have been watching with interest as guests from all walks of life discover surprising facts about their genetic...
An ancient Peruvian funerary mask. Source: Olena / Adobe Stock

Ancient Peruvian Gold Mask Was Painted with Human Blood!

Archaeologists with the Sicán Archaeological Project , a decades-long study of a lost pre-Incan culture, unearthed a tomb and its contents along the northern coast of Peru in the early 1990s...
Ending the Historical Atrocity of Virginity Tests?

Ending the Historical Atrocity of Virginity Tests?

Since medieval times, many Muslim communities have regarded the hymen, the tiny piece of skin known as the vaginal membrane, as proof of virginity and a woman’s moral virtue. Even today in the United...
More Hope and Controversy Over Crucifixion Nails Linked to Jesus

More Hope and Controversy Over Crucifixion Nails Linked to Jesus

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is probably the central event in the Christian religion . Some researchers now believe that they may have found the crucifixion nails that were used in the death of...
Left: St Januarius’ blood being examined in Naples. Credit: The Catholic Herald. Right: An early portrait of Saint Januarius. Note the two blood ampoules in the lower left corner. (Louis Finson / Public domain)

The Blood of Saint Januarius and The Miracle of Liquefaction

Saint Januarius is a saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church . He is the patron saint of Naples but is best-known for a miracle that happens several times each year – the liquefaction of what is...
The never seen before Mesoamerican mural minerals of cinnabar and hematite found in this early Teotihuacan mural. The distinctive reds on the left side of this image are especially noteworthy.            Source: Denisse Argote Espino / INAH

Mesoamerican Mural Minerals Reveal Secrets of Ancient City

In Mexico , researchers have for the first time ever discovered previously unknown Mesoamerican mural minerals. The mercury sulfate and iron oxide were found in wall paintings in one of the most...
Silhouettes (Public Domain) in front of blood cells (Public Domain) and a gene.

Rh-Negative Blood: An Exotic Bloodline or Random Mutation?

Most people who have the Rh blood type are Rh-positive. There are also instances, however, where people are Rh-Negative. Health problems may occur for the unborn child of a mother with Rh-Negative...
The 42,000-year-old foal. Scientists hope the discovery of the animal’s liquid blood can help resurrect the Ice Age species.

Liquid Blood Extracted from 42,000-Year-Old Extinct Horse Sparks Cloning Hopes

By The Siberian Times reporter Permafrost preserved the ‘oldest blood in the world,’ boosting hopes of bringing an extinct species back to life. The blood comes from an Ice Age foal that is arguably...
Ancient Maya obsidian arrowhead

Human Blood Found on Ancient Maya Arrowheads, Bloodletting Rituals to Feed Life Force to the Gods

Five hundred years ago at a remote temple in Guatemala, sacrificial blood was spilled during cutting ceremonies using razor-sharp obsidian arrowheads. Archaeologists say this ritual was done to feed...
Rituals at a Modern Viking Wedding: A Blood Sacrifice, Bride Running, and Obligatory Drinking

Rituals at a Modern Viking Wedding: A Blood Sacrifice, Bride Running, and Obligatory Drinking

While others may have had weddings with a Viking theme, it has been said that Rune and Elisabeth Dalseth are the first couple in almost 1,000 years to have held a true Viking wedding that includes...
3-dimensional model of the Shroud of Turin imprint

Investigators use a Volunteer and Real Blood in Forensic Testing of the Shroud of Turin

It is reported in several news outlets that another test has been conducted on the controversial Shroud of Turn which indicates that it is most likely a forgery. This shroud is believed by many to be...
The Shroud of Turin: modern, digitally processed image of the face on the cloth

Blood on the Shroud: An Interview with the Blood Investigator of the Shroud of Turin Research Project

In 1978 a large team of American scientists under the auspices of the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) spent over two years prior to embarking for Turin, planning a large number of specific...
Manananggal, mythical creature of the Philippines

The Shocking Demon that Brings Plague and Devours Babies: Ancient Goddess & Evil Widow Rangda in Balinese Mythology

All eyes focused on the figure of Rangda as she emerged from the inner part of the temple, about a third of the way through the Barong dance (an ancient dance which predates even the Hindu influences...
Statue of the God Chac-Mool, located inside a chamber in the pyramid of Kukulcán in Chichén Itzá, Mexico

A Rogue Archaeologist, Atlantis, and the Chac-Mool

In the late 1890s, as America was developing into an industrial heavyweight, its scientists and explorers were rediscovering Earth’s ancient past and charting forgotten civilizations around our...

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