Rosalia Lombardo: Little Sleeping Beauty

While this may be a morbid topic (when do i ever avoid those?) I couldn't help but want to post this due to the fact that it's rather beautiful in a strange way. Forgive me me for posting such old topics, but i'm here to inform. Not to update. :)


Rosalia Lombardo was an Italian child born in the year 1918 in Palermo, Sicily. When she was only two years old she died of pneumonia on December 6, 1920. Her father was so grieved by her death that he contacted a noted embalmer, Alfredo Salafia and asked him to preserve her. Her body was one of the last few to enter the Capuchin Catacombs.

Photo of Rosalia's corpse in 1995

This wonderful state of preservation was achieved by a formula concocted by the embalmer, Alfredo. Until recently the formula was thought to be lost, but a handwritten memoir was discovered that contained the recipe for the formula. The preservation method used formalin, alcohol, glycerin, salicylic acid, and zinc salts. These were mixed together in a liquid and then used to replace the girls blood. X-rays showed that her internal organs were very well preserved and were all intact.
Until recently Rosalia was kept in a glass covered coffin at the end of the catacomb tour. Recent photos show that her body is starting to show signs of decay, the most prominent being discoloration. Her body has been moved back into the catacombs alongside the bodies of two other children.

2009 National Geographic photo showing the signs of decomposition.

Links!

• National Geographic article: [link]
• Discover Magazine article: [link]

The Green Children of Woolpit

The Green Children of Woolpit is an interesting story coming from the village of Woolpit located in Suffolk, England. The story takes place during the 12th century, sometime during the reign of King Stephen. No one is quite sure if the story is true or not, but it is sill a interesting story all the same.

Sign erected in 1977

The story starts when two children, a brother and a sister, are found in pits dug to trap wolves.The children were normal in appearance except for the fact that their skin was a shade of green and they spoke a language that none of the villagers had heard before. The children were taken back to the village to be cared for but they wouldn't eat any of the food that the villagers brought them. They didn't eat for the first few days until someone brought them green beans. The children lived off of the beans untill they eventually learned to eat normal food.

Source

Eventually the brother of the two, who was apparently the youngest, got sick and died. But the girl remained perfectly healthy, was baptized and raised by the people in the village. As the girl grew the green color in her skin eventually faded away. When she was older she learned to speak english and was able to tell the villagers of the place that she and her brother came from.
The girl claimed that she came from a place of perpetual twilight called Saint Martin's land. She told the villagers that Saint Martin's land was found underground and that all the people there were green just as she was when she was younger. She recalled that she and her brother had wandered off and were not able to find the way back to their home after being dazed by the strong sunlight.
As for her life in the village, the girl adjusted well and eventually married though she was apparently "rather loose and wonton in her conduct." (Er...skanky?) If this story is true or not remains to be seen, but it still makes for one interesting story.

Links!

• More information on the history of this tale: [link]

Aokigahara: The Suicide Forest

At the North Western base of Mount Fuji in Japan lies a forest known as Aokigahara, or The Sea of Trees. Due to the strange absence of most wildlife, and it's wind blocking trees, the forest is know to be eerily quiet. The forest is also home to a few caves and caverns that are popular tourist attractions. But here's the kicker: Aokigahara is the worlds second most popular location for suicides, the first being the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco.

That's not a prop.

Local volunteers host and annual "body hunt" to search for bodies of those that have committed suicide in the forest. Since the 1950's there have been over 500 deaths in the forest, the majority of those being suicides. So many suicides have taken place that the Japanese government has posted signs urging people who are visiting the forest not to kill themselves. The high amount of death in the forest is often attributed to a popular novel, Nami no To written by Seicho Matsumoto, which ends with two lovers committing suicide in the forest. While the novel may have had some impact on the number of deaths, the forest was associated with death long before the novel was published.
It's thought that a practice called Ubasute was often preformed in the forest during the 19th century. Ubasute was when sick or elderly relatives were taken to a remote place, often a forest or mountain, and left to die. While this doesn't seem to be a common practice it was mostly used during times of drought or famine. Knowing this little cheerful chunk of history has led many people to believe that Aokigahara is haunted by the spirits of those who committed suicide and those that were left to die. This theory isn't helped by the fact that the volcanic soil in the forest often causes compasses to give false readings and the forest is eerily quiet.
Locals in the area claim that there are three types of visitor to the forest: those that come for the nature, those that come hoping to see something grim, and those that plan not to exit the forest alive.

Personal belongings are often found on the forest floor.

Links!

• CNN Article on Aokigahara: [link]
• More photographs *WARNING: GRAPHIC*: [link]
• Atlas Obscura: [link]