All Stories

Giulio Iannarone, of the Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale, slides out one of the racks of valuable paintings in the vault.

detectives

Inside Rome’s Secure Vault for Stolen Art

Some of the art is real, some fake, but it's all had a brush with the criminal underworld.

The Young Lords, a Puerto Rican activist group, seized this mobile chest x-ray unit in 1970. A few months later, they and members of the Black Panther Party occupied part of Lincoln Hospital to establish a drug detoxification program.

health

How Acupuncture Became a Radical Remedy in the Bronx

When Black and brown activists created Lincoln Detox, they also helped spread Eastern medicine.

Nigel Larkin and Phil Rye work on the right whale skeleton.

secret lives of museums

What It Takes to Dismantle and Move a 40-Foot Whale Skeleton

Including welding skills, knowledge of anatomy, and infinite patience.

Election cake was meant to be dense, rich, and filling.

home-cooked history

Reviving America's Forgotten Boozy, Fruity Election Cake

These cakes helped elections feel like a party.

The original vetala was a spirit who posed riddles.

monster mythology

One of Dracula's Often Overlooked Inspirations Is the Indian Vetala

It was an English "translation" that turned a wise, if mischievous, figure into a bloodsucker.

Pishtacos are said to harvest people's vitality through their fat.

monster mythology

In the Andes, the Fear of Oppressors Manifests as the Gruesome Pishtaco

They seem to be a monster that made the leap from legend to the real world.

The volunteers were given suitcases to check in and pick up. The bags didn't always make it to carousel.

mistakes

What It's Like to Stress-Test Berlin's Brand New, Much Maligned Airport

A little stressful, by design.

Long fringe and white paper often represented the death of a child, while black paper and short fringe was used for adults.

funeral food

The Lost Art of Swedish Funeral Confectionery

These beautiful mementos of mourning have all but disappeared.

The ifrit is the most meddlesome and sinister of the djinn.

monster mythology

Across the Islamic World, the Ifrit Brings Miseries Both Large and Small

To believe in them and other djinns is to acknowledge there is a world beyond our own.

The penanggalan detaches from her body to approach mothers, pregnant women, and infants.

monster mythology

The Malaysian Penanggalan Haunts Pregnant Women and Newborns

These provincial specters are as gruesome as they are hungry.

Is a fly is an odd decoration for a purse? Not when it hides the lens of a camera.

spycraft

For Sale: The Entire Spycraft Collection of New York's KGB Museum

If you ever needed a lipstick gun or a heartbeat detector, you could be in luck.

The legend of the sasabonsam became a way for Christian missionaries to exert control.

monster mythology

Sasabonsam Enforced the Rules of Renewal in West African Forests

At least until Christian missionaries made them more purely devilish figures.

The vodyanoy was the traditional explanation for watery misfortune.

monster mythology

The Proud, Demanding Vodyanoy Rules Russia's Rivers and Lakes

The legend has endured political disruption, revolution, and generational shifts.

According to legend, something worse than sorrow dwells in Lake Disappointment.

aboriginal

The Body Snatchers of Aboriginal Australia's Legends

The fearsome, fanged Ngayurnangalku haunt a dry lake bed in the outback.

Werehyenas could be proxies for all sorts of dangers—real and imagined.

monster mythology

The Myth of the Werehyena and the Fear of the Other in the Horn of Africa

Also known as "bouda," their scary stories could also be used to marginalize and dehumanize.

Tales of the onryō go back centuries.

monster mythology

Japan's Onryō Spirits Inhabit a Purgatory of Revenge and Cosmic Rage

Their supernatural historical tales reflect perceived wrongs, royal machinations, and intense jealousies.

There are a lot of theories about why it's called La California.

elections

The Italian Village of La California Hosted Its Own American Elections

It was a gag, but the community has long been tied to its namesake on the other side of the world.

La Patasola often targets lone men in the wilderness.

monster mythology

La Patasola Is the Vengeful Protector of the Andes

And a scary lesson on humility and respect for the natural world.