Did this ‘witch’ help the Nazis? Plus, the problem diagnosing Bruce Willis and others with dementia.

Also, why is Friday the 13th so scary? And how to prepare for Saturday's solar eclipse.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌    ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  

 

CATCH THE ‘RING OF FIRE’ VIEW ONLINE

CATCH THE ‘RING OF FIRE’

HER SEANCES REVEALED SECRETS THE NAZIS WOULD WANT

Friday, October 13, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we explore whether a British ‘witch’ helped the Nazis, chase Bigfoot, learn about diagnosing dementia ... and decipher an ‘unreadable’ ancient text. Plus, how to prepare for Saturday’s rare ‘ring of fire’ eclipse.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAILY MIRROR ARCHIVE, MIRRORPIX/GETTY IMAGES Do you think of “witches” as something from a bygone era, of bonfires and Puritans and hysteria? What about Helen Duncan? During séances in World War II, spirits supposedly “told” her (pictured above) about secret British naval disasters. In 1944, while Nazi rockets rained down on London, she stood accused of violating the Witchcraft Act of 1735. Churchill called the trial barbaric and an abomination, but that didn’t help her. WHAT HAPPENED?

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STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH BY WILL MATSUDA

Bigfoot? Here’s where people have claimed to have seen the legendary beast (Above, kids chase someone in a Bigfoot costume in Home Valley, Washington.) Why Friday the 13th scares us For Bruce Willis and others, dementia can be tricky to diagnose. Here’s why. NASA launches world's first mission to metal-rich asteroid Researchers find footprints of huge ’terror birds’ It's good to feel bad after your COVID shot. Why?

AI just deciphered part of an ‘unreadable’ ancient scroll. Here’s what it says. Why are bedbugs so good at what they do?

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY ERICH LESSING, ALBUM The real Dracula? On this Friday the 13th, we take a look at Vlad the Impaler (above) and see what he has in common with the bloodsucking horror icon. IS IT ALMOST DARK?

Related: —The Irish ‘hell caves’ where Halloween began —The ‘confessed werewolf’ who horrified Europe —The spooky-but-true origins of Halloween costumes

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY ORSOLYA HAARBERG Fragile wonderlands: Photographer Orsolya Haarberg ventured into Europe's old-growth forests to document the remarkable richness of life in the woods, its beauty, value—and fragility. The trees (above) are among those still standing tall at Italy’s Abruzzo, Lazio, and Molise National Park, home to some of the oldest beech forests in Europe that have escaped felling for centuries because the site is hard to get to. STANDING TALL

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY VISUAL CHINA GROUP, GETTY IMAGES Catch it now or wait until 2039: Saturday’s rare ’ring of fire’ solar eclipse will be visible in parts of the western United States, as well as Central and South America. Here’s how to safely see it and how it is created. FIND OUT MORE

Today’s soundtrack: Which Witch, Florence + The Machine Happy weekend! This newsletter has been curated and edited by Jen Tse, Nancy San Martín, and David Beard. We’d love to hear from you: david.beard@natgeo.com.

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