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‘Sabrina’ Sugarcoated the Horrors of Lupercalia, the origins of Valentine’s Day

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Lupercalia. A tradition far from the sappy celebration of Valentine’s Day as we know it today.

What we know about this holiday and its beginnings dates back to the Romans. From February 13 to February 15 they would have the feast of Lupercalia. This feast was conducted to avert evil spirits and purify the city to release health and fertility.

This celebration was seen in an episode of the hit show Chilling Adventures of Sabrina in season 2 episode 3 entitled Lupercalia.

The show explains the ritual as “where a witch is paired with a random warlock, the courting, where the pair spend the night together in unholy abstinence, and the hunt, a run through the woods which climaxes in a frenzy of orgiastic carnality.” A pure sugarcoating of the actual festivities.

However, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina did get two parts right. The partners were matched up randomly. Yet c’mon, we all knew Sabrina and Nick would be paired together. Also, each partner places blood on the other’s forehead and wipes it off in a milk soaked cloth, both laughing while it’s being preformed.

That’s pretty much where the similarities end.

In the old days, Romans would kill a goat and a dog and use their hides to make thongs. With these strips made from the hides they would beat women who lined up for the floggings. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina seem to have glossed over that part.

These lashes didn’t appear to come from a place of sadism, but rather symbolism to help these women ensure fertility. These Roman women would think these beatings would not only make them more fertile, but also give birth to more children.

Other accounts claim the men and women would run naked through the streets during this part of the festivities. If they were caught they would be lashed with the thongs. Not only would these women benefit from the ritual, but the men who preformed the lashings would too.

These young men who lashed the women were seen as making the transition from boyhood to adulthood.

However, as time went on the celebrations changed. Men held women down and whipped their inner thighs against their will. The men laughed and cheered, drunkenly.

Historians have come to the conclusion the relation between Valentine’s Day and romance began in the late 14th century. However, how much of a connection between the two remains unclear.

While the connection between Lupercalia and Valentine’s Day is a bit muddled, it appears to be a distant ancestor of the holiday. Other historians claim it has no connection at all. Regardless, it is very different from the holiday as we know it today.

Read more about the history of Lupercalia here!  As well as a follow up with some history and serial killer Valentine Day cards from one of our own iHorror writers here!

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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