61. Lycosa

Lycosa: One of the genus known as wolf spiders. A bite from a Lycosa tarantula was thought to bring on tarantism; a sickness sourced in southern Italy during the 16th and 17th centuries that manifested in fevers and cold sweats, and could only be...

Monday, 27 July 2009 | Read more

62. Marquis de Sade

Marquis de Sade: Originally christened Donatien Alphonse François, the Marquis de Sade revelled in debauchery and his name even gave rise to the term ‘sadism’. A French revolutionary, aristocrat and lover of the hedonistic lifestyle, de Sade...

Monday, 23 November 2009 | Read more

63. Metatron

Metatron: Revered as the highest of all God’s Archangels, exalted and often named in Medieval Judaism and Rabbinic tradition. Thought to have come into being at the very beginning of existence, as God created the world, only Metatron is permitted...

Monday, 25 January 2010 | Read more

64. Mircalla

Mircalla: From the famous novel ‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Countess Mircalla Karnstein was the ancestor of Laura, and became the vampiress Carmilla upon her death. Often assuming the form of a large cat, she takes young girls as ...

Monday, 27 July 2009 | Read more

65. Miss Havisham

Miss Havisham: The aged spinster of Charles Dickens’ beloved novel, Great Expectations. An eerily enduring depiction of the tragedy and heartbreak of jilted love, the almost skeletal Miss Havisham was betrothed to a man named Compeyson, who went...

Monday, 23 November 2009 | Read more

66. Mjollnir

Mjollnir: Mythological hammer belonging to the Norse god of thunder, Thor. In Swedish, its name literally means ‘crusher’, and was capable of destroying mountains or felling giants with a single strike. Functions as a boomerang and returns to...

Monday, 27 July 2009 | Read more

67. Mordred

Mordred: A notorious figure of Arthurian legends. Known in some cases as King Arthur’s illegitimate son, he proved himself to be traitorous by fighting Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where Mordred was slain by Arthur, but which also left the...

Tuesday, 03 November 2009 | Read more

68. Mourning

Mourning: The act of expressing grief; the dress or other tokens of mourning; the period during which one is mourning a death.

Tuesday, 07 April 2009

69. Necromancer

Necromancer: (Middle English via Old French nigromancie from medieval Latin nigromantia, changed from Late Latin 'necromantia', from Greek 'nekromanteia' (as necro-, -mancy), meaning 'black' and 'divination by'): a sorcerer: a practitioner of...

Tuesday, 07 April 2009 | Read more

70. Nimue, Fairy of the Lake

Nimue/Fairy of the Lake: Also known as Viviane or Nyneve, the Fairy (or Lady) of the Lake is best known for providing King Arthur with his famed sword, Excalibur, in ancient legend. She is also thought to have raised Lancelot after the death of...

Monday, 23 November 2009 | Read more