Articles

A Walk Around The Historical And Occult Sites Of Oxford, England

June 7, 2017 By J.F. Penn

Oxford holds a special place in my heart. I read Theology at Mansfield College 1994 – 1997, so I spent formative years cycling around the streets, spending my student loan on books from Blackwells, rowing on the river, and studying in the Radcliffe Camera library.

I first dreamed of Oxford after reading Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure back in my teens, and the experience of living in the city of dreaming spires has certainly shaped my life … and my fiction!

Oxford is a key location in the ARKANE series. Home to Morgan Sierra, it provides a point of stability in her hectic life of international travel and defeating the bad guys! With its own ARKANE field office, Oxford also sees the start of Morgan’s life as an agent in Stone of Fire. You could say it's the intellectual balance for her supernatural adventures.

So Oxford has links with the occult through ARKANE, but what other weird tales lurk in the city of dreaming spires? Let’s take a walk around some of the historical and occult aspects of Oxford.

Oxford as the capital of England?

mansfield college oxford — Mansfield College, University of Oxford, where I read Theology 1994 – 1997

Oxford was briefly the capital of England during the English Civil War. The town supported the Parliamentarians, but the University supported the monarchy. King Charles I moved his court here in 1642 and he stayed at Christ Church College until 1646.

Local legends claim the tragic king still haunts the college, both with and without his head. Civil War ghosts also appear elsewhere in Oxford. A bedroom at Merton College was so haunted that no one could spend an entire night there. The library at the college is reportedly haunted by a former Royalist colonel, shot after surrendering to Parliamentarian forces in 1645.

There’s even a legend that Hitler intended to use Oxford as his capital if he invaded England so deliberately avoided bombing it. There’s no evidence to support the theory, but it certainly fits in with the occult leanings of the city. (Morgan comes up against the occult side of Nazi history in Gates of Hell.)

Divine power supported the founding of Oxford University

An interesting legend surrounds the founding of the university. A princess named Frideswide wanted to dedicate herself to the Church, but the king of Mercia wanted to marry her, so Frideswide fled to Oxford to escape him.

When the king entered the city in hot pursuit, a divine power struck him blind. His sight only returned when he begged forgiveness and released Frideswide from her betrothal. The king left empty-handed and Frideswide founded a nunnery. According to the legend, the first colleges were built for monastic scholars.

Despite the legend, women were only admitted in 1878. The university awarded degrees to women in 1920. The last all-male college opened to women in 1974.

oxford natural history — Interior of the Museum of Natural History, Oxford. Is the ARKANE base really underneath?

What would the old male founders of the colleges make of Morgan Sierra's Krav Maga skills?

Learning and knowledge

Oxford is most famous as a seat of learning. Evidence suggests the university has operated since 1096 AD and only the University of Bologna has been in operation for longer.

My Theology degree included some of the oldest subjects studied including the New Testament in ancient Greek, Israel before the Exile and Patristics, the study of the early church fathers. These papers shaped a number of my ARKANE books, and I spent much of my study time in the Radcliffe Camera, part of the Bodleian Library.

It is second only to British Library in terms of its holdings and the Bodleian stocks over 11 million items across several sites. It even extends into underground stacks, which I visited once, and became the inspiration for the underground ARKANE headquarters. A tunnel connects the Weston Library, the Old Bodleian and the Radcliffe Camera.

The famous Ashmolean Museum first opened to the public in 1683, the first museum in the world to be accessible to the public. It's one of the best things to see in Oxford, and it hosts an enviable collection of art and archaeology from around the world. Its Egyptian collection is one of the largest outside Cairo. Visitors can even write to the Ashmolean a week in advance to request access to the original drawings of Raphael and Michelangelo.

The Ashmolean is a perfect hiding place for one of the Seals of Revelation needed to resurrect the Great Serpent at the End of Days.

Elsewhere in Oxford, the Pitt Rivers Museum holds an amazing collection of archaeological and ethnographic objects from around the world. Founded in 1884, the museum has over half a million items. In my books, it’s also the public face of the Oxford branch of the ARKANE Institute, which nestles below the museum.

Most museums arrange their objects by geography or culture, but the Pitt Rivers Museum creates displays using types of object. That way, visitors can see how a range of cultures across a range of time periods have approached textiles, weapons, and even musical instruments.

Who knows what fascinating relics might lie among their Japanese Noh masks and Tahitian mourner's costumes?

Underground Oxford

In Stone of Fire, Jake alludes to the sprawling underground network below Oxford.

As well as the tunnels beneath the Bodleian Library, there's also a Norman crypt beneath St. Peter-in-the-East, now the college library of St. Edmund (Teddy) Hall. According to rumours, the crypt hides the entrance to a tunnel network that was used until the 1960s.

There are also legends about an underground passage that led into the crypt. King Henry II apparently used the tunnel when he visited Oxford. He passed through the tunnel to avoid his Queen while seeing his mistress. Sadly, no evidence has been found … yet.

Another series of underground tunnels connected the homes in the Oxford Jewish quarter. They lurk behind a medieval doorway below Oxford Town Hall.

Wells and gardens

blackwells — Blackwells bookshop with student bikes outside, Oxford. Booklovers get lost in there …

Wells and spas provide handy clues to the pagan roots of old English towns, including Oxford. The wells mark the sites of springs, often worshipped by earlier inhabitants for their magical properties. The town of Bath, where I live now, is a famous example.

St Margaret's Well lies in Binsey, 1.5 miles north-west of Oxford. Dedicated to Frideswide, its legend claims her prayers brought forth a healing spring when the king of Mercia was struck blind. The well became a site of pilgrimage during medieval times. Cured cripples would leave their crutches to adorn the nearby church when they left.

Pilgrims visited for its power in curing eye complaints and infertility and Katherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII, was even rumoured to pay the well a visit. Legend has it that Lewis Carroll based the treacle well in Alice in Wonderland on St Margaret's Well. It’s one of the more peaceful things to see in Oxford and some still believe in the curative properties of the water.

Oxford also boasts the oldest Botanic Garden in the world. Founded as a physic garden in 1621, the Botanic Garden was always intended as a learning resource. Nowadays the Garden works within plant conservation, as well as conducting research at Oxford University.

Oxford and strange fiction

Oxford is important to my ARKANE books, but it also has (more famous!) literary links, particularly with fantasy fiction. Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) taught at Christ Church College. He was friends with the Dean and immortalised his daughter in fiction as Alice in Wonderland.

Writer Kenneth Grahame attended St Edward's School in Oxford. He's buried in the city’s Holywell Cemetery. Perhaps his time in Oxford inspired the otherworldly atmosphere of The Wind in the Willows.

JRR Tolkien photo from the Eagle and Child, Oxford

The Great Hall at Christ Church inspired the dining hall of Hogwarts, while the staircase leading to the hall appears in the Harry Potter films. The locations around the college are some of the more popular things to see in Oxford.

Given that Oxford has the highest number of published writers per square mile, maybe there's something in the air that seeps into fiction.

Charles Williams must have thought so. He was part of the Inklings, a group of Oxford writers that also included J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. Williams wrote poetry about the Arthurian legends and supernatural novels about the spiritual realm breaking into daily reality.

He was also a member of The Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, a secret Rosicrucian fraternity. Arthur Edward Waite founded the group in 1915 and blended spiritual esotericism and Christianity. Unlike the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the FRC rejected magic. A lot of its members were Freemasons and they sought knowledge more than power.

The occult in Oxford

Charles Williams couldn’t have picked a better city if he wanted to explore the occult. There's something about the city that inspires the spirit. The word ‘occult’ means ‘knowledge of the hidden,’ so what better place than this seat of learning for occult traditions?

Students have dabbled in the occult across the centuries. Adam Squier, a Master of Balliol College in the 16th century, was almost expelled after he sold demons to help his clients win at gambling. The famous Tudor magician, John Dee, thought highly of another student, Thomas Heth.

In recent years, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn inspired the founding of the Oxford Golden Dawn Occult Society (OGDOS). It's a magical order that teaches a more modern form of magic than the older Golden Dawn system.

The OGDOS are working to re-establish a resource centre in Oxford. They want to provide a space for ritual gatherings. Its founder, Mogg Morgan, is the CEO of the Mandrake of Oxford publishing press, specialising in occult titles. Elsewhere in the city, the Inner Bookshop on Magdalen Road carries occult books.

Part of the northern end of All Souls College was re-designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, 18th-century architect and Freemason. A series of architectural conspiracy theories surround his London churches and his work often includes obelisks, pyramids and other elements hinting at pagan influences at odds with ecclesiastical buildings.

While they can’t be attributed to Hawksmoor, many of the college buildings are also home to a host of gargoyles. Some are just faces and others are whole people. The comedy grotesques are some of the more unusual things to see in Oxford.

blackfriars — The door to Blackfriars, where I used to have Theology tutorials, and where Ben Costanza from the ARKANE series lives and teaches

Elsewhere in the city stands Sir Christopher Wren’s first major commission – the magnificent Sheldonian Theatre. Like his apprentice Hawksmoor, Wren was a Freemason. He used the traditions of the Kabbalah and sacred geometry from the Old Testament in his work. Perhaps the journey of Wren and Hawksmoor into the occult began in Oxford.

Morgan Sierra investigates the Freemasons' Grand Lodge of England in the hunt for the Ark of the Covenant in Ark of Blood.

You can plot your own plan of esoteric things to see in Oxford

Try following in Morgan’s footsteps and start with the museums. Explore some of the nooks and crannies of the colleges for a small fee. Seek out ancient springs or keep your eyes open for hidden entrances to secret tunnels.

Keep an open mind while you wander. Who knows where those winding alleyways may take you?

Begin your journey into Oxford’s ARKANE side with Stone of Fire, or binge the whole series in ebook, print or audiobook.

12 Of The World’s Weirdest Museums That You Really Should Visit

May 14, 2017 By J.F. Penn

If you think of museums, you might think of the majesty of the British Museum or the industrial heritage of the Railway Museum.

But you’d miss out on the darker, more unusual, or just plain bizarre side of life. Choosing to visit the weirdest museums instead can be a truly enlightening experience.

I’ve collected together 12 of the strangest museums around the world that are all worth a visit. You’ll encounter mummies, vampires, torturers, and maybe even Bigfoot.

Choose carefully, and visit with an open mind. Who knows what new ideas or fascinations will emerge for you?

1. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, England

oxfordpittrivers — Inside the Oxford Museum of Natural History, the Pitts Rivers is at the back … and ARKANE is underneath!

The Pitt Rivers Museum is a place close to my heart as the public front of the ARKANE Institute in my thrillers. The collection is also perhaps one of the weirdest museums in the UK. General Pitt Rivers founded the museum in 1884, and there are now over half a million objects.

It's notable for its typological displays. Most museums display their objects based on cultures or geography. Not the Pitt Rivers. Here, curators group objects according to type. It makes the similarities between people and cultures, often across vast time periods or extensive physical distance, all the more obvious. So it’s important to anthropology and an interesting viewing experience for visitors. There are some particularly gruesome shrunken heads, as well as giant wooden birds of paradise, their spiraling feathers like huge tongues, and the agonized face of a Christian martyr statue, neck twisted towards his God, desperate for release, next to a case of ceremonial knives for stripping the flesh from sacrificial animals.

It's super weird. What better home for ARKANE?!

2. La Specola, Florence, Italy

This quiet, unassuming gallery lies within the Museum of Natural History in Florence. The rest of the museum houses taxidermy and other exhibits relating to its subject. But La Specola is the part you need to see. It's home to the largest collection of anatomical wax figures, including over 1400 models.

Most of them date to the 18th century and students still pop in to study their realistic forms. The famous Anatomical Venus is a must-see, a full-size version of the tiny memento mori that is the key to solving a murder in my London Psychic thriller, Desecration.

As La Specola is on the south side of the River Arno, it’s also a lot more peaceful than other attractions like the Uffizi or Duomo. So if you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Florence, and see something unusual, then this is a brilliant destination.

3. Museum of Vampires and Legendary Creatures, Paris, France

It’s no surprise you’d find this museum just 2.4km from the awe-inspiring Pere Lachaise cemetery. Jacques Sirgent, a scholar of the macabre, founded the museum as a place to collect his research into vampirism and esoterism.

This strange museum shares the strange, cryptic history of Paris. It also contains vampire killing kits, antique books, toys and collectables relating to Hammer Films and Dracula, and other pop culture items. Adding to the air of mystery, you need to reserve your place on their guided tours.

Some of the weirdest museums often double as libraries, and the Museum of Vampires is no different. You can buy an annual membership for €60, which entitles you to unlimited access to the books and magazines held by the museum.

4. International Cryptozoology Museum, Portland, Maine, USA

Stephen King country is the ideal location for this strange museum. Covering Big Foot, the Jersey Devil and other folkloric creatures, the museum holds a range of memorabilia, souvenirs, toys, and research materials on all things cryptozoology.

The museum has moved location several times, with its premises growing to accommodate its ever-expanding collection.

The website describes it as the world’s only cryptozoology museum, and it’s also noted as a formal collection. It’s open every day except Tuesdays, so if you want to see the Feejee Mermaid, or learn more about the coelacanth, then it’s worth a visit.

5. Funeral Museum, Vienna, Austria

This macabre attraction is one of the weirdest museums in Vienna. Funerals were historically a major event in this European capital, and tourists still line up to visit the Imperial crypt. The Funeral Museum capitalises on the trend towards all things funerary, displaying hearses, mourning attire, and items designed to help those who found themselves buried alive.

One of the stand-out exhibits is a re-usable coffin, designed by Emperor Josef II in 1784. The bottom of the coffin is a trap door, allowing the corpse to drop into the grave without burying the coffin itself. It's the ultimate in recycling, yet the Viennese were unimpressed.

You can also find out more about the Viennese Cult of the Dead at this strange museum.

6. Museo de Las Momias (Mummy Museum), Guanajuato, Mexico

In the mid-19th century, the people of the small mining town of Guanajuato interred hundreds of bodies interred in the Santa Paula Pantheon’s crypts in. Authorities later exhumed the bodies if their families couldn't pay the town's mandatory burial tax.

During these exhumations, town officials discovered that the climate of the region had naturally mummified the bodies. The first body was exhumed in 1865, making the mummified French doctor the oldest of the collection. Visitors originally saw the mummies in situ in the catacombs, something of a clandestine experience as viewing the corpses was not permitted.

Around 100 bodies, including those of infants and children, later moved to the Museo de Las Momias, or Mummy Museum. The poignant museum is a touching testament to the body after death.

7. Torture Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Europe may seem like a space of civilisation and progress now, but its dark history is never far below the surface. It sometimes seems ready to erupt again, an idea I explored in One Day in Budapest.

Amsterdam is now seen as a liberal city of life and culture, but their Torture Museum displays over 40 torture devices actually used during interrogations. Witches, political prisoners and criminals all fell foul of these decapitation swords and the infamous inquisition chair.

But the museum’s curators recognise that almost 100 countries still practise modern torture. The museum runs educational events for students and supports the UN Convention Against Torture.

8. Museum of Death, New Orleans, USA

With a name like that, the Museum of Death has a lot to live up to. Definitely one of the weirdest museums in the capital of the strange, the Museum of Death is not a subtle place.

The Museum of Death originates from a San Diego art gallery after its founders JD Healy and Cathee Shultz decided that people had become too distanced from death.

On display, you'll find body bags, coffins, old mortician equipment, photographs from crime scenes and morgues, images of the Manson Family, and much more. The self-guided tour lasts 45 minutes, although visitors are welcome to stay for as long as they can stand it.

If you have a strong stomach, then the Museum of Death is the place for you. I visited the museum with my co-authors during the writing of American Demon Hunters: Sacrifice.

9. Žmuidzinavičius Museum, Kaunas, Lithuania

Founded in 1966, the Žmuidzinavičius, or Devil’s Museum, collects and displays carvings of devils from around the globe. When it opened, it contained just 260 sculptures. Visitors left their own devils, and by 2009, the collection held 3000 objects.

The exhibits range from wood to stone and ceramic although some of the items are also masks. They also contain pebbles whose markings resemble the devil.

Some of the simple statues express both folk myths and political ideologies. A famous sculpture shows Hitler and Stalin dancing as devils across human bones. Maybe you have a devil stone you can leave behind if you visit.

10. Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh, UK

Edinburgh is a curious city, divided between the gleaming Georgian New Town and the twisting cobbled closes of the Old Town. Between the South Bridge Vaults and Greyfriar’s Kirkyard, it’s a mecca for anyone who likes a taste of the macabre or the unusual.

Yet one of the weirdest museums in Britain lies below a government building on the Royal Mile. Mary King’s Close is a monument to the old narrow streets that lie on either side of this historic strip between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace. There are rumors that those infected with the plague were walled up here alive.

Take a guided tour below ground and see the tiny rooms and stifling chambers that inhabitants once called home. There’s even a legend of a little girl ghost named Annie, and tourists often leave stuffed toys and dolls for her to play with.

If you’re lucky, she might tug your coat to say hello.

11. Museum of Holy Souls in Purgatory, Rome, Italy

In the Catholic faith, souls pass through Purgatory on their way to heaven. You pay for your sins in Purgatory. The soul made its way through Purgatory faster if more of the living said prayers to speed them along. In earlier centuries, people handed out ‘soul cakes’ to the poor at Halloween, in exchange for the poor saying prayers for their relatives.

But this truly strange museum displays objects apparently marked by burning hands belonging to the souls of Purgatory. According to legend, a fire in the original church inspired a French missionary to build the museum. He discovered the scorched image of a face which he assumed was a trapped soul.
You can find the museum at the back of the Sacro Cuore del Suffragio church.

12. Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle, UK

Cornwall might be more famous nowadays as Poldark country. But this bizarre museum houses the world's largest collection of items relating to witchcraft and magic. The museum previously existed in Stratford-upon-Avon, and on the Isle of Man, where Gerald Gardner, the founder of modern Wicca, acted as the witch in residence. The museum moved to Boscastle in 1960.

A prehistoric maze is carved into the rock face three miles from its location, linking the museum with the magic of ancient times.

The museum holds over 3000 objects and 7000 books and stages temporary exhibitions along with public events. While some of the displays may seem unusual, remember that Wicca is a legitimate spiritual path, so be respectful.

Any, or all, of these museums offer unique learning opportunities. They also capture the sides of human life that extend beyond the classical ideas preserved by traditional ideas. They’re also a lot of fun!

9 Secret Libraries Around The World And How To Find Them

May 8, 2017 By J.F. Penn

For book lovers around the world, secret libraries hold the promise of mysteries and hidden knowledge. So where can you actually find them?

The destruction of the ancient library of Alexandria still prompts a sob from book lovers today. Losing so much knowledge and wisdom certainly pains scholars. But books aren’t just important to academics.

We’ve all curled up in our favourite chair, a mug of hot tea or coffee to hand, happy to while away the hours with adventurers that become friends across the course of a book.

But there’s something magical about the quiet reverence of libraries, the hush broken only by rustling pages, or the scratching of pens. My books feature plenty of hidden archives and secret libraries, holding many riddles among their shelves. And while Martin Klein works to digitise the ARKANE archive in my thrillers, there’s still something special about libraries, especially secret ones.

So here are 9 secret libraries–and how to find them!

1) Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK

The Bodleian isn’t so much a secret library as a forgotten one. The Bodleian is older than the British Library and dates back to the days of Elizabethan magician John Dee, opening in 1602.

These days, it’s not just one library – it’s a collection of several, covering history, medicine, the law, and music, among other subjects. You can visit and tour some of the public rooms, but mostly, you need to apply for access.

Non-students can apply for a Reader card if you have a research need that the library can meet. Find out how to get access here. Just don’t expect to get in if you only want somewhere quiet to work.

When I was a student at Oxford, I used to work in the Radcliffe Camera, the domed theology library. It features in Stone of Fire, and also more recently in End of Days, as the research library for Father Ben Costanza. The Bodleian is also the starting place for Deborah Harkness' All Souls Trilogy, which I really enjoyed reading.

2) John Hay Library, Rhode Island, USA

vesalius — An illustration from the Vesalius book

Books bound in human skin are rare. But the John Hay Library holds three of them. One is De humani corporis fabrica (On the Structure of the Human Body) by Andreas Vesalius, one of the most famous textbooks on anatomy. The book was one of the inspirations for Desecration and also features in American Demon Hunters: Sacrifice.

The John Hay Library also has two copies of Hans Holbein the Younger's Dance of Death, rebound in human skin in 1898.

If that's not occult enough for your tastes, then they also hold papers by H. P. Lovecraft, papyri from ancient Egyptian, clay tablets from Babylon, and Napoleon's death mask. What other ritualistic books might hide on their shelves?

3) Book and Bed Tokyo, Japan

If you've ever dreamed of falling asleep in a fort made of books, then this bookshop-themed hotel might help you fulfil that. Guests book sleeping compartments surrounded by bookshelves boasting 1,700 titles in both English and Japanese.

It's less of a library and more of a book-friendly hostel. But guests can stay up reading as late as they like. Their website explains that the Book and Bed is not designed to provide a good night's sleep – so don’t expect comfy beds and fluffy pillows.

Instead, Book and Bed lets guests browse at their leisure, and doze off in their snug compartment among the bookshelves.

4) Little Free Library, worldwide

penn london library — I read a lot of ebooks, but I still enjoy the stacks of a library!

These secret libraries have more than one branch. Run as a non-profit organisation, Little Free Library works using principles of community and creativity. Volunteers, known as stewards, build their own Little Free Library they host in their own community.

The concept is simple. Readers may take books to read or leave books behind for others. People can donate books by leaving them in their nearest Little Free Library. It's a great way for people to share their favourite books with their local community.

Stewards can get access to free and discounted books through the partners of the main organisation. Their goal is to increase access to books for all readers but mainly those in their local area. In November 2016, there were over 50,000 registered Little Free Library exchanges around the world.

If you want to search for Little Free Libraries near you, visit their map! Or if you love the idea of starting one, click here to find out how.

5) Szabo Ervin Library, Hungary

Budapest is a fascinating city to visit, and it certainly captured my imagination when I wrote One Day in Budapest. But as well as holding the Holy Right Hand, the city is also home to the Szabo Ervin Library, king of the secret libraries.

You won't find it in many guidebooks, which is a shame because it's worth seeing. It was originally a palace built in the 19th century, and the library hides within the modern library surrounding it.

The rooms of the beautiful Wenckheim Palace became reading rooms for the new Central Library in 1931. The old Smoking Room is a must-see space, with its gallery and spiral staircase.

6) Book Club of California, San Francisco

A poet, a book collector, a bookstore owner and a printer founded this safe house of print in 1912. The Club originally only promoted writing from California, but it now covers the West as a whole.

The Club has published over 200 books, and like all the best secret libraries, their clubhouse also holds its own collections of rare books.

Best of all, it's open to the public during the day. So if you’re a person who still distrusts the Kindle, you’ll be right at home at the Book Club.

7) The Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle, UK

The largest independent library outside of London is affectionately known as the Lit and Phil. A stone’s throw from Newcastle upon Tyne’s Central Station, this gorgeous Georgian-styled building first opened in 1825. It now holds over 160,000 titles and its mission remains the same – to educate the people of the city.

Academics discovered a mistranslation of an Egyptian mummy’s name thanks to forgotten documents hidden on the Lit and Phil’s shelves. You can see Bakt-en-Hor in all her glory at the nearby Great Museum North.

It also provides meeting spaces and hosts regular talks and performances to help raise funds for the library. Members can even borrow books by post!

8) The Bookbike of Pima County, USA

This is one library that should not be a secret. The Pima County Public Library in Tucson, Arizona provides the Bookbike of Pima County. Volunteers hand out free books and library cards and provide information about local library and literacy programs. There are three Bookbikes, all run by volunteers. They gave away 11,276 books in 2012!

The Bookbikes make monthly visits to a range of locations, including a farmers' market, a soup kitchen, low-income housing, an LGBT centre for teenagers, and a women's shelter. The volunteers behind the Bookbike want to reach potential readers who find it difficult to access libraries. If the readers can't go to the libraries, they'll just bring the library to them. Simple!

You can find them on Facebook if you’d like to know where they’ll be next.

9) Vatican Secret Archives, Vatican City, Italy

No list of secret libraries would be complete without an entry on the Vatican. Brought to the public’s attention by Dan Brown’s thriller Angels and Demons, the archives opened to selected groups in 2010. Previously, only approved academics could gain access.

You can find the archives in a wing of the Vatican behind St Peter's Basilica. There are more than 52 miles of shelving below ground, and the oldest document dates to the 8th century.

The archives also hold letters about King Henry VIII's annulment from Catherine of Aragon, trial records for the Knights Templar in the early 14th century, and correspondence between the Vatican and figures like Michelangelo and even Hitler. The archives also feature in my ARKANE thriller, Destroyer of Worlds.

The Vatican like to claim the archives are private, rather than secret. But there is still a section inaccessible to academics. What hidden treasures might lie within?

This list just scratches the surface of the world of secret libraries. So next time you visit a new city, see if you can find a hidden treasure trove tucked away.

Like The Da Vinci Code? Try These 9 Weird Conspiracy Theories About Art

April 4, 2017 By J.F. Penn

Conspiracy theories are not exactly new. Humans just love coming up with strange – or suspicious – explanations for unusual behaviour. But The Da Vinci Code definitely popularised the idea that codes and secrets could be hidden in works of art.

And where better to hide a secret than in plain sight? Only the initiated can understand it and decode the message.

Even if you’re not sure that the figure in Da Vinci’s The Last Supper is Mary Magdalene, here are some other artistic conspiracy theories that you might find more plausible!

Michelangelo immortalised Mary Magdalene in marble, not the Virgin Mary

Michelangelo's Pieta depicts the crucified body of Jesus lying in the arms of the Virgin Mary. It's one of the most famous sculptures in the history of art.

But commentators aren't exactly buying it. After all, Jesus was 33 when he died – but Mary doesn't look much older. That’s not exactly surprising. After all, the Virgin Mary is nearly always represented in an idealised way.

Or is there more to it?

Art historian Cinzia Chiari put forward a different theory in the Biblical Conspiracies series. For her, the statue is indeed of Mary. Only not the Virgin Mary. No, the Mary in the sculpture could be Mary Magdalene.

Is Michelangelo saying that Mary Magdalene was Jesus' lover?

Possibly. Or maybe he's just returning Mary Magdalene to her place in history. After all, she was present at the crucifixion. According to the gospel of John, Mary was also the first to discover Jesus had left his tomb. The Pieta might mark Michelangelo’s attempt to depict her sadness at his death.

But the discovery of a terracotta model in 2010 shows that Cupid was originally supposed to be in the scene too. It can’t be confirmed that the model was made by Michelangelo, but experts are convinced that only he would be brazen enough to put a Greek god in a sculpture intended for the Vatican.

But as Cupid was the god of romantic love, it makes more sense that he'd appear in a scene between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Michelangelo also thumbed his nose at the church – in the Sistine Chapel

One of Michelangelo's greatest works is his Sistine Chapel painting. It tells the story of the Book of Genesis.

But its success rests on a slightly morbid part of Michelangelo's past. At the age of 17, he started dissecting corpses to better understand human anatomy. It's unclear if he was given them, or he dug them up. The latter would make him a more famous bodysnatcher than Burke and Hare.

But Michelangelo wasn't looking to sell the bodies. He just wanted to make anatomical sketches. And some of these are hidden within his Sistine Chapel paintings.

In 1990, physician Frank Meshberger spotted an anatomical illustration of the human brain in cross section. Michelangelo hid it inside the God Creating Adam central panel.

But in 2010, Ian Suk and Rafael Tamargo also found precise illustrations of the spinal cord and brain stem within The Separation of Light from Darkness. The brain stem even forms God's throat!

Experts are unsure if the hidden illustrations were intentional, but artistic conspiracy theories exist about their possible meaning. Michelangelo grew disenchanted with the Church – believing instead in the possibility of direct communication with God.

And with the Church's denunciation of science, was Michelangelo making fun of their stance? Or is it just another of art’s strange conspiracy theories?

British artist Walter Sickert was Jack the Ripper – and he painted scenes of his murders

The identity of Jack the Ripper is probably one of the most hotly contested debates of the last 128 years. It seems that everyone from Prince Albert to Richard Mansfield was accused of being one of history’s most notorious serial killers.

But in 2001, novelist Patricia Cornwell added a new name to the list in her book, Ripper: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert. Cornwell even spent £2m buying 32 of the British artist's paintings, as well as some of his letters, in her efforts to prove his guilt.

Most famous for painting both nudes and nightlife scenes, Sickert captured the dancers and lower orders of London. Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec did much the same in Paris.

And it’s these paintings that provide the ‘evidence', particularly a series of grim paintings created in 1908. Known as The Camden Town Murder, they were inspired by the murder of a prostitute in the Camden area.

Cornwell claims the paintings are too similar to the autopsy photos of the Ripper's victims to be a coincidence. She even had one of them torn up, looking for evidence.

DNA samples were taken from both the letters allegedly written by the Ripper and those written by Sickert. There were no matches, though Cornwell was triumphant when two of the letters had the same unusual watermark.

Given Sickert's father was a stationer, it's fair to assume he supplied a lot of people with paper.

Cornwell herself admits it’s nigh-on impossible to know for certain who Jack the Ripper was. She maintains it was Walter Sickert…but the rest of the art world disagrees.

The Mona Lisa contains a hidden code in her eyes

You can't discuss conspiracy theories about art and not mention the Mona Lisa. She's been the subject of intense scrutiny for many years. The common belief is that the woman is Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florence merchant. Others believe she was his mother.

But is the figure actually a man – or even Da Vinci himself? And where exactly is the painting set?

Stranger still, Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage claimed that a secret message was embedded in the painting. According to them, Da Vinci put tiny numbers and letters into the eyes.

Now, such letters can only be seen by magnifying high-resolution images of the painting. They're invisible to the naked eye. Apparently ‘LV’ appears in the right eye, while the figures in the left eye are harder to understand.

But experts agree that the letters are difficult to read clearly. So did Da Vinci foresee the development of magnification technology? Or are people just seeing what they want to see?

Conspiracy theorists note that da Vinci took the painting everywhere with him in his later life. Was he protecting a secret message? Or just protective of his final image of his mother?

The Last Supper hides a musical secret

Da Vinci’s The Last Supper was critical to the plot of The Da Vinci Code. And like the Mona Lisa, the painting apparently hides secrets beyond the identity of the figures. In this case, a musical score.

This secret doesn't hinge on the figures – but the bread rolls on the table.

In 2007, computer technician Giovanni Maria Pala noticed the placement of the rolls looked like musical notes. He drew a musical staff across the painting to find out what the notes were.

Played left to right, the music makes little sense. But Da Vinci always wrote right to left. Following that logic, the loaves (and the hands of the Apostles) become a 40-second musical score.

Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Da Vinci museum in Tuscany, admitted that Da Vinci was also a musician. The spaces in the painting provide the proof that the rolls and hands were intended to act as musical notes. Even detractors note the music is too perfect to be a simple coincidence.

Rembrandt and Vermeer traced their masterpieces

Tracing images is a tool beloved of artists and designers when they want to save time. Adobe Illustrator even includes an Image Trace option if you want to turn a scanned image into a vector graphic. But could two of history’s most realistic painters have traced their famous works?

The term ‘camera obscura’ appeared in 1604. It describes a device that projects real life images onto nearby surfaces. We'd recognise it today as an early type of camera.

But David Hockney thinks that 17th-century artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer used similar devices to create the basis of their lifelike paintings.

Hockney came up with his theory after comparing the projection-trace drawings of Andy Warhol with 19th-century drawings by Jean-Dominique Ingres. The parallels got him thinking – could other artists have traced their masterpieces from real life?

The art establishment deplored Hockney’s conclusion, but researcher Tim Jenison teamed up with Penn and Teller to see if it could be done. They built a set to match Vermeer's The Music Lesson and set up a camera obscura.

No one can say one way or the other if Vermeer and Rembrandt were even aware of the camera obscura at the time. But the results seem to speak for themselves…

Francisco Goya didn’t paint his infamous Black paintings

If you’re looking for the best representations of nightmares on canvas, then Francisco Goya is a good place to start. Or is he?

The Spanish artist Goya was originally known for traditional portraits or war scenes.

But he suffered a serious illness in 1819. After his recovery, he decorated the walls in two rooms with dark, nightmarish visions. The paintings would become the Black Paintings, now in the Museo del Prado.

Saturn Devouring His Son is perhaps his most famous gruesome image.

In the traditional story, Goya signed the house over to his grandson, Mariano, in 1823. The following year he moved to France. Mariano apparently only discovered the paintings after Goya died.

Art historian Juan Jose Junquera doesn't buy that explanation. After all, Goya still received visitors while he was in the house. But no one ever reported seeing the paintings – and you can't exactly miss them.

Only one inventory of the house ever mentions the paintings. Published in 1928, the authors claim it was written in the 1820s. But Junquera believes it’s a fake, because it uses contemporary descriptions of objects rather than early 19th century words.

Even more strange, the original bill of sale of the house describes a one-storey dwelling. The upper storey was added in 1830. The Black Paintings were found on both the house's upper and ground floors…but the upper level was added two years after Goya's death.

Instead, Goya expert Juliet Wilson-Bareau pointed to Goya's son, Javier, as the real creator of the paintings.

Javier could paint, and he knew his father’s techniques well. But he'd never made money as an artist. What better opportunity than the death of his mentally unstable father to finally sell his work?

A painting of Elizabethan magician John Dee had skulls removed

John Dee, the Tudor scientist and occultist, appears in an intriguing Victorian painting by Henry Gillard Glindoni. In it, Dee performs an experiment for Elizabeth I and her court.

But that's not the weird part. X-rays have revealed that a ring of human skulls originally encircled Dee. The ghoulish secret was painted over.

Most experts think the changes were to make the painting more palatable to buyers. But the conspiracy theories say otherwise. While Dee is now known as more of a scientist, in his lifetime he was something of a conjurer.

What we call science now was closer to ‘natural philosophy’ in Dee’s day – and considered more like magic.

Exhibition curator Katie Birkwood believes the editing trick was to help cement a more serious and stately reputation for Dee. But last year, the Royal College of Physicians ran at an exhibition about John Dee's lost library. And it included his crystal ball and an obsidian mirror.

Perhaps Dee was more of a magician after all…

Vincent Van Gogh may have created his own homage to The Last Supper.

The Cafe Terrace at Night (1888) shows an evening scene of diners at a cafe. They're enjoying the night air while a waiter moves between them.

But Jared Baxter thinks it is Vincent Van Gogh’s homage to The Last Supper. The waiter seems to have long hair, and his white uniform resembles Jesus’ white tunic. Crucially, twelve diners sit at the tables around him. There's also a shadowy figure exiting stage left. Taken together, Baxter thinks the composition echoes Da Vinci's.

It sounds like another of the far-fetched conspiracy theories. That’s until you discover that at the time he painted it, Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo about the work, explaining that he had a “tremendous need for, shall I say the word—for religion.”

There's even a large cross in the painting, in the window behind the waiter/Jesus.

Perhaps the troubled artist wanted to explore the security of religion. Or maybe he just wanted to reference the work of a master painter. You can decide for yourself!

Do you know any other artistic conspiracy theories?

All of these conspiracy theories rest on hidden meanings or codes. Perhaps we’ve all been fooled into thinking they’re more than just awe-inspiring works of art.

Or maybe the conspiracy theories are true. But next time you’re passing an art gallery, try taking a look at their permanent collection. Who knows what you’ll find hidden in the oil or marble?

15 Amazing Ancient Goddesses from Around the World

February 14, 2017 By J.F. Penn

I really enjoy reading books with strong female characters, but empowered women are not a recent phenomenon in stories.

Female power was also venerated in ancient times, as portrayed by these kickass goddesses from around the world.

1) Kali

Kali often appears as a dark or angry goddess with blue skin, a garland of skulls and a knife, her tongue red with the blood of those she devours.

In each of her origin stories, she emerges through anger to destroy evil forces. In one tale, two demons attack the goddess Durga. Kali emerges from Durga's wrath and defeats the demons.

In another story, she fights an ancient demon, Raktabija. Each drop of his blood gives birth to a clone when it touches the ground.

During the battle, Kali cuts Raktabija and drinks his blood. She even eats his clones. The aggressive effect of his blood turns the goddess into a destroyer.

Yet despite her terrifying reputation, Kali is the ultimate protector against evil. Some even believe she will continue to exist after the end of the universe. In my thriller, Destroyer of Worlds, there is a pivotal scene set in a temple devoted to Kali …

2) Sekhmet

Sekhmet goddess statue — A large marble statue of the ancient Egyptian goddess Sekhmet. This lioness faced goddess statue is located in the temple of Medinet Habu on the West bank of the Nile at Luxor, Egypt

They don't get more powerful than the Egyptian deity, Sekhmet. Her name even translates as ‘Powerful One.'

Her main centre of worship lay in Memphis and the lioness-headed goddess represented The Destroyer. But strangely, for such a destructive figure, her priests were skilled doctors and healers worshipped her as their patroness. It seems the sender of plagues could also cure them.

But Sekhmet could also be fearsome. In one legend, Ra grew angry with mankind. They stopped following his laws and lost interest in justice, so he sent Sekhmet to punish them.

Her rampage decimated mankind until Ra decided things had gone far enough. She wouldn't listen, so consumed by blood lust, so Ra mixed beer with pomegranate juice. He poured the ‘blood' in front of her and Sekhmet got so drunk she promptly fell asleep. Her blood lust disappeared when she woke up 3 days later.

3) Ishtar

Ishtar ruled sex, power, fertility, love and war in ancient Mesopotamia. Her sex appeal was so great that when she descended into the underworld, all sexual activity ended on earth. Some myths claim that Ishtar entered the land of the dead to rescue her lover, Tammuz.

ishtargate — Ishtar Gate, from ancient Babylon

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, she proposes to the eponymous hero – but he refuses. She turns to her father, Anu, for help. Ishtar threatens to break open the doors of hell if he doesn't give her the Bull of Heaven. She made a similar threat to the gatekeeper of the underworld.

Anu gives her the Bull and she sends it after Gilgamesh. The hero kills it and Ishtar mourns the Bull with her courtesans. Ishtar is certainly a forceful goddess!

The Ishtar Gate, the entranceway to ancient Babylon, features as a key place in ARKANE thriller End of Days. It's now in the Pergamon Museum in central Berlin.

4) Hecate

Hecate presides over crossroads, entrances, witchcraft and sorcery in ancient Greek mythology.

A range of stories tries to explain her appearance in the Greek pantheon. In some tales, she was the only Titan to aid Zeus in his fight against the Titans. In others, she is an import from other cultures.

Eventually, her followers associated Hecate with the supernatural. Homeowners placed protective shrines to her at their doors to hold the wandering dead at bay.

But her most interesting trait is her appearance as a three-formed goddess. Scholars connect this with the new, half and full moons. She also ruled the triple kingdoms of earth, sky, and sea. Modern Wiccan practices associate her with the ‘crone’ period of a woman’s life.

5) Izanami-no-Mikoto

The Japanese goddess of both death and creation bore many children with her husband, Izanagi-no-Mikoto. Her name means ‘She who invites.' But she died in childbirth and descended into the Yomi (underworld). Her husband entered the shadowy lands of the dead but he couldn't persuade her to return with him.

Izanami ate the food of the underworld, so she couldn’t return to the world of the living. The tale recalls the Persephone legend of Greek mythology.

Izanagi couldn’t accept her answer and made a torch out of a hair comb. Seeing Izanami by firelight, his once-beautiful wife was now a rotting corpse. Izanagi fled but his wife pursued him. He sealed the Yomi shut with a giant boulder, locking Izanami in the underworld forever.

6) The Morrigan

The shape-shifting Celtic Goddess presided over war, fate, and death. As a patroness of revenge, magic, and witches, she also ruled rivers, lakes and other freshwater bodies.

Primarily a war goddess, the Morrigan took the form of a raven or crow. She flew over battlefields to spur on the troops. Her name translates into a range of meanings, including the Phantom Queen or the Queen of Demons.

Some scholars compare her to the Norse Valkyries, deciding the fate of the warriors in battle. The survivors left the battlefield until dawn to allow the Morrigan to claim the heads of the dead.

Some tales call her the Washer at the Ford. She washes the clothes of men who will die in battle, choosing who will live and who will die.

In Deviance, a London Psychic crime thriller, the character of Magda Raven is an urban shaman. She channels the power of The Morrigan, calling on London's ravens to help her in time of need.

7) Papatūānuku

Papatūānuku is the Earth Mother in the Māori world. She represents the land. Mountain ranges sometimes represent the curves of her body.

According to the creation story, Papatūānuku and the sky father, Ranginui, bore many children. But their parents’ tight embrace crushed them. The gods pushed Papatūānuku and Ranginui apart so they could see the stars.

Different iwi (tribes) tell different stories. In some, the gods made humans directly from the earth. Try urban fantasy adventure Risen Gods to read more about Papatūānuku and Ranginui.

8) Tiamat

The Babylonian goddess is an ancient figure. She appears in the creation epic, the Enuma Elish, in which she forms the world with her consort, Apsu. The gods kill Apsu and Tiamat raises a demon army to fight them.

She loses the battle and Marduk, the new king of the gods, splits her corpse to create the seas and the sky.

In other stories, Tiamat is a primordial goddess of the ocean. She represents chaos as well as creation. She also takes the form of a giant sea dragon to fight her warring children.

9) Frigg

Wife of Odin, Frigg is the highest-ranking Aesir goddess in Norse mythology. Some scholars attribute tales of her deeds to Freya, a similar goddess in the pantheon.

The legends depict Frigg as a völva – a type of Viking magical practitioner. She reworks the web of fate to alter the course of destiny. Frigg also possesses the power to shapeshift into a falcon.

If you're interested in Viking tales, then claim your free copy of Day of the Vikings now. Find out if ARKANE agent Morgan Sierra can prevent a modern-day völva from launching Ragnarok.

10) Nemesis

Known as the goddess of retribution, Nemesis actually acted as a form of cosmic justice. She punished the evildoer as well as anyone who didn't deserve their good fortune.

Far from dishing out punishment left and right, Nemesis judged every case within its individual context. She represented balance and could promise happiness or bring misery in equal measure.

For Nemesis, there could not be more of one than the other.

11) Ma’at

Ancient Egyptian goddess Ma'at — Large stone carving of the ancient Egyptian goddess Ma'at, Temple of Horus, Edfu, Egypt.

Ma’at performed a similar role in ancient Egypt, representing perfect order and balance. She's more of an idea but was sometimes personified as a goddess.

The ancient Egyptians believed the universe was essentially a rational place. But chaos existed before civilisation and disorder lurked at the edge of their world. Their society expected all citizens to defend Ma'at in order to hold chaos at bay.

When an Egyptian died, their soul entered the Hall of Ma'at. The judge, often Osiris, weighed their heart against Ma'at's feather. An unbalanced life made the heart heavier than the feather. The Devourer ate the heart unless Osiris threw it into a lake of fire. The soul gained eternal life if the heart balanced with the feather.

12) Mami Wata

Venerated throughout Africa and the African Atlantic, Mami Wata embodies the spirit of water. As a water deity, she sometimes appears as a mermaid. Much like the ocean, she can be volatile and dangerous, as well as protective and nurturing.

She brings good financial fortune and also governs water sprites known as mami watas and papi watas.

13) Spider Woman

Spider Woman is an important deity within the Navajo religion. When monsters threatened humans, she sent Child-Born-of-Water and Monster-Slayer to find the Sun God. He taught them how to destroy the monsters.

Spider Woman made her home on Spider Rock in Arizona. In one legend, a rival tribe chases a Navajo youth into her canyon. She drops a silken cord down into the valley and pulls him up to her home. He waits with Spider Woman until the enemy leaves, running home to tell his tribe of his narrow escape.

As a helper and benefactor to mankind, she taught humans how to weave and farm. She protects the innocent and fights to restore balance.

14) Minerva

Minerva is the Roman equivalent to Athena. She's the goddess of wisdom, as well as the arts and crafts. Her father Jupiter swallowed her mother after a prophecy that she would deliver a son that would destroy him.

Later, a terrible headache struck Jupiter down. The god Vulcan split his head open to give him some relief. It cured his headache and it also freed the fully grown (and fully armored) Minerva.

She told Perseus how to kill Medusa. The Gorgon turned men to stone if they looked at her. So Minerva advised Perseus to only look at Medusa’s reflection. He cut off Medusa's head and gave it to Minerva. She ended up mounting it on her shield, granting her the power to turn people to stone.

15) Hel

Daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, Hel rules the realm of the dead in Norse mythology. She is alive from the waist up and dead from the waist down. The tales portray her as indifferent to the struggles of the gods.

Hel appears in the tale of Baldur. Loki causes his death through trickery and the beloved god journeys to the land of the dead. Hermod, son of Odin, travels to the underworld to bargain with Hel for Baldur’s release. It's an important mission since Baldur's death is a herald of Ragnarok – the Norse apocalypse.

Hel offers to release Baldur if every living creature in the cosmos weeps for him. Loki takes the form of a giantess and refuses to weep. The act condemns Baldur to remain with Hel.

Incidentally, during Ragnarok, Hel leads an army of the dead in a ship made from the fingernails of corpses. Cool!

All of these amazing goddesses are a testament to the diverse range of human beliefs.

Some groups still venerate a handful of these goddesses today, but other figures have faded into the written record as their civilisations fell or evolved. I love to use these myths as part of my stories!

When Will The World End? 7 Of The Strangest End of Days Predictions

January 31, 2017 By J.F. Penn

2017 looks like being the ideal year for End of Days predictions.

After all, some conspiracy theorists believe the beginning of the End Times will start 70 years after the return of Jews to Israel. Since the UN mandate saw the re-establishment of Israel in 1947, that makes 2017 a potentially interesting year.

But it wouldn’t be the first time that a particular year was seen as the gateway to Armageddon. The European outbreak of the Black Death in 1346 was widely held to be a sign of an impending apocalypse.

Nostradamus made several apocalyptic prophecies, but one prediction attributed to him actually placed Armageddon in July 1999.

Even Sir Isaac Newton made an End Times prediction. As well as being a scientist and mathematician, he also had a belief in the occult. Sadly, scholars only gained access to his papers on alchemy and the Bible in 1991.

Newton fixed Doomsday in 2060, but he didn't set an exact date. He admitted that any human interpretation of the Bible could be flawed.

Many other thinkers have made predictions – and subsequently revised them when the date passed without incident. The 18th-century Puritan minister Cotton Mather predicted the End of Days on three separate occasions!

But Armageddon isn't restricted to Christianity.

Many faiths have a form of apocalypse within their theology. In Norse mythology, Ragnarok marked the end of both the world and the gods. The next age would begin with two humans hidden inside Yggdrasil, the world tree.

And perhaps the most famous recent apocalyptic prediction was that of 2012. According to popular thought, the world would end since the Mayan calendar appeared to finish in 2012. Hollywood gave us a CGI-heavy apocalypse movie – but 2012 certainly didn't usher in the End of Days.

end of days arkane thriller — The Thousand Years are Ended

Morgan Sierra is now battling to stop Armageddon in my thriller, End of Days. So it seems pertinent to ask… what are 7 of the strangest predictions of the End Times?

1) Mankind would create Armageddon through the Large Hadron Collider (2008)

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has a complicated relationship with theology. That's probably due in part to the search for the elusive Higgs-Bosun, otherwise known as the God particle.

If mankind can recreate the Big Bang beneath Europe, then what happens to God?

Some theorists worried that the LHC could potentially create black holes from the collisions between hydrogen protons. The scientists in charge of the LHC claimed that any black holes would be too small – and brief – to make any impact.

But in March 2008, Walter L. Wagner and Luis Sancho were so worried they even filed a lawsuit against the LHC. The scientists had to produce a safety report before they could fire up the collider.

The LHC was turned on in September 2008 and so far the world as we know it hasn't ended. And no black holes have been detected.

shiva nataraja — Shiva Nataraja, Lord of the Dance

But CERN is also the home of the 2m tall Lord Shiva statue that features in Destroyer of Worlds. He represents the creation and destruction of the cosmos. So perhaps the LHC could yet unleash Armageddon…

2) A hen predicted the End of Days in Leeds (1806)

This is perhaps one of the strangest doomsday predictions of all. In 1806, a hen started laying eggs inscribed with the words ‘Christ is coming'.

Word soon spread of the avian prophetess. Visitors inundated the village to examine the eggs. Religious panic gripped Leeds, with believers seeking to right wrongs before Judgment Day.

The religious fervor was not to last. A group of skeptical gentlemen visited the hen while she was laying her eggs. After some examination, they realized someone had been inscribing the eggs with corrosive ink. The eggs were forced back into the hen to perpetuate the ruse.

With the lie exposed, apocalyptic mania died down. Hopefully, the hen went back to her normal routine too!

3) The world would end with the Great Fire of London (1666)

17th century Christians were nervous about the year 1666, containing as it does the digits 666 – the number of the Beast.

When the Great Fire of London broke out on September 2, 1666, some thought the End of Days was upon them.

The fire destroyed 87 parish churches and 13,000 homes. It came the year after the devastating outbreak of the Black Death that decimated London – surely a sign of impending doom.

Yet only 10 people apparently died. Instead, the damage was financial. The estimated value of the destroyed property is around £1.5 billion in today's money.

Rather than ushering in the End Times, the Great Fire of London gave birth to the insurance industry. Not quite so thrilling!

4) Halley's Comet would cause an apocalypse (1910)

Halley's comet makes an appearance in our skies roughly every 76 years. But in 1910, some believed the comet would actually cause the end of the world.

The predictions this time came from Chicago's Yerkes Observatory. They'd detected cyanogen gas in the comet's tail. A French astronomer, Camille Flammarion, announced the gas could actually end all life on Earth when the planet passed through it.

Less fanciful scientists denounced his claims, but the anti-comet business was already in full swing. Panic-stricken buyers snapped up gas masks, pills and even umbrellas designed to shield the user from harm.

More skeptical Americans staged parties on rooftops to watch the comet pass by.

No one knows if Earth did come into contact with the comet's tail. But no one appeared to suffer any ill effects. And Sir Arthur Conan Doyle allegedly based his 1913 novel, The Poison Belt, on the events.

In a more unfortunate turn of events, another comet was believed to herald the End Times in 1997. The Heaven's Gate cult drank vodka and barbiturates when the Hale-Bopp comet passed close to Earth. They believed a spaceship hid in its tail, ready to whisk them away from the impending apocalypse.

The 39 victims of the mass suicide were wrong.

5) The end of the world can be predicted with numerology (1843-1844, 1994, 2011)

Harold Camping didn't exactly make weird predictions for End of Days. He just made a lot of them.

That's as many as 12 different prophecies, all based on biblical numerology. In 1992, he predicted the world would end in 1994.

When that didn’t happen, he calculated Armageddon would occur 7000 years after the flood of the Old Testament. That placed the End of Days on May 21, 2011.

When the world remained in one piece, he pushed his prediction to October 21, 2011. He claimed his maths was wrong.

And Camping wasn't the only preacher to revise his predictions. In 1831, William Miller believed the Second Coming would occur in 1843. He based his claims on his ability to ‘crack the code’ of the Bible.

As many as 100,000 people believed him. When the supposed date came and went, Miller claimed the End Times would happen in 1844 instead.

One follower even wrote, “I waited all Tuesday, and dear Jesus did not come … I lay prostrate for 2 days without any pain—sick with disappointment.”

The affair even became known as ‘The Great Disappointment’.

6) Armageddon will follow 2 days of snow in Italy (2017)

The southern resort of Salento is noted for its warm and welcoming climate. According to the philosopher Matteo Tafuri, two consecutive days of snow in the town would herald the End of Days.

His prophecy reads like a Dan Brown riddle;

“Salento of palm trees and mild south wind, snowy Salento but never after the touch. Two days of snow, two flashes in the sky, I know the world ends, but I do not yearn.”

Known as a sorcerer, Tafuri was apparently a practitioner of alchemy, herbal medicine, and even astrology.

Tafuri made his prediction in the 16th century. In those days, the climate in the region was famously mild. But in early January, southern Italy saw fresh snow – two days in a row.

Some commentators noted Tafuri's prophecy and the freak weather, claiming January 2017 as Armageddon. Thankfully no one has fulfilled the ‘two flashes in the sky' criteria yet.

But Tafuri seems more likely to have predicted climate change than the End of Days.

7) The world should have ended on New Year's Day (2017)

A story broke on 30 December 2016 that the world was predicted to end on January 1 2017.

The Sword of God Brotherhood originally made their prediction several decades ago. Their belief apparently stemmed from a vision of Gabriel. The group claimed the archangel told them the date. Already known as doomsday preppers, they would be safe during the End of Days. The Brotherhood was thought to have disbanded in 1985.

But they aren't the only group to cite 2017 as the end of the world. Author Nicholas C. James notes that the Book of Daniel puts Armageddon in a Jubilee year. Such years occur every 50 years, according to the Old Testament.

2017 is the 120th Jubilee year.

If that wasn't worrying enough, a 12th Century Irish bishop made a prediction that 112 popes would follow the election of Pope Celestine II in 1143.

Pope Francis I is the last of those – and apparently the final pope before Armageddon.

Whether the final two predictions come true remains to be seen.

If you’re reading this post in 2018 you’ll already know!

But in the meantime, you can always find out how Morgan Sierra deals with the Great Serpent in End of Days, out now in ebook and print formats.

15 Weird and Wonderful Religious Relics

January 20, 2017 By J.F. Penn

I'm fascinated by religious relics. They appear in a number of my thrillers because they hold so much meaning for believers, and many of them are really strange.

Relics are sometimes used to give to weight to political posturing and they’re sometimes pressed into service for more nefarious reasons … So maybe, just maybe, they hold a lot of their own power too.

But there’s no denying that some relics are just bizarre.

From dried blood to severed heads, mummified hands and even preserved footprints, here are 15 of the weirdest and most wonderful religious relics around the world!

1. The Turin Shroud, Turin

Believed to be the burial shroud of Jesus, this linen cloth bears the image of a man – apparently that of Christ himself. While radiocarbon dating places it in the medieval period, many believe the image is far more detailed when viewed as a negative. Conspiracy theorists consider that such an image would be difficult to forge in the medieval era.

The Shroud even has its own website, which describes it as ‘the single most studied artifact in human history.' But the Shroud is incredibly delicate, so it won’t be shown again until 2025.

2. The body of St Francis Xavier, Goa

Francis Xavier was a 16th century Roman Catholic missionary in Goa, India. He also worked in Japan and China, among others, but he’s most famous for his work in India. Most of his body is on display at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, India. You’ll find him in a glass container and he’s been in there since 1637.

His right forearm was detached in 1614 and is now at the Jesuit church in Rome, Il Gesù. Another arm bone, the humerus, is in Macau, having been kept there for safety instead of going on to Japan.

The Basilica of Bom Jesus, and indeed the Saint's body, appear in my ARKANE thriller, Destroyer of Worlds, as Morgan and Jake race to stop an ancient weapon being unleashed.

3. The Buddha's Tooth, Kandy

A left canine was allegedly taken from the Buddha's funeral pyre in 543BC. According to legend, only the tooth remained following his cremation. It's currently housed at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Wars have been fought over it since whoever possesses the tooth has the right to rule the island. It's only displayed on special occasions, but it's said to perform miracles whenever anyone threatens to destroy it.

4. Muhammad's Footprint, Istanbul

The Topkapi Palace in Istanbul houses a number of Muhammad's relics. They include a signed letter, a sword and bow, his footprint and hair from his beard. According to legend, his beard was shaved after his death by his favorite barber.

His footprint allegedly made a lasting impression wherever he went and prints are displayed all over the Middle East. Some remain in situ, but the Istanbul print is preserved in the museum.

5. The Holy Right Hand, Budapest

The Holy Right Hand is thought to have belonged to King Stephen, the first Hungarian King, who died in 1038.

His death provoked unrest and his followers worried that his body might be desecrated. When he was exhumed, they discovered his right arm was perfectly preserved.

His arm was added to the Basilica's Treasury. It was stolen and kept in Romania for a while, though it’s now back in the Basilica of St. Stephen in Budapest.

A chronicler noted that while it was in Romania, the hand wore St Stephen's ring. The Holy Right Hand on display doesn't wear one and doesn't look like it's ever worn one. Some wonder how genuine the Holy Right Hand actually is …

In my political thriller One Day in Budapest, the Holy Right is stolen and a right-wing faction move against the Jews of the city, as they did in the dark days of the Second World War. The right is rising …

6. Mary's Holy Belt, Prato

Most religious relics seem to take the form of body parts, but the Virgin Mary left her belt behind instead. Her handwoven belt is kept in a silver reliquary in Prato Cathedral. The arrival of the relic allowed the Cathedral to add a transept and a new chapel.

According to legend, she gave the belt to the apostle Thomas before she ascended to Heaven. That’s Doubting Thomas – and the Virgin allegedly gave him her belt as physical proof of her ascension. The belt, known as Sacra Cintola, is displayed five times a year in the chapel built especially to house it. In centuries gone by, it was venerated by pregnant women.

7. St Catherine's Head (and thumb), Siena

One of Italy's two patron saints (along with Francis of Assisi), St Catherine died in 1380 at the age of 33. But she died in Rome. When the people of Siena requested her body for burial, the request was denied. A group of her followers decided to exhume her anyway to return her to Siena. According to legend, she was decapitated because they couldn’t conceal her entire corpse.

When the body snatchers were apprehended, guards found only rose petals inside their bag. The guards let them go, and St Catherine’s followers returned to Siena. The rose petals turned back into her head and it is is now displayed at San Domenico Basilica. Her head remained in Siena, but three of her fingers and a foot went to Italy, a rib went to Florence, and her hand and shoulder blade went to Rome.

8. St Antoninus' body, Florence

St Antoninus was a popular priest in Florence, getting by with only the bare essentials of life. He was so popular that Pope Eugene IV wanted to make him an Archbishop, and he threatened to excommunicate Antoninus when he declined the offer.

St Antoninus died in 1459 but his body wasn't immediately embalmed as it should have been. Left to the elements for eight days, his body didn't decompose. His followers took this as a sign of his incorruption, so he was placed in a glass coffin to display his divinity. You can see his corpse at the Church of San Marco.

9. Shrine of the Three Kings, Cologne

The bones of the Three Wise Men apparently rest in the ornate gold-plated sarcophagus inside Cologne Cathedral. According to legend, their remains originally lay in Constantinople, before being taken to Milan, then Cologne in 1164. The shrine is the largest reliquary in the western world. Some of the images on the shrine depict the dawn of time, as well as the Last Judgment.

It was damaged when it was hidden in 1794 to keep it from French revolutionary troops, but it was largely restored during the 1960s. Cologne is so proud to house the Three Magi that there are even three crowns on the city’s coat of arms.

10. The cloak of Muhammad, Kandahar

This is more of a powerful religious relic than a weird one. The Kerqa, believed to have been worn by Muhammad, is kept at the Shrine of the Cloak in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Some tales say the cloak was used to solidify a political treaty in 1768.

Others say that Ahmad Shah saw the cloak in Bukhara. Its keepers wouldn't let him borrow it, so he had a rock planted near by. Ahmad Shah told them he would never take the cloak far from the rock…then promptly took both the rock and the cloak back to Kandahar.

In more recent times, Mullah Omar, the then-leader of the Taliban, wore it in front of his followers. But the cloak hasn't been seen in public since 1996.

11. The Blood of San Gennaro, Naples

St Gennaro was beheaded by Emperor Diocletian in 4th century. His dried blood is presented to local residents and pilgrims at Naples Cathedral on September 19, December 16 and the first Sunday in May. They wait for the blood to liquefy, making this a grisly religious relic.

As the patron saint of Naples, the liquefaction of his blood is thought to signify a miracle and protects Naples from disaster. In 1527, it failed to liquefy and Naples suffered an outbreak of plague. In 1980, they were struck by an earthquake. The relic was even venerated by Pope Francis in March 2015.

12. The Heart of St Camillus

St Camillus started out life as a soldier and a gambler. He later repented and devoted his life to caring for the sick. After being denied entry to the Capuchin order thanks to a leg injury, he established the Order of Clerics Regular, Ministers to the Sick. They specialised in assisting injured soldiers on the battlefield. A large red cross was a symbol of the Order – centuries before the Red Cross was formed.

Many were so struck by his charity that they thought it must have left an imprint on his heart. So after he died, his heart was removed and preserved with salt. This religious relic is definitely more weird than wonderful. It’s now kept in a gold and glass container and it even went on tour. It visited Thailand, Ireland and the Phillippines.

13. The hand of St Teresa de Avila, Ronda

St Teresa de Avila reformed the Carmelite Order, and after she died, her remains were found to be incorrupt. Her left hand became a relic, but it was seized by General Franco in 1937. St Teresa had once been a contender for Spain’s national saint, and Franco used her during the Spanish Civil War as an ideal of traditional Spain.

According to legend, he kept the hand by his bedside until he died in 1975 – allegedly while holding the mummified hand. It now rests at the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Merced in Ronda, Andalusia.

14. The Holy Foreskin, currently missing

Yes, it really is as weird as it sounds. As many as 18 different churches have laid claim to having the skin from the infant Jesus's circumcised penis since the Middle Ages. St Catherine of Siena even claimed to wear an invisible foreskin as a ring.

But the most notorious Holy Foreskin was kept in the town of Calcata, near Rome, until it disappeared in 1983. Its whereabouts are still unknown.

15. The Tongue and Jaw of St Anthony, Padua

At the age of 35, St Anthony of Padua succumbed to ergot poisoning – also known as St Anthony’s Fire. He sealed himself in a small cell under a walnut tree and waited to die. He actually died on the way back to Padua where he was buried in 1231.

32 years later, his followers pried open his vault. Most of his body had turned to dust, but his tongue was strangely still fresh. Many believe this is a testament to the power of his words while alive.

St Bonaventure had St Anthony’s tongue, lower jaw and vocal chords mounted in a metal shrine. His tongue even went on a tour of UK churches in 2013.

You can visit a lot of these strange and sometimes unsettling religious relics. Just remember that they have meaning for many believers, so always be respectful. And who knows what weird experiences you might have when you see them?