Marvel Civil War: The sides explained

This week the first trailer for Captain America: Civil War was released for the public. Following the events of Avengers 2 the Sokovia Accords issued by the UN are making superheroes and superpowered beings become accountable to a governing body. This causes a divide in the superhero community leading to a civil war. The Civil War story arc (see here: http://historyandgeekstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/comics-explained-marvel-civil-war.html) was a major part of the Marvel universe and still remains a major part. This post will deal with what exactly the different sides of the civil war wanted, who supported them and who stayed neutral. Note: this only deals with the comics Civil War and not the upcoming film version.

Pro-Registration

The pro-registration faction are the superheroes who are willing to register their secret identities with the US government (in the comics only the United States passed the Superhero Registration Act). The general consensus held by these heroes is that by working with the government they can easily save more lives and restore trust between the public and the superhero community. Prior to the passing of the Registration Act a group of young superheroes called the New Warriors tried to fight a powerful group of villains leading to the destruction of Stamford, Connecticut. The Hulk had also caused considerable damage to Las Vegas in his anger and Scarlet Witch had depowered 90% of Earth's mutants. Through all of these reasons several superheroes viewed registration as being the wisest option. Tony Stark aka Iron Man became the de facto leader of the pro-registration forces who would later use his immense fortune and technology to help other pro-registration heroes. The Fantastic Four, Hank Pym, She-Hulk, Ms Marvel, Black Widow and Spider-Man all joined the pro-registration forces. Spider-Man even revealed his secret identity to the public. 

During the course of the Civil War the pro-registration forces had been using the Thunderbolts (a group of former supervillains trying to fight for redemption) to help fight the anti-registration forces. When the government started offering pardons to any villain who joined the Thunderbolts quickly many villains joined looking for a way out of prison rather than redemption. These included Venom, Green Goblin and Lady Deathstrike. After the death of Goliath by the robotic clone of Thor made by the pro-registration side several figures joined them including Cable although other heroes did leave to join the anti-registration forces.

Anti-Registration

The anti-registration forces are the heroes who refuse to subscribe to the Superhero Registration Act and they quickly rally behind the first person to oppose it, Captain America. Captain America opposed it on the principal that it made superheroes little more than government stooges ordered to fight for what the government thinks is right and not what they think is right. Unlike Iron Man's forces many non-powered heroes, vigilantes and younger heroes join the anti-registration side. These include Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Cloak and Dagger, Falcon, the Young Avengers and Daredevil. However Hercules and Goliath are two of Captain America's main fighters until Goliath's death by the hands of the Thor clone. Unlike the pro-registration forces whose primary aim is to arrest heroes not conforming to the Registration Act the anti-registration forces continue to fight villains despite being outlaws themselves.

Following the course of the Civil War membership fluctuates between heroes. With Goliath's death several heroes such as Cable and Nighthawk left to support the pro-registration forces. However, simultaneously the Human Torch, Invisible Woman and Spider-Man joined Captain America in opposing the act. Briefly even the Punisher joined Captain America with the vigilante seeing the pro-registration forces as betraying the ideals of being heroes by siding with the likes of Venom and the Green Goblin. Quickly he was ousted from membership after he shot two villains seeking redemption and was beaten to a pulp by Captain America. In the final battle several heroes that had remained neutral (discussed shortly) joined Captain America. During the battle Captain America saw the damage that they were doing so surrendered to the authorities. Afterwards Luke Cage became the de facto leader of the anti-registration forces.

Neutral

 Several figures did manage to remain neutral during the fighting. Dr Strange for example (pictured above) fasted throughout the war to determine whose side to join and inevitably chose to side with neither. The X-Men were publicly neutral due to them already being registered with the government being the last mutants. The reason for this to both highlight the similarities between the Superhero Registration Act and the Mutant Registration Act as well as stop anti-mutant zealots from having an excuse to attack the last mutants. Although individual X-Men did participate in the war. Cable joined the anti-registration and switched sides, Bishop joined the pro-registration and Wolverine initially was neutral but joined the anti-registration forces. Storm as Queen of Wakanda remained neutral alongside T'Challe aka Black Panther as it was an American and not a Wakandan war. However both showed animosity towards the idea of registration and would join the anti-registration forces following the death of Goliath. Namor the Sub-Mariner too was neutral only being concerned in getting revenge for his cousin, Namorita, who was killed by Nitro but in the final battle he joined the anti-registration forces. Although against registration Jessica Jones chose not to fight moving to Canada while the Thing moved to France in anger over the death of Goliath. Both would later return, the Thing in the final battle to help civilians and Jessica as a way to find her husband (Luke Cage) registering her identity simultaneously. 

I hope that has made understanding the comic version of the Civil War somewhat easier. I hope to see you next time.

The World of The Man in the High Castle

On Amazon Prime the adaptation of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle has been released. For those who may not know Philip K. Dick is one of the best, if not the best, science-fiction authors of at least the 20th century. His novel The Man in the High Castle is one of my personal favorites of his and focuses on a dark alternate reality following an Axis victory in World War Two. Due to the series being released and this blog focusing heavily on alternate history I thought it would be appropriate to look at the dystopian world that Philip K. Dick has created. 

How the Axis win

The point of divergence occurs on February 15, 1933. In our world an assassination attempt on the soon to be president Franklin Roosevelt by Guiseppe Zangara failed but in Dick's novel the assassination attempt succeeds. John Nance Garner, who in our timeline was Roosevelt's vice-president, becomes president but the USA does not manage to recover its economy through a Roosevelt style New Deal. The Great Depression is not resolved and in 1941 the Democrats lose to Republican John W. Bricker who also fails to resolve the economic crisis while simultaneously keeping the USA out of international affairs. When war breaks out in Europe without financial and arms assistance from the USA Britain and, later the USSR, falls to the Axis. Through excerpts from the novel the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill became desperate in the last few months of the war with him ordering elite troops to garrote German and Italian troops in North Africa and it is implied that the Nazis completely destroyed London due to Churchill's will to resist. It was reported that the Thames 'was on fire'. As the USSR starts to fall Japan bombs Pearl Harbor however in this timeline the majority of the US navy is in the harbor at the time. As a result virtually the entirety of the US navy is destroyed in one day. The Japanese Empire steamrolls southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Australasia and Hawaii and invades the west coast while the Germans invade the east coast. Due to Canada being an independent nation free from Axis control it is assumed that they must have made peace with the Axis before this occurred. Following this the United States put up a fight against the Axis powers, one character mentions how they even almost won the war, but by 1947 the United States surrenders.

The Axis world

Following the war almost all of the world is divided among the Axis powers. Japan holds a sizable empire on mainland China while Germany conquers or puppets most of Europe. Italy meanwhile holds an empire along the Mediterranean but many Italians feel that they are subordinated by the Nazis. The United States is split into three: the Pacific States of America (PSA), a Japanese puppet consisting of the west coast, the United States, a Nazi puppet state consisting of all of the USA east of the Mississippi, and the Rocky mountain States which acts as a buffer state between the two. In the PSA Japanese rule is decentralized with it being ran through the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. Although still an empire Japan has started to liberalize as a new generation replaces the pre-war generation although there is still some indifference to the indentured Chinese population. After the war there was considerable Japanese migration to the PSA changing the demographic and in the scenario the country has a culture that is a mix of Japanese, Chinese and American culture. Multiple characters regularly refer to the I Ching to guide their lives and the new generation of Japanese people living in the PSA have a fascination of pre-war American artifacts in the same way how Americans had a fascination with Native American artifacts. At one part in the novel an antiques dealer sells a Micky Mouse watch to a young couple for this reason. Americans in the PSA are however glad that they lost the war seeing the Japanese being benevolent rulers and that an Allied victory would mean a communist victory although this was largely down to propaganda. One character alive before the war mentions how initially he wanted to revolt against Japanese rule but soon came around.

In Europe, Nazi dominated America and Africa however the story is much different. Hitler's plan for lebensraum has succeeded with the Nazis draining the Mediterranean converting it into acres of farmland as well as violently murdering the ethnic Slavs in Russia, Poland and eastern Europe. This alternate history saw a mega-Holocaust in Europe and Nazi occupied America with there being a mass genocide against Jews, Slavs and anyone who Hitler disliked. Russian and Slavic culture has been completely destroyed by 1962 with the Eastern Orthodox church being completely eradicated. Millions of people were murdered by the Nazis with virtually all European Jews being murdered and the few Slavic people who remain being forced into a nomadic lifestyle in Siberian reservations. In America any remaining Jews try to seek refuge in either Japanese occupied America or the neutral buffer zone. The Nazis extermination policy is also widely known by 1962 with people openly acknowledging how the Nazis were rounding up Jews, left-wingers, clerics and eastern Europeans to be deported to death camps. Leading Nazi Arthur Seyss-Inquart in this scenario is leading the Nazi colonization of Africa as well as the extension of the Holocaust to Africa. It is implied that slavery has been reintroduced in Europe and America thanks to this. 

Thanks to German science the alternate 1962 is far more technologically advanced. Rockets have replaced regular planes for international travel and the Nazis have already colonized the moon. The novel also states that the Nazis have also started to colonize Mars. Canada is implied as being a hotbed for dissidence with Bob Hope making jokes that Goring plans to start a Holocaust against Martians from the safety of Canada. Some time in the fifties Hitler is hospitalized due to his syphilis and Martin Bormann replaces him as Fuhrer. By the time of the novel Bormann is close to death and there is a power struggle between Reinhard Heydrich, Hermann Goring and Joseph Goebbels to replace him. Tensions between Japan and Germany also arise during this time and a Cold War has set in.

The Grasshopper lies Heavy

Throughout the novel characters read an alternate history novel by Hawthorne Abendsen called The Grasshopper lies Heavy. It is a novel where the Allies won World War Two so the Nazis have banned it but it is popularly read in the neutral countries and the Japan/the PCA. The book's scenario has Roosevelt surviving his assassination attempt and recovering the USA's economy. In 1940 he steps down from the Presidency and is Rexford Tugwell becomes president. He gives aid to the Allies and keeps the navy out of Pearl Harbor so when the Japanese attack most of the navy is spared. Britain quickly becomes strong again, defeats Rommel in North Africa and enters the Caucasus aiding the Soviet Union in winning the Battle of Stalingrad. Italy switches side and attacks Germany while the British and Red Armies invade Berlin. The Nazi elite are captured and tried for war crimes with Hitler giving a speech in his own defense. His last words were a copy of Martin Luther's 'Deutsche, heir steh'ich' (Germans, here I stand). Churchill remains Prime Minister which becomes a position for life and Britain starts exercising considerable control over the world. The US establishes trade with Chiang Kai-shek's China after defeating the communists as Britain starts becoming both expansionist and racist. America bans the Jim Crow laws leading into direct conflict with a racist Britain and a Cold War escalates into a war for global hegemony.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post.

Comics Explained: Jessica Jones

On the 20th November Marvel's Jessica Jones will be getting her own series on Netflix. Jessica Jones since her debut in Alias #1 in 2001 has quickly become a major player in the Marvel Universe. From Marvel's darker MAX imprint to starring in the mainstream New Avengers publication Jessica Jones is now a key character who deserves a greater spotlight.

Origin

Jessica's backstory was explained over the course of the Alias series and the later The Pulse series. As a teenager returning home from a trip to Disney World with her family their car was hit by a truck containing radioactive chemicals. Her family was killed and she went into a coma only to reawaken when the Fantastic Four fought Galactus. She was adopted by the Jones family and went to the same school as Peter Parker a.k.a Spider-Man. Quickly she found out that the chemicals had given her superpowers and after seeing Spider-Man battle the Sand Man she decided to become a superhero. 

Under the pseudonym Jewel she started a career as a superhero.

Early career

Her initial career did not start off well with her being mentally controlled by Zebediah Killgrave a.k.a The Purple Man. For eight months she was mentally controlled by Killgrave to use as a weapon when the time was right. When a newspaper report angered him he sent her to kill Daredevil and anyone who tried to stop her. However, after so long being influenced by his mental powers her mind started to become disoriented when she left him. When arriving at the Avenger's Mansion instead of attacking Daredevil she attacked Scarlet Witch which snapped her out of Killgrave's control. After being attacked by the Vision and Iron Man she was sent into rehabilitation where Jean Grey of the X-Men who would help her resist future mental attacks. In the final issue of The Pulse it was revealed that she gave up her Jewel identity and became a darker superhero called Knightress. After defeating a meeting organised by supervillain the Owl she gave up being a superhero and formed a relationship with Avengers member Luke Cage.

Alias and The Pulse

During the Alias publication she opened a private eye service specifically targeting clients with superpowers. This series was part of Marvel's MAX imprint which dealt with much more serious subjects and during her time as a private investigator Jessica Jones had to deal with many dark topics including domestic abuse and saving a young mutant girl from a town built on prejudice. During this time she also inadvertently video taped the identity of Captain America and became involved in the solving of a murder of one of her clients. During the Alias publication her relationship grew with Luke Cage and it became romantic. Her and Luke even became Matt Murdock's bodyguards when it was outed that he was Daredevil; they even fought Typhoid Mary together to protect him. Eventually she came across Killgrave again where he tried to use his mental powers to get her to kill one of her friends (all of whom happened to be Avengers members). This backfired and she savagely beat him thus closing a chapter on her life. In the final issue it is revealed that she is three months pregnant with Luke Cage's baby and their relationship became more committed as a result.

Starting with The Pulse #1 Jessica moved in with Luke Cage and became a vigilante analyst for The Daily Bugle. Working with Daily Bugle journalist Ben Urich each week they release the article The Pulse dealing with costumed heroes and vigilantes. After publishing an article critical of Norman Osborn (the identity of the Green Goblin) the Green Goblin attacks her resulting in a mid-air battle between the two. Luke visits Jessica in the hospital after the battle relieved that the baby is okay. On their way back to their apartment after visiting the hospital a mysterious woman blows up their apartment sending Luke into a coma. What follows is the outing that Nick Fury had convinced Luke Cage to help him overthrow the government of Latveria (a fictional country where Dr Doom once came from) who had been selling high-tech gadgets to supervillains and the blast was a means of retaliation. Luckily Luke Cage made a full recovery and would join the New Avengers. In The Pulse #13 Jessica gives birth to  daughter, Danielle Cage, and leaves The Daily Bugle after J. Jonah Jameson starts a smear campaign against the New Avengers. In the New Avengers Annual #1 Luke and Jessica would get married with Jessica keeping her family name. 

Civil War and After

During the events of the Civil War story arc, where superheroes fought one another when forced to reveal their secret identities to the government, like Luke she opposed registration and went to Canada to avoid it. Following the Skrull Invasion she went into hiding in the USA alongside Luke and various other superheroes as Norman Osborn became the head of SHIELD, now called HAMMER. During the Dark Reign story arc when Osborn's 'Dark Avengers' invaded Asgard she became Jewel once more and fought against Osborn. Since she has remained a major character in the Marvel Universe being one of the mediators between the X-Men and the Avengers during the X-Men versus the Avengers story arc and has been a member of the Mighty Avengers.

Jessica Jones is one of Marvel's most interesting characters and her addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the Netflix series highlights how she has become one of Marvel's most noteworthy characters alongside Dr Strange, Black Panther and Luke Cage.

What If: The October Revolution had not happened?

The October Revolution broke out on November 7 1917, Russia was still using the Julian calendar so the date there was 25 October 1917. The communist Bolshevik party overthrew the government of Alexander Kerensky and installed a regime that would change world history. History would be drastically changed if the Bolsheviks never gained power so what would this alternate world be like? This is one possibly scenario but before we look at what if the revolution had failed we have to look at why it happened.

Background

The above picture is of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia who ruled the Russian Empire from 1894 to 1917. His reign was characterized by political repression, such as the Bloody Sunday (1905), Jewish pogroms, a costly war against Japan which he lost and a fractious relationship with the Duma, a Parliament formed in the wake of the 1905 Revolution. His alliance with Serbia made matters worse in 1914 when it drove Russia into war with Austria and Germany. Russia was grossly unprepared for the First World War and thanks to military failure, widespread famine and political discontent the Russian people got mad. In March 1917 (February in the Julian calendar) in Petrograd protests turned to riots and the troops sent to quell the riots mutinied. Losing control the Tsar abdicated his throne in favor of his brother who refused the throne as well. A Provisional Government was set up with socialist Alexander Kerensky soon becoming a dominant figure. However, Kerensky's insistence on continuing the war effort greatly upset many people who were driven into the arms of more radical politicians. The Germans wishing to destabilize Russia sent an exiled revolutionary back to Russia by train. He was Vladimir Lenin. After an initial failure to seize power he used his party, the Bolsheviks, to support worker riots in July. Eventually the Bolsheviks managed to strengthen their power by stopping a coup, supporting worker protests and using propaganda revolving around the failing war effort which enabled them to lead a successful revolution. Lenin seized power and the Russian Civil War broke out when 'White Russians' attacked the Bolsheviks to restore the monarchy. After several years of fighting with atrocities committed by both sides, including the execution of the royal family in 1918, the Bolsheviks kept hold of their power. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was declared and world history changed.

Divergence from real events

The government of Kerensky was weak facing many issues. However, many of the reasons why it was weak and why people were dissatisfied with it was thanks to the war effort. Military failures allowed already strong political parties to undermine his rule, food shortages were made worse by shipping supplies to the front, people wanted out of the war and soldiers were defecting en masse. All members of the Provisional Government were against ending the war effort until Germany was defeated. In this timeline however the Provisional Government calls for a cease fire with Germany until a peace treaty is made. The Germans fighting a war on two fronts accept. Russian Foreign Minister Pavel Milyulkov is told to stall at negotiations thus allowing no official peace to be signed. With the war de facto ended Kerensky could move soldiers away from the front with Germany. Thanks to the war apparently being over public support for the government increases and thanks to the reduction in fighting food can be better distributed. Due to the war coming to a close Germany does not send Vladimir Lenin to destabilize Russia which allows the Provisional Government increasing control over the Soviets. After US entry into the war the government may even get food supplies, monetary funding and armaments to bolster the Russians who would still be stalling in negotiations. By the end of 1917 the German government capitulates as war starts to reignite with Russia over who gets to rule Poland. Unable to face France, Britain, the Commonwealth, the US and Russia Germany surrenders.

The 1920s

Due to the alliance with the victorious Allies Russia would be able to attend the Treaty of Versailles. At Versailles Russia, alongside France, would be one of the main representatives wanting to keep Germany down for good. Likely reparations would be paid to Russia, around 3 billion rubles, who would also annex German lands in Poland. A post-war Russia would be the antithesis the our post-war Russia. For one without a Civil War the economy would be much better. In our timeline in 1921 pig-iron production was at a fifth of its 1913 level, coal 3%, livestock a quarter, cereal deliveries less than two fifths and railways had half of the locomotives that they once had. With this, and the increased trading with Russia no longer being an international pariah, the economy would rise and the 1921 famines would not kill the 2 million people that it once did. Slowly the government would increase the shift from agriculture to industry which had started under the Tsar but would greatly improve thanks to foreign investment. British, French and American companies would greedily purchase the great resources in Russia such as the oil in Siberia and coal in the Urals and Poland. Politically Russia would be very different. The Provisional Government upon its founding issued a decree of freedom of speech, abolition of national class distinctions, universal suffrage, the abolition of the death penalty, elections and less persecution of homosexuality. Although women and homosexuals would all be heavily repressed in Russia. To a 21st Century observer this may seem to be an almost perfect political system. However, like Weimar Germany the Provisional Government would be fractious politically. The initial governments were a coalition of strong left-wing parties including the socialist Mensheviks and the Socialists Revolutionary Party. These parties would still dominate Russian politics and create indecisive governments. Likewise a recalcitrant aristocracy would resist government attempts to distribute their land and remove their old powers, even forming their own parties. Unlike Weimar, Russia would be stronger. By 1917 the aristocracy had become vilified by the public unlike in Germany where they were well supported after the war and the government was made largely of large left wing parties. Coalitions in Germany became ineffective as they were made of multiple small left and right wing parties, Hence Russia would be politically stronger.

There would be instability in four main areas: Finland, the Baltics, Ukraine and Poland. Finland had been given semi-independence under Tsarist Russia and had even held elections to decide its government. Likewise in this scenario Finland would still have its autonomy but would want full independence. This would divide the government with a more liberal half allowing for Finnish independence while a more conservative half would want Finland to remain a semi-autonomous state. Eventually in 1923 Russia would grant Finland its independence seeing no point in creating another issue for the divided country and today they would have very positive relations. The large Cossack and Ukrainian population in Ukraine and the Polish, Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians would serve problems for the government. All had declared their independence in 1918, (the Bolsheviks managed to re-annex Ukraine), and were ethnically and linguistically distinct from Russians. The problem of Poland, the Baltics and Ukraine would be an even more divisive issue for the government, especially as, unlike Finland, they lacked some form of sovereignty. Likely by the mid-1920s they would be given a form of Home Rule like what Ireland had until its independence in 1922.

Worldwide

The international repercussions for no October Revolution would be difficult to estimate. The idea of a class struggle had intensified after the revolution with there being fears of a communist uprising aided and abetted by the Bolsheviks, such as the Red Scare in the USA and the British government's almost complete destruction of unions following the 1926 General Strike. In Germany there would be a fear of this due to an attempted communist takeover in 1918 with the Spartacists (pictured above). Overall more social welfare programs would be put in place around the world and trade union membership would rise. This would be because of there being no fear of workers emulating the Bolsheviks. Mongolia would remain part of China as it was the Soviet Union who invaded and created a puppet regime there. Whether the Communist Party of China could survive repression from the Chinese government it is hard to grasp as they would not have the safety of the Soviet Union to rely on. However the decentralized nature of China would allow many party members and revolutionaries to escape persecution. In Germany Hitler would still come to power. Although much of Hitler's rhetoric was targeted at the fear of the Soviet Union he would still get to power. The Great Depression would still happen, he would still be anti-Semitic, he would still be anti-communist (although relying solely on home grown communism instead of international) and he could vent anger at Russia who annexed Germany's land in Poland. 

1930s onward

As stated in the preceding paragraph the Great Depression would come regardless if there was a Soviet Union or not. Without the isolationist actions of Stalin Russia would be badly affected by the Depression. Reliant on foreign loans and trade the economy would slump and the Socialist Revolutionary Party would lose the election. As most of the parties making up the coalition were socialist or center-left they would become discredited and right wing parties would become more popular. The only popular ones would be conservative parties due to the Russian people associating fascism with the authoritarianism of the aristocracy. A few parties may call for the restoration of the monarchy but they would be fringe groups. A less socialistic party would likely come to power to put in place more capitalistic measures by utilizing the latent Russian industrial resources and increasing the shift away from agriculture. Unlike under Stalin this shift would not be forced and we would not see the devastating starvation, killings and pollution associated with the multiple Five Year Plans. Likewise Stalin's 'Russiafication' program would not be implemented and today there would be a greater population of ethnic minorities in the west such as Crimean Tatars who were ruthlessly purged under Stalin.

It would be difficult to tell if there would be a Second World War as the events of the war were put into place by Hitler and Stalin's desire to tear apart an independent Poland. No Stalin and no Poland means that World War Two could have had a drastically different course if it even would happen at all. On thing for certain is that there would be no Cold War. No USSR equals no Cold War. As a result in countries which opposed the USSR like the USA, UK, France and Japan there would be more 'socialist' programs as the stigma of soviet sympathies would not be there. The USA for example might even have a nationalized health care system. Today's Russia would be greatly different. Russia is still handling the shift to democracy so with a full democracy being created in 1917 we would see a more democratic Russia. Whether states such as Ukraine, Poland and Estonia would exist by 2015 would be a mystery thanks to the increasing uncertainty created by the lack of a USSR. 

Thanks for reading. Did you agree with this scenario? What other alternate history scenarios would you like to be seen done? 

If you would like to see where I got my information from I would strongly advise reading: Cold War by Jeremy Isaacs and Taylor Downing, The Age of Extremes: 1914-1991 by Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Empire: 1871-1914 by Eric Hobsbawm. The Penguin History of the World by J.M. Roberts, Post War by Tony Judt and the documentary The Russian Revolution in Colour.

The Origin of Halloween

Today is Halloween and the rounding up of the month of horror. In 2011 the National Retail Federation in the United States found that people spent around $6.86 billion, equating to $72 per person, on Halloween. Why is Halloween celebrated though? Today we will look at its origins.

Samhain

One of the generally accepted origins for the modern day Halloween lies with the Gaelic celebration of Samhain (pronounced sah-in or sow-in). This holiday was celebrated throughout Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland although similar holidays took place in Cornwall (the Kalan Gwav), Wales (the Brythonic Calan Gaeaf) and in Brittany (the Kalan Goañv). From the sunset of October 31st to the sunset of November 31st sacred bonfires were lit and druids would burn crops and offer animals as sacrifice. The origin of Samhain had a mixture of practical and spiritual purpose. One of the key sites is the Mound of the Hostages at the Hill of Tara, Ireland, which aligns with the changing moon. Not only does this suggest that the Gaelic people operated a calendar based on the moon like modern calendars but, also serves in a practical way with them bringing in cattle and crops before the colder winter months. During Samhain it was believed that the boundaries of the living and the dead became intertwined so to stop the spirits from hurting people during the winter through famine and the cold cattle and crops were offered to them. Feasts were held so the souls of dead kin could join their families in merriment, divination games involving apples were held and people would dress up and visit their neighbors asking for food. The origin of the last tradition is thought to be down to hiding your identity from the Aos Sí (spirits). In some areas turnips were carved into grotesque faces and hollowed out to ward off the Aos Sí. 

Christian and Roman merging

By 43 A.D. the Romans had conquered much of Celtic and Gaelic lands in Europe. They in turn had their own celebration in late October to celebrate the dead, Feralia, and the day after they honored the goddess of fruit and trees, Pomona, whose symbol was an apple. Due to the similarities Roman occupiers and native Gaelic peoples would celebrate their holidays together. In May 609 A.D. Pope Boniface VI created All Martyrs Day to honor martyred Christians and just over a century later Pope Gregory III expanded it to include saints as well and moved its celebration to November 1st. It also brought a name change: All Hallowed Day. The night before became known as All Hallows Eve. Quite often early Christianity would adopt traditions and dates of local festivals (a notable example is Christmas being celebrated on December 25th to coincide with a non-Christian holiday). This can be seen happening with Samhain and All Hallows Day. Over the years Christians increasingly celebrated All Hallows Day, now called Halloween, although in Scotland and England following the creation of Guy Fawkes Day (celebrating a foiled plot to assassinate King James VI and I) it was celebrated less except for in the Gaelic areas in Scotland. In Mexico during the 16th century La Día de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) was moved from being in the late summer to October 31st in order to coincide with Halloween. Incidentally the Day of the Dead's origin can be traced to pre-Columbian traditions used by a variety of cultures dating from 2,500 to 3,000 years ago. 

Modern Halloween

Many of the traditions in Halloween today can be traced directly to the original holiday of Samhain. The carving of jack-o-lanterns originated from carving grotesque faces into turnips to create lanterns as a ward against harmful spirits. Trick-or-treating originated from the custom of dressing up and visiting your neighbors for food while simultaneously protecting your identity from harmful spirits. Even bobbing for apples originated from the Roman-Gaelic influence of the festival celebrating Pomona. However, Halloween became so entrenched in society thanks to the United States. In the second half of the 1800s the United States saw a rise in immigration, particularly from Ireland where between 1 million and 1 and a half million left Ireland thanks to the Potato Famine. In Ireland the celebration of Halloween had continued where in the rest of the British Isles it had largely become redundant with Guy Fawkes Day replacing it as the major celebration. Thanks to this Halloween was introduced to large sections of American societies and was quickly adopted by communities to help create a closer community. By the late 1800s calls to tone down the more grotesque and frightening aspects of celebrations had an inadvertent effect by removing most of its superstitious and religious overtones, thus its appeal broadly increased. By the 20th Century Halloween had become a national holiday and especially following the Baby Boom of the 1950s its popularity increased dramatically. Thanks to the USA having a great impact on world culture thanks to the importation of American media following the 1950s the celebration of Halloween saw a resurgence in Ireland and the UK with its adoption as well in other countries which previously had not celebrated the holiday such as Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. In the Philippines it has even merged with celebrating the Day of the Dead! However, Samhain has also seen a resurgence. Many people now celebrate or honor Samhain each year with festivals and games being played to honor the festival commemorating the new year.

I hope you enjoyed reading. For more information please follow this link: http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween. It gives a lot of extra interesting information which I have not mentioned in this post. Next week I'll be doing an alternate history scenario so in the meantime I hope you have a nice Halloween, Day of the Dead or Samhain! 

Real life inspirations for Horror Fiction

Welcome back to our continuation of the month of horror. The above painting was painted c.1560 as a reproduction of a 15th century portrait. The subject would partially inspire one of horror's most famous characters. Many horror books, films and even video games have at least some inspiration from real life people or events. This week I shall go through some of the real life inspirations for the media that have caused our nightmares.

Dracula

Bram Stoker took inspiration from a real life figure when writing his 1897 novel Dracula. The aforementioned portrait is of the man who partially inspired Stoker: Vlad III aka Vlad the Impaler. Stoker had already formulated his novel by the time that he had read Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia with Political Observations Relative to Them by William Wilkinson but the book had a profound influence on Stoker. The book had a section on Vlad III who had been known for his cruelty in his wars against the Ottoman Empire, many of the tales of his cruelty come from Western sources however. He earned the title of 'The Impaler' for reportedly having between 40,000 to 100,000 people impaled on stakes. His other atrocities included razing towns to the ground, taking sadistic pleasure in torturing captives and mutilating women (we do know these atrocities did take place because Russian and German sources say the same thing although his enjoyment of the atrocities could very well be embellished). Some sources report that Vlad would stand under an impaled body and use a cup to gather up some of the blood leaking down the stake, when an enemy came close enough he would then drink from the cup (again this may be embellished). Stoker took inspiration from Vlad the Impaler's fondness for stakes, sadism and violence and implemented it into his novel. His vampire lord would come from Vlad the Impaler's home of Transylvania and his main antagonist went from being called Count Wampyr to Count Dracula, Dracula being the patronymic name of Vlad's family. Thus horror history was made. 

Silence of the Lambs

Thomas Harris's novel and film adaptation are highly regarded as the best psychological horrors. The plot revolves around FBI agent Clarice Starling who must utilize the mind of cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter to catch serial killer and kidnapper Buffalo Bill. Harris has revealed that Buffalo Bill is an amalgamation of multiple serial killers. In both the novel and the film Buffalo Bill kidnaps women, starves them and then skins them in order to make a 'suit' for him to wear. This modus operandi is similar to that of serial killer Ed Gein who would exhume bodies and make trophies out of the body parts, even making a female skin mask. Buffalo Bill also pretends to be injured to get women to help him, the same method which real life serial killer Ted Bundy used to kidnap his victims. Bill killed his grandparents in the same way as Edmund Kemper did. After he kills his victims Buffalo Bill inserts a moth into their throat before throwing them into a river, just as the Green River Killer Gary Ridgway did to his victims. Bill is based on a further two serial killers but arguably the best known character from the series is based on a real killer. Hannibal Lecter made his debut in Harris's novel Red Dragon (and his film debut in Manhunter with Brian Cox playing the serial killer) and in 2013 he revealed that the inspiration for Hannibal Lecter came from Alfredo Ballí Treviño. Treviño was a doctor who had murdered a close friend and mutilated his body. Harris had years later interviewed him for Red Dragon.

Jaws

Jaws by Peter Benchley is a mixture between a slasher film and Moby Dick with a small town sheriff hunting down a man-eating Great White shark. In 1975 Steven Spielberg adapted it and became one of the biggest summer blockbusters of all time. Although Benchley has denied this several people have claimed that Jaws was inspired by a series of shark attacks on the Jersey Shore in 1916. Over a period of just a few days a shark attacked five people, four of whom tragically died. Here it is easy to see why many believe that this influenced Jaws. Over the last fifty years sharks have been driven perilously close to extinction through hunting and now Peter Benchley is a leading campaigner for their conservation.

Nightmare on Elm Street

Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the best known horror movies of the 1980s and with the idea that you are not safe in your dreams it has had a terrifying lasting legacy. It was also inspired by real events. In 1981 eighteen Cambodian refugees tragically died in their sleep despite being of good health. The Atlanta's Center of Disease Control looked into Sudden Unexpected Death Syndrome for an answer and found that they had seemingly died thanks to a nightmare. Fourteen Times magazine has put this down to Bruanda Syndrome, an extremely rare genetic syndrome that can cause death in sleep that is triggered through extremely traumatic experiences. The refugees had this syndrome and had barely survived the Killing Fields which was one of the worst cases of genocide following the Holocaust. Wes Craven saw this in the L.A. Times and became inspired for a horror movie. Three years later Nightmare on Elm Street was released.

The Strangers

This 2008 horror movie revolves around three masked assailants who break into a couple's house and assault them 'because they were in'. This may seem far-fetched but it had inspiration from a real life event. Charles Manson had established a small cult-following and believed that an apocalypse was coming through a race war. In 1969 over a period of five weeks Manson and his followers went on a murder spree killing seven people including pregnant actress Sharon Tate. As of writing he is still serving a life imprisonment in Corcoran State Prison, California. Years later his actions would inspire this film.

The Exorcist

William Peter Blattys's novel terrified the world over when it was released and when it was adapted to the cinema screen it terrified the world once again. The Exorcist remains one of the most heavily regarded and greatest horror novels and films. Blatty was actually inspired by a real exorcism. While studying at Georgetown University in 1950 he heard about a story of a young boy in Cottage City, Maryland the previous year. When he came to writing his novel the boy was changed to a girl and the setting was changed to Washington D.C. which is near to Georgetown University. Father Merrin is also based on a real life person. British archaeologist Gerald Lankaster Harding had done excavation work in the cave where the Dead Sea scrolls had been discovered. Blatty had later met him in Beirut and there Father Merrin was born. 

The Last of Us

The Last of Us is without a doubt one of the greatest video games of all time. With great gameplay, visuals and characters it deserved every award that it got. The constant antagonists of the game are zombie-like infected humans with a taste for human flesh, all of whom are infected with a fungus. The game developers gained some of the inspiration for The Last of Us from a real life fungus featured on a David Attenborough documentary. The Cordyceps fungus is a type of fungi which infects an arthropod (normally ants) and grows inside them. It takes over their brain and eventually grows through the arthropods' body to infect another arthropod with its spores. Normally when the carapace bursts the unfortunate arthropod dies. The developers saw this and became inspired to adapt it for their zombie plague. Note as well in the opening you can see stock footage of the Cordyceps fungus infecting ants and other arthropods.

The Hills Have Eyes

The Hills Have Eyes was one of Wes Craven's first horror films and has been established as a cult classic. It revolves around a family who break down in the desert and are set upon by a patriarchal clan of cannibals. This is a unique entry on the list as it is the only one to have had major debates about its source of inspiration actually existing. Wes Craven was partially inspired by Sawney Bean. Bean was a the patriarchal head of a clan formed by multiple cases of incest and living in Bennane Head. They attacked travelers who crossed into their territory and cannibalized them; around 1000 people were supposedly eaten by the Bean clan! When James VI found out he ordered a manhunt for them and they were soon found, sent to Tolbooth Jail in Edinburgh and executed. Several historians have doubted the validity of the Sawney Bean story due to a lack of any reference in newspapers or letters at the time that it was supposed to take place. 

Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, American Horror Story and House of 1000 Corpses

All of these films, TV shows and books have one character based on a real life serial killer. He also serves as one of the killers who inspired Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs. That killer happened to be Ed Gein. Gein inspired Leatherface (Chainsaw Massacre), Bloody Face (Horror Story), Norman Bates (Psycho) and virtually every antagonist in House of 1000 Corpses. His actions of making trophies from body parts exhumed from coffins, and the fact that he is known to have murdered two people, helped inspired countless of media's most terrifying villains. 

Thank you for reading. There are many, many more horror franchises inspired by real life events (The Conjuring just to name another) that could keep this list going for a long time. I hope I'll see you next time for the last week in the month of horror! 

Review: Dracula (1931)

Continuing with the month of horror it is time to step into the Golden Age of Cinema. In 1931 Universal Studios released Dracula based off of the novel by Bram Stoker. This was not the first time that Dracula had been adapted to film, during the 1920s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Terror was released in Germany based off of the novel but had to have many names changed to avoid copyright infringement. As one of the classic monster movies made by Universal, alongside Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and The Mummy Dracula is a key horror movie for, not only fans of the genre, but cinema goers everywhere. 

Plot

The plot resembles that of the novel fairly well and has become well known among the general populace. A solicitor named Renfield (played by Dwight Frye) visits Transylvania to broker a property deal with the elusive Count Dracula (played by Bela Lugosi) despite the pleas of local villagers. It quickly transpires that Dracula is a vampire who bites Renfield and makes him his slave. Renfield manages to smuggle Dracula to England where he is sent to an asylum while Dracula goes around as a respectable nobleman. He makes the acquaintance of several upper class Londoners, John Harker (David Manners), his fiance Mina (Helen Chandler) and Lucy Weston (Frances Dade). Meanwhile Dr Van Helsing (Edward van Sloan) finds out why Renfield is acting in a peculiar way and has to team up with Harker to save Mina from being made a vampire before it is too late. 

Like the novel that it is based on the plot is quite captivating. With a simple premise it pulls it off effectively. Compared to many modern vampire films the plot to Dracula moves at a slow pace but this is not detrimental to the film. Instead of continuous plot progression, such as in The Lost Boys, Dracula allows a slower pace to build up tension making key plot points to play off well. A key scene is when Dracula is leaning over Mina ready to bite her. Instead of a few seconds of him biting her you see Dracula slowly creep up on her, slowly lean over her allowing tension to build up. You become so tense to see if Dracula bites her or is interrupted by a character allowing further enjoyment of the film. There are lots of talking in the film also benefiting to the plot. It helps build up atmosphere without appearing dull. Although easily the best dialogue is between Van Helsing and Dracula. Both are aware of each other's true identities but their polite demeanor does not betray it. It seems to be a battle of wits. The only downside to the plot is the end (due to the popularity of the film it is given that Dracula is slain). Thanks to 1930s censorship how Dracula meets his end seems rushed and unimpressive which hinders the overall feeling of accomplishment.

Acting

The acting is good but the acting of Bela Lugosi, Edward van Sloan and Dwight Frye overshadows the other actors. Bela Lugosi as Dracula is staggering. His thick accent, slow methodical voice and small devilish smile is exactly what you imagine the vampire lord to be like. His stare is unbelievable. Lugosi is known for his hypnotic stare and in Dracula it truly hypnotizes you. Near the start of the film when he says 'Children of the night. What music they make.' when referring to wolves howling is unnerving. He is a man to be feared. Lugosi as Dracula has actually influenced other portrayals of Dracula. Lugosi used his native Romanian accent which almost every version of Dracula since has copied and his gentlemanly looks in contrast to his hideous portrayal in the novel can be directly linked to Lugosi playing the vampire. 

Frye as Renfield is so melodramatic that it is captivating. His juxtaposition from a smart, Victorian gentlemen at the start of the film to a raving lunatic at the end shows how good he is as an actor. The scene where he cries for rats is so dramatic that it becomes unnerving. Sloan as Van Helsing again is phenomenal with his austere initial image and how he still sounds professional despite talking about fantastical creatures. Few actors could have pulled it off so believably. The rest of the acting is good but not spectacular. Compared to other Universal horrors like Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein and The Wolf Man none really stand out and leave you with a lingering lasting image. 

Setting and Filming

 The set design is amazing. Intricately detailed and overwhelming in magnificence the sets are mind blowing. The cobweb in Dracula's castle alone adds such level of detail to the film. You feel that you are in a Gothic castle and the tropes of a haunted castle such as cobwebs, fog and long shadows add to the foreboding atmosphere that the film presents. It is easy to see why this film helped establish those tropes in the popular culture. Director Tod Browning has definitely used this to his advantage. The long shot of Renfield looking up the staircase to see Dracula slowly descend creates an awe inspiring and yet uneasy feel to the film's atmosphere. Even lighting is done to great effect with the long shadows in the opening and ending helping create unease, that you are in Dracula's domain, and how Bela Lugosi's eyes are highlighted by the light while the rest of his face is hidden makes his stare even more effective.

Music

The music is well done. Using an excerpt from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake actually works to the films' benefit. Turning a song of grace to one of chills helps make a stunning atmosphere to terrify the audience. Dracula was made in the early days of sound film so the makers of the film did not know how much musical score to use in case it put the audience off. Hence at many times of the film there are long silences which now would be filled with music. This turned out to be a good choice with it effectively building up tension. As with the earlier mentioned scene when Dracula goes to bite Mina there is a long pause in the music. Thus it creates a tension that you want broken. With music Dracula has shown that sometimes less is more.

In conclusion for its great music, phenomenal acting from Lugosi and Frye, detailed setting and good pacing but with mediocre acting from other cast members and a seemingly rushed ending I give Dracula 7.8/10. Being one of the Golden Era Universal monster movies it set up many expectations of what a horror movie could do. For any fan of horrors, or anyone wanting to get into horrors, who wishes to watch a Universal horror Dracula is one of the first films that you must watch.