fantastic – R&D Gothic Discoveries

Quebec’s Legends

24 April 201925 April 2019 delphinecote

Canada has many special legends and myths that were developed through time. More precisely, French-Canadians have a very religious past. Various artists used Quebec’s history and legends to create movies or music. If you do not know about the province of Quebec, then one important thing is that before it was called the “Province of Quebec”, it was known as “New France,” obviously because it was a French colony. Quebec is the only French colony in Canada that kept speaking French, and the population developed a culture of their own, with a rich historical background. Thus, I figured it would be interesting to tell you about some Quebec legends related to fantastic creatures, or frightful ones.

St. Lawrence Gulf’s Mermaids

One day, a school of mermaids were traveling in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea to reach the Red Sea, where their home was. Unfortunately, a group of mermaids got lost on the way there, in the St. Lawrence Gulf, which is situated at the mouth of the St. Lawrence river. Mermaids are known for their irresistible charm. Seamen say that their songs and movements are graceful, and pretend that in the sunlight, their skin looks like it is covered with a film of gold. And so, one day, a mermaid jumped on the deck of a boat to ask a seaman to remove the leeches on her fishtail. He agreed, but fell desperately in love with her, forgetting about his wife and children. Hence, he followed her in the depths of the water, and he was never seen again.

Nowadays, they are lost between Magdalen Islands and Anticosti Island, hoping for a boat captain who would agree to lead them back to their house.

Men Without Heads in the Escoumins

The Escoumins is a little village bordered by the St. Lawrence river situated on the North Shore. It is a site that used to be popular for trade because of its advantageous geographic position. But even before that, it is said that some pirates landed there to bury some treasures since it was an isolated site at that time, and so, it was perfect to hide their gold. However, when they buried their treasures, they were “picking on the short straw” for the one among them who would be buried with the treasure to protect it from potential enemies. The buried seamen had their head cut before they were buried with the treasures. Nowadays, it is said that some of these headless pirate ghosts are seen, still protecting what is theirs. Curiously enough, no one ever tried to find one of their treasures… people probably prefer not to know what could happen to them if they did!

The Trafalgar Tower

This legend comes from the book called “The Trafalgar Tower” or in French, “La Tour de Trafalgar” written by Georges Boucher from Boucherville, in Montreal. The author affirms that he went there himself to attest to the strange, presumably paranormal phenomena that are going on there. Did he invent all of this, or is it true? No one will ever know… The legend goes as follows:

In Montreal, in the district called Côtes-des-Neiges is a small tower, the Trafalgar Tower. One day, Leocadie, a beautiful 17-year-old girl who lived in the district with her aunt, went to the church to do her devotions. While she was there, a young man entered the church to admire it, and he saw Leocadie. He instantly fell in love with her, with a violent and passionate love. He went talking to her, and they started seeing each other as friends. After some time, he learned from Leocadie’s aunt that her heart was already taken by another man to whom she was engaged and about to get married. He thus swore he would take his revenge against the one he once loved so much. The last thing he told her before he left was: “See how red the sun is; it is red like fire, like blood, like the blood that must flow”. The day before their wedding, Leocadie and her fiancé were hiking at the mountain, the mountain where the Trafalgar Tower stood. Then actually went to the tower, and as soon as their feet touched the threshold of the door, a man, whom Leocadie clearly knew, attacked them with a knife. First, he attacked her by stabbing her with his knife, directly in her heart. Wanting to avenge Leocadie, her fiancé jumped on the man. After a violent fight, the murderer finally strangled him. The next day, both lovers were found dead, and the murderer was condemned to a horrible death.

The Trafalgar tower became a cursed place, and people who went there pretend that they saw some blood on the walls and on the door. Moreover, everyone of them swore the fear and anxiety they felt forced them to leave the place. Even more strange is that they all said that while they were running away from the tower, they heard some footsteps right behind them.

Oh well, as I mentioned previously, this legend was first told and then written by Georges Boucher, so who knows, maybe he invented it all. Or maybe not. Anyway, I would probably not test whether his affirmations about the place are true myself. These are just a few legends, but there are many more. If you are interested about Quebecer’s legends, I swear you will not be disappointed!

DelphineC

Movies

Reasons to Love Harry Potter

27 February 201925 April 2019 delphinecote

I was talking with a friend of mine not long ago, and the subject went through fantastic movies and books; no need to say that I immediately mentioned how amazing Harry Potter was. And, disappointment, I learned he never watched nor read this series. I mean, he obviously knew what it was, but he never actually watched or read it. From this discussion, I felt the duty to give people who never watched or read the series reasons to take the time to do so. If you don’t like to read, you may like to watch movies sometimes right?

It made us all think we could be wizards

If you were young enough when you discovered Harry Potter, you must have thought at some point that you could be a wizard too. It sure develops the imagination of the youth.

2. Hogwarts

How incredible is it? I mean, we all dreamed about visiting this place. First, the architecture is awesome and second, the vibe of this place is comforting.

3. The creatures

Goblins (Gringotts Wizarding Bank), elves (Dobby), ghosts (Nearly Headless Nick), three-headed dog (Fluffy + reference to Greek mythology: Cerberus, the three-headed dog which guards the entrance to Hades, the underworld where spirits of the dead were the only ones allowed), trolls, dragons, unicorns, centaurs, phoenix, dementors… There are so many, if we were to write a list, we would probably forget half of them. However, the variety of fantastic creatures is quite impressive, and the use of those creatures is never pointless.

4. The values transmitted

Indeed, values of friendship, family, courage, loyalty, altruism and more are all part of this series. Of course, it is a story, and in each good story, there are the villains which are in complete contradiction with all good values shared in the story, but the principal characters, Harry, Hermione and Ron, all promote the values that encourage emotional growth.

5. Settings, special effects and costumes

Well, it’s quite simple, the settings, special effects and costumes are all incredible.

6. Books vs. movie

One of the rare book series that was adapted to cinema which actually resulted to be a real success. Of course, some details are missing; a movie is obviously very different from a book, mostly in terms of length; you cannot produce a 10h movie for each book. Nonetheless, when I compare with other book series and films produced from those books, Harry Potter is most probably the only one with which I was not disappointed.

7. Just a good amount of cheesiness

Am I the only one who finds it boring when I want to watch a fantastic movie and it actually results in a love story? Well, Harry Potter does contain some love stories, but honestly, I would say that we hear about it like 4 times in all 8 movies.

8. Movies marathons or study background

Harry Potter is the perfect choice for a gloomy day movie marathon. I swear, every time I don’t know what to do during a holiday when it’s raining, I never go wrong with Harry Potter. Plus, once you know them by heart, it’s a perfect background for study or homework times (yep, I love it that much).

Ok, there are more reasons to watch or read Harry Potter, and if those ones are not enough for you, I’m sure you’ll be able to find others on other websites. But I mean, do you really need more?

*In case you would not know any of them, the titles of the films from the first to the last one are: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011).

DelphineC

Movies

Classic: The Lord of the Rings

27 February 201925 April 2019 delphinecote

Fun fact, I’m all about classics. And I figured why not talk about another one: The Lord of the Rings. I know many people who read the books and then saw the movies and were disappointed, but I mean, obviously there are more details in a book. We cannot ask for a copy-paste of a book into a film; it’s impossible, even more impossible considering how humongous a novel it is. So, despite the lack of some details in the movies compared to the novel, we must admit that The Lord of the Rings is a classic, and everyone definitely watched it at some point or another. But what makes fantasy so attractive to people? What made it a success? I mean, the trilogy earned a total of 17 Academy Awards… who else could say the same?

Obviously, fantasy is one of the most appreciated genres even though it cannot be considered as a “serious” literature genre. However, that’s the good thing about it: it is NOT serious. Everyday life sometimes gets a little bit overwhelming, and we need to find some ways to escape for a certain time. Unlike documentaries or movies/books inspired from actual events that happened in the past, fantasy allows us to enjoy some free time without being reminded of the stress of the exterior world. Even though those movies or books are not all about joy, we still enjoy them.

If we take The Lord of the Rings, just think about Frodo’s companion, Samwise Gamgee; a light-hearted, generous, courageous and so valiant Hobbit. If you know who Sam is, just by being reminded of him kind of made you nostalgic right? And now you want to watch the movies just for him, yep.

Now think about Gimli, the dwarf: he is a strong and loyal warrior who would certainly fight for Frodo to succeed in his quest until he dies.

No need to talk about Aragorn, but still I will do it: not only is he a good looking man, but he is also the rightful heir to the kingdom of Gondor, a man of honor and worthy of your trust (just for the sake of telling it, Arwen, an elf, and not just some kind of elf, but Elrond’s daughter – Elrond is a king elf – is in love with Aragorn, and that my friend, is something to be proud of).

The last I will mention, but not the least is Gollum. This little creature that was once a Hobbit and that the Ring transformed into a kind of monster. He is a creature which we first hate, but then feel so much compassion for him and we finally love him for he is not fundamentally bad, but actually, fundamentally good.

Let’s only think about the fellowship of the ring, which includes nine people: four Hobbits (Frodo Baggings, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took), two men (Aragorn and Boromir), a Dwarf (Gimli), an Elf (Legolas) and a Magician (Gandalf). The Dwarves and the Elves are not in good terms due to some old conflicts, and the men race is not really respected anymore since their “weakness” is what caused the loss of many (the man king did not destroy the Ring when he had the occasion). But still, they work together, they help each other and learn to respect and even appreciate one another. Important values such as mutual aid, courage, honesty, friendship and many more are put forward in this trilogy. If this is not a life lesson, I don’t know what it is.

We love fantasy, because it is a loophole and it stimulates our imagination and our feelings.

I leave you on a fun meme I found on the Internet. If you understand it, you are part of the real ones!😉

DelphineC

Books

The House of Night

3 February 201925 April 2019 delphinecote

Who does not like vampires? We must admit that they always are a good distraction; we pretty much never get tired of the stories or movies of which they are used as principal “creatures” to create some fear and suspense. However, there are two types of vampires; indeed, there is the terrifying one known as the one who sucks all the blood from human necks (in other words, the killer vampire), and there is the cheesy vampire known as the one who lives in harmony with humans. Which one do we prefer? Are we actually obligated to have a preference? I would say we do not, and that is the reason why I want to share this series of novels I discovered 3 years ago.

Written by Phyllis Christine Cast and Kristin Cast, the first volume of a series called the House of Night was published in March 2009 and was titled “Marked” (just so it is said, the last volume, “Lost” was published recently, in July 2018). The 18 volumes of this series (yes, indeed, 18 volumes!) contain all of what is necessary to entertain anyone who is interested in fantasy, love, magic, mystery, action and of course, vampires. I assure you, we can find them all in the same series! Isn’t it simply amazing?

You must wonder: Ok well, but what is this about? Overall, this is the story of Zoey Redbird, a 16-year old girl who is Marked to become a vampire and complete her Change, or die. The story mostly takes place in Tulsa, in the state of Oklahoma in the United States (yes, I know, another American fantasy, but I swear, it is a good one). The issue from which the story starts is that she does not have the same mark as other vampires do; indeed, she has been marked as special by the vampire Goddess Nyx and it is for you to discover why.

In brief, here are some reasons why you should take the time to read this series:

There are some vampires (this reason by itself is enough to convince you, right?).

Well, if you need some more…

2. There is a love triangle (oh yes, you’ve read well!).

3. There is suspense (sometimes, you just won’t be able to stop reading, I can testify).

4. There is death.

An extra one for you: you do not need to wait for the next episode to be released (you know what I’m referring to, don’t you?), once you finished one tome, you can start the next one right away!

Good luck and have fun in the vampire world!

DelphineC