And the catchy song was meant to warn children to stay away
There are many versions of this horrifying story. The Muffin Man, also known as the Drury Lane Dicer, was the first known serial killer in England. His name was Frederic Thomas Lynwood, and he was born in 1563 and died in 1612. There are many accounts of Lynwood’s crimes, however, no surviving records. This is either one hell of a folklore story or one of history’s most creepy mysteries.
In Victorian England, it was common for families to have fresh foods delivered to their homes. If you’re in the US, imagine the Milk Man from the 1950s, same deal. Every…
And your kids will always guess wrong about who it is.
As a mother, I would never admit that I have a favorite child. That’s because I absolutely do have a favorite, but that designation is a continually shifting spot in my heart. For example, at the moment, my middle kiddo is my favorite because he’s sitting quietly and reading a book while I work. My least favorite child right now? Easy, that would be my youngest, who is currently shrieking like a damn sea witch.
Most parents will tell you that they don’t have a favorite child. The truth is, though, that most parents have a child at any given…
And how to fix it if you think you might be a toxic parent.
As a mother of three, I have often wondered how decent or how awful my parenting skills are. It is natural for any parent to want to know if they are screwing up their kids or if they are doing things the right way, whatever the word “right” truly means. There is no one handbook to measure a parent by, and in the world of social media, parent shaming is at an all-time high.
So, how do you know if you’re a good parent? Well, one way to know is to look at what bad parenting is. And that means…
The real story involves Walt Disney’s own mom and it’s heartbreaking.
I’m not sure I would have even picked up on it had a friend not pointed it out, but have you ever noticed that moms are largely absent from Disney films? At first, I figured this was a coincidence. Perhaps even a necessary plot device used to shove characters into dangerous situations where they are forced to change or grow. Having a mom around might hinder that kind of adventure, after all. But it got me wondering, was there a particular reason for this?
Not all Disney movies are missing a mother, though. Quite a number of them feature a…
If you complain that social media is toxic because of toxic people then stop acting like a jerk online.
Unpopular opinion: Yes, you are an asshole for policing spelling and grammar when you get pissed off because someone disagreed with you online. Yes, even if that person is as horrible as they come. Or wronger than wrong. You’re still an asshole.
When someone disagrees with you online, and you ignore the meat of what they are saying and go straight for their shitty punctuation — that makes you an asshole.
When someone makes a joke online, and you’re offended by it, instead of reaching out and having a private discussion to suss out why the joke is problematic, you…
Yup. I mean maybe. It’s complicated.
You likely sang Three Blind Mice as a child, and you probably didn’t give the silly rhyming words any thought. But if you listen to the poetic lyrics, they sound rather sinister. The version you likely grew up singing might go something like this:
Three Blind Mice
Three Blind Mice
See how they run
See how they run
They all run after the farmer’s wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a sight in your life,
as Three Blind Mice?
I live in the country where I’ve killed my fair share of…
If you don’t have thick skin or aren’t willing to grow it, you will not survive the writing world.
If you have ever met me in person, then you might know that I am intensely shy. I do not put myself out there, and I am happy with my small social sphere. It would be easy to assume that this is because I am an insecure person; at one time, I would have quietly and inwardly agreed with you.
As a writer, my aversion to submitting my work to bigger audiences than my dusty old blog quickly became a problem. Not only was I afraid of editors and what they thought, but the comment sections on digital magazines and…
You don’t need to be a doomsday prepper but you should have what you need in the event of a natural disaster and emergencies; here's how to build one.
I live in Maine, where at least twice a year, we lose power for multiple days. October now brings us giant wet storms that drench the soil while high, gale force winds tear down trees, ripping the roots from the soggy ground. The last time this happened, my house lost power for a week. We lose power in the winter when the snow gets too heavy and falls too fast, pulling down lines and even breaking roofs.
Last night in Texas, my niece lost all of her possessions because of extreme weather. Arctic air has battered the south for days…
Without losing your mind or feeling guilty.
Disclaimer: I am not a family therapist or expert. The tips on quitting yelling that I am sharing below are simply the things that I applied to my parenting skills toolbox. I will include resources for family therapy at the end of this article. Thank you for supporting my work.
I recently published an article about how science says that yelling is the same as hitting. That piece exploded, and I received more than one hundred messages from parents wanting to know what I did to quit yelling. At first, I was hesitant to share my struggles with yelling because…
France has a fascinating history of werewolves terrorizing people.
It is a cold January evening, and a group of tired, dirty men is walking into Dole, France, from a neighboring town. Dole is just under 200 miles from the Swiss border for some geographic perspective, but back to our group of exhausted laborers. They’ve just finished a hard day’s work and are looking forward to a hot meal and sleep before they get up and do it all over again the following day. …
Sarah Cottrell
Essay Hustler | Book Writer | Rep’d by Folio Literary Management — Sign up for my newsletter here https://bit.ly/30f2dxc
