The Ghost of Christmas Past is alive and well, and making his usual rounds this Christmas. My own Yes Virginia moment in the Gothic Cabinet of Curiosities and Mysteries
Archive for the ‘Behind Urban Legends’ Category
To believe or not to believe, the power of myth and childhood
Posted in Behind Urban Legends, Uncategorized, tagged Christmas, Ghost of Christmas Past, Santa Claus, Yes Virginia on December 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Salem, Massachusetts: The Historical Record and a Salem Travelogue
Posted in Behind Urban Legends, true ghost stories, tagged Danvers, House of Seven Gables, salem puritans, salem tourism, Salem Village, witch trials salem, witchcraft salem, witches of salem on November 24, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Salem is a town riddled with cliche, hoary with history and a fascinating place to spend some time. This piece from the Gothic Cabinet of Curiosity and Mysteries travels to New England in search of the timeless quality, when witches were thought to roam the landscape.
The Pursuit of Ichabod Crane, from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving
Posted in Behind Urban Legends, Classic Gothic Ghost Stories, Uncategorized, tagged american gothic tales, gothic horror genre, gothic horror stories, gothic tale, Headless Horseman, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Sleepy Hollow photos. Old Dutch Church on October 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is perhaps America’s best known and most loved ghost story, told by the first great American author, Washington Irving. The Gothic Cabinet of Curiosities and Mysteries traces the route of Ichabod Crane that fateful night, in modern-day Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow.
An excerpt from Return to Sleepy Hollow. Click here to read the full essay.
The Legends and Myths of Mount Misery and Sweet Hollow Road, Part III. Mary takes another swing with her bloody hatchet on the big screen
Posted in Behind Urban Legends, The Legends & Myths of Mount Misery & Sweet Hollow Road, tagged Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet, gothic horror art, haunting stories, real urban legends, scary camp stories, urban legend stories, urban legends ghosts on September 12, 2009 | 1 Comment »
It’s approaching Halloween and we have another film based on the legend of Mary Hatchet of Sweet Hollow Road and Mount Misery. Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet is a hatchet job on the legends, which we look at in detail in this look at one of Long Island’s most popular Urban Legends in the Gothic Cabinet of Curiosities and Mysteries.
The Legends and Myths of Mount Misery and Sweet Hollow Road Pt. II: Of Native Americans, Mothmen, M.B.I.s and UFOs
Posted in Behind Urban Legends, The Legends & Myths of Mount Misery & Sweet Hollow Road, tagged Mount Misery Road, mount misery road huntington, mount misery road legends, Sweet Hollow Road, sweet hollow road stories on August 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Mount Misery and Sweet Hollow’s Road big-time debut came in the book the Mothman Prophecies by John Keel, but the legends stretch back further. Lost and confused in the history of the native Americans of Huntington and Plainview, we try to untangle the mysteries of the mothman, M.I.B. and UFOs in this haunted area. From the Gothic Curiosity Cabinet
The Legends and Myths of Sweet Hollow and Mount Misery: Part I, The Asylums of Mount Misery
Posted in Behind Urban Legends, The Legends & Myths of Mount Misery & Sweet Hollow Road, tagged gothic horror art, haunting stories, real urban legends, scary camp stories, urban legend stories, urban legends ghosts on August 31, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Legends abound on Mount Misery, perhaps none so popular as those of the asylums which supposedly stood there in the past. Take a look at the facts and decide for yourself, the truth behind one of Long Island’s most famous urban legends, from the Gothic Curiosity Cabinet.
Tales From Head of the Harbor & St. James Part II: What Lies Beneath Mary’s Grave
Posted in Behind Urban Legends, Tales From Head of the Harbor & St. James, tagged gothic horror art, haunting stories, real urban legends, scary camp stories, urban legend stories, urban legends ghosts on August 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
There’s some strange legends about Head of the Harbor, New York concerning Mary’s Grave and Mary Hatchet, associated with a couple of particular places. We take a look at what the truth is about these places, and what truth lies beneath the legends, from the Gothic Curiosity Cabinet
Tales From Head of the Harbor and St. James I: New Thoughts on Mary Hatchet and Mary’s Grave
Posted in Behind Urban Legends, Tales From Head of the Harbor & St. James, Uncategorized, tagged gothic horror art, haunting stories, real urban legends, scary camp stories, urban legend stories, urban legends ghosts on August 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
One of the most prolific folk tales and urban legend stories of Long Island is that of Hatchet Mary or Mary’s Grave. What many people don’t realize is that Hatchet Mary was a historical figure, and that the tale of Mary’s Grave is quite likely much older than many people believe. While it’s impossible to know for sure the truth behind the tale, there’s a lot more there than one might have known. Read more from the Gothic Curiosity Cabinet.
Curiosities
Mysteries
A Gothic Manifesto
In the eighteenth century a new form of literature emerged, the dark twin of the Romantic movement, which became known as Gothic. It dealt with ghosts and the supernatural, often along with haunted houses and castles, madness, poisonings and bloody murder, curses and dark secrets never fully spoken. Along the way, the term became detached from literature, just as Gothic authors had taken it from Gothic architects, and it became an adjective which describes a dark mood of nearly any sort, a feeling of melancholy sometimes hinting, sometimes explicitly supernatural. The world we live in certainly has a long history of darkness, of undefined creatures roaming the woodlands and moors, of haunted houses, family curses, madness and gruesome murder. Here we explore these subjects and others not as scientists, but as artists and collectors of tales. One characteristic which is often associated with the Gothic, is of dealings with events that happened in the past. Details are sketchy and often never revealed during the lives of those involved, and over time the stories become legends and myth, and as such the stories become fluid - there are no right or wrong versions. What we hope to do is take you to the places associated with these events, tell you the tale and for you to say "yeah, I could see that happening here." And if your face turns ashen, your hands begin to shake and you find yourself sleeping with the light on, so much the better. Please click here to read more ...Cabinet Master
Your guide to all things creepy, Todd Atteberry has been weird for most of his adult life. Responsible for the bulk of the writing and photography on this site, Todd (i.e. me) does this to purge his black soul of all that is contained therein, and to sell the occasional fine art print. Which really are things of beauty. Trust me. Would this face lie?



