Aconitum, also known as aconite, monkshood, wolfsbane, leopard's bane, devil's helmet, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. These herbaceous perennial plants are chiefly native to the mountainous parts of the Northern Hemisphere in North America, Europe, and Asia, growing in the moisture-retentive but well-draining soils of mountain meadows.
Poison Ivy is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino, she debuted in Batman #181, and has become one of the superhero Batman's most enduring enemies belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
Octavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Beatrice is a female given name. The English variant is derived from the French Béatrice, which came from the Latin Beatrix, which means "blessed one".
Flying ointment is a hallucinogenic ointment said to have been used by witches in the practice of European witchcraft from at least as far back as the Early Modern period, when detailed recipes for such preparations were first recorded and when their usage spread to colonial North America.
A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate climates, especially colder areas, such as Scotland, the essential function of the walling of a garden is to shelter the garden from wind and frost, though it may also serve a decorative purpose. Kitchen gardens were very often walled, which segregated them socially, allowing the gardeners, who were usually expected to vanish from the "pleasure gardens" when the occupants of the house were likely to be about, to continue their work. The walls, which were sometimes heated, also carried fruit trees trained as espaliers.
Arum maculatum is a woodland flowering plant species in the family Araceae. It is native across most of Europe, as well as Eastern Turkey and the Caucasus.
The Scrovegni Chapel, also known as the Arena Chapel, is a small church, adjacent to the Augustinian monastery, the Monastero degli Eremitani in Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. The chapel and monastery are now part of the complex of the Musei Civici di Padova.
Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story of the Abrahamic religions, she was the first woman, yet some debate within Judaism has also given that position to Lilith. Eve is known also as Adam's wife.
Scorpion is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appears in Amazing Fantasy #7 and was created by Fred Van Lente and Leonard Kirk.
Monica Rappaccini is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Fred Van Lente and Leonard Kirk, the character first appeared in Amazing Fantasy vol. 2 #7 (2005). Monica Rappaccini is a genius-level biochemist and the Scientist Supreme of the supervillain organization A.I.M.
Legend of the Fox, also known as Legend of a Fox, is a 1980 Hong Kong film based on Louis Cha's novel The Young Flying Fox. It was produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, directed by Chang Cheh and starred the Venom Mob. The film used to be one of the most rare Venom Mob martial arts film available, but has been digitally remastered and released by Celestial Pictures.
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. They also provide the basis for the doctrines of the fall of man and original sin that are important beliefs in Christianity, although not held in Judaism or Islam.
Twice-Told Tales is a 1963 American horror anthology film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Vincent Price. It consists of three segments, all loosely adapted by producer/screenwriter Robert E. Kent from works by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Paradiso is the third and final part of Dante's Divine Comedy, following the Inferno and the Purgatorio. It is an allegory telling of Dante's journey through Heaven, guided by Beatrice, who symbolises theology. In the poem, Paradise is depicted as a series of concentric spheres surrounding the Earth, consisting of the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, the Primum Mobile and finally, the Empyrean. It was written in the early 14th century. Allegorically, the poem represents the soul's ascent to God.
La hija de Rappaccini is an opera in two acts composed by Daniel Catán to a libretto by Juan Tovar based on the play by Octavio Paz and the 1844 short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It premiered at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City in 1991 and had its US premiere in 1994 at San Diego Opera. Upon its premiere in San Diego, Rappaccini's Daughter became the first work by a Mexican composer to be produced by a major opera house in the United States. Although Catán's second opera, Rappaccini's Daughter was his first commercial success.
The Vishakanya were young women reportedly used as assassins, often against powerful enemies, during the times of Ancient India. Their blood and bodily fluids were purportedly poisonous to other humans, as was mentioned in the ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, Arthashastra, written by Chanakya, an adviser and a prime minister to the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta.
"The Shuimang Herb", also translated as "The Shuimang Plant", is a short story by Pu Songling first published in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter is a 2017 novel by Theodora Goss. It is her debut novel, though she is an author of many short works. Strange Case is the first installment of The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series, and is followed by European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman. The story follows Mary Jekyll, daughter of the literary character Dr. Jekyll, as she meets and connects with the fictional daughters of major literary characters, and works with and faces various famous 19th century literary personae, including Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Frankenstein's monster, and others to solve the mystery of a series of killings in London, as well as the mystery of her own family story. Drawing on classic gothic and horror creations of the 19th century, such as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein, Rappaccini's Daughter, The Island of Doctor Moreau, Dracula and the Sherlock Holmes stories, Goss reimagines the works of such literary greats as Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, H. G. Wells, Bram Stoker and Nathaniel Hawthorne from a feminist perspective, as well as the historical record of the Jack the Ripper murders. At the center of the narrative is the connection and various experiences of the women who form the Athena Club, the oppressions they experience, and how they empower each other to accomplish great things.
