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The Asian Myth of the Queen of the Night Cactus

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I couldn’t resist buying this little Easter cactus. I’ve never seen blooms this color on these plants. Aren’t the flowers pretty? I’ve got a thing about Easter and Christmas cacti because they remind me of a very special plant in Asia. It’s the “tan hua” or “keng hua” (in Hokkien, a southern Chinese dialect). The plant is a night-blooming cereus (epiphyllum oxypetalum) also known as Dutchman’s Pipe or Queen of the Night. You may have seen a reference to the plant in Kevin Kwan’s book, Crazy Rich Asians , or the movie . The main character’s future in-laws throw a party to celebrate the blooming of their tan hua. Epiphyllum Oxypetalum The tan hua has blossoms that can grow up to 6 inches across. The white flowers have a very heady scent (the better to attract moths and other pollinators). The flowers bloom only at night, and they last just for that night. The plant is special not only because its flowers are so beautiful. Some people believe your household will have good luck and pro...
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Spend a Haunting Halloween With These Ghost Movies

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As many of you know, Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve, has roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (it’s Gaelic and pronounced SAH-win). The Celts believed that between October 31 and November 1, the boundaries between the physical and spiritual worlds were weak and could be breached. That meant that the dead, fairy folk and even monsters could cross into the human world at this time. The Celts left offerings for the Sidhs, or fairies, outside their villages and in fields. They also dressed up as animals and monsters to fool the fairies into not kidnapping them. For this Halloween, I thought it might be fun to breach the walls between the world of the living and the world of the dead. How about watching a few movies about ghosts while waiting for the trick-or-treaters to arrive? If you’re interested, I have a few recommendations for you. My list is in no particular order. Some of these are older movies and/or classics. They are among my favorite horror movies, and they all br...
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'Jiangshi': the Hopping Vampire in Chinese Folklore

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My latest book  The Corpse Ritual features a vampire-like Chinese folklore monster that some of you may recognize. It’s a “jiangshi,” which means “stiff corpse” in Mandarin. Those of you who’ve watched the Mr. Vampire Hong Kong comedy movies from the 1980s will be familiar with this creature. It’s basically a reanimated corpse. Its appearance depends on how long it’s been dead. It hops because its limbs are stiff from rigor mortis.  In Chinese popular culture, the jiangshi usually is shown wearing clothes from the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1911). Although it’s called a “vampire” in the movies, there are major differences between a jiangshi and a vampire.  A jiangshi— doesn’t drink blood. It sucks a person’s life essence, or qi. isn’t good-looking or suave. behaves more like a zombie. doesn’t turn into a bat. doesn’t command other creatures of the night. doesn’t sparkle in daylight and won’t ever get the girl (or guy). The hopping corpse folklore supposedly dates b...
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