Follow-ups

Halloween photos: I have scanned in my Halloween photos going back to 1987, so the Halloween slideshow at the bottom of my blog is now complete! (And yes, I do have an idea in the works for this year...)

Vlad the Impaler and Countess Elizabeth Báthory: I intended to follow-up these two posts with one about Lucrezia Borgia, but despite her reputation, she wasn't as bloodthirsty. Her family had a reputation for ruthlessness and she was rumored to wear a ring filled with poison, but no murders have been attributed to her.

Robo-animals: I forgot to include this story about a pony that has been outfitted with a prosthetic leg.

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Flannery O'Connor: After reading my post about Flannery O'Connor and her peacocks, my former colleague Gail reports that in her quest for Roman mosaics, she found this one over the winter - it is at Vaison la Romaine, a Roman outpost in France.

Elephant and dragon: The "Elephant Angel," who harbored an elephant in her backyard during the Belfast Blitz, has been identified by her family as Denise Weston Austin (d. 1997) - one of the first female zoo keepers at the Belfast Zoo.

Toads encased in stone: "Regarding your posting about toads in stone, I have personally seen frogs frozen in ice on a pond walk away when freed from the icy encasement. As kids, we all marveled that they could still be alive after spending most of the winter frozen in the ice without food, water, or air. A toad in a stone over who knows how many years is even more amazing!" ~an e-mail from my Dad

Designer legs: I have been in touch with the Aimee Mullins Studio since this post and was told that she is interested in my books: "Aimee shares your fascination and exploration of the macabre...she is the kind of girl who wanders the catacombs in subterranean Paris BY HERSELF."

Shark attack capital: The surfing event held this month at New Smyrna Beach, Florida, was held without incident. The $20,ooo purse was claimed by New Smyrna resident Aaron Cormican.