Sarah Nour

My HubPages have been transferred to Medium! Check them out if you're interested in film history. #writersofbluesky medium.com/@sacha1689.s...

"The Devil and Daniel Webster" by Stephen Vincent Benét is a 1936 short story about a struggling farmer who sells his soul to the Devil for seven years of prosperity. When the Devil demands payment, the farmer hires the famous lawyer Daniel Webster to defend him in court. #FairyTaleTuesday

In the Brothers Grimm tale "Bearskin," a former soldier meets the Devil, who declares he will make him rich if he wears a dead bear's skin for seven years and doesn't pray, bathe, cut his hair, or clip his nails. If he dies during these seven years, the Devil will take his soul. #FairyTaleTuesday

In the Polish folktale of Sir Twardowski, a nobleman sells his soul to the Devil for knowledge and sorcery. In this deal, he includes a clause stating the Devil can only take his soul if he travels to Rome. He's eventually tricked by the Devil into entering a tavern called Rome. #FairyTaleTuesday

Inanna, Sumerian goddess of love, beauty, sex, and war, gets murdered on the orders of her sister, Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld. Her father Enki, the sea god, sends servants to the Underworld to sprinkle Inanna's body with the food and water of life to resurrect her. #MythologyMonday

When Sumerian goddess Inanna journeys to Kur, the Underworld, she wears the Seven Mes: a crown, a necklace, anklets, a gold ring, a breastplate, a robe, and a staff. At each gate, she's made to remove the protective garments one by one, and she's struck dead by the judges of Kur. #MythologyMonday

When the epic hero Gilgamesh rejects the goddess Inanna, she sends the Bull of Heaven—husband of her sister, Underworld goddess Ereshkigal—to kill him. Gilgamesh kills the Bull, so Ereshkigal lures Inanna to the Underworld and kills her to avenge her husband. #MythologyMonday

"'Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world. Now could I drink hot blood And do such bitter business as the bitter day Would quake to look on." —Hamlet #ShakespeareSunday

"Deep night, dark night, the silent of the night, The time of night when Troy was set on fire; The time when screech-owls cry and ban-dogs howl, And spirits walk and ghosts break up their graves, That time best fits the work we have in hand." —Henry VI #ShakespeareSunday

"O, I have passed a miserable night, So full of ugly dreams, of ugly sights, That, as I am a Christian faithful man, I would not spend another such a night Though ’twere to buy a world of happy days, So full of dismal terror was the time." —Richard III #ShakespeareSunday

"I cannot see my prospects clearly to-night, sir; and I hardly know what thoughts I have in my head. Everything in life seems unreal... You, sir, are the most phantom-like of all: you are a mere dream." —Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë #BookWormSat

"The effect of the full moon in such a state of of brilliancy was manifold. It acted on dreams, it acted on lunacy, it acted on nervous people, it had marvellous physical influences connected with life." —Carmilla, Sheridan Le Fanu #BookWormSat

"It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical." —Frankenstein, Mary Shelley #BookWormSat

The first biopic of Edgar Allan Poe took several liberties with the story of his successful poem "The Raven," such as Poe being inspired by the sight of a literal raven. #FlashbackFriday medium.com/@sacha1689.s...

The first book-to-film adaptation features a sinister magician hypnotizing a young girl. #FlashbackFriday medium.com/@sacha1689.s...

Advertisers tried to pass off the first found-footage horror film as a documentary. But no one believed it, due to the blackface, the stolen footage, and the obvious shots of the Los Angeles zoo. #FlashbackFriday medium.com/@sacha1689.s...

Pamela Voorhees is a revolutionary depiction of female rage, because in a world that tells women they can't be badass while fulfilling traditionally feminine roles, Pamela's rage is rooted in maternal love, and that strengthens her instead of diminishing her to a sexist archetype.

"Perhaps I cannot fix everything in this moment—stop the snatchers, or keep the women of this city safe, or even protect my own people... But I can do this: start somewhere and keep going." —Thorn, Intisar Khanani #BookologyThursday

"All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you... Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed." —Watership Down, Richard Adams #BookologyThursday

"It’s not a question of if you’ll win... The only question is whether you will choose to fight. Will you fight for your queen? Will you fight for your waters and treasure? Will you fight for your little ones?" —Daughter of the Siren Queen, Tricia Levenseller #BookologyThursday

The kids I taught today didn't know who Robin Williams was. I feel a million years old 💀

In the 1914 fantasy novel At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs, two explorers ride an experimental burrowing vehicle called the "iron mole" deep underground and discover a hidden world called Pellucidar, in which prehistoric creatures have enslaved humans. #WyrdWednesday

The Hollow Earth Theory proposes the earth's core is hollow, or contains another world. This was first depicted in the satirical sci-fi/fantasy novel Niels Klim's Underground Travels (1741), in which a man discovers a smaller planet, called Nazar, inside earth while cave-diving. #WyrdWednesday

Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a sci-fi novel by Jules Verne, first released in 1864. The protagonist, Professor Lidenbrock, travels through underground tunnels in an inactive volcano to reach the center of the earth, and encounters natural disasters and prehistoric beasts. #WyrdWednesday

These late 90s/early 2000s Scooby-Doo movies were PEAK.

Happy #Caturday! Reminder that my Instagram-famous cat, Marshmallow, has her own calendar now. Consider buying one for the upcoming new year! www.etsy.com/listing/4584...

Nicneven of Scottish myth is a witch, goddess, or fairy queen with ties to Samhain. She governs the realms of magic, divination, and spirits. Her symbols include pumpkins and gourds, which were carved and illuminated to light the path for a spirit's journey. #FairyTaleTuesday

There are different versions of the Armenian tale of Zoulvisia, a powerful forest witch who kills the men that trespass on her land. A prince seeks to avenge the deaths of his soldiers and his six brothers. But he's struck by Zoulvisia's beauty and marries her instead. #FairyTaleTuesday

The titular character of the Grimm tale "Frau Holle" may have roots in an ancient Germanic goddess. In the tale she's a powerful old witch who rewards a kind, hardworking girl with riches, and punishes the girl's cruel, lazy stepsister by pouring pitch on her. #FairyTaleTuesday

The mass adoration of Jason in Crystal Lake makes me feel cynical, because I'm 100% certain many of the viewers who claim they'd defend this little guy with their life would have actually bullied a disabled kid in their youth.

In many Norse myths, the god Odin disguises himself as an old traveler wearing a blue cloak and a hat pulled down to hide his missing eye. He often travels with a pack of wolves or his two ravens, imparting wisdom and knowledge on struggling mortals. #MythologyMonday

A kumiho is a nine-tailed fox spirit in Korean myth that eats human hearts and livers. They carry a yeowoo guseul, or fox marble, in the back of their throat. When they take human form to seduce men, the marble absorbs the man's energy while they kiss. #MythologyMonday

After the Egyptian god Osiris is murdered, his casket is thrown into the Nile River and floats to Byblos, where it's lodged in a tree belonging to the king and queen. Isis, Osiris's wife, disguises herself as a mortal woman to become a royal nursemaid and gain access to the tree. #MythologyMonday

Want to know how ridiculous it is to be a writer? I've been sending queries to agents for my children's book series, and I sent one query tonight at 8:23 and received a rejection for it at 8:36. Yeah. Thirteen minutes. That's got to be a record, right?

"Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath, That they may crush down with heavy fall The usurping helmets of our adversaries." —Richard III #ShakespeareSunday

"[Many] wearing rapiers are afraid of goose quills and dare scarce come thither." —Hamlet #ShakespeareSunday

"The cannons have their bowels full of wrath, And ready mounted are they to spit forth Their iron indignation ‘gainst your walls." —King John #ShakespeareSunday

"And all the gods go with you! upon your sword Sit laurel victory! and smooth success Be strew’d before your feet!" —Antony and Cleopatra #ShakespeareSunday

Happy #Caturday! Reminder that my Instagram-famous cat, Marshmallow, has her own calendar now. Consider buying one for the upcoming new year! www.etsy.com/listing/4584...

"Before, I looked upon the accounts of vice and injustice that I read in books or heard from others as tales of ancient days or imaginary evils... but now misery has come home, and men appear to me as monsters thirsting for each other's blood." —Frankenstein, Mary Shelley #BookWormSat

"Sir, whoever you are, take pity on a wretched princess standing on the brink of destruction: assist me to escape from this fatal castle, or in a few moments I may be made miserable for ever." —The Castle of Otranto, Horace Walpole #BookWormSat

"But we never get back our youth... The pulse of joy that beats in us at twenty becomes sluggish. Our limbs fail, our senses rot. We degenerate into hideous puppets, haunted by the memory of the passions of which we were too much afraid." —The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde #BookWormSat

"Rebecca, always Rebecca. Wherever I walked in Manderley, wherever I sat, even in my thoughts and my dreams, I met Rebecca... If I heard it, even among a thousand others, I should recognize her voice... I should never be rid of Rebecca." —Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier #BookWormSat

Famed French director Georges Méliès went full psychological horror with his 1901 adaptation of Bluebeard. #FlashbackFriday medium.com/@sacha1689.s...

Those who are only familiar with the Judy Garland version of Dorothy Gale may be surprised to learn she had other animal sidekicks besides Toto, such as Imogene the cow and Hank the mule. #FlashbackFriday medium.com/@sacha1689.s...

Since 1905, dogs have rescued babies from kidnappers and damsels from train tracks. #FlashbackFriday medium.com/@sacha1689.s...

"Toto did not really care whether he was in Kansas or the Land of Oz so long as Dorothy was with him." —The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum #BookologyThursday

"My grandfather kept the key to his house in Yaffa in 1948. He thought they would return in a few days... The house was destroyed... The key has rusted but still exists somewhere, longing for the old wooden door." —Palestine A-Z, Mosab Abu Toha #BookologyThursday

"A day comes when, thanks to rigidity, nothing causes wonder any more, everything is known, and life is spent in beginning over again... To come alive again, one needs a special grace, self-forgetfulness, or a homeland." —Return to Tipasa, Albert Camus #BookologyThursday

Overdraft fees are a crime against humanity.

Pope Sylvester II was believed to be “the best necromancer in France, whom the demons of the air readily obeyed." According to legend, he sold his soul to the Devil for forbidden knowledge, and even sculpted a talking statue that would answer his questions. #WyrdWednesday