I feel like this one should get more love than Alice in Wonderland

Maybe it wasn't a good idea to bring this bag of leftover Halloween candy to my office for a class that doesn't meet until 2:30. My trash can is already a wrapper crime scene.

My fav romance: the hero is neurodivergent and when he and the heroine have *the* fight (the one all romances have) instead of running away to the country, or trying to make someone jealous, or swearing off love, he goes for a walk, comes back, concedes she made logical points, and happy ever after.

Day 99/99 Days of Monsters: The Headless Horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow! Irving's headless horseman character in the story is a Hessian soldier who lost his head from a canon shot during the American Revolutionary War. The scaredy cat teacher, Ichabod Crane--1/2

Day 98/99 Days of Monsters: the Grim Reaper! While humans have always personified death, this is a relatively recent assortment of death symbols rolled into one. The scythe was a symbol of death (mowing down souls like a farmer mows wheat), a skeletal figure was common in the middle ages, and-- 1/2

Day 96 and 97 of 99 Days of Monsters: Scylla and Charybdis! Another twofer since I'll be busy tomorrow. In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus has to sail a dangerous channel. On one side is a "gaping maw," the whirlpool creature named Charybdis. On the other side is a ravenous--1/2

Day 95/99 Days of Monsters: The Spirit in the Well! I grew up thinking pennies were lucky, and that's why you toss them in a well for a wish--but the tradition goes back way further. The idea of water as holy is ancient, and people tossed coins as thanks/offerings to--1/2

Day 94/99 Days of Monsters: Pixies! These are British legends of small, magical forest creatures that cause mischief and scamper out of sight the minute you come close. Our modern idea of fairies (small sprite creatures that flit around the forest) probably came from pixie legends.

Day 93/99 Days of Monsters: Androids and Cyborgs! I couldn't choose! Androids are human-like robots made of materials that resemble flesh and blood people. Cyborgs are enhanced or augmented humans, who have tech/robotics integrated into their--1/2

Day 92/99 Days of Monsters: Ophiocordyceps! This fungus has a superpower--it can turn ants into zombies and control them like a puppet master. The fungus "takes control of the insect’s mind," and takes "complete control of the ants’ muscle fibers, forcing them--1/2

Day 91/99 Days of Monsters: Medusa! The only mortal Gorgon, she was once beautiful but cursed by Athena to be hideous (usually blamed on Poseidon taking advantage of her). Her cursed appearance was a winged woman with claws and snakes for hair. Anyone who looked on--1/2

Day 90/99 Days of Monsters: Storm Birds! These are legendary birds that control the weather. These birds appear in many cultures--I like the mischievous Anzu from Sumerian legends (he stole the Tablet of Destiny and wreaked hurricane-level havoc at the *idea* someone messed with his baby) and--1/2

Day 89/99 Days of Monsters: Jack-o'-lanterns! These grinning vegetables (are gourds vegetables?) have a long history and began as carved turnips. An origin story says a scoundrel named Jack tricked the devil into promising to never let him into hell. Then he lived a party-hearty kind of life and-1/2

Day 88/99 Days of Monsters: Krampus! This is a hairy, goatish, man-creature with a demonic face that is supposed to punish naughty children around Christmas time (kind of the opposite of Santa). With probably pagan roots, Krampus was assimilated into Christian folklore through the Alpine region 1/2

Day 87/99 Days of Monsters: Normie! This is an enormous aquatic *something* that has been spotted repeatedly in Lake Norman, NC. Lake Norman is a man made lake with an abandoned town still at the bottom. With a whole demolished town to hide in--1/2

Day 86/99 Days of Monsters: The Jersey Devil! The legend says a mother in the 1700s cursed her 13th child to "be a devil" while in labor, and the creature born from her flew away screaming. The sightings since then in Jersey and Philadelphia claim the creature is long, thin-- 1/2

Day 85/99 Days of Monsters: The Niland Geyser! This is a moving mud puddle in California that is UNSTOPPABLE. It moves around 10ft per day, swallowing anything in its path. It's already taken out railroad tracks and a highway despite super thick and deep moisture breaks built around it--1/3

Day 84/99 Days of Monsters: the Skunk Ape! Firmly in the Big Foot category, this large, hairy, hominid-ish creature is said to be smelled more than seen. For more info, check out the Skunk Ape Research Center (real place but not real serious) in Ochopee, Florida.

Day 83/99 Days of Monsters: The Not-Deer! These are creatures that look like deer but are just a bit "off." They stare too straight, their necks are too thick, legs too long, sometimes standing and twitching in strange ways. It's an Appalachian cryptid, and when-- 1/2

Had to slink into the school library to check out some books while I still have some very overdue ones, and the librarian gave me a bookmark--then threw in an extra one for my overdue books still at home. I feel forgiven.

Day 82/99 Days of Monsters: The Mongolian Death Worm! This mysterious creature is said to inhabit the Gobi dessert. Locals a few hundred years ago traded stories about the worm that was a few feet long and deadly poisonous to the touch. Though the legend lives on--1/2

Day 81/99 Days of Monsters: Harpies! These ancient Greek and Roman myths, about half bird and half woman creatures born from wind, were very busy: serving the furies, stealing food and people, and, in the most recent stories, guarding the underworld. Medieval art of a harpy, circa 1350.

Day 80/99 Days of Monsters: Hellhounds! Cerberus is the most famous, but there's a huge variety of hellhound stories across many cultures. The Black Dog in British tradition is a giant, evil canine (usually black with red eyes) that was supposed to represent--1/2

Day 78 and 79 of Monsters: Typhon and Echidna! I'm taking tomorrow off, so today we get a twofer--and a monstrous love story. Typhon was a legendary villainous monster who tormented both the gods and humans. He's the son of Gaia alone on some accounts, the son of Kronos by others--1/3

Day 76/99 Days of Monsters: Djinn! These creatures from Pre-Islamic tradition are considered spirits of fire and air (different from fire-based demons) who weren't automatically good or bad. A lot of the mainstream stories in modern culture (like Aladdin) come from 1001 Tales--1/2

Day 75/99 Days of Monsters: Hraesvelgr! This is the Old Norse legend of a giant eagle who perches at the edge of the world and creates our wind by beating his wings. As long as he doesn't eat the Midgard serpent, that holds the world together by biting its tail, we should be good.

Day 74/99 Days of Monsters: Jack Frost! Now, maybe I shouldn't say monster. In some of the stories (Nordic and Russian folklore) he's more like a deity of ice, comparable to "old man winter." However, he's also sometimes shown as a little sprite/elven character that carries a paintbrush-- 1/2

Day 73/99 Days of Monsters: Will-o'-the-wisps! These "fairy lights" go by a million different names, and so many cultures/countries have their own names for the mysterious lights that are said to either lead you to the path you need or trick you into--1/2

Day 72/99 Days of Monsters: skin-walkers! This is a Navajo legend of an evil persona who is nefarious and can shapeshift into an animal (the skin of which they wear when in their human form). The legend is--1/2

Day 71/99 Days of Monsters: El Cucuy! This is a Mexican American legend of a hairy monster that hides under beds and snatches up disobedient children (like ones who don't--1/2