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Magical, Mysterious, and Monstrous Discoveries – September 26-October 2 2026

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Magical, Mysterious, and Monstrous Discoveries – September 26-October 2 2026

Links to news items

  • Part 1
  • https://goodereader.com/blog/book-recommendations/the-top-10-best-new-kindle-books-for-october-2026
  • https://www.suggestionlabs.com/blog/other-mommy-how-scary
  • https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3961847/v-h-s-mixtape-announced-for-october-2026-premiere-on-shudder/
  • https://www.laughingplace.com/entertainment/20th-century-whalefall-release-date/
  • https://www.watchdarkly.com/articles/crawlers-2026
  • https://www.movieinsider.com/m25484/terrestrial
  • Part 2
  • https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-reveal-immersive-sensory-ancient.html
  • https://zodiacechoes.com/the-murderers-face-in-the-bowl-a-medieval-ritual-for-revealing-a-killer/
  • https://exa.ai/library/publication/tqxr7zsnk0k
  • https://zodiacechoes.com/medieval-ritual-for-raising-the-dead/
  • https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/ancient-egyptians/listen-father-1-700-year-old-tomb-discovered-in-egypt-contains-a-poem-in-ancient-greek-and-spells-to-protect-the-dead
  • https://phys.org/news/2026-09-christian-amulets-roman-traditions.html
  • https://ground.news/article/the-first-human-graves-were-dug-up-in-gobecli-tepa

    The Scarlet Ball by Nghi Vo

    • Format: Novel (Hardcover & Digital)
    • Release Date: October 6, 2026
    • Genre: Gothic Fantasy / Mystical Fiction

    Nghi Vo’s latest dark fantasy transports readers into a lush, ominous reimagining of Gilded Age opulence infused with supernatural intrigue. Centered around decadent society galas tainted by ancient occult pacts, the novel follows a desperate protagonist navigating the lethal whims of high society elites and lurking otherworldly forces. Vo weaves an evocative, atmospheric tapestry of mystical rituals, social climbing, and lingering dread.

    Other Mommy

    • Format: Theatrical Feature Film
    • Release Date: October 9, 2026
    • Genre: Supernatural Horror

    Directed by Rob Savage (Host) and produced by James Wan, this chilling adaptation of Josh Malerman’s novel Incidents Around the House stars Jessica Chastain in a dual role. Chastain portrays both a struggling mother and the malicious supernatural entity mimicking her from inside her eight-year-old daughter’s closet. The film delivers an R-rated exploration of psychological vulnerability and domestic malevolence.

    V/H/S/Mixtape

    • Format: Streaming Feature Film (Shudder)
    • Release Date: October 9, 2026
    • Genre: Found-Footage / Weird Fiction / Horror Anthology

    The ninth installment of the cult found-footage franchise shifts its terror toward auditory curses, sonic dissonance, and deadly frequencies. Curated specifically around a musical nightmare theme, this chapter features terrifying short segments directed by visionary artists including Flying Lotus, RZA, Ernest Dickerson, and Tobias Forge. The anthology incorporates practical special effects from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and an appearance by shock-rock band GWAR.

    Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen

    • Format: Novel (Hardcover & Digital)
    • Release Date: October 13, 2026
    • Genre: Eerie Gothic Thriller / Weird Mystery

    Marking Tara Goedjen’s adult fiction debut, this dual-timeline gothic mystery traps readers inside a remote, snowbound grand hotel nestled deep in the Austrian Alps. When strange historical secrets and disorienting architectural anomalies begin resurfacing, a woman investigating a family tragedy realizes the resort holds bizarre, unexplainable perils. The book balances classic uncanny psychological tension with bone-chilling alpine atmosphere.

    Whalefall

    • Format: Theatrical Feature Film (20th Century Studios)
    • Release Date: October 16, 2026
    • Genre: Science Fiction / Claustrophobic Survival Thriller

    Adapted from Daniel Kraus’s acclaimed scientifically grounded thriller, Whalefall is brought to the big screen by director Brian Duffield. The premise follows a grief-stricken scuba diver searching for his father’s remains off the coast, only to be swallowed whole by an eighty-foot sperm whale. With only an hour of oxygen remaining, the tale blends hard biological science fiction with visceral terror.

    Crawlers

    • Format: Theatrical Feature Film (Roadside Attractions / Saban Films)
    • Release Date: October 16, 2026
    • Genre: Creature Horror / Bio-Thriller

    Directed by Ángel Gómez Hernández and starring Matilda Lutz, Crawlers turns urban architecture into a claustrophobic death trap when a deadly new arachnid breed infests an apartment complex. The building is swiftly placed under military quarantine, forcing disparate residents to band together as swarms of venomous predators hunt through the walls and ventilation ducts.

    Terrestrial

    • Format: Theatrical Feature Film (Aero Films)
    • Release Date: October 16, 2026
    • Genre: Sci-Fi / Uncanny Psychological Thriller

    Directed by Steve Pink and starring Jermaine Fowler, James Morosini, and Pauline Chalamet, Terrestrial dissects paranoia, creative mania, and otherworldly intrusion. During an intimate reunion weekend among longtime college friends, a rising science fiction author begins to witness uncanny, impossible events surrounding his remote property. The boundaries between his speculative manuscripts and reality unravel violently.

    Acoustic and AI Reconstruction of Etruscan Tomb Demonology

    Researchers demonstrated how acoustic spatial modeling paired with machine-learning imaging reconstructed the experiential rituals of ancient Etruscan necropolises. The study revealed that wall paintings of chthonic demons and psychopomps were deliberately designed to interact with resonance patterns inside the chamber tombs. Chanted liturgies created disorienting auditory illusions intended to guide deceased souls and ward off malevolent forces during burial rites, linking ancient Mediterranean mythology directly to funerary acoustics.

    A 15th-Century Divination Ritual to Unmask Murderers

    A research analysis highlighted Experiment No. 22 from the famed 15th-century Latin occult manuscript Clm 849 (housed in Munich). The text describes a medieval forensic divination ritual that combined folk magic with early detective instincts, instructing the practitioner to gaze into a consecrated bowl of water to summon spirits capable of exposing the identity of a murderer or thief. It bridges late medieval religious ritual and early occult crime-solving.

    Subterranean Pagan Sanctuary in the House of Kybele

    Excavators at Aphrodisias in modern Turkey documented an underground pagan cult complex functioning well into the early seventh century AD, long after Christianization swept the Byzantine Empire. Hidden beneath the “House of Kybele,” the network of subterranean tunnels held marble votive figurines and ritual altars dedicated to the Anatolian mother goddess. The discovery offers rare material evidence of clandestine occult-religious rites persisting in urban domestic spaces despite strict imperial bans.

    A Necromancer’s Ring Designed to Make Corpses Speak

    A study of medieval grimoires re-examined an elaborate necromantic operation detailed in the Munich Manual of Demonic Magic (Clm 849). The grimoire prescribes fashioning an inscribed gold ring bound to six infernal spirits. According to the fifteenth-century Latin instructions, placing this consecrated talisman upon a deceased person was intended to compel the corpse to animate and speak truthful answers to questions, providing stark insight into genuine Renaissance-era fears of reanimation and necromancy.

    Greek Invocations and Spells in a 4th-Century Egyptian Tomb

    Excavations in Egypt’s Dakhla Oasis uncovered a fourth-century AD tomb featuring a rare intersection of classical verse and protective magic. Alongside traditional funerary spells aimed at safeguarding the deceased in the underworld, epigraphers identified a 19-line Greek poem dedicated to a local man named Pisechtes. The syncretic texts reveal how Romano-Egyptian communities blended Hellenistic mythology and magical amulets to ward off demons in Late Antiquity.

    Late-Roman Christian Amulets Adapting Pagan Magic

    A comparative study examined early Christian metal and parchment amulets across the post-Constantinian Roman world. The research demonstrated that newly Christianized households retained earlier Greco-Roman and occult traditions of magical protection, substituting pagan incantations with biblical verses and angelology while preserving identical physical binding rituals, folding techniques, and protective seals. This reveals how vernacular magic survived and transformed within orthodox Christian theology during the transition toward the early Middle Ages.

    First Intact Human Burials Discovered at Göbekli Tepe

    Archaeologists from the German Archaeological Institute revealed the first intact human burials ever discovered at the 11,000-year-old monumental site of Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey. Dating to between 8700 and 8000 BCE, the skeletons clarify decades of debate regarding scattered human bones originally attributed solely to an esoteric skull cult. The formal burials indicate domestic settlements and residential living alongside ritual monument use, fundamentally reshaping the understood purpose of the Neolithic architecture.

    #religioushistory #occult #magic #demonology

Magical, Mysterious, and Monstrous Discoveries – September 19-25 2026

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Magical, Mysterious, and Monstrous Discoveries – September 19-25 2026

Links to news items

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-909482

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-909385

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260922005715.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260919031035.htm

https://conference.hebrew.edu.rs/news/jordan-mcclinton-shiloh-favissa-202

Second Temple Pilgrim Mikvaot Uncovered at Jerusalem’s Ophel

On September 24, 2026, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced the unearthing of a monumental complex containing multiple Second Temple-era mikvaot (ritual purification baths) at the Ophel site near the foot of the Temple Mount. Dating to the first century CE, the finely dressed ashlar building featured three distinct ritual immersion pools connected to a two-meter-high drainage network emptying into the Kidron Valley. A remarkably preserved 4.2-meter-tall vaulted ceiling and carved floor drains point to sophisticated sacred hydraulic engineering designed for Jewish pilgrims preparing for temple worship before the complex was destroyed during the First Jewish Revolt in 70 CE.

A Wine Press Unearthed at the Temple of the Warrior Goddess Sekhmet

On September 23, 2026, a joint Egyptian-Chinese archaeological mission reported the discovery of a limestone wine press at the Temple of Sekhmet in Mit Rahina, the ancient capital of Memphis. Dedicated to Sekhmet—the fierce, lion-headed goddess of war, healing, and divine vengeance—the ritual installation features an upper pressing basin and a lower vat tailored for storage amphorae, with grape seeds still preserved inside. In Egyptian mythology, red wine was deeply entwined with Sekhmet’s cult, recalling the myth where humanity was saved after intoxicating the bloodthirsty goddess with crimson-dyed beer and wine.

Glacial Transport and Sacred Sourcing of Stonehenge’s Altar Stone

On September 23, 2026, geological and archaeological analyses reexamined the origins and journey of the central six-ton Altar Stone at Stonehenge. While recent petrographic sourcing traced the massive sandstone monolith to the Orcadian Basin in northern Scotland, new research published during this period presented compelling geological models indicating that ancient glacial sheets carried the megalith southward toward Dogger Bank before prehistoric builders hauled it onto Salisbury Plain. The findings reshape academic perspectives on Neolithic sacred geography, revealing how early monument builders incorporated both natural glacial drift and extensive human coordination into their sacred landscapes.

Decoding the 364-Day Divine Calendar of the Dead Sea Scrolls

A breakthrough study published in Tarbiz and highlighted on September 20, 2026, offered a resolution to a long-debated theological mystery found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The research demonstrates that the dissident Qumran sect rigorously practiced a solar calendar of exactly 364 days—yielding 52 neat weeks—which they believed represented an inviolable celestial blueprint authored at Creation. Rejecting the mainstream lunar-solar calendar administered by the Jerusalem priesthood, the sect viewed calendrical time as an esoteric boundary of divine righteousness, explaining why sacred time disputes sparked bitter ideological exile in the Judean desert.

Late Bronze Age Cultic Offerings and the Shiloh Favissa

On September 23, 2026, an exhaustive reassessment of biblical Shiloh’s ritual repository (favissa) revealed fresh details about sacred sacrificial activity during the Late Bronze Age. Excavation records and faunal studies published through the Enoch Seminar & Biblical Archaeology surveys analyzed a controlled subterranean deposit containing roughly 10,000 animal bones interspersed with cultic chalices, votive bowls, and ceremonial vessels. The systematic burial of sanctified items confirms ancient ritual decommissioning practices, demonstrating how sacred paraphernalia was permanently interred to prevent desecration before the establishment of monumental cultic architecture.

Bethany C. Morrow interview about her fantasy novel “A Song Below Water” (Tor/Forge, 2020)

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Bethany C. Morrow interview about her fantasy novel “A Song Below Water”

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/3cIdzNQ

Interview Timeline

Bethany C. Morrow writes speculative fiction and young adult fiction. Her debut novel was Mem and her latest novel is A Song Below Water. We spoke about the book, her science fiction passions, her writing process, and the fiction publishing industry.

0:35 – Bethany talks about what the novel is about.

3:54 – Bethany talks about the use of mythology and contemporary fantasy in the novel.

8:44 – Bethany explains the idea of a Mami Wata.

11:08 – Bethany talks about vitriol against black female authors on twitter and on online forums.

13:25 – Bethany talks about how she writes for black girls.

17:00 – Bethany talks about the editing of her book who can understand the themes she is exploring.

22:04 – Bethany explains why she chose Portland Oregon for the setting of the book.

27:32 – Bethany talks about what prompted her to write contemporary fantasy.

32:55 – Bethany talks about her love of science fiction and the Planet of the Apes series.

37:55 – Bethany talks about the speculative fiction she loves.

38:57 – Bethany talks about growing up with Star Trek.

41:15 – Bethany talks about the musical aesthetic of the book.

42:19 – Bethany talks about her writing process.

46:33 – Bethany talks about how her writing process has changed over time.

48:58 – Bethany talks about how her ideas develop.

50:51 – Bethany talks about her interest in sociology and clinical psychology.

52:56 – Bethany talks about spending time in Wales and what cultural relations were there.

56:04 – Bethany talks about the editing of her book.

56:40 – Bethany talks about loving the Star Trek holodeck and replicators.

59:38 – Bethany talks about disliking future sci-fi characters who are into 80s and 90s culture.

1:01:41 – Bethany talks about her future writing projects.

1:04:09 – Bethany talks about the strong interest in A Song Below Water and the obstacles for black female writers in getting published.

1:10:15 – Bethany is on twitter and instagram @bcmorrow and at bethanycmorrow.com.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3cIdzNQ

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250315328

https://www.bethanycmorrow.com/

https://twitter.com/BCMorrow

https://instagram.com/BCMorrow

Contact Information

For more “Full Contact Nerd” please follow me at crisalvarez.com, on Facebook at CrisAlvarezFCN, on youtube at Cris Alvarez on twitter @CrisAlvarezFCN, on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi, and on Apple / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast

Guests: Bethany C. Morrow

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: fantasy, writer, novel, novelist, fiction, sister-friends, Portland, magical, sirens, cosplay, mermaids, Mami Wata, Portland, progressive racism, buffy, true blood, Planet of the Apes, The Expanse, Star Trek, The Avengers, Containment, Lewis Duncan, Christopher Pike, Asimov, Wales, reclaimed classics, publishing

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/3cIdzNQ

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