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 cured by performing the tarantella dance.
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 wrote many short stories and plays, often violent, pornographic and outrageously blasphemous towards the Catholic Church.
He was renowned for employing prostitutes and then poisoning them, and for engaging his wife’s sister in an affair. For thirty-two years of his life, the Marquis was imprisoned in various institutions and insane asylums throughout France, including the Bastille and the Conciergerie, before dying in 1814, shortly after the beginning of an affair with a thirteen year old girl. To this day, he is still known as one of the most notorious libertines to have lived.
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 to look upon his countenance and sit upon the clouds of heaven. As the celestial scribe and beloved advocate of Israel in the heavenly court, his duty is to write down the deeds of his people and keep them safe for all of eternity.
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 her prey and leaves her mark by biting them on the chest.
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 on to leave her at the altar on their appointed wedding day.
Utterly disgraced, Miss Havisham stopped all the clocks in her house, leaving them on the exact minute of her betrayal. Even into her old age, she never removed her yellowing wedding dress, and left her wedding cake on the table to decompose. Her bitter nature was passed onto her ward, Estella, making her wary and cold towards men. Only after her wedding dress caught fire and she suffered severe burns did she find death and repentance for manipulating Estella’s heart.
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 the hand of the one who throws it. When worn as an amulet, it is seen as a potent symbol of protection.
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 legendary king fatally wounded.
Mourning: The act of expressing grief; the dress or other tokens of mourning; the period during which one is mourning a death.
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