The following excerpt is from Pietro Damiani’s Book of Gomorrah (1048) which is mostly a writing denouncing the vices of the clergy, homosexuality being among the foremost. Damiani was a zealot for monastic and clerical reform and introduced a more severe discipline, including the practice of self-flagellation, into the house, which, under his rule, quickly … More 11th Century Crusade Against Homosexuality

Isobel Gowdie was a Scottish woman who confessed to witchcraft during the Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661- 1662. The confessions include details of charms and rhymes, claims she was a member of a coven in the service of the Devil, and that she met with the fairy queen and king. Apart from her confessions … More A Woman Describes Sex with the Devil- 1662 Witchcraft Trial.

King Charles II of England had many problem to face after being restored to the throne following the death of Oliver Cromwell: The Great Plague of 1665, the Great Fire of 1666, major conflicts with Parliament, and so on. But he also had a nasty habit of traveling incognito to the brothels of London. One … More Charles II: Trapped in a Brothel

Franciscan monk Salimbene de Adam’s Cronica covered the years 1167–1287 and the people he met in his travels about the courts of Europe. In it he describes everyday life vividly and gives unrivalled detail into internal disputes in the Franciscan order at the time, which include many lusty, prank filled, violent episodes of life in … More Pope Alexander IV’s Smutty Story -True Tale

Walt Whitman, one of the greatest poets of Americana and author of Leaves of Grass, is now openly acknowledged as homosexual, though the man absolutely denied it (understandably so) during his lifetime. Peter Doyle was conductor on a railroad and met Whitman in Washington, D.C.. While shying away from any specifics, he admits his close … More Walt Whiman’s Lover Tells How They Met

The following excised excerpt is from my upcoming novel Sunday Morning at the Peak of Hell. It has been cut because it doesn’t fit the narrative of the story any more, but I still think it has potential as a disconnected piece of flash fiction. Enjoy.  The Golden Trough is open for business! The already … More The Golden Trough

The literary term “Mary Sue” is one bandied about often today. We hear it over and over again to where the actual definition becomes clouded by accusations that every major character is some kind of Mary Sue. It is now almost synonymous with “Whiny review on the internet”. But the Mary Sue trope has a … More Origins of the Term “Mary Sue”

Hey, hey, hey. Another Mother’s Day has come around and another of our tributes to the worst Mothers in History. As we’ve gone again, and again, and again, and again, in order to combat the wave of diabetic inducing sweetness that will be pouring over us soon enough. As preventative medicine, I suggest you read … More Mothers Day Special: The Worst Mothers in History Vol. 4

Drifting on our booze cruise, we docked at Roatan, Honduras. Yes, the same Honduras that once got into a shooting war with neighboring El Salvador over a soccer match. Luckily this port is part of an archipelago of islands claimed by Honduras, so they can keep most of the degradation away from delicate eyes like … More My Honeymoon: Sick in Honduras

Part three of my honeymoon cruise around the Caribbean. Previously I described the murder ship we sailed out on, and our first port of call – Costa Maya. The next day we descended on the small third world country of Belize. Unlike Costa Maya, they did not attempt to cover up the poverty. Belize City, … More My Honeymoon: Second Stop- Belize